California punk rockers The Story So Far recently announced that they’ll be joining forces with New Jersey natives Man Overboard to make their hugely anticipated return to Australian shores this September for their Suppy Australia national tour.
Kicking off in Perth, the tour will see the two formidable and critically acclaimed punk rock outfits travel through venues in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne, and Adelaide, with ‘bummer punks’ Apart From This coming along for the ride.
Tone Deaf managed to steal some time from The Story So Far guitarist William Levy ahead of their Australian tour to talk about his relationship with his guitar gear – what he loves, what he hates, and what he knows.
Back To Basics
I’d bring one small travel guitar, Orange Tiny Terror, and a drum. I’d plug into the house PA and we’d sound terrible! It’d be great! Tiny Terror ’cause it’s awesome, travel guitar because of the size, and drums, well, because we need drums!
Evolution
My rig’s grown a bit. It started off with just what I could, now it’s almost my dream rig. I have a Marshall JCM800 2203, Orange 2×12 and 4×12, with a tube screamer and Chadderbox Effects Loud/Louder. I use a 1979 Gibson The Paul and a 2000 Gibson SG Standard.
Hitting The Studio
We get a lil’ spoiled in the studio and have options for what we want to try out – JMP’s, some custom heads from a local guy, Diezel head, Orange AD140, etc. So we get to try every amp possible before we pick one. The owner of the studio had effect pedals that we don’t have on tour so we also plug in every pedal before settling.
Back In The Day
My first guitar was a G&L Legacy that my dad owns, but he let me take lessons on it. The first piece I owned was a Soundgear bass that I bought in NYC when I was a kid. I had no clue about gear back then and it wasn’t until we started touring and recording that I became familiar with different gear.
Song vs Gear
I think the song is influenced by the gear partly, yes. But I think with our band that the riffs and songs are mostly complete when it’s time to track them, so we don’t do much sound exploring until it’s time to track.
I think exploring gear is all part of a developing style. Once you gain the knowledge and understanding of the gear, your ear wants to hear things a certain way and you know when it’s appropriate to use the effects.
Getting Weird
I’d have to say my weirdest piece of gear is my Roland Cube, a small practice amp that was given to me by my grandparents when I was 11. I still have it at home in my bedroom, thing rips.
I also have a Gibson RD that I hunted down a few years ago. I don’t use it too often, but it’s a very fun guitar. The oldest piece of gear in my rig is my amp head or my ‘79 Gibson The Paul.
Stomping Your Feet
My pedal board consists of a Boss Noise Suppressor, Ibanez TS9 Turbo Tube Screamer, and a Chadderbox Effects Loud/Louder to a Boss Tuner. Pretty simple, all going through the JCM800.
Solving Problems
I’d have to say my Chadderbox Loud/Louder is a perpetual problem solver. I have one of his earlier pedals and I took that thing all over the world and I have never had a problem with it and it’s made any amp I’ve used sound great.
I have a newer, more updated one that I plan to bring with me on our next trip and I expect the same reliance and great tone out of it.
The Story So Far are touring nationally with Man Overboard and Apart From This from 2nd September – 12th September. Tickets are on sale now from Destroy All Lines.
