Melbourne’s Soft Corporate are garnering local attention for their anthemic indie pop.
Their debut EP Good Things Will Happen was released a month ago, and it’s title is a perfect evocation of their bright, vocal stylings.
Soft Corporate sports some impressive equipment for an emerging indie outfit. We just had to get a rundown on their favourite pieces.
The band is comprised of Troy Sheehan on vocals, guitars and keys, Madeline Booth on bass, Jack Cross on guitars and Reuben Dyer smacking the drums.
Eager to know how they achieve their full-bodied, soaring sound, we asked each band member for a list of the gear they couldn’t live without.
Jack Cross
Japanese Fender Jazzmaster
I got this guitar in 2013 after a good few years soaking in bands like My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, I wanted something slightly outside of the norm and my jazzmaster makes me play the way I want to sound.
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
Troy and I both use these amps and it’s no surprise that they are so widely utilised. For a player who uses pedals like myself, it’s a great amp to provide a solid foundation to build sounds upon.
JHS modded Soul Food by Electro Harmonix
This pedal pretty much always stays on. It’s a clone of the famed klon centaur, but this modded version makes a few subtle improvements with added features. I find that pushing my amp with this pedal gives me a much richer sound.
Troy Sheehan
Japanese Fender 62 Custom Telecaster
This is my brick. I love the feel of this Tele and it plays beautifully. I fell in love with the white binding/black colour combo as soon as I saw it and it has treated me well ever since.
Nord Electro 4D
This keyboard is a new addition to the band and I think it has helped us refine our sound ever since it was first introduced. It has some great Mellotron and electric piano sounds on board that made their way countless times onto our EP.
Cadavernous Reverb by Blackout Effectors
This is still the probably best reverb sound I’ve ever heard (I’m super picky when it comes to my reverb). It sounds very wet and drippy, and has this awesome ‘swell’ feature that maximizes the reverb and can get pretty out of control. Love it.
Maddie:
Shell pink Fender Jazz bass
Literally all I need, I managed to nab the perfect guitar at a pretty young age. I don’t think I’ll be replacing this one soon. Only thing is it can get a bit heavy playing live, but besides this, it sounds great and looks badass.
Braided guitar lead
In general, short leads suck and I hate the matte plastic style leads. I usually opt for something at least 3m long in the braided or woven fabric style, as I find they keep better and are easier to manipulate when coiling your lead.
Reuben:
Meinl Byzance Sand 14″ Hi Hats and 20″ Ride
I first came across these cymbals in a video by Benny Greb, one of my absolute biggest inspirations. I was a bit skeptical that I could make the cymbals sing as well as he does, but after trying them out at a drum store I instantly fell in love with their dark, complex tone.
Their washiness really helps set the dark tone of the EP — in particular our song Downward Sea — and adds layers of complexity throughout.
