Misery Kills have that old-school hardcore ethic that values no-filler density, and unsurprisingly it doesn’t apply purely to the band’s music. When these provide content to a website they go all out. You want a playthrough? Sure, but only if it’s two guitarists at once.. How about a Rigged feature too? Why the fuck not?
So for your enjoyment below we have Corey Schaefer and Duane Conlon’s twin six-string presentation of “13 Miles,” taken from the new Misery Kills record My Ugly Insides, which drops on Janurary 20th. Like the group’s previous two full-lengths it was produced by Life of Agony guitarist Joey Z. But for your continued entertainment, which you need in if you live in the U.S. on the night prior to the clusterfuck that is Thanksgiving, keep scrolling past the video for a full rig breakdown by the band’s bassist Joe LoCasto.
My Ugly Insides is available for preorder now on iTunes.
I am Joe LoCasto the bass player of the band Misery Kills. I have been using Ampeg amps, cabinets and Ibanez bass guitars for a good twenty years now. I use Ampeg and Ibanez for both live shows and studio recording. In my rack I currently have an Ampeg SVT 3 Pro and Korg Pitchblack Pro Rackmount Tuner. My Cabinet is a classic Ampeg 8×10 SVT-810E – it’s massive in size and sound and is worth every bit of trouble lugging this monster around to live gigs.
My main bass for Misery Kills is an Ibanez PRB2 Signature Paul Romanko from Shadows Fall. All Misery Kills songs are tuned to Drop D. Besides the great sound this bass has my favorite feature is that it has one knob that controls the volume and that’s it! Simple and easy, that’s the way I like it. That’s how I feel bass playing should be in general, straight to the point, less is more kind of thing….that’s my style. The neck pick up is a PFR-ALN4 Passive Full Range Humbucker. The bridge pick up is a PFR-ALB4 Passive Full Range Humbucker.
For many years I plugged directly into my amp with no effects at all (again, just always trying to keep things simple) until one day while doing pre-production with our producer Joey Z (guitar player of Life of Agony, Stereomud, Carnivore and Zire’s War) he suggested that I try a SansAmp Bass Driver DI Tech 21 – NYC. I tried it and was immediately blown away. What a boost of power and punch it provided. I wound up using the SansAmp on every track on our new record My Ugly Insides and have used it at every live show since.
Also, speaking of Joey Z, I am also the bass player of his new project, a band called Zire’s War. The tuning in Zire’s War is extremely low: Drop G#. For this band I use a five string bass. It is an Ibanez SDGR SoundGear. I love the look and feel of this bass, it plays really smooth. I fell in love with this bass the minute I picked it up. It was important for me to be comfortable with it since I was for the most part always a four string player. It’s a brownish mahogany color. The neck and bridge pick-ups are both Bartolini MK1-5’s. These pick ups are great and really grab that low-end sound.
For both bands I use practically the same set up with just a few minor tweaks to the Ampeg and SansAmp since both are so versatile.
I also should mention all of my cables, both instrument and speaker, are Plant Waves Cables who I am endorsed by. Also another endorsement that I am honored to have is Daddario Strings – On my four string bass I use EXL 160 Nickel Wound and on my five string I use EXL170-5SL Nickel Wound.
Thanks for checking out my set up! Horns in the air!
