Board To Death! Ep. 35 - Arianna Powell (Halsey)
On this episode of Board To Death, Arianna Powell, educator, solo artist, session, and touring guitarist, has worked with the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Dua Lipa, and Halsey takes us on a deep dive through her very tidy pedalboard featuring several EQD delights. Playing her wonderfully sonorous Gibson SG, the versatile Duquesne U grad talks about the importance of maintaining note clarity for the jazz-infused "big chords" she favors. Powell begins with the Hoof, which she uses as her base fuzz sound, and occasionally with her EXH POG 2 to simulate a synth bass and "make a song sound a lot bigger." Powell uses four reverb/delay pedals. The Avalanche Run "is probably my all-time favorite pedal; I use this on everything," she says. The EQD stereo delay and reverb pedal is used in Powell's solo music and featured in the stripped-down versions of several songs featured on the deluxe edition of Halsey's "Manic" album for its timeless and warm sound. She also praises the Afterneath she uses for "space" and "cool vibe." Chorus is another mainstay on her studio and touring board. When she makes loops for other artists and producers, Powell says that she enjoys the "animated and different" Sea Machine for its ability to nail subtle or downright "kooky" chorus sounds. The "PlayStation area" is the Spatial Delivery envelope filter she uses for funky auto-wah sounds or psychedelic lines in her board's wildcard spot. "It's one of those famous EarthQuaker pedals that kind of has a mind of its own that I really like.
Directed by Vice Cooler
DP: Dalton Blanco
Sound: Scott Cornish
Make Up: Kylie Chavez-Gruss
Shot at Honeymoon Suite