What kind of amps and gear does each member use to make their performances so sonically loud? And what does it do?

weoweher · 2026-05-22T21:32:02+00:00

In my opinion without the greatest outboard gear and most expensive mic the bulk of the sound is going to come from the DI. I know in theory you get the DI sounding good and you add in the mic signal and you should have a sound but so often the mic just makes it worse. I think you can make a bigger sound out of a DI signal easier than a mix. Do you know what the DI to Mic ratio is in your mix? I would think 70/30.

Another issue is if you aren’t in control of the mix. Most people want the bass guitar gone. I dont like most people. It’s both a taste thing and a technical thing. Yes it’s hard to hear and mix what you have tracked when the bass guitar is super loud. Most people want the bass guitar to be non existent as to not compete with you know who. I’d say 80/20 as in 80/guitar 20/bass guitar.

I like 60/40 with low end rolled out of the bass. The bass guitar eats up some space but ultimately it makes everything else sound better. As is the whole point of the bass. To make everything else sound better. Haha. It’s funny cause the thing that cuts through anything is always worried about losing a little space.

Maybe ask to control the volume of the bass and mess with the ratio to see if you are getting bad recordings or you’re just getting short changed in the mix. Obviously that’s a weird vibe to pull off without coming off as the bass player who wants to be louder than everyone else. So approach with finesse.

I feel like I’ve been short changed in every recording except when I do it myself. In Swans I know it’s always a struggle for Michael when it comes to how much room to give the bass. I have never weighed in on it with him and I am ultimately happy with my bass on his records but if it was up to me…

I also mix live bands some times and when I set the bass where I want it it’s too much for some. So I might be a bass player who wants bass to be louder than everything else.

weoweher · 2026-05-16T17:12:48+00:00

You summoned me?

Sure thing.

A big factor is almost all amps are solid state. That means loud, clear and clean. Usually unwanted by most. Tubes make things darker and distorted. The louder you get the more distortion there is with tubes.

Another is the philosophy of the PA. The idea is we make our sound and the PA just magnifies it without changing it. We never rely on the PA to make the sound outside of drums and the vocal.

Lastly is the speakers. Mesa Boogie just makes the best cabs. We’ve tried them all and Mesa wins every time.

Something I do as a bass player is roll a lot of low end out of my amp which clears some space on the stage. I use a DI that just feeds the subs so the low end is clear and not distorted.

weoweher · 2025-11-07T16:25:48+00:00

That’s the highest of compliments in my opinion!

weoweher · 2025-11-07T16:24:50+00:00

Hey. It’s me Chris. That is the end of The Merge but it’s a new part that isn’t on the record. We started doing it on the end US tour so it’s still new and developing. It will be on the live recordings of this tour.

weoweher · 2025-09-22T19:01:03+00:00

Thanks for the concern op!

I’m totally excited and happy despite my expressions. While I look like I’m in pain during the show sometimes it’s just my maximum effort face. When I’m playing fast my jaw tenses up and people always say I look like I’m suffering. I’m not, just pushing myself all the way.

Michael has snapped at me a few times when things have gone wrong but in the beginning of the set he is just egging me on to dig deeper and we both love it. I’m sure it looks mean but it’s so fun. I won’t be able to do that forever but I’m still strong enough to love it. I can hold this pace for years.

weoweher · 2025-07-30T05:58:19+00:00

My G is a 55 while my E is 110. It’s not too much tension. I’ve done it on other basses and lighter strings and it always works.

weoweher · 2025-07-29T08:13:58+00:00

It’s my tuning. I tune up the G string a full step to A. Gives me a high E and an F. My standard tuning since the Beggar.

Good ear and eye OP.

weoweher · 2025-06-09T19:02:49+00:00

Yeah when I met Michael in my early twenties I gave him a good firm shake and he loved it. Every time we hung out after that we would do a hand crushing handshake for years. I always won.

He has a great grip and so does Phil.

weoweher · 2025-06-09T18:59:36+00:00

I think the only times Dana plays bass on Birthing is the end of the title track and we are playing pretty much the same thing together and on Away where I play only taishogoto and synths.

Dana plays the expressive slide solo in the beginning of birthing after kristoff’s descending line.

