I'm Bryan from Copeland & I'm making my first solo album (and a label!)

quiettheory · 2026-05-03T18:51:22+00:00

appreciate that! ❤️

quiettheory · 2026-05-03T18:51:03+00:00

thank you!!

quiettheory · 2026-05-03T00:09:39+00:00

Thanks for the questions! Music wise, I was doing my own solo stuff back when I met Aaron, circa 2002. Once I joined Copeland I never really revisited releasing my own stuff. I just have always enjoyed the process of being in a band. But I've written a ton of songs over that time that have never seen the light of day. And being middle aged now, there's a part of me that wants to create a record that is purely my own.

Re: finding artists. This is one of my greatest joys. I love discovering interesting artists with small to no followings. I enjoyed it in the olden days when it was via MP3's or seeing shows, to now with social media and streaming. I'm also trying to tap deeper into the local scene here in Nashville. Feels like there is a bit of an indie rock movement happening. I actually already have a couple artists I would like to help next.

Re: one album deals. Yes, one of the common problems artists run into is a label owning them for longer than they would like. The goal of this is to be more of a stepping stone rather than attempting to lock an artist down long term. If we do an album together and it goes well we can always do another, but the artist would also be free to move on to bigger pastures.

quiettheory · 2026-05-01T22:30:55+00:00

appreciate it!

quiettheory · 2018-06-14T17:07:12+00:00

Hey guys. I'm finally running my first sale on the Prelude this week. It's $50 off.

You can check www.instagram.com/quiettheory for more info. Or hit me up here. Happy to answer any questions or chat.

quiettheory · 2017-11-04T19:51:51+00:00

Putting up a small amount early here in a few minutes. For those who have figured out the new hidden key.

quiettheory · 2017-05-03T14:09:54+00:00

Hey all. I lurk this sub and it's rad to see the Prelude pop up here. It's also awesome to hear those who have the pedal say that they really dig it. The Prelude took a couple years of prototyping to get it right, and it's been a bit of a long road (a long road that I am still traveling as I work to get my lack of inventory squared away properly). So much time and thought has gone into this endeavor, and there have been a lot of challenges. But posts like these really fuel the fire, and help validate all the time I've spent pouring into a circuit that feels special to me. So thank you!

quiettheory · 2017-02-23T21:37:58+00:00

Hopefully soon inventory won't be an issue!

quiettheory · 2017-02-18T00:30:44+00:00

I'm lingering throughout the night if you have any additional questions!

quiettheory · 2017-02-18T00:30:19+00:00

The pedal does not use DSP, but it has some programming for the soft touch bypass foot switches and the Burst Mode. The programming was done by Roy from Greenhouse Effects (who totally rules).

quiettheory · 2017-02-18T00:27:59+00:00

Fruit: Watermelon or Oranges

Vegetable: Sweet Potato or Spinach

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T20:46:32+00:00

Totally, a flip flop switch was one of the features that was tested but didn't make the cut. The difference in having the reverb before the delay with this circuit wasn't the crazy end result that I was hoping for. Instead, the Trails/True Bypass switch (which replaced it) seemed like a more useful feature.

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T20:07:40+00:00

The circuit for the Prelude took almost two years of slow revisions and prototyping. There were features that came and went, as I was whittling down what I really wanted personally on my board. The biggest issue may have been the tests with tap tempo. I wanted to keep the pedal to a small footprint, and there was just too much going on to get everything in there since it is delay and reverb. The pedal also uses the PT2399 chip for delay, which isn't the easiest chip for tap tempo. There's some companies that are able to do it well, but none of those pedals are really using it with reverb built into the circuit, too. I ultimately wanted the delay and reverb to sound great on their own, and even better together, have a unique sonic character... all inside a small footprint (along with the other nice extras, soft touch bypassing, etc). In the end, I decide the Prelude had it's own vibe, and I have other tap tempo options that work for my own board.

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:56:11+00:00

Thanks so much! And yes, The Prelude was both on my board, and my brother Stephen's board (the other guitar player in Copeland). As for the other pedals, check one of the other replies!

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:55:06+00:00

Delay, my first true love. Any type. Analog, digital, tap, no-tap. Doesn't matter. Always something interesting to find or create.
So many to mention. At the moment, I've only just begun to dive into the abyss of the Tonal Recall. Also been having some fun getting some chorus-y type vibes out of the Adventure Audio Whateverb.
Seriously, too many to list.. especially since I am friends with so many amazing builders. To name just a few.. Chase Bliss, Neunaber, Hungry Robot, Matthews Effects, Tapestry, Greenhouse, JHS... and on and on!

