John Harrison of North Elementary

Sonic equestrian, or perhaps an astronaut of the mindscape, John Harrison’s indie-pop songs are like none other. Did I say I was a huge fan?

John’s band North Elementary has a few dates promoting their new 7″ in April 2011:

• April 18 – Cats Cradle – Carrboro NC – opening for British Sea Power – NorthE play at 830p - FB Event
• April 15 - Harris Field NCSU – Raleigh NC – NCSU Earth Day Concert
• April 9 - The Cavern – Chapel Hill NC – Split 7″ Release Show w/ Organos and Johns Birthday! - FB Event
• April 8 – Snug Harbor – Charlotte NC – w/ Organos, Elonzo and Anna Bullard - FB Event
• April 7 - Tir Na Nog – Raleigh NC – WKNC Band Night w/ Organos - FB Event

So I’m happy to geek-out with him over gear – let’s see what he has to say!

Name:

John Harrison

Band(s):

North Elementary,  jphono1 and Organos

Website:

http://www.northelementary.com

Live Pedal chain, from instrument to amp:

Pedal board is the same for the Electrics, Acoustic, Banjo and Pianet (the keyboard)

1. Tuner – Boss TU2
2. Overdive - Tube Screamer (TS9DX)
3. Phaser – MXR Script Phase 90
4. Delay – Electro Harmonix Memory Boy
5. Fuzz – Tone Factor Overlord
6. Boost/Overdrive – Fulltone Fat Boost
7. Looper/Sampler – DigiTech Jam Man

Change out a few of these for these as I get bored or want different things to happen  (which I do every other month or so)

1. Wah Wah – Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q
2. Fuzz – MJM Foxey Fuzz
3. Tremolo – Fulltone Supa Trem
4. Fuzz - - Officially Licensed Circuits “chunky cheese” (a clone of the lovetone “big cheese” (always use this for recording)

Preferred Live Instrument(s):

• 2004 Korean Jazzmaster
• Douglas Goldtop Hollowbody w/ p90s
• Fender Acoustic
• SX Six String Banjo
• Honer Pianet T (keyboard)

I noticed your Jazzmaster guitar has a pickup after the bridge…. This is freaking cool!

I had a guy I use to work on my guitars as I’d cut my fingers off (Wes Lamb) install it for me.  With Jazzmasters there is enough room back there to do this.  I’ve never seen it but always thought it would be cool.  It’s functional and I use it when I play behind the bridge.  Mostly for noise…although the notes do work.  I have a toggle switch to turn it on….its either on and the other pickups are off or it’s off and the other pickups are on.  We play one song in our current set  ”Battle the Fortress” where it is used for a large portion.  Its way fun….and I think looks cool….I’m a fan of frankenstein guitars.

Cable brand:

Not super particular about the brand but like the cords with molded ends….Lately I’ve been into the Planet Waves for this reason as well as the built on elastic tie.

Pedal board used:

Currently using a CNB case but have used a few different kinds over the years including home made boards enclosed in a suitcase.

Amp(s) and Cabinet(s) used live:

I use a Music Man 110RD amp with an Avatar 1 x12 Cab with a Greenback.

In four words or less, how would describe your pedal setup?

Fuzzy Noise 3D Transport

What is your pedal philosophy?

Hmmmm….well…first off any and all pedals I use (perhaps minus the tuner) are a distant 4th to songwriting,  my guitar and my amp.  That being said I feel that I like to use my pedals to keep myself interested in things.  They often keep me in the moment and offer me more options night to night.  It’s all sound….and if you like it for whatever reason then use it.  There is certainly no accounting for taste when it comes to sound.  Each pedal you add to the mix bring infinite possibilities to anything you can do on a guitar from single notes to chords.  You don’t even have to play your guitar if you don’t wish to….just cut it on and play the pedals.  It’s another way to be creative…..which is appealing to me.

Explain the order of your pedal chain.

Well the tuner first so I can tune my guitar string to the desired tunings which I desperately need.

I always keep the Tube Screamer 2nd as I use it for a baseline overdrive sound for much of the show to get a sound I like.  I also found that it helps any fuzz pedal down the line sound better to me.

Next in line would be a “fun” pedal that I alternate between phaser or tremolo.  Both those pedals are powerful enough to still do their job even with other pedals after them.

My delay is next….I like having this pedal before the fuzz as to thicken up solos or single note parts of songs….and again its powerful enough to get though a few more pedals if I want to make the setting super crazy with long delays and infinite repeats.

Being a fuzz freak my fuzz pedal come next and will pretty much destroy anything running into it with fuzzy goodness.  This is typically a pedal that will (if all other pedals are on) will give a huge wall of noise and waves of color to the chords which at that point will be sorta pointless….or…..by leaving off the tremolo or phase it will give me the sound I wanting to hear as I play single notes (mostly for soloing).  I really have to love the fuzz pedal when I click it on….there is really nothing better to me.

OK..moving on…next up I use a boost….I like the Full Tone Fat Boost because it has a bass and treble EQ.  To me the EQ is pretty important as it is certainly going to be heard as its boosting your sound slightly above most of the other instruments in the band.  It also give you a bit of control of you guitar sound after its been travelling through a bunch of stuff…..its loosely sort of a safety for your tone.  The boost also helps when switching out guitars or from guitar to the pianet T.

