My main instruments are guitar and bass, but I also play keys, percussion, ukulele, and pretty much anything available in the recording studio.
Gear
Guitars
- Gibson Les Paul Traditional: Between 2022 and 2024, my main guitar has been a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Traditional. I am a heavy Les Paul guy! Strat-style guitars just don’t suit me because I don’t like their necks or their sound. I lean more toward the darker and fuller tones than what Strats can deliver. It is a standard model with no customizations, though I am considering replacing the tone potentiometers soon before they begin to crackle. The pickups are original.
- Tokai Telecaster: My second favorite is a natural/yellow Tokai Telecaster, which is often used in studio recordings. For example, the intro and verses of ”Inverted” were recorded using this guitar. I replaced the original pickups with Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers for a super silent and awesome sound. I use the Tokai primarily for mild overdrive sounds.
- Gibson Les Paul Studio: My third favorite is a wine red Gibson Les Paul Studio. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Gibson Dirty Fingers, and the tone knob is rewired for versatile use: I can blend it as a single-coil, a humbucker, or anything in between. The neck pickup is original. This Studio Les Paul is a bit more aggressive than the Traditional model. Both sound terrific, and it’s usually just a matter of the position of the Moon and what I had for dinner that decides which of these Les Pauls is my #1 on any given day! 🙂
Basses
- Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass: I know a Fender Precision Bass is often considered ”more rock” than a Jazz Bass, but when I had to choose between the two, I picked the Jazz Bass for its versatility. Actually, I rarely touch the EQ knobs because this bass sounds next to perfect with flat EQ settings.
- Warwick RockBass: For more aggressive tones—especially in metal tracks—I use the Warwick, which excels at distorted bass sounds.
Guitar Strings
Most often, I use Elixir® Electric Nickel-Plated Steel Strings with OPTIWEB® Coating (.009–.042 set), occasionally stepping up to a .010–.046 set.
Guitar Amps
For both live performances and recording sessions, I rely heavily on the Fractal Audio Axe-FX III MKII. Additionally, for studio recordings, I might use a Mesa/Boogie MK III, a Marshall JTM45, or my self-made Fender Champ-style tube amp. The Mesa/Boogie MK III is usually routed through a Marshall 1960A 4×12″ cabinet to achieve a fuller sound.
Recording Studio
Pulu Studio is my own recording studio, located in Helsinki, Finland. Over the years, I have recorded and produced over 1,500 rock, metal, heavy, indie, and pop songs for various bands and artists. For our band, this gives us a massive home-field advantage since we can create music in our own space. Having extensive experience in producing and recording bands allows me to apply those skills diversely when developing Darkness Is My Canvas’ songs.