What's up with King's X?

[old_skul]

Okay, we've seen the drums, seen the mics, seen the pres and the rack gear - how about some pics of those 7-year-old strings on that Elite, and dUg's basses? And maybe some of you and the band? You guys are a lot more important than the gear (I know, blasphemy...)

[davew]

here's a few pix of King's X At Wireworld Studios, Nashville - 2007.

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...der_id=1840643

[Blast9]

Dave --- Is your real name Vinnie Paul?

[voodooamps]

We also used a kick ass VooDoo Labs 100W Plexi model with NO mastervolume on a few tracks, through the ENGL 4x12 with Vintage 30s. That thing is crystal clear, very powerful and very loud, amazing amp. I used different mics on that one depending on what we were going for.

Hey Michael, glad to hear the amp is working out for you! :)

Just to add a quick correction -- it's Voodoo Amps, not Voodoo Labs (not affiliated with one another). We also offer the amp with a specific post phase inverter master volume so that you can get the same break up but at any volume (Voodoo Amps - V-Plex Series). If it's of interest the new March 07 issue of Guitar Player has a great review on the V-Plex half stack.

Hope it helps and many thanks for the mention Michael. As I also spent a great deal of time in the recording world (as an engineer as well as a session player) and I'm been a fan of your work for a very long time.


Have a great Tuesday! :)
Trace

[voodooamps]

Michael, didn't Ty do anything to his Elites to help with the noise problem? I'm running into the same issue with mine, but I've resorted to the stand-exactly-right-there-and-point-the-headstock-right-here method to control the RF interference and self-noise. I'm considering the copper foil treatment, but that didn't do much for one of my other Strats, and this guitar is too pristine to mess with.

I'm certainly not Michael (ha, ha) but I'll take a stab at trying to help you out. What we've done for many clients that demand low noise from a single coil equipped guitar(s) is to redo the wiring itself. This includes such tricks as;
A.) Remove all grounds from the guitar then take a single piece of good quality solid core wire and solder it across the back of all the control pots. Reconnect the wire going to the trem to the back of the volume pot
B.) Remove all single conductor wire and replace with top of the line Mogami shielded wire and make sure to ground the shields to the back of the pots. This generally helps to lower the noise and the high end Mogami usually sounds better than the stock wire but of course it's all personal preference.

Hope it makes sense, if not please feel free to let me know and I'll try to explain better (getting over a nasty flu virus).


Hope it helps
Trace

[voodooamps]

You could also add a resistor (.010 I think???) across the legs of the volume pot to retain top end & keep the tone from going to mud as it's rolled back...

A resistor across the "in" lug and the wiper will effect the taper of the pot although sometimes this is preferred, especially if you use the guitar's volume pot a lot (IE: rolling it down to clean up the tone or just for a change in tone, etc).

If you are looking to retain the highs a ceramic disc cap would work well and would not alter the taper of the volume pot in the way that a resistor will. More than anything the value of the cap will depend on the sound/tone of the guitar and pickups so experimenting with values is usually the best approach. Most seem to prefer values between 500pF to .001uF but again getting the right value is best done by ear.

sounds like the Redeemer is doing MUCH more then that though, I might just have to check one out!

I actually had the opportunity to try this at Winter NAMM (Michael turned me onto this) and it's a lot different using a cap but not in a negative way. It's a very cool product and would be very useful for live players as well as for sessions. You can also wire it to a switch so you can bypass it (for those who would prefer this option). It's a great product and well worth checking out :)


Hope it helps
Trace

[taturana]

yep... i love those elites... i always thought the noise was fine.. especially if the tbx presence button (the last one) is below the 8 setting... on 10 it hums like crazy...

but the noise isn't really a problem...

[beechstudio]

Awesome thread! Thanks Michael!

[dtucker]

Originally Posted by davew

here's a few pix of King's X At Wireworld Studios, Nashville - 2007.

Wireworld Studios Pix

BTW...this link doesn't work. Browser gets a 404.

[davew]

Originally Posted by dtucker

BTW...this link doesn't work. Browser gets a 404.

sorry, had to move...new link:

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...der_id=1840643

[bruce egnater]

Hey Michael,
We need to get some Egnater gear there for you to check out. Email me at begnater@aol.com

Thanks

Bruce

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by bruce egnater

Hey Michael,
We need to get some Egnater gear there for you to check out. Email me at begnater@aol.com

Thanks

Bruce

[oldsetbro]

Wow MW - what an amazing thread.

Putting gear aside for a moment, I was wondering (hoping?) that all the guys are singing some lead on the album, could you give us a ratio of how much each guy sings lead. I won't complain if it is 100% Dug, but I love the albums where we hear each guy on lead.

Back to gear, I have an old Rickenbacher 4001 bass which I absolutely love but I have the damndest time getting decent direct recording tones out of it (no amp at the moment) - any ideas?

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by oldsetbro

Wow MW - what an amazing thread.

