John Hendow

On Saturday 5/24, BowieVision performed at the Triple Door in Seattle. This was our first run of new shows at this venue, and it was a great opportunity to show off our full production.

This was also my first big stage performance with my Fractal Audio AxeFX II XL system. About a month before this show I purchased the AxeFX unit along with its dedicated MFC-101 Mk III controller. It took me about a week to program my tones for the BowieVision show, and I was glad to have a few opportunities to make tweaks at rehearsals before we embarked on this performance. The AxeFX does a beautiful job of delivering the tones from a myriad of amps / cabinets, plus has very deep effect chain management. I was able to dial in very accurate recreations of the classic guitar sounds in Bowie’s catalog, which left me with the equally daunting task of playing those great parts accurately!

Managing my guitar rig during this performance was amazingly simple, which is a big change from the complexity of my previous system. I was able to move easily between the sections of the songs, recalling appropriate tones for each part. It was also much simpler switching presets than ever before. I’m very pleased with the Fractal Audio system and already looking ahead at programming bigger / deeper patches.

The show was very satisfying on many levels. It was a sold-out house, with some familiar faces present. The Triple Door has perhaps the best light and sound system in the state, which let us show off both the sonic and visual quality of the band. Overall,I thought it was one of our best performances to date. The band was very prepared and delivered a polished show.

Here is the set list that we performed for the Triple Door show:

• Changes
• China Girl
• Suffragette City
• Starman
• The Man Who Sold The World
• Life On Mars?
• Jean Genie
• Ashes To Ashes
• Space Oddity
• Absolute Beginners
• Blue Jean
• Rebel Rebel
• Fashion
• Golden Years
• Ziggy Stardust
• Fame
• Young Americans
• Let’s Dance
• Under Pressure
• Heroes

Over the past few weeks I’ve radically changed my guitar rig, replacing my pedals / pedalboard and amplifier with a Fractal Audio AxeFX system. The preamp / processor is the new AxeFX II XL, which handles all of the amp and cabinet modeling, along with signal routing and effects. I’m using the dedicated Fractal Audio MFC-101 Mk III control pedal, which connects to the AxeFX using a standard XLR cable. The AxeFX also has an editing software system called Axe-Edit, which makes the creation and management of patches quite easy. The system is powerful enough to recreate a myriad of amp and effect models, and in the process of creating my patches for BowieVision and the Dudley Manlove Quartet, I am already sold on how powerful it is.
For the power amp section I am using a Carvin DCM2000LX. This is a Class D amp, weighing 10 pounds, and provides 350 watts into 8 ohms. That’s plenty of oomph for my multi-instrument rig. It also has its own software-based management tool called X-Drive, allowing management of EQ response curves, crossover points, and delay tuning.

For speakers I am using a pair of Euphonic VL110 full-range cabinets. This allows me to run my rig in stereo onstage, and send my signal to front of house via the connections on the back of the AxeFX. This means there are no microphones involved in my rig anymore; in fact, the AxeFX models the mic and its placement as part of the overall patch, so that variable is removed from the stage. It’s also interesting to be using a FRFR (Full Range Flat Response) speaker system; essentially this is my on-stage guitar monitor, and it differs substantially from conventional guitar amps, which have a limited frequency response plus a “personality” in terms of tonal signature. The Euphonic cabs are designed to be high-fidelity neutral monitors.

My new setup is amazing. The clarity and transparency is akin to a studio recording experience. I’m really looking forward to our first shows with this system, especially the upcoming BowieVision performance at the Triple Door. That will be a great opportunity to fully exercise the capabilities of the full rig.

In upcoming posts I’ll show the full physical setup of the system, along with the rack and flight cases. It’s compact and very powerful.

Over the past few months I’ve been exploring the possibility of moving from my traditional effects / tub amp setup to a more flexible system based around the Fractal Audio AxeFX. I made the decision to proceed with ordering the system.

I’ve received all of the elements of my new guitar rig, and have already assembled it for a test run in the music room. It’s going to be an amazing journey. I’ll be posting a complete rig rundown with pictures in the next few days.

Well, it’s that time of the year… I’m taking a long look at my music rig(s) and pondering some significant changes. In the context of my bands I have the need for two basic configurations.