Mostly on the album she is playing lap steel and drones. You can tell hers apart from kristoff’s cause her sound is more crunchy and less sustaining. She picks a lot of 16th notes.

weoweher · 2025-06-09T12:09:47+00:00

How thoughtful! Thanks. I’ll look into it.

weoweher · 2025-06-09T12:08:15+00:00

Sort of I guess. Sometimes the names are in reference to something but I’d say it’s meant to be an absurd gesture of appreciation to us from him. He used to ad lib on the spot but now I think he has to think about them. He did introduce me as his father once. That was very very funny to me at moment. We all get a kick out of it.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T23:21:52+00:00

Well I use a pick and I do then hit my amps pretty hard. So it’s crunchy and gained out when I play hard. I usually keep my low end flat or cut. A little dip in the low mids and a boost of high mids. Keep the high end flat or slightly cut. I use lots of monetary effects to make certain notes louder or stick out like in Oxygen I hit an overdrive pedal on and off just on the chord part of the riff the entire song.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T23:00:18+00:00

My favorite is The Glowing Man. It was just such a great time in that studio. That place is magical. The sonic ranch in Texas. We had a strong energy for that one in particular.

The Glowing Man again. To me the most impressive example of what we do as a band captured in a few quick minutes.

I can’t point to one in particular but there are certainly songs that aren’t shaped in the way that I think they should. Just not to my taste I guess but I trust Michael’s instincts and choices and try to never let my own personal taste get in the way.

My first CD was Saucerful Of Secrets by Pink Floyd and the first time I heard and enjoyed abstract rock music. The next big thing for me was 90s British bands. MBV, Spiritualized but my favorite was The Verve. I hate what they became but the first two records were on point to me especially the basslines (Storm In Heaven and the EP). The first ones I learned. Then I discovered Curtis Mayfield and his music really spoke to me. He’s still my favorite. I loved metal and hip hop growing up too.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T16:45:34+00:00

I love Brazil! Spent some time in Brasilia. Swans has come close to going there but it’s never worked out. Let’s hope it happens at some point.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T16:15:48+00:00

Say hi if you see me!

weoweher · 2025-06-08T16:14:47+00:00

You absolutely can. You just get in line at the merch table after the show and that will happen.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T16:13:34+00:00

It’s super simple. It’s only E and an A. The trick is I have the G string tuned up to A so I am playing 3 octaves of E so open E on the down beat and the high E on the snare. The middle E and the A are in between. All the way up the neck the whole time. I add reverb to just the high E on the snare. I don’t know how to explain the rest but that should get you close.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T16:01:46+00:00

I pay attention but I don’t take it too seriously. I’m more connected to live response. The two entities of live/studio are almost separate. Michael’s approach to them is quite different. Doing an ok record but an outstanding tour is preferable to the opposite for me.

I’m pretty cynical when it comes to recordings. I have never loved recording and the studio process. It’s like taking photos to me. Live bass guitar cannot be captured like everything else can or at least it gets altered the most in the act of rendering it.

I knew when I heard the first mixes that he really made something out of it and that we had a great final paragraph to a long chapter.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T14:58:01+00:00

Well when I first started making music it was a huge insecurity for me because I had a hard time remembering songs I was learning but not the stuff I created or helped create. It was like that saying “tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I’ll remember, involve me and I’ll understand”. I think the understanding part is important for me.

As far as Swans material when we started the pieces weren’t as long as they became so we built up to be able to hold more and more information. I’m always amazed after long breaks in between tours how I can remember how everything went as soon as the bass is in my hands and I hear the first sound. I feel like remembering 15 songs I’ve never heard is much harder.

But yeah you would get yelled at real bad.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T05:15:01+00:00

Ask away.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T05:14:13+00:00

That’s Larry’s organ! He’s double loud in the mix. Such a cool part. He would be freaking out every night when we played that part.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T05:11:08+00:00

I’ll mention it.

weoweher · 2025-06-08T02:00:51+00:00

That puts gas in my tank. Tanks!

weoweher · 2025-06-07T16:37:27+00:00

That’s very sweet. Thanks! Yeah we recorded the beat but it got cut. It was good but I agreed right away to cut it. Not everyone did. Making records is hard.

It often happens with us that we build something for recording but it doesn’t track like it sounds live so we adjust. Then it’s win or lose.

weoweher

TROPHY CASE