Putting gear aside for a moment, I was wondering (hoping?) that all the guys are singing some lead on the album, could you give us a ratio of how much each guy sings lead. I won't complain if it is 100% Dug, but I love the albums where we hear each guy on lead.

Back to gear, I have an old Rickenbacher 4001 bass which I absolutely love but I have the damndest time getting decent direct recording tones out of it (no amp at the moment) - any ideas?

King's X lead vocals:
dUg 10 songs
Ty 3 songs
Jerry 1 song

Everybody (and some guests) sing background on most of the songs, plenty of amazing vocals on this album.

Can't help you with the Rick without hearing it (except for to sell it to me ) but maybe try a sansamp on the DI pass.

[tubeydude]

Yes, great thread. I have been following it with great interest (also followed last year's one). It really is great to get a peek into such an endeavor. Many thanks for your willingness to do this.

So...any updates?

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by tubeydude

Yes, great thread. I have been following it with great interest (also followed last year's one). It really is great to get a peek into such an endeavor. Many thanks for your willingness to do this.

So...any updates?

Thanx. We're still mixing, should be done by next week.

[tubeydude]

So how many tracks does it take to get to the center of a King's X song?
Are they all around the same?

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by tubeydude

So how many tracks does it take to get to the center of a King's X song?
Are they all around the same?

Not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about the track count per song? We have 32 on the simpler songs to over 90 on songs with tons of backing vocals. Nuendo makes working with a lot of tracks very easy

Standard track list:
1 kick inside
2 kick outside
3 snare top 1
4 snare top 2 (distorted)
5 snare bot
6 snare SPL
7 ride
8 hat
9 OH L
10 OH R
11 floor 2
12 floor 1
13 rack tom
14 compressed room mono
15 Fritz L
16 Fritz R
17 Top Of Kit mic
18 Bass DI
19 Bass high
20 Bass lo
21 Percussion 1
22 Percussion 2
23 Lead vocal
24 Lead vocal dbl (if any)
25 through 36 Harmonies/Backings (there could be more if we did crow vocals etc.
37 Rgtr 1
38 Rgtr 2
39 Rgtr 3 (mostly in choruses only)
40 acoustic/clean 1
41 acoustic clean 2
42 solo
43 solo harmonies (if any)
44 and up misc guitars/sitar etc. depending on song

[tubeydude]

Michael,

Yes that was what I was asking. I was trying (not too successfully) to make a silly reference to the old "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop" commercial.

And wow...your answer is way above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you so much. Very interesting. I cannot wait to hear the album. Any sound/video teaser clips like last session? (Although I feel guilty even asking given how generous you've already been!)

Thanks again,

Erik

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by tubeydude

Michael,

Yes that was what I was asking. I was trying (not too successfully) to make a silly reference to the old "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop" commercial.

And wow...your answer is way above and beyond the call of duty. Thank you so much. Very interesting. I cannot wait to hear the album. Any sound/video teaser clips like last session? (Although I feel guilty even asking given how generous you've already been!)

Thanks again,

Erik

Sorry, I was probably still living in Germany when that commercial was running

No soundclips - as per label and management, they don't want anything out before the record is released.

[mpost43062]

Originally Posted by mwagener

We are in heavy overdub/vocal mode right now. With 15 songs to finish we are a bit under schedule stress.

Originally Posted by mwagener

King's X lead vocals:
dUg 10 songs
Ty 3 songs
Jerry 1 song

15 songs...lead vocals on 14...are we getting an instrumental?

[davew]

i remember meeting fritz-L, didn't have the pleasure of metting fritz-R, however! twins?

[mwagener]

Originally Posted by mpost43062

15 songs...lead vocals on 14...are we getting an instrumental?

Nope, one song got kicked out, it just didn't feel right, will be re-recorded for the next album.

[ToeJamFootball]

Is there any idea of a release date?

EDIT: that said, i will now go and check the KX sites

[davew]

updates?....updates?...michael? promo, promo.
kumusta ka?

[tubeydude]

yes please...I'm dying to hear how it all went....

Erik

[AMIEL]

Originally Posted by allencollins

bottom line is is kings X is the best fuc*ing band ever

well! I pretty much agree and respect that!!! and i never saw them live!! I heard they are fu***ing awesome.
I think Kings X always was playing the music of the future!

[davew]

please go see them as soon as you can..they are even better live!

[ToeJamFootball]

Originally Posted by davew

please go see them as soon as you can..they are even better live!

I am planning a trip to the USA just to see them play.

[bowlingballhead]

Originally Posted by ToeJamFootball

I am planning a trip to the USA just to see them play.

Good for you man! I can honestly guarantee you that your 10, or 12 hour flight and money spent will be well worth it! If you already dig their material, you really need to see this shit in person at least once in your life before you leave the earth. It will most likely change your life and you will probably never look at other bands the same again. Love the mohawk and the Mega shirt. I ****in' love Mega, especially Rust in Peace. Cheers my brother from down under!