Amps & Rack

This is the setup that I used on the "At the edge of time" tour, actually it is still unchanged and in use today. My main amp is this Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier, it is the latest 3 channel edition from 2010. All effects come from the Fractal Audio Axe FX II, which is controlled by a Fractal Audio MFC 101. I am using Sennheiser wireless systems, the one on the right is the one that I am actually using, the other one is an older version which is only used as a backup now. In case you are wondering what the drawer is good for, the MFC 101 fits inside perfectly. What you can't see on this picture is my old 2 channel Triple Rectifier from 1995, this serves as a backup.

The setup is very simple, I have never been into huge racks with a million effects units and tons of cables, I want my setup to be simple and effective, the less I carry around with me, the better. The more you add, the more can go wrong on stage.

The stripped down version of my main rack, it only has the Axe FX II, the wireless systems and the power conditioner. Like this the rack is much lighter than the main version and we can take it with us on flight shows. I started using this small version after we ran into serious arguments at airports where we were forced to take apart our main racks due to weight reasons, which is absolutely no fun to do. When we fly into shows I normally get provided with two Rectifers, but in case of an emergency I can also play the full show only using the Axe FX going straight into the PA, all the sounds are programmed in the unit, so it also always serves as an ultimate backup.

This one is pretty similar to my main flight rack, I only replaced the power conditioner with a small in ear system, I am also using a even lighter rack here. With Blind Guardian we are always using in ear monitors on stage and I got very used to this, with Sinbreed only Fred and me are using in ears, that's why I got this small version for this rack, like this I don't have to take apart the main BG in ear rack to take my system with me for Sinbreed shows.

Here you can see my old Triple Rectifier from 1995, it is the original version with only 2 channels. Back then in 1995 a friend told me about his new amp, a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier and made me very curious, so one day I borrowed his amp and took it to our rehearsal room. I played it for about 5 minutes and bought one immediately, this is exactly "my" amp, it offers everything I have ever been looking for. This pic also shows my cabinets, I am using the oversized versions of the Mesa 4x12 Rectocabs. As you can see my rack was a bit different back then, all my effects came out of the Rocktron Intellifex and my backup was a Mesa Boogie Triaxis, sent into a Mesa Boogie 2:90 Poweramp, a great sounding combination, but unfortunately very heavy. I also had a tuner in my rack back then and only one wireless unit.

Here is an even older version of my setup, I used this on the "Opera" tour. The amp and the effects are the same as in the 2006 version, but my backup was a Mesa Boogie Rectifier Recording Preamp. This was a pure preamp with very good recording outputs, like this I could send it straight to the PA in case of an emergency, I was not depending on any power amp or on cabinets. A pretty practical solution and definitely much lighter than the later version with the Triaxis and the 2:90, which boosted my racks weight a lot.

My pedalboard the way I am using it today. The MFC is programmed for my setup, the Mission Expression pedal is mainly used as a Wah (controlling a Wah from the Axe FX) and both is mounted to a Pedaltrain board. Like this it can be easily set up on stage and stored away after the gig, this setup also prevents the expression pedal to move around on stage. In the back you can see a Mesa Boogie 1x12 Rectocab which I have in my home studio. The labels on the MFC are from stomplabel.de, an incredibly practical solution, cause you can always adjust the layout of the MFC depending on what you want in that moment.

This is the setup that I am using in my studio. When Mesa released this Mini Rectifier I just had to get one, along with the 1x12 cabinet, and the Axe FX is my ultimate recording tool anyway. My DAW is Pro Tools 11.