Eve to Adam Guitarist Gaurav Bali Shares Guitar Tone Secrets

Eve to Adam have been faithfully working to keep hard, riff-driven rock 'n' roll alive for more than a decade and some credit for their heavy sound has to go to the band's longtime axeman Guarav Bali.

The guitarist sat down with Guitar International to talk about the band’s new album, 'Locked and Loaded,' (due Sept. 17) and he opened up about how he gets hits great sounds.

Bali kept the foundation of his guitar tone simple, using the same setup in the studio that he uses on the stage. He mainly played his EVH Wolfgang USA guitars, having just recently signed on to the EVH/Fender family. He said that although he used a couple of Les Pauls in the studio, he fell in love with his EVHs and stuck with them for most of the album. His amp, also from the EVH family, is the 5150 III.

On the EVH website, Bali said, “I was hooked the minute I heard the 5150 III, because all three [channels] sound amazing. I use a lot of effects, and this amp works great with all of them.”

The new album is heavily-laden with effects. The Eve to Adam guitarist said he used a lot of effects pedals throughout and also employed the ubiquitous Fractal Axe FX 2. Another key component to Bali’s sound on the new album was producer Elvis Baskette. “He really pays a lot of attention to detail and doesn’t rush getting the right sound for a certain part,” said Bali. “I always record a ton of overdubs, counter melodies, etcetera and we had a great time experimenting with different sounds and parts for these songs.”

‘Locked and Loaded’ marks the first time Eve to Adam has worked with people outside the band to write songs. Dave Bassett, who has worked with top names such as Shinedown and Halestorm, contributed to the songwriting process, as did Shinedown's Eric Bass, who came up with the synth line around which their current single ‘Straightjacket Supermodel’ is written.

The band has a handful of shows booked for the rest of August through September. For tour dates and band news, visit Eve to Adam’s website.