Roman Holiday Gear Review
What are your main guitars?
Shane Lance (vocals, guitar) : My main guitar is a Gretsch Country Gentlemen. It's got a very fat, full tone. I borrowed one a couple years ago to record a few songs for one of our first albums and I loved the tone so much, I couldn't go back. Had to buy one for myself. Also, every once in awhile for acoustic songs I'll play a 70's Gibson Hummingbird. I picked it up at a local vintage guitar shop. Beautiful sound.What amp/cab are you playing through currently? Any custom mods done to it?
Shane : I play through two amps usually: a 60's Fender Deluxe Reverb and a new Fender Deluxe Reverb (reissue). Both sound great, they just have slightly different tones, so I often switch back and forth depending on the song. The 60's Deluxe gives me a cleaner, tube-y sound - great for clean, detailed guitar parts. The reissue breaks up pretty quickly, so I use it for it's natural overdrive - when I want a more dirty rock-n-roll sound.What are your amp settings to get such a killer tone? Any differences with your live settings and studio settings?
Shane : My live amp settings are pretty standard. With the combo of a Country Gentlemen through a Deluxe it's hard to go wrong. I usually set 'bass' at 6, 'treble' at 7 or 8, and verb at 3 or 4. The real trick is to know when your amp volume breaks up. Both of mine start to break up around 3 or 4, so I usually ride it right in there somewhere. I like my tone to almost always be right on the verge of over driving.What pedals are you currently using? Any uncommon tricks you use with your pedals for unique tones or effects?
Shane : I use a Boss overdrive pedal and a Korg tuner - and I use the tuner most often haha. I prefer the way my guitar sounds raw, straight into the Deluxe. I just use the overdrive pedal every once in awhile when I want a little extra drive, but not too often.What one pedal would you say is most vital to achieving your live tone?
Shane : My tuner. Being out of tune is not an option for me.Who is a guitarist you particularly strive to emulate with your guitar tone?
Shane : No one in particular. I try to emulate the tones of all the greats as often as I see fit in a song. Other than that, it's just me out there.What are your main guitars?
Daniel Collins (Lead Guitar) : As of right now my main guitar is a 2009 Epiphone Sheraton with some minor upgrades including a Seymour Duncan 59 pickup in the bridge and a bone nut. I really love the sound of this guitar…its super dark and warm. I plan on hanging onto this one for a while.What amp/cab are you playing through currently? Any custom mods done to it?
Daniel : I play through a Vox AC-30cc series. A lot of people talk down about Vox’s CC line but I have really enjoyed mine. I haven’t done any mods yet…but plan to. Mainly wanna try some different tubes and speakers. Maybe a transformer swap. There is soo much you can do to these amps…I plan to slowly dig into mods this coming year.What are your amp settings to get such a killer tone? Any differences with your live settings and studio settings?
Daniel : I use the Top Boost channel on my Vox. I run the channels volume at about 50% and the master volume near the same. Treble and bass are both turned up a bit and reverbs cranked. When it comes to my amp I really just go for a killer clean tone and then run pedals in front to “shape” my tone. I’ve used a few different amps in the studio (Matchless, Fender) but most of my guitars on our records are recorded on the AC-30. When playing live I want my tones to sound as close to our records as possible. I love it when I see a band live and I recognize all the guitar players’ tones. That’s what I strive for so live and in the studio you will mainly see me rocking the AC-30.What pedals are you currently using? Any uncommon tricks you use with your pedals for unique tones or effects?
Daniel : Haha, Ill try and keep this answer simple. Pedals are my new obsession in life so I could go on for a while. Ill start by saying my pedal board is ever evolving so by the time this interview is posted I have probably added a new pedal and gotten rid of 3. My chain (today) goes like this – JHS little black buffer-Korg tuner- Boss CS-3 Compressor- Boss SD-1- Ibanez Tube Screamer- EH boost-Ernie Ball Volume- EH Deluxe Memory Boy- Boss DD-7- Line 6 Verbzilla. I have my board wired with Mogami patch cables but soon will rewire everything with Lava Cables. If I could find some time Id like to send my board down to Travis with Motley Customs. This guy does a killer job wiring and setting up boards. If you get a chance check out his work. A few pedals I see on the horizon are a JHS Morning Glory and a Timmy OD. I don’t do any unique tricks with my pedals but maybe something that “umcommon” is I leave my compressor on all the time. It is never turned off. Maybe im outta the loop but I don’t think a ton of guys run their compressors like that.What one pedal would you say is most vital to achieving your live tone?
Daniel : Hard question. I am going to say my Line 6 Verbzilla. I use this thing for mainly 1 feature…its Octo Setting. If you listen to us live or on record you will hear an octave shrill all over. It’s the sound that I get asked about most so I think people would notice if I took that pedal outta the chain.Who is a guitarist you particularly strive to emulate with your guitar tone?
Daniel : Again, a very hard question. It be easy to say (with the style of music I play) the Edge, but I feel like that is almost a copout, who doesn’t try to emulate the Edge? Haha, Someone who I really respect as a guitarist is a guy by the name of James Duke. You may have never heard of him but he is absolutely fantastic. He is the guitarist for a favorite artist of mine John Mark McMillan and also the guitarist in a band All the Bright Lights. The Dukes tone is something special. Please go check out his stuff, you may just find your new favorite guitarist.What bass do you play on. Any customizations? What are the pros and cons of your bass guitar?
Nick : I play a Fender 'Geddy Lee' Jazz Bass. I love it. It's got a classic tone, and I can ride it as hard as I want.What bass amp are you jamming through? Any mods done to your setup?
Nick : Right now I'm playing through an Acoustic B600H amp head, and a Ampeg SVT cab. It's a great, classic rock-n-roll sounding combo.Do you use any pedals?
Nick : The only pedal I use consistently is a Boss Bass Overdrive pedal. It gives me an extra edge during some of our dirtier rockin songs.What bassist(s) do you particularly note for having great tone who have inspired you to get your setup sounding as great as it does?
Nick : John Paul Jones. McCartney. Tim Commerford. Mark Stoermer. Geddy Lee. Colin Greenwood. To list just a few,What brands do you go with for your main kit and what heads do you use? What size toms, snare, and kick?
Emerson Shotwell (drums) : I play an all-maple DW Collector's series drum kit with Remo Vintage Emperor coated heads. I alternate between two snare drums: a Brady Jarrah block and a Ludwig Black Beauty. Both my snare drums are 6.5" x 14". The size of my DW's are 12" (rack tom), 16" (floor tom) and an 18" x 22" kick drum.What is your drum setup? (how many toms, cymbals, and the such)
Emerson : I use a standard 4 piece drum kit with a hi-hat, a crash and two ride cymbals. I also use a drum set tambourine.What cymbals/stands do you use?
Emerson : Cymbals are what make or break the sound of the whole drum kit. I play all K Zildjian cymbals with all DW hardware. I play 14" K Custom Dark Hats, an 18" K Custom Fast Crash, a 21" K Custom Crash Ride and a 22" K Light Ride. Both of my ride cymbals sound great both as a ride and as a crash.Any other gear I may have overlooked? If so, please explain.
Emerson : Yes! I play a DW 9000 single bass pedal. Smoothest on the market.What drummers do you particularly note for having great tone who have inspired you to get your setup sounding as great as it does?
Emerson : I'm a big fan of Ronnie Vannucci from The Killers. From the sound of his drum kit to his overall style. I guess I get a lot of my taste for big cymbals listening to him play (although I'm far from using 18" hats like him). I love dark, washy, big cymbals. I also hope to own a Craviotto drum kit someday!by Joseph 2012-02-19
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