Clean© 2020 Axesrus Limited
Pedal Chain : None
Amp: Roland Jazz Chorus 120
Cab: Roland Jazz Chorus 2x12 (stereo)
Guitar: Ibanez RG2550E
Electronics: 500k CTS® Pots, 0.022 caps, Switchcraft® Mono and Alpha 2502N "Smart" switch
Stylistically I have stuck to the “ballad vibe” of slow 6/8 groove and a strong diatonic chord progression that can be decorated with extensions when necessary. This is the only track were we have decided to incorporate both rhythm and lead lines into the same part. This is mainly because it’s much harder to hear the detail of the lead melodies when it’s backed by a rhythm guitar that occupies pretty much the exact same portion of the frequency spectrum.
This is achieved more easily in harder rock and metal tracks by panning the rhythm guitars away from the central lead line, but this production method is stylistically inappropriate to use with clean guitars.
For an exclusively clean track we felt it was important to feature an arpeggiated chord section, a strummed chord section, and a lead melody section. That way are testing the clarity and detail of the pick attack on the arpeggios, an inevitably hotter signal (with possible clipping on higher output pickups) on the strummed parts, and the sustain and character of single notes on the lead line.