My Gear: John Barrett [Bass Drum of Death]

Whether they’re a gear nerd or a gear noob, the type of gear an artist uses has a huge impact on their signature sound. In this regular series called My Gear, Noisegate picks the brains of exciting and diverse artists for a behind-the-scenes scoop on their musical setup.

The recorded releases and evident prowess of John Barrett, AKA Bass Drum of Death (BDOD) clearly demonstrates a creator with clear sonic vision and veracity.  BDOD’s latest offering Just Business released in 2018 conjures numerous gradients of fuzzed-up guitars, in your face drums and gritty vocal hooks. John gave us the run-through of gear required for live and some unique pieces that help sculpt that woolly, fuzzed-up BDOD goodness we’ve come to love.

Can you describe your current live set-up? Are there any favourite pieces of gear you use?

My guitar is a 1967 Greco 910, and I play through a Fender 4×10 Hot Rod Deville with extension cabinet. I also us an A/B switch to send my signal through an acoustic b300h bass amp into an Ampeg 6×10 cab. As far as pedals go, I use the Deville distortion via footswitch, an MXR Carbon Copy delay, and an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG. I have a few others on my board as a back-up or for certain songs, but I rarely use them.

Is there anything unique/special about it to you?

The Greco guitar I think is one of like 500 in the world, and I have 2 of them. It’s got such a great bass response, so that allows me to crank the lows and low mids on my bass amp and get a really full sound.

Does your live gear differ from you recorded music/being in the studio?

Yes, definitely. I’ll use any number of different things in the studio, as long as it sounds good. Live sound and recorded sound are so different, so might as well use everything at your disposal when recording.

Is your gear integral to your sound?

Absolutely. It took me a while to craft what I think of as the perfect tone for our band, and it would be really hard to do it without a few of those pieces of gear.

What do you have coming up and what have you done recently that has you excited?

Our newest LP “Just Business” came out last year, and we are touring Australia in October!

Follow Bass Drum of Death

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter