My Gear: Luke Graham

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…

Luke Graham hails from Melbourne and is one of the driving force of twin guitarists behind brutal Death Metal Band Whoretopsy. He fuses crunchy chugs mixed with speedy tech fills and is highly regarded as one of the best exponents in this genre. He is also a producer and has a studio set-up ready to go when inspiration fires. We chat to Luke to find out about his go to gear set up and more…

What is your current live rig? Does it differ from your studio setup?

In the studio and some shows I use my Axe FX 2 that’s loaded into an SKB 6RU flight case, running through a Matrix GT1000fx. That also houses my Line 6 G90 Wireless, Korg DTR2000 Tuner and a Furman Power Conditioner.

Live shows I sometimes pull out my Peavey 6505 head that I’ve had since 2005, or my small, light and travel friendly Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister 18 with a mini pedalboard setup. The board consists of a rechargeable power supply, Mooer noise gate and tuner, Horizon Devices Precision Drive and a small Line 6 G30 Relay that I use the G90 transmitter with. As for cabs I have gone back to using my trusty Mesa Oversized 4×12 (purchased that in 05 along with the 6505). I was using a custom made 2×12 Zilla Cab for a while that I still use at band practice from time to time but the Mesa has wheels and is actually easier to cart around.

As for guitars been using my Kiesel Am7 Arctic Finish and Ibanez Iron Label 7 for backup.

What piece of gear is absolutely integral to your sound and you can’t live without?

My right hand. Haha. I don’t think any piece of gear I have is integral to my sound as it gets changed it up often, but I do find the picking hand plays a massive part in a guitarists sound

Skervesen & Kiesel

Does gear influence or inspire your songwriting & playing?

Indeed it does, if my amp tones on point and my guitar that I’m playing feels like butter then the riffs just flow. Know wada mean?

Is there a piece of gear that you’d never part ways with?

Yep! My Skervesen.

Is there a piece of gear that you’ve regretted selling?

No not really, although I did sell a Radial Di box a few years ago and had to buy another one for the upcoming Whoretopsy album I just produced, to split the signal before the AxeFx.

What’s next on the list?

Finish building my custom 7 string that’s been on hold since recording, I would also like another Skervesen or even a Mayones guitar. And I may look into making my live rig even smaller.

Follow Luke Graham & WHORETOPSY

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