Simon McBride/22 April 2011/Photo Credits: Marco van Rooijen: flickr.com
“Ireland has a knack of throwing up diamonds, of which McBride most definitely is one…. this boy’s going places.” Hifi+
“He’s a fret-meltingly intense soloist & a great slide player. Lovers of quality blues-rock step right this way.” Guitarist
“The holy trinity of Belfast Rock ‘n Roll – Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore – might just be on the verge of becoming a four-leaf clover.” PERFORMER MAGAZINE, USA
Issued by Nugene Records
Predicted to be the next Irish guitar hero in the footsteps of Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore, Simon McBride has undeniable guitar artistry combined with a fine voice and a real knack for creating memorable hooks and great melodies.
His latest CD Crossing The Line is a fiery amalgam of guitar skills, songcraft and character-soaked vocals. Recorded in Northern Ireland and The USA, mixing of the album was placed in the experienced hands of New York-based Peter Denenberg, the veteran producer and engineer whose CV takes in everyone from Deep Purple to the Spin Doctors and Robert Cray. Industry critics reckon this is the album that truly delivers on McBride’s potential.
And what potential. Rewind to the early-’90s, and you didn’t have to squint to spot future greatness in the unassuming kid from Belfast, who picked up his first guitar at ten and eschewed formal lessons to bend his fingers around the music of the guitsar legends of the day. Aged 15, Simon won Guitarist’s hotly-contested Young Guitarist of the Year competition in a Wembley Conference Centre showdown, and at 16, he turned pro, leaving education behind to tour the world as a hired gun in projects that ranged from metal with Sweet Savage, to R&B and soul with ex-Commitments vocalist Andrew Strong.
Even by the lofty standards of Northern Ireland, where drinkers still raise a toast to the audacious talent of the late Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore, this young maestro’s name was soon starting to be dropped in the same reverential breath. Certainly, Simon is a fan, and the energy and aggression of his live show recalls those much-missed Irish masters, but when he released his debut album Rich Man Falling in 2008, it was clear this musician was nobody’s heir, but rather his own artist.
This is the sound of a world-class talent.
Simon McBride/22 April 2011/Photo Credits: Marco van Rooijen: flickr.com
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Gear
PRS 408
I have quite a few PRS guitars and they are all great instruments; but the 408 is the best sounding and most versatile. It has a very wide palette of sounds. You can read about the guitar and hear the guitar demo’d here
I use Rotosound strings (standard set of Nickel 10?s) and Dunlop Delrin 1.14 picks, which are stiff and slick.
PRS AMPS
After recording Crossing The Line with PRS amps I am a convert! For my shows I am now using the “HXDA” and “H” amps through PRS 2?12 closed-back cabinets.
“HXDA” stands for Hendrix crossed with Duanne Allman, so-called because it is inspired by the Marshall amp used by those iconic names. Read about it here:
The “H” amp has a more modern sound and two channels with independent controls. The clean channel has loads of headroom and shimmering highs, while the lead channel produces smooth distortion and liquid sustain just the way I like it. prsguitars.com
For cables, I use a PRS cables and Monster cables. I use GearSkinz cases for the amps – light, portable and very tough!
PEDALS
My pedal board tends to change over time. Right now I’m using:
Creation Audio Mk4.23 a very classy boost that sounds like an old Neve pre-amp.
Pigtronix Disnortion One of my favourites. It has overdrive, fuzz and Octavia. Old-school sounds that you can tweak.
Wampler Hot Wired loads of features in this but most of the time I have it on channel 1 (which is an old tube screamer sound).
Strymon Flint my main reverb and a tremolo (the best tremolo ever!).
TC Flashback Delay a very stable pedal.
Malekko Omicron Vibrato I use this at slow speed for atmosphere.
Lovepedal Picklevibe a perfect sounding one-knob univibe.
Sch-z Arion stereo Chorus.
Vox Wah standard issue.
TC Polytune. Compact, accurate, does what it says on the tin!
I also use a Wampler compressor with my acoustic guitar.
Reverb, tremolo and delay go into the effects loop. Everything else is “inline” straight into the front of the amp. The Mk4.23 is last in line and is permanently on at a low level of boost.
