Interview mit Victor Brandt von Dimmu Borgir/Firespawn

When did you start playing the bass guitar?
I’m not exactly sure how old I was, but I think I was about twelve. I remember thinking to myself that “maybe I am too old to start learning an instrument if I really want to make it”, which feels crazy to think about now. But I remembered hearing that Morbid Angel’s Trey [Azagthoth] was in his teens when he started playing guitar, so that kind of reassured me that it could work. I’m from a small village with about 800 people living there, and of course no clubs that had shows or even local bands or anything like that. And this was before the internet. But I got really good support from my family, so they got me an instrument, and since there was no distractions, I spent countless hours practicing.

What made you want to learn bass back then?
Me and a friend of mine were hanging out and listening to our favorite metal albums, and we started talking about how cool it would be to play music ourselves, to learn guitar or bass. At first it seemed impossible but we could not stop thinking about it. When we got our instruments, we could not put them down and we were obsessed. Good times.

Did you already learn (or have to learn) another instrument before?
No, not really. There are really good opportunities for music schools and lessons in Sweden, which I think has a lot to do with why there are so many bands from Sweden.

Do you remember which model was your first bass?
Yes, it was a copy of a Fender jazz bass. I actually still have the body, which was quite alright, and I changed the neck to a fretless one and put flatwound strings on it.

How many basses (and guitars) do you own?
I’ve got nine basses and three guitars.

Do the instruments have different uses for you, so do you have different ones for different bands or occasions, like studio, live gigs and holidays?
Yes, absolutely. In DIMMU BORGIR we are using two different tunings (E & D), so then we need one bass (or guitar) in both tunings, so we can make quick changes live … plus backups for both. I usually use the same basses live as in the studio but I do have options for studio basses.

What is particularly important to you from a technical point of view, which criteria must an instrument meet for you to be satisfied with it?
From a technical point of view, good tone – what is “good” tone? Well, it depends on what you like, of course, but I like a bass tone that has good range in tonality, low, mids, and highs, that feels balanced and is of nice quality etc. Furthermore, playability – comfortable to play, balanced, no headstock dives for example; a straight neck, i. e. straight truss rod; and a good string setup and intonation, i. e. it feels good to play and it plays in tune all over the fretboard. Moreover, it has to be sturdy and be able to take the beatings during touring and still deliver all the time. It is extremely important that you trust your instrument when you walk out on stage, so you can focus on the show and not worry about your instrument.

You often hear about musicians who seem to have a special connection to their instrument. Do you feel the same way? Do you have a favourite instrument?
Yes, absolutely. I have my Sandberg signature model which is based on their “48 model”. It’s sort of a mix of Thunderbird, Explorer, and a Harley Davidson. Plus it ticks all of my boxes of quality, sound, playability etc. It’s the instrument of my dreams. We put a lot of time and effort into it and it really shows. Check out Sandberg! They are such a mindblowing company. Everything from their skill and experience to the people working there is so amazing. I can not recommend them enough.  Even if my bass is not for you, they have everything you could need and they can make, fix, and arrange anything and everything. Top notch!

Did you make special modifications to it, or is it a custom model anyway? Can you tell us the technical details here?
The neck is made of Canadian hardrock maple and bolted onto the body with six screws. The fretboard has 22 frets, is made of ebony, and the neck part is completely black. The scale is 34″. The body is made of alder and black with a special hardcore aged reserve finish. The hardware is by Sandberg. The pickups are a Sandberg blacklabel splitcoil and a Sandberg blacklabel T in special position. The preamp is a Sandberg 3-band black label (active/passive, passive tone control). Also, on my main one we rounded some of the edges of the body, and also Sandberg were supercool with another idea I had. They made the Jazz pickup into an inverted cross. Very cool.

Is there a model, such as the instrument of a great role model, that you would like to play one day?
I want to keep playing my signature bass forever.

Amps are often leased for tours – is that okay with you or do you have your own amp with you? Which model do you play?
I use Darkglass Electronics Microtubes 900v, 500 and their DG410N cabinets. Absolutely fantastic stuff from an absolutely amazing company. I have been using their pedals for many years and now I am using their amp, too. They make my work easy.

Besides the instrument and the amplifier, sound effects play an important role in the sound. Do you rely on single pedal mines, a multi-effect board or a combination?
I use the Darkglass B7K, Klotz DI (Check out Klotz cables, too! We only use Klotx cables in DIMMU BORGIR. Top Notch!), DSM Noisemaker CabSim, Darkglass Compressor, and the Fortin Zuul Noise Gate.

Let’s go into detail: Please explain the elements of your effect loop. Which devices do you use, in which order and why?
Wireless → Darkglass Compressor → Fortin Zuul noise gate → Klotz DI box* → Darkglass B7K* → DSM Noisemaker CabSim* → Darkglass Microtubes 900v amp. And a XLR cable for DI to Front of House on the * boxes.

Mind game: You are only allowed to take one single (!) effect on stage – which one do you choose? Which effect pedal makes up your sound?
I choose the Darkglass Electronics B7K. I have done tours with that pedal only and it works great. You will have to rely on the PA and monitors, but if they are good, you will be fine.

Do you have an effect that you use in a completely different way than originally intended, or that you have perhaps even (re)built yourself?
No, but  there are pedals I haven’t mentioned that you should check out: TC Electronic Eyemaster (HM2 style), Lone Wolf Audio – Left Hand Wrath, Abominable pedals Sunnbather, Magic pedals HM2, Black Arts Toneworks Coven.

Why do you choose to use the Fortin Zuul Noise Gate?
It is really, really good and also very light weight, which is very practical. If you like to use a lot of distortion, which I do, it can get a bit noisy sometimes depending on the power supply of the venue etc. It is a nice feeling if there is a noise on soundcheck and someone asks “Where’s that noise coming from?” Well, it’s not me (laughs).

Is your effect board „finished“ or in constant change?
The setup I have is very solid and I am super happy with it.

Finally, do you have any advice for beginning musicians?
Practice as much as possible, play as many gigs as possible, use earplugs, have fun, and be the sort of person you would like to work and hang out with yourself. Also I have not mentioned DR strings, Klotz Cables, Richter and DSL straps, JHAudio In Ear Monitors, In Tune Guitarpicks, Neural DSP-, Positive Grid and Softube software, and Soundbrenner metronomes. Top notch products and companies that I can not recommend enough! Check them out and keep practicing!

Publiziert am 27. Mai 2020 von Moritz Grütz und Juan Esteban

Fotos von: Afra Gethöffer-Grütz