The Gear Behind LOSER’s New Track ‘Upside Down’

26 November 2020 | 3:00 pm | LOSER

Following the release of their ‘Mindless Joy‘ album back in February, Melbourne rockers LOSER converted an old garage into a new home studio, which resulted in fresh cut ‘Upside Down’. Frontman Tim Maxwell and bassist Craig Selak share a breakdown of the gear that went into the track with us.

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TIM MAXWELL, VOCALS/GUITAR

All the gear I have is somewhat affordable and can help you achieve a decent recording quality. I would describe my workflow as working in a digital world, however, most of my gear is analogue emulation which helps me make records sound as good as they can be. I have been teaching myself engineering and mixing for many years and it’s just getting easier and easier with the amazing tools that are around.

Rode NT2

This fairly inexpensive microphone can do wonders in the studio. I got this gifted to me from Craig and his girlfriend and it was used for the main vocal in Upside Down.

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Reverend Jetstream HB Black

This guitar provided most of the beefy rhythm tones on Upside Down. I have played Reverends for a few years now and they are just so versatile and suitable for me.

Line 6 Helix

The key to all my tone, I never thought I’d end up with a multi-fx processor but these days the tones they can recreate are magic. I also don’t have the room to have a thousand pedals anymore, haha.


Reverend Jetstream 390 Orange

My other main Reverend, this thing rips, it’s loaded with three P90s and was used mostly for all the single-coil leads and rhythms.

Epiphone Sheraton

This is one of my mate's guitars that was left at the studio and it provided a nice warm tone for certain clean parts, I’d never rock this on stage but it does the job where it’s needed.

Softube Console 1

I purchased this a year ago and I haven’t looked back. It’s basically an emulation of an SSL 4000 console but you can also load up Neves, APIs etc. It makes my workflow so much easier.

Softube Console 1 Fader

This is the extension for the console 1 - it’s a set of faders that pair with the console 1.


UAD Apollo Twin Solo

Can’t go wrong with this beautiful interface, it’s provided me quality audio since I bought it I’ve pretty much recorded every single loser demo with it.

Beyer Dynamic DT 770

These are the best headphones I have ever owned, they are bright, clear and full of punch. Highly recommend these.

Yamaha HS5

A pretty stock but great set of monitors. You can’t go wrong with these.

Focusrite Scarlett Octo Pre Mk II

Basically my Adat extension to record 8 more tracks from the Apollo. I’d be buggered without it.

CRAIG SELAK, BASS

Fender American Ultra Precision Bass Arctic Pearl

My desert island bass. The blend control between the P and the J pickup was helpful to record certain sections when we needed the bass to have a tiny bit more cut. I am obsessed with this bass, it basically plays itself and I just hold on for the ride.

TC Electronic John Petrucci Dreamscape Pedal (secret weapon for bass tone)

This is the signature pedal of Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci. For modulation and chorus sounds this bad boy is a swiss army knife. Adding this to a bass recording is how I imagine the colonel from KFC felt when he discovered the final secret herb & spice for his chicken. Delicious.

Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Programmable

Tracking during lockdown meant I wasn't able to crank up my usual MarkBass amp and mic it up, so I was looking for another solution. I read in an article that one of the producers who worked with Pearl Jam stopped micing up bass amps in the studio after he got one of these. I figured if it was good enough for Jeff Ament from Pearl Jam, it would probably do the job. It did.

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