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Rehearse & Record on the Road

Black Tide gets hooked up with a custom rig from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech

The dilemma is the same for every touring band: How do you rehearse, write and record new material for the next record, while you’re out supporting your current album?

The solution became very clear for teenage metal wunderkinds Black Tide on March 21st, 10:30pm at Guitar Center Seattle, after a packed show at a local venue. That’s when the band first plugged into their new custom touring rehearsal/recording rig, hand-selected by Harman International U.S. Sales Director John Larabee and producer Johnny K. (Staind, Three Doors Down, Disturbed, Finger Eleven). The dream rig is comprised of choice gear from JBL, Soundcraft, AKG, dbx, Crown, Lexicon and Digitech.

Black Tide, made up of guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Garcia, guitarist Alex Nuñez, bassist Zachary Sandler and drummer/keyboardist Steven Spence, has rocked Ozzfest, toured with Avenged Sevenfold, and is currently touring in support of their new album, Light from Above, produced by Johnny K.

"They’ll be touring probably for the next couple of years to support this album," Johnny K. says, "and during that time, they’ll have to prepare their next one – rehearse, write songs, record demos, all the things that bands need to do."

The challenge is: how do you stay creative while you’re on the road? Many new bands face the dreaded "sophomore slump" when it’s time to make their second album. "Bands think they can write one song a month while touring, but I’ve seen big acts get home after 18 months and not have any songs," warns Johnny K., "It’s wise for any band to be able to capture song ideas while on the road. The trick is to do that in a way that meshes with rocking out nightly on tour, which is a whole different mindset than being methodical in the studio."

"The idea was to give these guys a package to let them be creative and hone their skills." says Larabee, "We wanted to take away the worry about technology and make it all about the creativity.

"It happens all the time," says Garcia, "that one of us will come up with a killer riff and then, two days later, we’ll go, ‘Hey, what was that cool part?’ and no one can remember it. Now we can record every idea we have. That’s going to be great."

The recording will be possible with the Lexicon Omega computer interface Black Tide receives, which comes bundled with Cubase LE multitracking software. Not only will it help the band to remember ideas, but it will also allow them to critique their performances and get more comfortable with the studio environment.

"I kind of freak out in the studio," says Nuñez. "I can crack under the pressure. If I could do some recording every day, I know I can get over that. I can’t wait to be able to record stuff, listen back to it, and get better that way."

"We went through all the Harman brands to choose the best gear for them and provide a rehearsal environment that’s like their live rig." says Larabee. "Then they can take the output of the Soundcraft mixer and send it directly to the Lexicon Omega interface and record their rehearsals right into the computer. That’s great for working on new material."

When a magical moment does happen in rehearsal, it can be harvested out of Cubase and used on demos or even the next Black Tide record.

"I can’t remember the last record where I didn’t use something from a spontaneous recording like that," says Johnny K. "I’ve taken whole intros, fade outs, cool feedback – anything that happens that’s good, I’ll throw it in. You can’t recreate those moments. The advice that I would give them is that if you’re lucky enough to have this system, you should be using it constantly. Record everything. That’s what I do when I have a band in preproduction. Bands don’t always realize when they’ve stumbled across something awesome."

The group headed over to the Digitech station where Nuñez plugged into the RP350 for the first time. The first patch he calls up is a clean sound with just a touch of overdrive, prompting him to switch to his neck pickup and channel his inner Hendrix.

Switching to a volume-swell tone, Nuñez plays tasty sustained melodies. "This pedal could definitely spark a lot of different ideas."

As he scrolls through the RP350’s presets, Nuñez continues to crank out huge rock riffs and searing solos.

"This crunch tone is called ‘Old School’ and it’s great for these power chord riffs. This one is a great Zakk Wylde tone."

"He’ll be here all night," says Johnny K. "These sounds will be great additions to some of their heavier tones. And you can go out of this pedal directly into your laptop."

Larabee concurs. "Because the Digitech RP350 and RP500 have USB ports on them, it’ll be easy for these guys to overdub parts. If the band records a rehearsal, Alex and Gabriel can layer additional parts on the bus, in a hotel – wherever. It’s designed for maximum flexibility. Plus, these processors are so compact, the guys can take them on a plane if they do fly-out gigs where they can’t bring all their gear."

Next up was Sandler, who plugged his Schecter bass into the Digitech BP80 Bass Modeling Processor. The very first sound he heard reminded him of a classic bass solo.

"My first real experience with effects on bass," he relates, "was the Metallica tune ‘(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.’ Cliff Burton got a sound like this one."

"I never really use bass effects," he says, "so to have that element to add in is pretty sweet. I see tons of possibilities with this thing. There are parts on the album that might need a little something extra to stand out live, and this could totally do that. Some things might have been doubled on the record and so live, they don’t sound as full. This could bring that full sound back, which is great. Then maybe someday when I get a bass solo, this thing will help me get in a world of trouble!"

When frontman Garcia finally approached the Digitech station, it seemed like there were no more riffs that could be played through it, after his bandmates had wreaked their havoc. Wrong. Garcia took his Jackson Soloist and proceeded to drop jaws and blow minds with a barrage of chords, arpeggios, and lead lines that belied his young age.

"Our song ‘Give Me a Chance’ has a phaser on a cool clean tone in the intro," he says as he picks out the song’s opening chords. "It sounds like a lot like this, actually." Changing to another preset, Garcia switches gears without missing a beat.

"I love Joe Satriani, and I like the way he uses effects. That’s what this reminds me of." He then goes into a freakishly accurate rendition of Satriani’s "Always with Me, Always with You," playing the arpeggios, melody, and solo.

"Some of these sounds are really inspiring," says Garcia. "I could definitely see this pushing me in different directions. I can’t wait to plug this straight into my computer and lay down tracks."

"We did stuff in the studio with these kinds of tones to make it sound bigger," he says. "I love how I can play just one note and it sounds huge." To illustrate his point, he plays the chorus riff from the tune "Shockwave."

"I would definitely use this in a show," he says. "And for writing, of course – I can totally see using it. This is going to be a lot of fun!"

By this time it was 1:00 in the morning in Seattle. The Black Tide guys then plugged into their live rigs and ran through several tunes at full tilt. The moment they were finished, drummer Spence picked up a guitar, Nuñez jumped behind the drum kit and began pounding, Sandler plugged in no fewer than five different basses, and Garcia rushed back to the RP350 and continued to absolutely shred, non-stop, for a solid hour. Those in attendance could only smile and shake their heads. Ahhh… To be young and locked inside a Guitar Center.