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Hi, first off all I just want to congratulate you with ‘Strings 24’ and thanks for sending me a copy :)
Tell us a little about how you guys met and how you came up with the STRINGS 24 project, please?
Hi, thanx for your interest!
Strings24 is a project based on the meeting of three old friends pushed by the idea of exploring new musical sounds, mixing our different styles. I lived the eighties with Sebo, we were school pals, and we shared music, passions…maybe women too… All the good stuff available in those years! After that our lives brought us on different ways, and we both built our music career.
After 20 years we met again thanx to MySpace (!) and we realized each of us made his own respectable stuff! I made Arachnes, Sebo made his own projects, plus he ever had an intense activity as a clinician for big MI brands, so while we were having a beer we said “why shouldn’t we do something together?”. We had tons of ideas, but we wanted to do something different…we were in contact with Gianluca Ferro since a long time, he plays with Time Machine and Doomsword, he’s a terrific shredder. So we said “what about a three player’s project?” We didn’t intend to duplicate the G3, so Sebo told me” Hey Frank you have an unusual harmony background (sacred music and similar stuff) so try to create something really distinctive for us!”…after a few days he showed up with three brand new 8 strings guitars supplied officially by Ibanez, who supported the project and gave a great contribution for a pretty original project!
After that we created our name, 3 guitars x 8 strings gives 24! We started an intense ideas sharing, everyone recorded ideas in his own studio, the others added their arrangements and new sections. The aim was to give value to three pretty different styles, not to let simply three guitarists play on the same song.
Who has produced and mixed ‘Strings 24’?
Who has produced and mixed ‘Strings 24’?
This album production is made by all the efforts from all the people who trusted this project. Sebo, Gianluca and me, we all used our own recording studios, the final mix has been made in my Phantom Studio. Lion Music gave the right motivation in the end phase of this work! Mogar Music and Ibanez gave us gear and tech support, plus they let us play clinics and seminars to promote the project and to develop our sound. Last but not least, Luca Pilla and all the Computer Music & Project Studio magazine staff made the mastering. In the end we realized to have worked with a big family who shared with us all the efforts and risks, simply pushed by music passion and experimenting excitement.
Tell us a little about the gear you use, please?
We all use different gear, and that’s important to create a distinctive sound for each of us. The only thing we have in common is the Ibanez RG 2228 8 strings guitar. We used many different guitars, chosen in order to add value to every player, finding the best instrument for each style. It’s very important to find every player distinctive tone, that sound must be recongnisable for the entire album, like a trademark, a kind of Wagner leit-motiv. Then we took care of the spatial part of the guitars sound, we placed Sebo’s guitars slightly on the Left channel, Frank is in the Centre and Gianluca slightly on the Right one; that’s the same as we perform physically on stage and it gives a wider overall guitar sound. That helps a lot to recognise everyone of us, plus lets the harmonized parts to sound more like and orchestra and not as a chord. We recorded guitars directly in the mix desk, but we also utilized reamping techniques.
Here is a detailed scheme of gear and recording modality of the whole album:
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Frank Caruso |
Sebo Xotta |
Gianluca Ferro |
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Mix |
Phantom Studio |
Phantom Studio |
Phantom Studio |
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Record session |
Phantom Studio |
Cow Studio |
Tonefactory studio |
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Software sequencing/recording |
· Cubase studio 4 |
· Cubase studio 4 |
· Cubase Sx 3 |
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Audio Device |
· Line6 UX8
· Line 6 Pod X3 |
· Line6 Tone Port GX
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· Line6 Pod X3
· Line6 Tone P portUX1 |
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Software and Plug in |
· Pod X3
· Gear Box |
· Gear Box
· TonePort Plug In Gold Bundle. |
· Pod X3
· Gear Box |
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Amp simulation |
· Modern High Gain
· Line 6 Agro |
· Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
· Modern High Gain
· Roland Jazz Chorus |
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Amps |
· Line6 Spider Valve,
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· Line6 Spider Valve,
· stack Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Stiletto Deuce e relative casse. |
· Peavey 5150
· Laney VH100R
· Fender Hotrod (combo)
· Reamp Box radial J48 |
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Ibanez Guitars |
· RG2550Z Prestige,
· S520 EX
· RG 7321 7 corde,
· RG2228 8 corde
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· SZ1220
· RG550XX DY
· RG Sebo Custom,
· S7420
· RG2228 8 corde |
· RG550 pickup Di marzio X2N
· RG 1527 (7 corde)
· RG 2228 (8 corde)
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How long do you need to practice to feel comfortable with your songs before you record them?
Good question! Do you believe me if I say we created some of the songs directly while we were recording them?
We usually rehears the various phrases and licks, when they’re fluid enough we start recording.
We record all the rhythm parts, then we duplicate the project files in order to let each of us to put our ideas, then we meet and we listen to all the stuff, so we put together the best solutions and we give a final shape to the song. Having some deadlines lets us to avoid time wasting, you know that day you must be finished with your parts, because you know the other two guys will be perfect!
How has your album been received by the media so far?
We had very positive feedbacks so far, but I think it’s too early to judge the real result.
Of course we don’t expect big numbers in terms of selling, if you wanna sell million copies you should do pop productions and you should be blond with big boobs ;-) What we’re looking for is a good promotion inside the international guitar scenario, trying to create our own space and image. We have an intense activity inside the soundtrack area, we work with some big TV networks in our country, we’d like to start signing some tunes as Strings24, not only as single artists.
Could we expect a follow-up in the near future?
For sure! It was an amazing experience, you can’t believe, but we really had to say stop! We were so into the composition mood, we were going on and on with new stuff, so I can assure you we have already a lot of material ready for future releases! We had enough songs to release a double CD!
What tasks presently lie ahead for you? Any tours to promote the album?
We’re now starting with clinics and master classes; it’s a perfect dimension for this kind of music, half way between a concert and a music lesson.
We’re always willing to play inside guitar festivals as we did last year opening for Andy Timmons and Paul Gilbert. We have to valuate carefully our live gigs in order to find the right events to let Strings24 to be appreciated properly.
I thank you very much for participating in this interview and sharing this information and your thoughts with us - these last lines are entirely for you. Any final words you would like to round off with - a tip, a recommendation or a thought for the future?
Thanx a lot to you! Our main tip is…never leave you passion! What your heart says is the right thing!
Of course it’s hard to practice, to spend time studying, but your passion will drive you in the right way, your sacrifice will be awarded, if you don’t succeed in it, that’s because you didn’t trust enough to it!
Don’t be scared from all those people saying business is what rules the world… just pump up you amp volume and listen to your heart!
Interviewed by Peter Laursen |