The next pedal I’m currently using is a looper/sampler pedal.  I use it mostly for solo shows so I can loop chord progressions live to play guitar over.  I use it in the band as a sampler by storing prerecorded beeps, static, noise…whatever I dream up to add to the mix.

Sometimes I use a wah wah pedal and keep it last in my chain and would mostly just click it one with all my other pedals on to make crazy huge washes of noise. Whew…I have too many pedals right?

I see that you have three fuzz pedals – tell us how you use each of them:

I go back and forth live with the Ultra Lord and Foxey Fuzz with equal satisfaction using both.  Ultra Lord is heavier – the Foxey Fuzz is smoother.
1 – Ultra Lord – This thing has a great crunch….breaks up nice and is my current fuzz pedal in my chain…a true beast that retains all the low end with a buzzsaw high end overtone
2 – Foxey Fuzz – This is my old dependable….has a nice 70′s riff rock characteristic to it.  A bit less buzzy and retains the tone of my guitar the best.  Keeps the low end and gives great harmonics at the tail end of notes.  I just recently replaced it with the Ultra Lord for no good reason except to change what I was staring at under my foot every show.  I’ve fixed it twice. I’d buy another if it stopped working.  Its a big muff clone that is way better than most big muffs.
3 – Chunky Cheese – This is a pedal I use to record solos with in the studio.  It gets a bit washed out with chords and sits nicely in a mid to high EQ range.  I never use it live but rely on it in the studio.  It can break up nicely and give wonderful harmonics.  It’s the buzziest of all the fuzzs I have.  It’s my affordable alternative to the Lovetone Big Cheese which costs way too much as its out of production.

How settled are you on your current pedal set-up?

I’m happy with it.  I’ve owned so many pedals over the years…..this seems to work well and they are second nature to me at this point.  I don’t really think about them too much at this point.  They are just there.  I like the practice of keeping 2 -3 spots on my board dedicated to changing out fun pedals as I do….so in my mind those spots are never completely claimed by a certain pedal or sound.  This is usually the tremolo, phaser, looper, wah or any crazy nutty pedal I find myself getting into.

What pedals and pedal combination have you found interesting?

I had a feedback pedal once (Death by Audio’s “Total Sonic Annihilation”).  It was pretty crazy….it basically loops your whole pedal rig and when you clicked it on it would make the most unpredictable sounds from squeals to blips and beeps to static….it was really cool and was mostly affected by the pedals you had in your chain.  It was just a pain in the butt as you needed even two more cords to connect it into and out of your pedal chain.   I had an Electro Harmonix Tube Zipper for a while….it was very cool…a fuzz and envelope filter….very hard to control but great for recording and unique sounds that you could never dial up again.  I like running things through my wah wah pedal and not making them wah.  Just click it on and set it to a level you like……. It can make things interesting…..mostly lo-fi.

What pedals are not in your chain that you like?

I would really love a Lovetone Big Cheese.   Line 6 Delay.

Do any of your guitar heroes use a pedal similar setup?

I’m not sure of their set ups but. I’m a fan of J Mascis, Doug Martsch, Jeff Tweedy, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Ira Kaplan, Mark Linkous…

If you had one pedal, what would it be?

My Tube Screamer…..I guess I’d have to learn to tune by ear without my tuner.

What pedals have been disappointing & why?

I’m really not a gear snob and have bought tons of inexpensive cheaply made pedals but I generally don’t like them at this point.  I really don’t waste my time with them as much anymore.  I like pedals that have a blend function as to control the wet and dry ratio.  True bypass is nice to have as well even though some of mine aren’t.  Again…I don’t have anything against most cheaper made pedals as there is no accounting for taste.  They just don’t do it for me and I’d rather have no pedals.

How important is guitar and amp selection in use with your pedal rig?

Well….to me its sorta opposite.  I like my pedal rig based on the way my guitar and amp work together.  For example….If I play my hollow body or acoustic I do not need to use any slight overdrive as both those guitars push the amp enough with out it.  I also have recorded with some lower wattage amps (Orange Tiny Terror 15/7 watt amp which I love) but they don’t take to the fuzz pedals well….they muddy up the tone and suck out any clarity and weight you’d want.

How do you like to set the tone(s) on your guitar and amplifier?

I keep the tone a bit rolled off the highs on my Jazzmaster as its fairly chime-y.  For some reason I choose the bright setting on my Music Man Amp but then set the bass tone to 6 or so while keeping the treble at about 4.  I guess there is a method to the madness…it seems to work….keeps it chunky and still retains clarity and presence.

How does your pedal setup affect your songwriting?

Not much at all as I write almost everything on acoustic.  With the JamMan looper pedal its fun to create different parts and play over them….some of that stuff finds its way into songs.  Mostly solo things.

How do you keep your pedals attached to your pedal board?

I really am not sure how they stay put.  No velcro or ties.  I have a bunch of padding int the top that seems to keep them in their spots during transport.

Anything you would like to add?

You never NEED pedals.