THE BIG RIG

This is the setup for multi-instruments (guitar, bass, Warr guitar) and for use on larger stages (Triple Door, Crocodile, Neumos, Showbox).

Requirements 

• All components must fit on my cart for a single load into the club. Everything needs to be be small enough to fit inside my vehicle.
• Very reliable operation. All connections rated for repeated connect / disconnect cycles. All components road-rated.
• Full range, stereo sound on stage driven by solid-state amplification (preferably Class D).
• Easy and quick to set up. Components need to all fit is a compact rack. All interconnect cables need to be locking (Speakon, PowerCON, XLR for control cables).
• Very flexible signal routing and processing. I need to have separate banks of presets for The Dudley Manlove Quartet, BowieVision and other projects. I need to be able to stack multiple amp models with parallel routing.
• Plenty of control onstage. I need a well-organized foot pedal with expression controllers and programmability.

What I have in mind is a rig based around the Fractal Audio Axe FX, with the dedicated Fractal Audio foot controller. This will feed into a solid state power amp, into a pair of compact full-range speaker cabinets.

THE SMALL RIG

This will be the setup for guitar and baritone guitar, for performances where portability and size are considerations.

Requirements 

• The effect pedalboard must be small enough to be carried onto a plane. Ideally it should fit into an Anvil briefcase.
• The amp must be at least 60 watts, capable of producing a loud clean tone, and should be solid state. The power amp section might be Class D for light weight. I don’t want to be dependent on the guitar amp for tone shaping, so I can use commonly backline / rented equipment on tour or at festivals. This would allow me to take only my small pedalboard and instrument for fly dates.
• The entire rig needs to be carryable for short distances in a single load without the use of a hand truck.

I’m thinking of using a Quilter Aviator amp, likely the 2×10 speaker configuration.

What this means is that I would likely overhaul my entire setup, and therefore sell pretty much everything I’m currently using. If this occurs I’ll be posting a long list of pedals, amps, instruments, cases, rack equipment, and so on. Stand by…

Over the past few weeks the members of BowieVision have been working hard to polish our arrangements for the upcoming shows. We have a number of new songs being added for these performances and I’ve continued to refine my tones as I pay tribute to Bowie’s very talented guitarists.

For most of the songs I’m still using the black stratocaster, but the Les Paul goldtop is also being called into action. The combination of the P90 pickups and chambered body gives me a nicely balanced tone for Mick Ronson’s guitar parts. The strat provides a tighter sound that helps situate it in the more dense mixes for songs like “Fame”. Overall, my signal path is pretty simple: Pork Loin + 168 ms delay + reverb. The most complex signal chain for any song in our current set list is “Fashion”, where I am recreating Robert Fripp’s huge guitar sound with the Wampler Sovereign + pitch change (for solos) + delay + Strymon Lex + reverb. Mr. Fripp produces a frantic, angular sound and it’s challenging for me to fill those big shoes!

I’m looking forward to the show on Friday 1/24 in Tacoma, at the Swiss Tavern. In my years with Jumbalassy we performed there regularly and it always was a great venue for us. We’ll also be performing on Friday 2/14 in Seattle at the Crocodile. Come on out to one of these shows and join us!

This year for the New Year’s Eve we were hired to perform at a wedding reception. It’s unusual for us to take a private booking for this night as it’s usually the biggest public event of our year. The client for this event was a friend of the band’s and she wanted to throw a fantastic, memorable party to follow her wedding. The event was very enjoyable and we performed a large set list comprising many of our favorite songs, along with a number of requests from the wedding party. Fortunately, the bride’s family is friends with my wife as well, so she was able to attend the event and we spent our New Year’s Eve together.

As part of the wedding ceremony itself I played classical guitar while guests were being seated. For the family’s processional Chris Joss (DMQ keyboardist) and I performed “Unchained Melody” as a duet for jazz guitar and accordion. And for the bride’s entrance, her brother and I performed a guitar duet of “Seabreeze” by Tyrone Wells. After the wedding was over I had the opportunity to join my wife for dinner.

The reception party was in full swing from the first song, with the dance floor full and plenty of great energy all around. At the stroke of midnight, the balloons dropped from the ceiling and champagne flowed. It was a fantastic event, and one that we were honored to be a part of. We’ll look forward to seeing our fans at the next public show. Many thanks to the bride and groom for throwing a great party and for inviting us to be a part of the fun.