ULF EDLUND – THE MAN BEHIND THE AMPS.

Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind creating this collection of guitar tones.
– It was a challenge, because so much of the most significant country guitar tones come from the player. Country is a wide term though, and it has changed a lot over the decades. The stereotype is probably a Tele through a Twin, but there’s a lot more to it than that. Western swing, Buck Owens and the Bakersfield sound, the ’70s “outlaws”, modern traditional country. Alternative country and Americana and more. Having that picture clear, there was a lot to dig into. Enough that we decided to keep the pack entirely amp-simulation based.

In short, how is a guitar effect chain for an EZmix Pack actually created?
– It’s not so short, because there’s a lot that goes into making each setting. What we are creating are emulations of mic’ed and recorded amps, so a common signal chain might start with some sort of pedal, then into an amp, followed by a speaker,
which is really an impulse response of a speaker, mic and preamp chain. Then maybe some “outboard” effects and mixer EQ.
The order that we place the different components in the chain varies and matters a lot too. For example, many amps have the tremolo after the spring reverb, so if i’m after reality that’s how I’ll place them. Then you assign various parameters to the two control knobs. What happens under the hood is often a lot more complex than just turning these two knobs. For instance, if a preset goes from clean to distorted, it might have the “Drive” knob altering the amp EQ as well since you most likely would use different settings for your clean and distorted sound.

There are settings designed for specific guitar models and pickups – even steel guitar. Why was this important?
– You have heard it before. The tone is in the hands, and it’s true. Then it’s in the instrument, and then the amp – and then it’s how it’s recorded. Since the “hands” and guitar are up to the player, we can focus on the rest of the chain and it’s easier to create something specific when we know if we are sculpting for a Stratocaster, pedal steel or a 335.

You are also an accomplished steel guitar player, which is pretty unusual for a native Swede. How did you get hooked on this instrument?
– Guess i was damaged as a kid. (laughs). Well seriously, i got hooked to the sound at an early age, long before i started playing an instrument really, and i’ve been fascinated ever since. Then I sort of evolved from slide guitar to lap steel, Dobro and eventually I could not resist getting into pedal steel guitar.

You are an avid guitar and amp collector. Pick a few favorites from your collection!
– Out of the couple of dozens guitars i have ever owned, my favorite is actually a 1982 Squier Telecaster. I have a bunch of good ones, a 1963 Gibson SG Special that sounds fantastic, but that old beat up Squier will always be special to me. An amp that never ceases to amaze me is my little 12 watt Tweed Deluxe. Sounds huge, and with just a volume and a tone knob I can still get most sounds I want out of it.

Finally, best guitarist ever?
– Depends what day it is. There are so many different qualities: expression, tone, personality etc. I’ve been through periods of wanting to sound like all kinds of players from Michael Schenker to BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, JJ Cale, Sonny Landreth – and the list goes on. One very underrated player in my book is Larry Crane. Everything I’ve heard him play, both with Mellencamp and later is first class.