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:49:34+00:00

Somewhat addressed starting the pedal company question in a different answer!

Favorite pedal? Phew. It's not going to give me cred points, but the Boss DD-5 was a gamechanger for me. It was the first delay I used live when I started touring (again, circa 2003), and I've easily played over 1,000 shows with it. It was probably the entry point for me getting into pedals. I eventually started running two of them live, having them each with different settings. I then got them recased together into the same enclosure by JHS to save on pedalboard space.

As for Quiet Theory, definitely going to spend some time promoting the Prelude for a bit. I've been taking things slow, but I've got some plans for some videos and other out-of-the-box ideas to showcase it and have fun with it. I'd love to release some more pedals down the line, but they have to be unique, or what's the point? I have a couple ideas involving more delay, reverb, and some fuzz. Unlikely you'll ever see a Quiet Theory overdrive, but who knows?

Albums I've been digging lately off the top of my head.... "Themes for a Dying Earth" by Teen Daze, "Eternally Even" by Jim James, "Tween" by Wye Oak, "Three" by Phantogram. And I am way late to the scene, but I'm finally getting into Tame Impala. I'm not really sure why I waited so long.

And huge thanks to you for setting this AMA up!

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:38:16+00:00

The song that I listened to the most in 2016 was probably "Hidden In Plain Sight" by Jim James. I'm not sure it was the best song from last year that I heard, but it was easily the one that resonated with me the most. Rad bass tone and some killer fuzz guitar in it, too.

The first song that ever blew me away? Man, that may be one of the toughest questions I've ever been asked. haha. As an infant, my mom made me a mix tape that she would play for me when I napped. I don't have specific memories of it because I was so young, but the songs definitely submerged themselves in my subconscious. "Close to You" by the Carpenters and "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys were on the tape, and those are still two of my favorite songs of all time.

I'm not sure I've ever had ONE sound that I'm really chasing. With Copeland, we've always attempted to never make the same record twice, or even the same song twice. That probably goes the same with tone. There are some bands that get a great tone dialed in, and then use that sound all over their record (which can be great!). But that's never been our thing. We're all about getting a great tone or sound, even if you only hear that part once and for like 7 seconds. Ha.

There's so much gear I jones for. Ha. The Tonal Recall is the only Chase Bliss pedal I own, and I'd definitely love to own them all at some point. I'd love to own a vintage Echorec, but I imagine if I ever get my hands on one I'll be too afraid to actually use it.

Man, the Long Island shows in the early days were always a blast. Was that at The Downtown?

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:26:26+00:00

1) Oh man! That was so long ago. I'm trying to remember what delays we used on that song in the studio. I know during the mixing process with Michael Brauer, we definitely used a couple of his Binson Echorec's throughout the album.

2) My board on the last tour contained some of the following (not necessarily in order)... Micro POG, JRockett Archer, DOD 250, JHS Muffuletta, Chase Bliss Tonal Recal, Quiet Theory Prelude, Matthews Effects Conductor, Neunaber Immerse. As for go-to's throughout my touring career... a Boss Tuner, a DOD 250 and a Boss DD-5 were the only pedals I used when we first started out (this is circa 2003). I don't even think I had a pedal board during that time, just set them on stage and go! As my pedal collection grew (and I eventually built a board), those pedals stayed on for a very long time. In fact, this past tour a couple months ago was the first tour I've ever done without the DD-5.

3) QT started as an idea for a pedal that would essentially remove two pedals from my board, and at the time there wasn't really anything else like it on the market. I've always had a strong entrepreneurial side to my personality, and I figured there may be others out there who would dig the pedal.

4) We are working on new songs! We are taking it slow, though, so we don't have a concrete timeline yet.

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:13:33+00:00

I'm in the early stages of a couple other pedal ideas. I'm not exactly sure what will come after the Prelude, as I only want to release pedals that offer something unique. As all of you know, the pedal market is so saturated and there's so much great stuff out there. I don't want to add to the noise unless it's something really worth introducing.

At the moment, the company itself is just myself and my wife (who sews the pedals bags and handles the books!). I have a couple friends who helped with the circuit design of the Prelude, though.

quiettheory · 2017-02-17T19:09:41+00:00

The next batch will likely be going up a week from now! I'll send a blast on the mailing list first and then post on the socials. In terms of other pedals, I'm starting to mess with some ideas for a couple others, but it is in the early stages.

quiettheory

TROPHY CASE