Gear
Here’s a breakdown of all the gear used by James Dean. From his guitars to strings, effects pedals and more. This rig rundown details everything he uses to create his live looping instrumental music.
Let’s dig into the gear that helps to create the sound of a full band live in real time, covering how it works, why it matters, and what makes it so effective.
Instruments
Gibson J-150 Acoustic Guitar
(Serial # 01482018)
This guitar was production number 18 and made in Bozeman, Montana, USA on May 28th, 2002, which is coincidentally the same month and day of James’ birthday. It was purchased in August of 2002 from the Guitar Center in Minneapolis,MN.
What it is: The Gibson J-150 is a distinctive acoustic guitar that stands out for its unique design and sound characteristics. It is a part of the Super Jumbo family, which is known for its large body and rich tonal quality.
Why it’s used: The combination of spruce and maple provides a bright, articulate sound with excellent projection making it Ideal for various genres, including strumming and fingerstyle playing, making it quite versatile musically.
Significance: This is James’ main guitar and central to his sound both visually and tonally. Known for its powerful yet nuanced tone.
John Pearse 700M Medium Phosphor Bronze Guitar Strings
What they are: Strings designed for acoustic guitars featuring gauges of .013, .017, .026, .035, .045, and .056.
Why they’re used: They are known for their clear highs and rich lows.
Significance: Helps James maintain definition and feel in both standard and alternate tunings, supporting both lead lines and dropped, palm-muted rhythms.
Clayton Custom Delrin Guitar Picks (0.80mm)
Why they’re used: 0.80mm White Delrin is a very durable material that produces balanced flexibility and attack, suited for precise picking, hybrid picking, and James’s mix of lead and rhythm work.
Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus
Use: A power supply for guitar effects, featuring eight isolated outputs to prevent noise and ground loops.
Why it matters: Supplies clean and quiet power to all the gear of James’s live looping rig.
Pedaltrain Pro Junior Pedalboard & Hard Case
Use: A compact pedalboard designed to organize and transport effects pedals efficiently.
Why it matters: Allows all the effects and other gear in James’s rig to be organized and easily accessible.
KAT KTMP1 Percussion Pad
Use: An electronic drum and percussion pad sound module that features four highly-responsive pads and 50 adjustable sounds, making it a versatile addition to any musical setup. It can be played with hands or sticks and is suitable for various applications, including live performances and studio recordings.
Why it matters: Allows for the creation of drum and percussion loops in real time to be used in building instrumental arrangements.
Pedals
L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I.
Use: A preamp and direct box designed for acoustic instruments, featuring a 5-band equalizer, adjustable gain for both passive and active pickups, and outputs for connecting to amplifiers or mixing boards
Why it matters: It enhances the tone and sound quality of the guitars electronic signal creating a signature sound.
Loop-Master Micro AB Box
Use: A compact pedal designed to route the signal of two audio sources and features true bypass switching known for it’s quiet response when activated.
Why it matters: Allows James to chose either his guitar or KAT KTMP1 Percussion Pad to send to the Boomerang III Pharse Sampler for recording of loops.
Boomerang III Phrase Sampler
Use: A versatile looping device designed for musicians, particularly solo performers. It emphasizes looping in real-time for live performance.
Why it matters: It allows for the creation of complex soundscapes by layering multiple loops.
One Control Iguana Tail Loop 2 Switcher
Use: A five-channel loop switcher featuring true bypass loops and six DC outputs for powering pedals.
Why it matters: Helps maintain a clean signal by removing pedals from the signal chain when not in use. In addition it allows for easier access to engaging or disengaging invidual effects on the pedalboard.
Tech & Software
2018 iPad Pro 11 inch
Use: A tablet computer used as an audio tool for music production, live looping, and sound manipulation.
Why it matters: Allows for connection of the guitar via the OMEC Teleport MIDI interface to trigger non-guitar instrument samples for live looping musical arrangements.
Jam Origin MIDI Guitar 2
Use: Used in conjunction with a MIDI interface to convert the guitar signal into MIDI data.
