ORGY PORGY SYNTH AND GRIND:
AMIR DERAKH AND RYAN SHUCK
By Sandy Masuo, Guitar 10/98

Amir Derakh isn't a by-the-book kind of guy. "I love reading the manuals for these guitar synthesizers," says Orgy's resident guitar synthesist in a wry tone. "Some of the things they say are just so retarded. Like, 'This is your standard setup. Don't be afraid to experiment.' Ha-ha Ha-ha!"

Experimentation is the norm for Derakh, who confesses the his experience as an engineer and producer (Eels, Coal Chamber, and upcoming Spineshank) has certainly helped him push the envelop when it comes to the much-maligned guitar synth. "Basically I'm just a guitar player, but the thing is, using my guitar I have a pretty much unlimited sound," he explains. "By the next record, my setup's going to be amazing. I can only go so far at this point because, first-off, it costs a lot of money to have a rig like I do. Plus I've been feeling it out as I go along. It's a learning process, too. Not that it hasn't been done, but it hasn't been done in the way we're doing it."

Sure enough, Orgy's sinewy blew of electronics and twisting grooves evokes everything from David Bowie to Ministry and Sisters of Mercy while still maintaining a certain guitar-barbed feel that alludes to its kinship with Korn.

Guitarist Ryan Shuck, who played in a pre-Korn outfit called Sex Art with Jonathan Davis, isn't threatened in the slightest by Derakh's outer-limits approach to rock. The way he sees it, it only makes him a more well-rounded guitarist.

"I think it's repetitious to have two guitars, especially when you have something like a synth," Shuck observes. "With a synth guitar [Derakh] can do a mix of synths and guitar live and it sounds amazing! I love double-guitar bands, but in this band we're not necessarily going for a guitar sound. We're usually trying to manipulate the sound more, so it makes me have to do more things with pedals and get really far out to keep up with his synth arsenal."

To that end, Shuck has not only developed an agile approach to playing his seven-string, but amassed his own array of effects. "We use everything from jet phasers to simple tremolos," he says. "I have this thing called a Tremodello. It's a hand-made tremolo pedal and I use that for some cool sounds and for distortion. I don't have any distortion on my amp, a Marshall JCM 800, so I'll use an Electro Harmonic Hyperfuzz, Big Muff 2 for distortion!! I play with like 10 or 12 [pedal effects] or something like that. All I know is it's this long array of foot switches on the ground and they get added to and [subtracted from] regularly. I have to use a MIDI controller for it; otherwise it's like driving a car and playing a guitar at the same time."