Char Smith of DIY rockers SKORTS told us about his Aclam Dr. Robert and '69 Fender Super Reverb love.
Char Smith: To be without one is to require the other and as a New York City band, unless you're bringing your 4x10 on the subway, you are at the mercy of the venue's backline. Each club's backline is different and the offerings usually include 1-2 amps in varying states of functioning and non-functioning condition. Basically, you never know what you're going to get or how your settings are going to interact with each amp. For a diva like me who (trigger warning for Brooklyn bands) cares about how the amp sounds, this inconsistency can be a drag when you are trying to get the sound you shaped in the rehearsal room to translate in a live setting with a totally different amp. A fool's errand??? Ya maybe...
The way I have been able to maintain some consistency and sanity is with the Dr. Robert pedal by Aclam. It is essentially a Vox UL730 in a box that was gifted to me by the pedal designer himself (Marc Sospedra). He had a prototype on him when we met at a guitar shop and was generous enough to give it to me. I had no idea it would become such a staple of my pedal board but I probably have it on for 95% of our set. It's a great always on pre-amp or OD/boost that helps transform amps I've never played through into something familiar. With my dirt pedals placed before it, I can better gauge how my fuzz is going to sound through any given amp. When using it with my own amp, it's my main overdrive tone that just gives the Super a little more bite with its 'mids' knob. Certain settings on it help me achieve solid state/hybrid amp tones. Something the band has acquired a taste for recently.
SKORTS' debut album Incompletement is out on October 31.
Photo by Nick Charnas
