Progressive glam rock band Ruby Topaz just released their new album, Ruby Topaz Again 23rd Anniversary Remaster, following on the heels of last year’s Rabbit Hole.
Right up front, know this: Mark Bram is one of the premier shredders. He wields his axe like Thor wields his hammer.
Ruby Topaz has a history in rock that goes back nearly 40 years, with the initial recordings of guitarist and vocalist, Mark Bram. Heavily influenced by Led Zepplin, Queen, and all things guitar rock, the band won many accolades in the ‘80s and early ‘90s for their unique sound and Bram’s inimitable guitar work.
Ruby Topaz Again 23rd Anniversary Remaster encompasses the best of the band’s past releases – all 11 of them, breathing new life into the tracks with high-quality digital remasters.
Tattoo.com spoke with Mark Bram to explore his current setup, which is quite extensive, and the setup he feels serves musicians best.
First things first. Give us a general overview of your gear.
My rig is built around the Line 6 Helix.
I have been using Line 6 gear since 2000, and Vetta since 2002.
In June of 2015, while on vacation in Cape Cod, I read a blurb about the ‘coming soon’ Line 6 Helix. I did some research, saw some videos, and found the Helix thread on THE GEAR PAGE. I have been living on TGP ever since. I pre-ordered Helix in late June/early July and received my Helix in October 2015.
I still check in to TGP every day, even though I own Helix. The people on TGP are very nice and everyone tries to help each other (rare on forums these days). Line 6 has the team that developed Helix on the thread all the time. They have been really great at listening and relating to their customers. There is a lot of info there on Helix (best ways to get what you want and news on updates). There have been updates that included features based on the things that customers requested on the thread. They really listen. The Helix is the most amazing and symbiotic guitar amp rig simulator-multi fx-signal router-piece of gear for live and recording…ever!
I never thought that I would switch to ANYTHING from my Vetta rig, but this thing sounds and “feels” like a real tube guitar amp. You get all the response and feel of playing your guitar into a real tube amp and, after going through virtual pedals, compressors, eq, delays, reverbs…whatever…, it comes out sounding like the best-recorded amp you’ve ever heard. I could go on forever about this piece of gear, and not cover everything, so I’ll get to the rig. Helix is the true successor to Vetta. Go to the Equipment Demo part of this page and watch the Vetta vs Helix demo to hear the difference.
This rig is pretty simple. I had my Greg Fryer hand-built Deluxe Treble Booster on my board, but Line 6 added a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster in a firmware update, so the hardware treble booster came off the board.
I go into Helix, and I have a Vocoder going into the effects loop of the Helix (as soon as Line 6 adds a Vocoder to Helix, in a firmware update, that will be removed). I send an out from Helix to a Line 6 HX Stomp XL. I also have a Woman Tone pedal, a Sabra Cadabra pedal, a JHS Superbolt pedal, and Boss TB-2W Tonebender MKII in the FX loop of Helix. I don’t know if they’ll stay, but they’re here, for now.
As far as guitar signal…that’s it! Now, the amplification:
From the Helix, I go out of the L6 Link output (Line 6 digital output) to the L6 link input on the left Line 6 L2t powered speaker. Out of the L6 Link output of the L2t to the L6 Link input on the right L2t. The L2ts are on stands on either side of two 212 Powercab plus amps, on top of each other, wired like a stereo 4×12 cabinet (which takes it’s signal from the XLR outputs of Helix). They are mic’d with two Royer ribbon mics. This gives me the feel and the oomph that my big 300-watt, four-cab, Vetta rig had.
Synth Stuff:
The 13-pin output from my ghost-loaded guitars goes to a Primova Sound GKPX-14 splitter with four outputs. The first output goes to a Roland GM-800 guitar synth, via a converter, then out of that into another GM-800. The second goes to a Roland GP-10 (for acoustic, electric, 12 string, etc…Guitar simulation…kind of like a Variax guitar, without the guitar). I have three EV-5 expression pedals… one each for the two GM-800s (as volume pedals) and a mission pedal for the HX Stomp XL volume. All of the outputs go to a small Behringer mixer, that is mounted on my pedal board and that goes into a rackmounted DBX stereo compressor. I have four Behringer stereo DI boxes. Two of them take the line mixer outputs (through a stereo hum eliminator) and send them to the L2ts and the DAW, or FOH, in stereo (depending on whether I’m recording or playing live). The other goes out of the Powercab to a stereo hum eliminator, which goes to the DAW (when recording) or the FOH (when playing live), all in stereo… this way, I don’t get any ground hum, when interfacing with another system.
All of this allows me to recreate any of the overdubs (synths, strings, horns, piano, organ, acoustic or electric guitars, etc.) that are on our recordings, in a live situation.
What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
My fingers…
But seriously… my Helix.
If you could, or wanted to, what would you tweak or mod?
I’m constantly tweaking and modding everything until I get what I want. I am very happy with the way things sound, so no tweaking now… until something new comes along
What brand do you usually lean towards when looking up new options?
Line 6.
Destroying instruments on stage: yay or nay?
Absolutely, and definitely… NAY!!!
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done with a musical instrument?
I burned a hole in an ‘80s 1957 reissue candy apple red Stratocaster, with a huge soldering iron. I no longer do my own mods.
What setup did you spend the most time idolizing as a kid growing up?
Jimmy Page’s two Zeppelin album rigs and, later, Brian May’s rig (I now have all that and more on my pedalboard). I’ve always been enamored by the wall or backline of amps… and had a few in my day.
What setup do you think serves musicians like yourself the most in the style of music you play?
I think that a good modeler, like Line 6 gear, and good powered FRFR speakers, will get you just about anything. I did experiment a lot… with using subs with my L2ts, or putting FRFR speakers in 4×12 cabs, and using a poweramp… until I settled with my current rig. I need to ‘feel’ it like I did with a big backline. It makes the guitar very touch-sensitive and dynamic, giving me a plethora of tones, just using my volume pedal.
Time for some fun. Give us your best “gear goes wrong” story.
I don’t have them anymore. I make my rigs foolproof. In the old days, that was a different story. I had huge pedalboards and refrigerator-sized racks, and if something went wrong, tracing it down was a horror show.
