ULF EDLUND

– THE MAN BEHIND THE BIG TONES.

We checked in with Ulf Edlund, Toontrack sound designer by trade – but guitar, amp, cab and stomp box geek at heart!

What did you try to capture with this collection of guitar tones?
– Basically i tried to capture as broad of a spectrum as I could within guitar based rock music. From basic rock’n’roll guitar tones to more complex and effect saturated.

Tell us briefly how an EZmix 2 guitar tone is made, from start to finish.
– A guitar amp simulation preset in EZmix 2 is an emulation of a complete signal chain that resembles a guitar rig that has been miced up in the studio – from guitar to cabinet via stomp boxes and various chains of effects. For inspiration, I either go for a specific sound from a song, album or a certain player. I can also find something that inspires me in the selection of amp models I have available to choose from. When I have put together the “rig” that I’m going for, I play it and make sure it reacts to my playing the way i expect it to. A guitar tone is not only what you hear when you listen to it, it’s also to a great extent what you feel when you are playing. At my disposal, I have models of dozens of the most used amplifiers and effects as well as a huge selection of emulated speakers. I can also create my own impulse responses of speakers, so our library of speaker emulations is constantly growing.
Once I am happy with the response and overall tone, I need to determine what parameters I want to be able to control with the two knobs in EZmix 2. I define the maximum and minimum values for all of them, which in the end allows the user to dial in the amount of saturation for all involved parameters of this specific tone. For example, a knob labelled “Punch” or “Edge” can control ten or more different parameters. It’s a time-consuming process, but well worth it!

You are a guitarist yourself with a big collection of amps. Rank the top-five amps of all time!
– Tough question, there are so many builders right now who put out fantastic amps. One classic that stands out and may rank as my personal favorite is the Fender Tweed Deluxe. That has to be the most versatile one-trick pony ever made – and probably one of the most recorded amps as well. The list of players is almost endless. Neil Young, Larry Carlton, Billy Gibbons, The Black Crowes, Mike Campbell, Steve Cropper, Eagles, Beatles, Scotty More…

Even with these numerous amps, you are still an avid EZmix 2 user. In your mind, what is the upside of recording, writing and producing using modulated guitar tones.
– To me it’s convenience. It’s fast and I can get a good tone in an instant, without being in a studio environment. In addition, I could never afford or store all the gear that comes in just one EZmix Pack. 50 perfectly dialed amp tones just a mouse-click away is pretty powerful.

It seems like the notes some guitarists hit several decades ago still resonate to this day. What is it with the Jimmy Pages, Jimi Hendrix’s and the Blackmores of the world – is there magic in their tone or is their iconic status a product of popular culture?
– They were pioneers and inventors, I think. All of them did things that no one had done before them and that made them a part of the musical evolution.

In closing – flash forward 30 years, what guitarist today will have achieved “icon” status and be revered as highly as those that emerged in the ‘60s and ‘70s?
– Like in the past, I think it will be the inventors. Players that inspire other players. It takes more than coming up with something new and original. It needs to be genuine too. So my answer is that anyone reading this still has a shot at becoming immortal!