Whether it’s "poppy, driving, techy indie rock," "brightly appealing indie-pop," or "a unique blend of indie rock with a progressive, experimental twist," one thing's for sure: Minus the Bear's distinctive sound requires the right gear. Or at least eight of the same delay pedal.
Formed in 2001, Seattle's Minus the Bear quickly assumed cult status but neither fans nor critics could stuff the band into a pre-existing genre. Soaring melodies float on top of swirly synths; lush effects encircle finger-tapped staccato guitar textures; tight and sophisticated rhythmic patterns hypnotize and crescendo to arena-rock magnitudes. And then the song starts.
Fueling Minus the Bear's unique sound is a love for experimentation and an insane passion for stompboxes. "As for pedals...it's a mess," admits Jake Snider, the band's vocalist and guitarist, while taking inventory of his gear. “I downsized from a 40x20 pedal board to a smaller pedalmaster board,” he says, but there’s still room enough for some choice selections including a Moogfooger MuRf, an Electro-Harmonix® HOG and not one but three Line 6 DL4™ Delay Modelers. But lately, he says, “in the practice space, I've just been using the M13 [Stompbox Modeler] and getting by just fine.”
“I’m pretty sure I got my first DL4 right when they came out in the late 90s,” recalls Dave Knudson, the band’s guitarist, whose pedal board must be perpetually ready to buckle under the weight of his extensive stompbox collection. He’s got classics (Ibanez® TS9 Tube Screamer®, Cry Baby® wah-wah), boutique beauties (Mid-Fi Electronics Pitch Pirate) and no less than four DL4 Delay Modelers firing off multiple samples within a single song. “The DL4’s sampler has allowed me to coax sounds out of my guitar/amp that I never thought possible.”
“The multiple DL4s started when we started writing songs that have multiple samples,” Dave continues. "Knights," from the band’s acclaimed 2007 release, Planet of Ice, “requires two different really short samples. You can hear the samples right at the beginning of the song when I One-Shot them.” “One of the most important parts of the DL4,” he adds, “is the One-Shot switch.” It allows him to “let a sample play for a few seconds, establish a groove” and then “slam it back to the beginning by hitting the One-Shot button repeatedly. It sounds awesome.”
The band's bassist, Cory Murchy, follows suit. He has a respectable collection of stompboxes but only one of which is a DL4 Delay Modeler. We should send him a few more...
Keyboardist and vocalist Alex Rose plays a major part in creating the band’s sound. His rig includes “Propellerhead Reason® on a MacBook® Pro with a Nord® Lead 2X. They both run through the M13, an FMR Audio RNC1773 and a Boss® Tremolo pedal.” “So far I'm loving the M13,” he says. “It has allowed me to simplify my live rig while adding countless sonic options.” And in the studio, he continues, “it has loads of instantly usable and inspiring sounds, and the built-in looper is totally key.”
