Author Topic: Rebel Yells - Hard Rock, Drop D, some palm muting (Read 8484 times)

Sambrowne · « **on:** January 18, 2008, 04:16:36 AM »

Hi there,

I have recently bought some Rebel Yells after loving my BKP Mississippi Queens so much. However, the P90s were not appropriate for palm muting metal riffs and I needed something "heavy" but didn't want a dead sounding generic third party "metal" pickup like an EMG or Seymour duncan. The rebel yells came up on my country's version of Ebay (trademe) and after researching them, I bought them (for about 30% of new RRP, since they're still not really known here in NZ) and have not looked back. These pickups are just awesome.

The Rebel Yell does not have the harshness of a Gibson stock pickup for the les paul, but retains the bite, as well as adding "more of the guitar" to the sound somehow (it sounds more woody, more defined and clear) but keeps that punchiness that hard rock and metal requires too. It's a really great "do-it-all" pickup - you could easily play jazz, blues, country and well beyond what I do into death metal territory with these.

The neck setting, which I tend to find is essentially useless on stock Gibson pickups, is now a useable, lush, full sound, that actually sounds similar to the bridge, but with a little more warmth and less bite, so it's perfect for clean playing or dirty rock chords (but probably not full-on distortion unless you're playing Queens of the Stone Age or something).

The bridge is where I spend most of my time, and whether it's single notes with a bit of delay or palm muted Drop D riffs, these pickups sound just right. The guitar has become so much more because of these pickups.

So, without further ado, here's a link to two songs I have recorded. I am currently trying to put a band together here in NZ and use these demos to show potential bandmates what I can do (and the sort of playing they'd be doing). You don't need to register or anything to check these out so don't be scared...

All guitar parts were recorded with my Gibson les paul with RYs in both bridge and neck position. The amp is the mesa recto setting on a Pod XT (double tracked for maximum crunch).

http://www.box.net/shared/ox3dmp2zf1

ericsabbath · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2008, 06:22:54 AM »

great purchase and review, man!
you're a good composer!
very well recorded clips too
:D

Sambrowne · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2008, 07:54:21 AM »

Thanks a lot bro, glad you liked it.

Muso · « **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2008, 10:58:07 AM »

Hey nice stuff are you by any chance influenced by Depeche Mode? I got that kinda vibe.

Pretty nice, you should be able to get a band with those clips, good production.

sgmypod · « **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2008, 12:39:27 PM »

Good production first one sounds kinda NIN to me

Sambrowne · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2008, 01:56:26 PM »

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate the positive feedback.

Depeche Mode - a little but not much, more the album "Get Ready" by New Order, same feel, if a lot softer (lots of chorus bass melodies and jangly Fender sounds, almost no dirty guitars). And yeah, NIN and Deftones, a lot. Arcade Fire, Prodigy, Crystal Method, White Zombie (a lot), even dare I say it Linkin Park.

Vocally I am really trying for my own thing but there's obviously a bit of Trent in there and Maynard is another idol of mine.

Production for those who are interested was Protools via a DIGI-002 rack, Rode K2 mic for vocals, POD XT for guitars (mainly rectos using all the different mic options and several different cab emulators to thicken the double tracked gats), and then just Protools' basic plug-ins for effects - the trusty D-verb and Digidesign delay.

Bass, drums and synths come courtesy of Reason 2.5, and then I recorded a real bass through the POD set to clean Twin, to thicken it up and give a bit of "stringiness" to the bass sound.

I really, really recommend the Rode K2. I had mine for a while but no pop filter so it sat idle, but with a pop filter, it's as good as any studio mic you'll find anywhere but the top studios. It's powered by a tube, has its very own power supply and can do cardiode, figure 8 and omni polar patterns.

RadioElectric · « **Reply #6 on:** January 18, 2008, 02:10:30 PM »

I really like it. Forgot I was listening to something that wasn't a full pro release.

One thing I will add (unrelated to the pickups) is that both tracks could do with some more detail in the high frequencies I think. Either guitar lead lines or synth work or something else.

Sambrowne · « **Reply #7 on:** January 18, 2008, 02:20:20 PM »

I absolutely agree with you - both the verses are very sparse at the moment, and the single note gutar riff in "Everything" could come up in the mix a lot. I'll keep at it. Cheers for your pro release comment, that is very kind.

JJretroTONEGOD · « **Reply #8 on:** January 20, 2008, 07:31:02 PM »

It's quite well mixed. It's not pro quality though, the first track is the best in terms of production. I like the guitar tone though, very nice!

Ted · « **Reply #9 on:** January 20, 2008, 08:01:05 PM »

Thats slick if you ask me.

Nice one man, I'm getting a lot of Linkin Park vibes, but more uncluttered and better.

Great tunes.

Sambrowne · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2008, 11:10:10 PM »

Thanks mate, that's kind of what I'm going for - I think Linkin Park tend to keep it dumb to appeal to the lowest common denominator but the actual structures and chord progressions they use are strong. So "better Linkin Park" is definitely the direction!

I just bought a Diezel prototype head from 1992 (it's a heavily modded Marshall JCM800 which now has four channels and sounds just like a VH-4) and Mesa Cab, so eventually I'll repost these songs in full studio glory, using the same guitar through my new hell amp and accompanied by a fantastic band. I've had a ton of interest so the band is coming together very nicely already.

fps_dean · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2008, 04:31:46 AM »

Good songs, good tone, and a good pickup choice for your style as well!

Canadian Steve · « **Reply #12 on:** January 21, 2008, 08:00:42 PM »

Very nice clips! Rebel Yells are very versitile, as they have elements of both vintage and modern tones + the EQ is pretty even. You have a good taste in music as well!

ilÿti · « **Reply #13 on:** January 21, 2008, 08:55:27 PM »

Good tones, but I'm really not a fan of this style of music. Good vocals too, you do a good Maynard.

Sambrowne · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2008, 02:01:53 AM »

Quote from: ilyti

Good tones, but I'm really not a fan of this style of music. Good vocals too, you do a good Maynard.

Wow! Considering you don't even like the music, that is a huge compliment! Maynard. Thank you so much!

As a (big) tangent, today I got a call from a woman who said her 17 year old son would be interested in joining the band. I almost said "thanks for the interest but he's really too young" (I'm 26 and the bassist is 31!) until she mentioned that they had a video of him playing a drum solo at the Tauranga Jazz festival. After watching this video, I emailed her to say it would be an honour to play with him! Check this guy out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHDjGtj18X0

Cheers all, the positive comments are just fantastic. Until you put your own material out there, you don't know WHAT people are going to think of your stuff, so hearing that people are really digging what I do is an incredible buzz. I've almost got the full band together now so should have live tracks up in the not too distant future.