Jared Scharff
SNL Band guitarist
Pearl Lion instrumental project
Creator of “Unnecessary Shredding” YouTube series
www.soundcloud.com/IamPearlLion
www.youtube.com/JaredScharff
Instagram: @ScharffIsHere
Twitter: @ScharffIsHere
SnapChat: JaredScharff
Facebook: JaredScharffOfficial
Facebook: Pearl Lion
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I’ve been in love with music since I was a kid and starting playing the drums in the 4th grade. Added in the Guitar in 5th and the rest is history. My parents were always playing great music around the house and always had the radio on in the car. I couldn’t get enough!
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
I’ve been influenced by ALL kinds. When I was a kid it was Kirk Hammett, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins which grew into Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Clapton, SRV, Hendrix, followed by Jam band stuff, etc. In college I was into Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, Aphex Twin, Dylan, Tom Petty, etc. These days it’s more about beatmakers and producers. Hudson Mohawke, RJD2, Flying Lotus, etc.
What drew you to using pedals initially? Have you been using them throughout your playing career? How have pedals helped to shape your sound, or influence the style that you’ve created?
I always used pedals. I remember as I kid when I would go to my guitar lesson I brought a boss metal zone so I could jam out with some distortion! When I was in my old band Carbondale (RCA) I was using a pedalboard but it was a lot of basics – overdrive, trem, vol pedal, and a Whammy of course! These days I am obsessed with fuzz pedals, vintage gear and modern craziness. I really like composing with interesting sounds b/c it shapes a song. For my solo project, Pearl Lion, I have a song named “Big Sky” that I wrote using the Strymon Big Sky. The whole song is THAT pedal. Also, for my latest song/video “Alpha4” (https://youtu.be/mOQ-0vv2hgM) it wouldn’t have existed without the EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander. I used that along with a Whammy pedal up an octave the entire time to achieve this super synth-like sound. People still ask me what synth that is haha. So, yeah, pedals are incredibly important to me for creating new sonic worlds!
What’s your current setup look like? Take us through your pedal rig (feel free to include amps and instruments as well if you’d like):
I currently only really have my SNL setup together which is a 65 Amps Monterey (which slays btw) and a simple pedalboard. For SNL I just need the basics to cover the classic material we do. On that board, I have (not listing actual signal chain) Jupiter Fuzz or a Homebrew UFO, Keeley mod tube screamer, Xotic Effects BB plus or BB preamp, Xotic Effects Wah (off board), Cusack Tap-a-whirl trem, Analog Man Chorus, Sweet Sound ultravibe, Keeley caverns, Earthquaker Devices Disaster Transport, JHS minibomb.
Favorite type of pedal (drive, delay, fuzz, etc. – more than one answer is always acceptable!):
Fuzz. Fuzz. Fuzz.
You’re stranded on a desert island – which three (3) of the following do you want to have?
Instruments: Vintage strat, Vintage Les Paul, vintage Gretsh Silver Jet with Bigsby
Amps: Vintage Vox AC30 (60s), Vintage Deluxe Reverb, Vintage hot-rodded Plexi maybe?
Pedals: Vintage Memory Man, Some sort of Fuzz, some sort of crazy reverb or multi-effects. Is that cheating?
What’s up next for you/your band(s)?
I’ve released two songs on my Pearl Lion Soundcloud page and one video so far. I will be releasing a few more songs/vids, as well as, the actual releases of my two mini-albums over the next few months.
The Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
Never tried it. Would love to try one of the older ones that people freak out over.
Any last comments, promos or anything you’d like to talk about?
Nope!
Thanks so much to Jared for taking the time to answer some questions!
Make sure to go check out http://www.youtube.com/JaredScharff, cheers!
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