Geared: Miles Baker of Rings of Saturn

Wondering what kind of gear Miles Baker from Rings of Saturn uses? Well good, because we had a chance to chat with him about what he’s using live!

Rings of Saturn is well-known for being extremely complex and technically proficient. Considering the type of music he is playing, Miles’ live setup is surprisingly minimalistic. Previously, Miles (and Lucas Mann) had been using the Waves GTR3 Amp plugin for their live tone. All you need is a laptop and a power amp, and then you can plug it right into the PA! This setup makes carrying your gear on tour a breeze.

The GTR3 is an amp sim (similar to Pod Farm or Bias) that doesn’t get as much love as it should. It’s easily on par with some of the other popular sims and it’s only $49! It comes with a ton of great amp sounds based on Marshals, Mesa Boogies, Fenders, Peaveys, and more.

Both guitarists in Rings of Saturn just ordered some Kemper profilers and plan on using them live now. It’s obviously a bit heavier than a laptop, but it definitely offers a lot more tonal flexibility than the much cheaper GTR3. For international tours where it may be more difficult to carry heavy gear, Miles plans on using Bias on his laptop. The only pedal he will be using is a foot switch to change between clean and distorted tones.

Miles’ favorite guitar to use live is his Schecter Banshee Elite 8 string with a swamp ash body to help with low tuned clarity (We did a review of the Banshee Elite 7 a few months back). It’s fitted with the Seymour Duncan Pegasus/Sentient set and is tuned to Eaeadgbe or “Double Dropped E” as Miles calls it. The Pegasus is an extremely mid-focused pickups with a wonderfully smooth bass response making it a really nice choice for low-tuned, progressive metal styles.

(Here’s some other tips on achieving clarity when tuning low)

We asked Miles for a few tips for guitarists who are trying to achieve the level of playing Miles has. He stressed to please “practice using a metronome and learn your scales/modes.”

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This article written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.