This is the 19th installment in guest blogger Frank Klepacki’s series on music production. Today Frank writes about his move to a travel-friendly setup. If you missed Frank’s previous post, you can read it here. Frank_AT5040After years of honing my preferred guitar tones, I’ve had to adapt them to different settings, from full amps and mics in the recording studio, to plug-ins, to live performances with and without amps. Each of these settings offers a different curveball to overcome, and sometimes you need to adapt your sound accordingly. One thing that really created a need to have an ampless rig and be as portable as possible was doing fly-in tour dates and performing with symphonies. Stage volume is crucial to a symphony so it is preferred to not have a blaring guitar amp on stage. I’ve tried several different pedals with amp modeling, but nothing was getting the tone that I really wanted. They all fell short in some way. So I switched my focus to acquire a few pedals that are exceptional at what they do, rather than settle for a jack-of-all/master-of-none pedal. First, I needed to be wireless. But I needed to have a very small footprint I could travel with on a plane, while retaining great quality. I can’t be trying to pack a full-rack unit. I was introduced to the Audio-Technica System 10 Stompbox Wireless System. I loved the idea of having it be in the form of a pedal that would go right alongside my other ones. It was quick and easy to pair up and performed without a hitch. This device did not make one noise of static, no clicks, no pops, and I was moving around a lot and walking the distance of an about 100-foot wide stage (with the Stompbox placed right in the center). I love the use of the mute button, which was also seamless, and even with the guitar on prior to song start, adjusting volume pots and such, still no noise at all. The signal in no way was compromised – it was crystal clear the entire sound check and during live performance, and sounded no different to me than if I were wired. The only noise I ever heard was from my in-ears pack antennae getting adjusted. The ultimate test for this 2.4 GHz system was performing at Comic-Con. The stage was literally right behind the convention center. So you've got up to 70,000 people at the convention center all on their phones, nearby hotels, restaurants with their Wi-Fi signals; then there's the stage with the conductor, multiple performers with different wireless in-ears, wireless mics, other wireless instruments, video sync, etc., and now add the audience of another at least 1,000+ with their phones, iPads, and cameras. The System 10 Stompbox was rock solid. Now for the actual tone I’m getting. It is a challenge to use a rocking distortion sound amidst a symphony. You are battling for frequency in order to be heard without it sounding like mush. I traditionally haven’t cared much for distortion pedals as I’ve always preferred the tone of a boutique amp’s gain channel. I was pleasantly surprised to recently discover the Empress Heavy distortion pedal. This thing proved to be super flexible in tone, gain, and also has two channels to switch between and compare. It is the only distortion pedal I have heard to date that truly sounds every bit as good as a boutique amp. To go along with that, I employed the Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. pedal for the speaker simulation. This way I have full control of the distortion pedal as a preamp, and full control over the speaker sound it’s going through, as well as the type of mic tone I’m emulating. This has been working out amazingly.

audio-technica system 10 stompbox digital wireless system

So with three pedals, I can travel light, have amazing tone, go wireless, and be assured that the results are never lacking. Three pedals that individually excel at what they do and provide ultimate travel and setup flexibility. You can’t go wrong. -          Frank Klepacki Frank Klepacki is an award-winning composer for video games and television for such titles as Command & Conquer, Star Wars: Empire at War, and MMA sports programs such as Ultimate Fighting Championship and Inside MMA. He resides as audio director for Petroglyph, in addition to being a recording artist, touring performer, and producer. For more info, visit www.frankklepacki.com Follow Frank on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/frankklepacki Follow Frank on Twitter: http://twitter.com/frankklepacki