The name „Bill Liesegang“ isn‘t unknown to the music scene:
Besides a common band with Bruce Dickinson, Bill also played live and as a session guitarist with artists like Rod Stewart, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nina Hagen.
So who‘d be more suitable to comment on the virtual guitar and bass amplifier „Vandal“?
MAGIX (Falk Grünewald):
You played live and as a session guitarist and worked together with artists like Trevor Horn, Nina Hagen, Udo Lindenberg, Rod Stewart, Bruce Dickinson and many more.
But how did it all start? When did you hit the strings for the first time?
Bill Liesegang:
I started playing guitar at 11 when I heard ‘You Really Got Me!’ I then had my 1st band ‘Black Box Philosophy’ in London, who won a talent contest when I was 13.
I remember played blues with a whole whisky bottle and my voice hadn’t broken yet.The runners up who were an older blues band asked me to join them and we did many gigs (Appendix to Part One) including the 1st free open festival in UK with David Bowie,who was our friend at the time (He wasn’t famous yet).
I have to add this was at the expense of my school studies!!
MAGIX:
What’s your line-up in the studio / on stage?
Bill:
I have various setups(mainly old and vintage)
For smallish gigs I use an AC30 Top Boost(1967). I overdrive it with a 70′s Boss OD-1 or Ibanez Tubescreamer from the 80′s or Colorsound 1970 Overdriver.
For big gigs: I have a Soldano SR77 preamp with Marshall 9000 power amp,2 Eventide Harmonizers, H3000 and DSP 4000.
Also I have 2 50 watt Marshall lead and bass heads from 71-72 and a Marshall JTM 45 plexi from 69.These get used for studio work.
I also use a custom made Mango 15 w mini valve stack for anything tiny or in the studio.
I have 3 Marshall 4X12.
I have 2 Trace Elliot Speed Twin 50 watt valve heads(1990′s) which sound good.
GTRS
Gibson Les Paul sunburst from 1968 with original PAF’s
1963 Fender Strat
Kramer Baretta
Dobro
Martin D35 acoustic 1972
Martin D12 12string 1969
Fender double neck 6+12
Yamaha RGX A2 electric
JJ guitar
Electric Babes guitar
Hofner Verithin
Steinberger GT4
Roland GR20 gtr synth
I use all this stuff in the studio,but the amps are being taken over by your software!!
MAGIX:
When did you hear from Vandal for the first time and what was it that catched your interest?
Bill:
I downloaded 3 major plugin manufacturers’ gtr amp simulators, and came across Vandal after reading a review in Sound on Sound.
I compared the lead sounds of all 3, and came to the conclusion that the Vandal had the most natural sound.I am generally more interested in the amp sound than the FX
MAGIX:
In which situations do you use Vandal?
Bill:
I use it in the studio,where these days of low budget production speed is of the essence.
It sounds so good I get too lazy to plug in the amps and mic them up!I like the idea of being able to change the sound in case you made a bad decision,which you can’t do when mic’ing up amps & cabinets.
MAGIX:
What do you like about Vandal?
Bill:
I love the solo sounds especially the ‘High gain solo’.The Phase shifter tremolo is very close to the ‘Hendrixy’ Univibe too.La Crema is a killer !
The cabs sound very realistic,unlike some of the other manufacturers.Evrything sounds super and is less noisy on extreme overdrive settings.The controls actually sound like you are turning the dials on a real amp. The voicing is a very nice touch
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