#dishan abrahams

[nofatclips]

Olympik by EOB, live in studio

[thekingofgear]

EOB Feb 2020 Tour Pedalboards

Ed at his pedalboard in Chicago on February 8, 2020. Photo by jules.is.tired.

Ed recently finished his album release tour across North America in support of Earth, with a live band consisted of guitarist Ross Chapman, bassist Dishan Abrahams, keyboardist Hinako Omori, and drummer Alvin Ford Jr. Ed picked these musicians to realize Earth in a live context (they didn’t play on the album itself), with a relatively stripped-down setup – at least compared to the expansive studio setup discussed in the last post. The amps are on the small side, and Ed’s using some Fender Acoustasonics, but there’s still a hefty quartet of pedalboards assembled by TheGigRig.com and even some MIDI syncronization. The tour brought Ed the size of venue that he’s rarely played since the 90s, with far more fan interaction than would be possible at a Radiohead show. One result is a wealth of photos that provide endless details of the band’s full setup, so for now we’ll just tackle the pedalboards.

Ed O’Brien’s Pedalboard

Ed’s pedalboard in Toronto on February 7, 2020. Photo by @andyschwartz.

A closeup of Ed’s pedalboard in Chicago on February 8, 2020. Photo by @andyschwartz.

Unused jacks on the back of Ed’s pedalboard in New York on February 10, 2020. Photo by Yasuko.

Ed’s signal chain:

TheGigRig.com Three:2:One

RJM Mastermind PBC/10 pedal switcher

BOSS EQ-200

Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Deluxe compressor

Hudson Electronics Sidecar overdrive

Kingsly Page overdrive

Digitech Whammy V pitch shifter

Meris Polymoon delay

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man 1100-TT delay

Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe delay

Strymon Timeline delay

Catalinbread Epoch Pre preamp

Pedaltrain Classic 2 pedalboard

The RJM Mastermind is a pedal switcher with 10 loops, and the pedals labeled 1 to 10 are connected to the RJM in that order. At the first show of the tour, the RJM had a “TheGigRig.com” sticker over the name, but this sticker was removed by the second show. This is the first time since 2013 that Ed’s pedalboard hasn’t included a TheGigRig.com G2 pedal switcher, which also has 10 effects loops. Even Ed’s pedalboards for the recording of Earth featured a G2. This makes it likely that the RJM has a benefit specific to live performance – perhaps extended MIDI capabilities.

The TheGigRig.com Three:2:One is most likely used to enable quick switching between guitars. Ed only has cables plugged into two of its three inputs, so the third position is most likely used as a mute switch.

These shows were also the first time Ed publicly used his BOSS EQ-200, Catalinbread Epoch Pre, Meris Polymoon, and Hudson Electronics Sidecar. But Ed previously mentioned the EQ-200 in an interview for the book Pedal Crush: “I’m excited about the new BOSS programmable EQ pedals. The EQing of sound in the studio is key. I love the idea of a pedal that can store EQ settings that you can change mid-song... or even mid-note! I like those places in between, and the movement between each setting.” In the same interview, Ed mentioned using his wah pedal to “sculpt the EQ,” so perhaps it’s unsurprising that this is Ed’s first live board to lack a wah pedal in fifteen years!

The Catalinbread Epoch Pre was also mentioned in Pedal Crush, alongside the Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe delay which Ed has used since 2017. “Catalinbread’s Belle Epoch Deluxe is my favorite-sounding delay pedal, but I’m not sure I can use it live, as I need a tap tempo. The Epoch preamp is fantastic too; it sits right at the end of my chain, before the amp, and makes it all sound proper!” It looks like Ed was able to make the Belle Epoch delay work in a live context, even if it is next to three delays with tap tempo.

In Pedal Crush, Ed also outed himself as a fan of Tubescreamer-based pedals. “I’m pretty late to Tubescreamers, but I love them now.” That said, Ed has used quite a few Tubescreamer variants since the early-2000s, and the Hudson Electronics Sidecar is another addition to that list. The Sidecar is essentially a Tubescreamer with a 2-band EQ, which is more versatile than the single tone knob more offten found on Tubescreamers. Ed hasn’t discussed the Meris Polymoon previously, but it’s hardly a surprise to see him using one given the affection he’s had towards cascading delays since the mid-90s.

Ross Chapman’s Pedalboard

Ross’s pedalboard in New York on February 10, 2020. Photo by @jnl.000.

The ins and outs of Ross’s pedalboard in New York on February 10, 2020. Photo by Yasuko.

