Times Of Grace sees Adam Dutkiewicz (right) reunited with his old Killswitch Engage bandmate Jesse Leech (left)
As a preview to issue 337's feature on his new project Times Of Grace and their debut album, Hymn Of A Broken Man, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz talks about his newfound love of PRS guitars.
Guitarist issue 337 - on sale in the UK 22 December
Check out the new issue's feature to find out how Hymn Of A Broken Man is the Killswitch Engage guitarist's most personal album ever, one that sees him play guitar, drum and bass while reuniting with original Killswitch singer Jesse Leech.
What was you gear setup for this album - did it change from what you use with Killswitch Engage?
"Pretty much the same but I've stopped working with Parker now, although I used a Fly on the album. They had a tremendous revamping of their company and ended up firing a lot of people I was working with. Downsizing - it's the state of the music industry, man. It's crazy. So I wasn't in touch with those guys any more and now I'm actually playing a PRS."
What model?
"A Custom 22 - I have a green one and a blue. I'm using the Dragon 2 pickups. To be honest with you I'm regretting not using EMGs on the record because I had a lot of problems with the guitar tones but at the end of the day it still sounds alright. I didn't use the PRS pickups on the record, I ended up using Seymour Duncans and they were all passive. It's a small regret."
What do you like about these Custom 22s?
"I've always respected their guitars, I just never got one because it's so damn expensive! But the one thing I've always loved about them, you know when you sit down with a guitar and you play it and it just sings, it resonates? You can just tell. Guitar companies just don't make guitars like that anymore. [My PRS] is just such a nice piece of wood. It just rings in your hands, it's really really noticeable."
Do you not tend to use a selection of guitars when you record?
"To be honest with you I use whichever one sounds the most in tune! Intonation is the biggest issue for me when recording, I want to make sure it sits perfectly in the sound."
Do you ever use software modelling for your sounds?
"Mic'ing a good guitar cabinet is pretty much the only way for a really, really good overdriven high gain sound. But I actually use amp modelling for clean sounds a lot - little bit parts to accentuate other parts. But for the main real deal you need to use cabs."
"It sounds obvious, but getting a good guitar sound is as easy as getting a good guitar head and cab with a mic in front of the speaker. You have to start with a good tone. A recording is as good as the sum of its parts. Use bad equipment and you get a bad sound!"
Read more about Adam's playing, songwriting and producing for Times Of Grace in issue 337 of Guitarist magazine - on sale 22 December. The Times Of Grace album Hymn Of A Broken Man is released through Roadrunner on 17 January 2011.
