MARSHALL LAW!

Adrian and Janick on the gear used for the Senjutsu sessions

Adrian: It was just a Marshall, really! When we’re tracking we don’t tend to use any effects. So it was just the Marshall, I think it was a Mode Four, and a Tube Screamer in front. I used my black Les Paul Standard on some of it and also my green Jackson – my main number one has a distressed neck and everything on it. Those were the main two guitars, plus the double neck on Darkesthour.

Janick: It was just Marshalls for me too. I always use Marshall stuff. There’s this prototype thing I got years ago that

I still use in the studio. We might change amps a little bit, or try different sounds, but I like to keep it straight. I like the guitar going straight into the amp with little in between. Sometimes there might be a graphic equalizer, but that’s about it.

It’s always a simple set up. I don’t like using pedals. They can sound amazing in the studio but live they can make your sound a bit processed to my ears. I like to hear the actual amp being overdriven, that always works best ` me. A pedal in between seems to lose some of the edge. Some people might think that direct sound can be a bit raggedy, but I like that... It’s the valve sound I’m after, not a pretend stompbox. I’m not big on extra boosts or adding chorus. I might have a little reverb or echo for some leads, but quite often not. I like to do it all with my fingers. Rory Gallagher had that attitude, he just seemed to pull things out with just his fingers. For guitars, I just stuck with my Strats, really. There was my main black one, the white one and another spare. If we were doing different tunes and I had one set up, I just kept using it and didn’t muck about. There’s some acoustic stuff on there, so I’d bring one in depending on what we had lying around... Mainly Taylors, maybe a Martin. We like to use acoustics for colour and there’s a lot of colour in some of those longer Maiden songs. We might also change the tuning slightly, whether that’s tuning down to D or trying something in DADGAD. It just gives a different flavour to the song. Thetimemachine has some interesting tunings, some are in standard and some not quite standard for very subtle differences in texture. It’s not about completely changing the concept, it’s about adding a little more feel and power to the guitars you’re hearing. I like doing that for different vibes.

“MY DOUBLE-NECK JACKSON WEIGHS ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF A TON! BUT IT SOUNDED REALLY

GOOD IN THE STUDIO”

ADRIAN SMITH