PERIPHERY - Fractal Tone Tour with Jake Bowen

When it comes to transitioning to the Axe-Fx III, Jake shares, "When we first switched over to the threes it was a long time coming, and it took us a real long time to get there. We’d been on the twos for so long, and it was kind of like this thing that we didn’t want to mess up a good thing that we already had. So when we did our last US headliner, we were doing two nights in each city. We thought, well, we’re putting all this effort into the set list and we’re trying to take our show to the next level for us, maybe we should do that with our tone as well. We decided that it was time to kind of start from scratch and build everything from the ground up with the threes."

Jake emphasizes the importance of a solid foundation: "All the tones are based off of one default patch that I made. We don’t obviously use everything on at once, so we kind of build our default patch that has the basics or the fundamentals in it."

Jake details his choice of gear: "The drive block is the Horizon Precision Drive model, which is awesome. For the amp, we’re using the PVH 6160 Block Lead. This thing is tight, it’s aggressive, it’s got great low end, and its mid-range is really focused and not too harsh."

Watch from 3:23

On integrating live elements, Jake explains: "On some tours where we have a bit more room or in the trailer or whatever, we’ll bring amps and cabs. We have an output block that kind of juts off right before the cab block, and this will go from output three to the return effects loop of a power amp."

On the complexity of some patches, Jake shares: "Sometimes songs call for patches that are really dense and have a lot going on, and you can see the CPU is cranking right now. We’re at anywhere between 50 and 60%, but sometimes we need it. We run our effects in serial and in parallel."

Jake continues, "What I’ll do is I’ll go and listen to our stems from the albums and then try to interpret what we were doing in the studio at the time and try to recreate that in the Axe-Fx. Sometimes that means we’ll have used stomp boxes in front of the amp or in the effect loop, which can make it quite tricky to replicate that vibe or sound. That’s why we do that because it makes things very, very unique, but this thing is so powerful you can do that."

Jake elaborates on the use of Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs): "We have LFOs that kind of tell the Axe-Fx to move parameters around in real-time. For the song 'Four Lights,' I have two LFOs affecting the pitch. It’s really easy to do, too."

For lead tones, Jake switches gears: "For our lead tones, we switch to the second amp block. We’re using the Friedman HBE C45, which is bright and really pushes through the mix, especially with two other guitar players."

Jake's signature guitar, the Ibanez JBM9999, is a key element of his tone. "This is the Ibanez JBM quadruple nine, so that's four nines. It's a Final Fantasy reference. If you play Final Fantasy, that is the max damage you can get in the earlier game."

Jake details the specs of his signature model: "It's an RG for the arch-top body style. It has 27 frets, a reverse headstock, a basswood body, an ebony fretboard, and a maple neck. It also features Gotoh locking tuners and a Gibraltar Elite Bridge."

A highlight of the JBM9999 is the new set of DiMarzio signature pickups: "These are called The Mirage. They are medium to high output humbuckers, and the neck pickup is a hot rail, which is a humbucker in a single coil size."

Jake also emphasizes the practical aspects of the guitar: "It has Luminlay side dots, which are really nice for dark stages. The five-way switch allows for versatile pickup configurations, and the aesthetic is reminiscent of a hot rod or a muscle car."

Periphery Guitar Workshop

For more on Periphery, check out the Guitar Workshop with Misha Mansoor, Mark Holcomb and Jake Bowen. Also make sure to follow Periphery online.

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For more insights on using the Axe-Fx III and other Fractal Audio Systems products, visit the Product Page, Fractal Audio Wiki, or Forum. To purchase your unit, head to our shop and for in-depth learning, check out Cooper Carter’s Complete Fractal Audio Master Class Series.