Ross’s signal chain:

RJM Mastermind PBC/10 pedal switcher

Digitech Whammy V pitchshifter*

MWFX Judder**

Diamond Comp Jr

Barber Gain Changer SR

Strymon Sunset overdrive (labeled “6”)

Free The Tone PA-10F programmable 10-band EQ (labeled “5”)

Meris Hedra

Strymon Mobius modulator (labeled “3”)

Strymon Timeline delay (labeled “2”)

Source Audio Ventris reverb (labeled “1”)

Moog EP3 expression pedal

Temple Audio pedalboard

Palmer DMS (Dynamic Mic Switcher)

As with Ed’s pedalboard, the RJM Mastermind is a pedal switcher with 10 loops, and the pedals labeled 1 to 10 are connected to the RJM in that order (even though the labels on the pedals themselves are in reverse order).

*Ross uses some interesting techniques with the Whammy. One is keeping his foot on the Whammy treadle and wiggling it lightly for some subtle pitch variation. Another is turning the pedal’s knob with his foot to glitchily jump between multiple pitches.

**To create dynamic jutters, Ross adjusts the “BPM” knob of this pedal with his foot while holding down the “tap” foot switch.

Dishan Abrahams’s Pedalboard

Dishan Abrahams’s pedalboard from tour rehearsals in Wales in January, 2020. Photo by Dishan Abrahams.

Dishan’s signal chain:

TheGigRig.com Three:2:One

TheGigRig.com G2

TC Electronic Polytune 3

Ernie Ball VP 40th Anniversary Edition volume pedal

Mission Engineering expression pedal

Origin Effects Cali76 compressor

Malekko Diabolik fuzz

Source Audio C4 Synth

Empress ZOIA

Future Impact

BOSS OC3 Octave

Hamstead Subspace overdrive

Tech 21 SansAmp Programmable Bass Driver DI

The G2 is a pedal switcher with 10 loops, but the order of the effects in unknown. However, the Polytune is definitely connected to the G2′s Tuner/Aux Out, given that nothing is connected to its output jack. Dishan posted the pedalboard on Instagram on February 3, thanking Dan, Jake, and Joe from TheGigRig.com for their help assembling the board. It looks like the SansAmp might be used primarily for preset tone/EQ options, since nothing is connected to the DI output, but that may just be because this photo is from rehearsals.

Hinako Omori’s Pedalboard

Hinako’s setup from tour rehearsals in Wales in January 2020. Photo by Ross Chapman.

Hinako’s signal chain:

Board 1:

RJM Mastermind LT MIDI controller

Sustain pedal (Sequential OB6)

Sustain pedal (Clavia Nord Stage2)

Palmer DMS (Dynamic Mic Switcher)

Board 2:

Kenton THRU-12 MIDI Thru distributor

Empress Ecosystem delay

Chase Bliss Thermae delay

Pigtronix Infinity looper

Strymon Timeline delay

Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run delay/reverb

Earthquaker Devices Space Spiral delay

Digitech Whammy V pitchshifter

RJM Effect Gizmo #1

RJM Effect Gizmo #2

RJM Effect Gizmo #3

The three RJM Effect Gizmos are under the pedalboard, but visible from the three sets of audio jacks sticking out from the back of the board.

It’s worth noting that while Ed, Ross, and Dishan are all using pedal switchers, Hinako is using an RJM MIDI controller. Since the MIDI controller can only send MIDI messages, it does not connect directly to pedals and cannot switch them directly. However, the MIDI controller can switch pedals when connected to a RJM Effect Gizmo (a compact switcher box). In fact, since 2017 Thom Yorke has used a similar setup with an RJM Mastermind GT/10 for his solo tour pedalboard. So what is the benefit of using an RJM MIDI controller instead of the RJM pedal switcher? It allows the user to more easily control a variety of destinations with a single button press. Most likely, Hinako uses the MIDI controller to switch synth presets and other settings in addition to switching pedals, making it much faster to change sounds between or during songs. This is likely the case, since Hinako is using a Kenton THRU-12 MIDI Thru distributor with nine of its twelve MIDI outputs in use, meaning that the RJM is controlling at least nine different destinations.

And although drummer Alvin Ford Jr doesn’t use a pedalboard, he does use a Tama Iron Cobra kick pedal.

[earpeeler]

Scott’s Bass Lessons – Dishan Abrahams – Doing What’s Right for the Gig /// Scott’s Bass Lessons In today’s podcast we meet the bass player for pop sensation Kylie Minogue. Dishan Abrahams is the sort of bassist who's playing can often go unnoticed, blending in smoothly while providing a solid musical link between the vocals and the rest of the band.