Why it matters: Allows for connection of the guitar via the OMEC Teleport MIDI interface to trigger virtual instruments for live looping musical arrangments.
Apple Garageband
Use: A music app that features a variety of instrument samples making it accessible for beginners and experienced musicians alike.
Why it matters: Allows for connection of the guitar via the OMEC Teleport MIDI interface to trigger virtual instruments for live looping musical arrangments.
IK Multimedia SampleTank 2 for iOS
Use: A powerful virtual instrument and sound workstation designed for music creation. It offers a vast library of sounds and instruments, making it suitable for various musical styles and genres.
Why it matters: Allows for connection of the guitar via the OMEC Teleport MIDI interface to trigger virtual instruments for live looping musical arrangements
BIAS FX for iOS
Use: A guitar amp and effects modelling software that allows musicians to create and customize their guitar tones using a wide range of virtual amps and effects.
Why it matters: Allows for connection of the guitar via the OMEC Teleport MIDI interface to trigger virtual amps and effects for live looping musical arrangements.
Effects Pedals
Wampler Mini Ego Compressor
Use: Compressor pedal that smooths peaks and adds subtle sustain.
Why it matters: Evens out dynamic clean parts and boosts signal for effect-heavy chains.
TC Electronic Flashback Mini Delay
Use: Clean, rhythmic repeats and echo effects.
Why it matters: Creates spaciousness and rhythmic depth.
TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Mini Reverb
Use: Simulates the sound of music echoing in a space.
Why it matters: It enhances the audio by adding depth and atmosphere, making the sound feel more spacious and immersive.
TC Electronic Pipeline Tremolo
Use: Modulates the volume of the sound, creating a pulsing effect.
Why it matters: Offers vintage and square tremolo settings, allowing for a variety of sound designs.
TC Electronic Spark Mini Booster
Use: Enhances the guitar’s signal by providing a sharp, crisp clean tone, slight sustain and boost in volume.
Why it matters: Allows for increase clarity for melody lines and solos to stand out prominently in the mix.
Electro-Harmonix EHX Pitch Fork Polyphonic Pitch Shifter
Use: Allows for pitch transposition of the guitar signal
Why it matters: Often used to create the sound of a bass guitar. By adjusting the blend of dry and wet signals a rich, layered sound that resembles traditional chorus effect can also be achieved.
MXR Phase 95
Use: Creates a sweeping, swirling sound by splitting the guitar signal into two paths, altering the phase of one path, and then mixing them back together. This results in a series of peaks and troughs in the sound, giving it a rich, dynamic texture often used in various music genres
Why it matters: Combines two classic phaser circuits: the Phase 45 and the Phase 90 allowing for both subtle and pronounced phasing effects making it suitable for various musical styles.
Mooer Slow Engine
Use: Used to create a volume swell effect, which simulates a smooth, gradual increase in volume for each note or chord, similar to the sound of a violin bow on strings.
Why it matters: This effect is great for adding texture and ambiance to music, allowing for a range of unique sound effects suitable for various music styles
Fulltone Clyde Wah-Wah Pedal (1999)
Use: Alters the sound by sweeping a filter up and down in frequency, creating a distinctive sound similar to the human voice saying “wah-wah.”
Why it matters: A modern reissue of the classic ’60s Vox Clyde McCoy wah pedal, designed to replicate its vintage tone with contemporary reliability. Adds a distinct vintage tone to various musical styles including rock, reggae and funk.
NUX Loop Core
Use: A looper pedal that allows for creation, saving and playback of audio recordings in 99 memory slots
Why it matters: James uses this pedal to store pre-recorded audio samples, most often spoken word samples to intersperse with his live looping arrangements at the click of a footswitch.
Orange OMEC Teleport MIDI Interface
Use: A compact audio interface designed to convert analog audio signals to digital for triggering external samples and DSP effects from mobile devices in his signal chain.
Why it matters: This pedal allows for various instrument sounds such a saxophone, keyboards and more to be triggered by playing notes on his guitar. In addition it allows for various effects to be applied to the guitar signal in some instances.