Dave Knudson (born October 13, 1976) is an American guitarist and founding member of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
based indie band
Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear was an American indie rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 2001, and comprising members of Botch, Kill Sadie, and Sharks Keep Moving. Their sound was described as " Pele-esque guitar-taps and electronics with sophisticate ...
, as well as
mathcore
Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...
band
Botch. Other credits include additional guitars on
These Arms Are Snakes
These Arms Are Snakes was an American post-hardcore band that formed in 2002 and featured former members of Botch and Kill Sadie. Before disbanding in 2009, they released three studio albums: ''Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go ...
' album ''
Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home
''Oxeneers or the Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home'' is the debut album by Seattle-based post-hardcore band These Arms Are Snakes, released on September 21, 2004, on Jade Tree Records.
Track listing
* "Idaho" ends at 5:35. An untitled hi ...
''. Since the breakup of Minus The Bear, Knudson has been working on solo material;
his debut solo album, ''The Only Thing You Have to Change is Everything'', was released on May 13, 2022.
Equipment
*Guitars
**
PRS McCarty guitar with two
humbuckers (as seen in the above photo.)
**
PRS Custom 24 with trem/two humbuckers. Seen on the Omni tour.
**
Fender Jaguar Special HH
Baritone Guitar
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Schec ...
. Used on Secret Country live
**
First Act
First Act was a manufacturer of musical instruments and musical learning toys, that produced guitars, bass guitars, guitar and bass accessories, drum sets, percussion instruments, and amplifiers. Mark Izen founded the company in 1995; its onlin ...
Delia 22 fret
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
with two humbuckers.
**
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typi ...
Classic Custom silverburst edition electric guitar.
**
PRS DGT, black with maple trim. Used on Fall '08 tour.
*
Amplifiers
An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
:
**
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969.
Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...
Lonestar with custom white Tolex through a Mesa Boogie 2X12" extension cabinet
**
Fender Twin Reverb
The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characterist ...
(used as rental abroad)
**both amps are now used in conjunction in Knudson's Rig.
*
Effects pedal
An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.
Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in ele ...
s:
**4 ×
Line 6 DL-4s (Knudson also keeps three additional DL-4s as backups, and there are 8 on stage in total between Dave, Jake, and Cory. He will use the sampling abilities of multiple DL-4s at once. Examples are a plenty on Planet of Ice)
**Strymon Timeline Delay
**Enema FX Mingebox (custom made fuzz and octave effect)
**
Ibanez
is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...
TS9
Tube Screamer
The Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS808/TS9) is a guitar Distortion (music), overdrive Effects unit, pedal, made by Ibanez. The pedal has a characteristic mid-boosted tone popular with blues, rock and heavy metal music, metal players. The Tube Screamer h ...
** Fulltone OCD overdrive (used for the recording of
Planet of Ice
''Planet of Ice'' is the third full-length album from Minus the Bear, released in the UK on August 20, 2007 and in the US on August 21 by Suicide Squeeze Records. It was produced and recorded by the band's former keyboard player, Matt Bayles, in ...
in place of the Tubescreamer, though not on tour)
**
Digitech Whammy
**
BOSS
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
RC-3 Loop Station (added in 2007)
**BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay
**BOSS GE-7
EQ
**BOSS CS-3
compressor
A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor.
Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transp ...
**Barber Tone Press compressor
**FMR Really Nice compressor (no longer used live.)
**Electro-Harmonix HOG Guitar Synthesizer with foot controller (added in 2007, can be heard on "Burying Luck".)
**
Dunlop Cry Baby
*Misc
**Suzuki Omnichord (The Minus the Bear album "Omni" is named after this instrument.)
Technique
Dave Knudson is well known for his use of two-handed
tapping
Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...
. He uses this technique to create
polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
(
countermelodies
In music, (German for ''primary voice'') or is the main voice, chief part; i.e., the contrapuntal or melodic line of primary importance, in opposition to . (German for ''secondary voice'') or is the secondary part; i.e., a secondary contrap ...
), whereby his right hand will tap a treble melody, whilst his left hand plays a bass accompaniment. This technique is most apparent on the album
Highly Refined Pirates
''Highly Refined Pirates'' is Minus the Bear's debut full-length album, released on November 19, 2002, by Suicide Squeeze Records.
Track listing
Personnel
*Jake Snider - Vocals and guitar
* Dave Knudson - Guitar
*Erin Tate - Drums
*Cory Murchy ...
, where it is used on every single song (except the electronic interludes.)
Dave is also known for his use of the Line 6 DL-4 delay modeller's sampler capability. The DL-4 can be used to record a phrase which can then be played back instantly by stepping on one of the DL-4's buttons. The sample can also be reversed, slowed down or sped up, effects which Dave makes use of both in the studio (notably on
Menos El Oso), but can also be replicated live. Dave can often be heard recording and preparing the samples before the start of songs when playing live.
Graphic design
On top of playing and touring with Minus the Bear, Dave has also designed the artwork for the band's releases and the majority of
apparel, as well as artwork for other bands such as
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Pretty Girls Make Graves was a post-punk band formed in Seattle in 2001, named after The Smiths' song of the same name (which itself was named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's ''The Dharma Bums''). Andrea Zollo and Derek Fudesco had played t ...
.
References
External links
Minus the BearBotch on Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudson, Dave
1976 births
Living people
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Musicians from Seattle
American indie rock musicians
Minus the Bear members
Guitarists from Washington (state)