We're interviewing the creators of over 130 Tone Partner Collections now on ToneNET to learn more about their backgrounds and what inspired each collection.
We caught up with Tone Partner Mendel bij de Leij of Drums And Tones to discuss his career as a professional guitarist and composer and how he came about producing his first TONEX Collection, available on ToneNET to demo and purchase HERE.
Learn more about Drums And Tones (Mendel):
Mendel TONEX Metal Pack demo
IK Multimedia: Let's start from the beginning. When did you start playing guitar and why guitar? Do you play other instruments too?
Mendel: I started playing guitar a little over 20 years ago in 2001. I saw the music video for Muse's "Plug in Baby", the slow zoom to Matthew Bellamy playing that harmonic minor intro riff, I can still get goosebumps watching that. I already played classical piano, organ and drums.
IK: Who were some of your early guitar influences?
Mendel: My first guitar influence was Muse. The first thing I tried to learn was "Plug In Baby" and "New Born" from them. Besides Muse, Metallica was a huge influence as well, then also Lamb of God, The Haunted and Symphony X come to mind.
IK: Was there a moment in your life when you made a conscious decision to pursue music professionally?
Mendel: I was an insecure kid when growing up and was insecure about my playing as well. And just to try it, I joined the national guitar contest, never expecting I would win the quarter-finals, and the semifinals and land second place nationally. That sparked something, I guess it gave me the confidence to just go for it and never look back.
IK: What's your approach to guitar sound in general?
Mendel: I'm a big fan of clarity in general. As a mixing engineer, I always aim for that perfect clarity where everything sparks like a late '90s pop hit haha! I try to achieve the same with my guitar tones. I've never been a huge fan of 5150 amps but I love 5150 III amps and basically all MESA amps. For rhythms, I lean towards 5150 III EL34, Road King II, Friedman BE DLX or Mark V for example.
When it comes to leads, I'm all about the fatness, which sometimes can be hard on low notes while playing the neck pickup. Back when I played in Aborted, people might be surprised that I used a MESA LoneStar tone for all solos on Retrogore (2016), guess that's Andy Timmon's fault hehe!
IK: What is often overlooked when trying to get a good tone? How did you find your personal sound?
Mendel: For me personally, it's the "depth." It's something I can really be an*l about but there's something about the feel of a real amp and how it "moves" during palm mutes which is something that's done very often in metal. That's what I loved about TONEX, even the feel is there. I try to get my tone as good as possible from the source, so it feels good from the get-go and it sounds good (in the mix) from the get-go. Don't overlook the importance of the cab/IR either, I'd say that's 70% of your tone.
IK: You also work as a film score composer. Can you tell us more about that?
Mendel: I started film scoring 3 years ago and I'm currently also scoring a game I can't talk much about yet. But I can't forget sitting in theaters in 2008 and experiencing "The Dark Knight," that very moment was a light bulb that I wanted to do film scoring down the road. While studying at the Academy of Pop Culture in Leeuwarden (Netherlands), I did my internship with a composer called Arnold Veeman. He took me under his wing for 6 months, I learned a lot but it was also the period I joined the band Aborted and started touring globally which made me shift focus during that period. Currently, I just wrapped up a short film and I'm on the starting blocks of scoring a new game.
IK: What would your desert island rig look like (money is no object)? You are limited to 1 amp, 1 cab, 1 guitar, 3 pedals. Plus 1 non-Guitar-related gear.
- Mendel: MESA Mark V
- MESA Cab
- My Les Paul Custom
- 1 delay pedal
- 1 reverb pedal
- Box of donuts
IK: Even though you own a lot of great tube amps and gear you have also embraced digital technology. Tell us a little bit about when and why you started capturing amps and what led you to TONEX?
Mendel: I've always wanted to capture the sound I have in my head and use it in the box, and as far as I know TONEX was the first one to do that and do it very well. There's one simple rule I have for myself: If I fool myself in a blind test, it's good enough for the mix. From a guitarist's point of view, it's a dream to dial in the amp exactly how you want it and have it in the box. From a mixing engineer point of view, TONEX is the most welcome dream. I can dial in the amp for the band/project, capture it, and use it on the rest of the album and there'll be no noticeable difference.
IK: What advice do you have for players starting out and wanting to jump into capturing their amps?
Mendel: First of all, have fun. Be inspired and listen to as much music as possible. When it comes to tone, I'd advise not to overthink it. Does it sound good? Feel good? Done. That's the most important thing. Having said that, if you capture your amp directly without a cab make sure to use a good load box, they all sound different. I'm a big fan of the Driftwood loadbox.
IK: You have created an amazing TONEX Collection.Tell us about why you chose these amps and who can benefit most from using the tones from your collection.
Mendel: These are seriously my favorite amps, especially the Road King II. With the right boost pedal in front of it the amp can become lethal, so good. I tried to be as diverse as possible ranging from MESA to EVH to Bogner and more. I think most rock/metal players can benefit from this.
IK: What was your approach to dialing in the tones?
Mendel: Clarity and thickness/depth. Besides the DI tones, there are also Tone Models with cabs mixed, so cleaned up by using my favorite plugins. It's just cleaned up so they remove the honky mids or nasty cab resonances.
IK: What surprised you the most about the quality of the captures?
Mendel: As I stated before, it's the feel, the depth of response when I do palm mutes. That's the thing that really blew my mind.
IK: Do you have any new collections in the works?
Mendel: I'm always capturing haha! So who knows maybe some new stuff is coming up ;)!
IK: You demo a lot of gear. What's your approach to creating gear reviews on your channel?
Mendel: I try to review it in a musical context, that's why a lot of reviews start with a song placing the gear in a musical context.
IK: Outside of capturing your amps, are there any music projects you are currently working on or have planned for the future? (gigs, sessions, albums, etc.)
Mendel: I recently finished mixing and mastering the album for Dutch death metal giants Severe Torture, wrapped up a short film and I'm currently on the starting blocks for scoring an upcoming game.
IK: Where do you see guitar gear going? Any predictions?
Mendel: I think AI will be more and more implemented in guitar gear and I hope for the greater good as well. I'm always a supporter of anything that leads to innovation. Sometimes I think: why aren't there more one-of-a-kind guitar amps built just for a plugin? Or just building one amp without any limitations regarding distribution or mass manufacturing and making captures from that? Heck, might even be better for the environment.