Satchel used a plugin rather than a real amp for most of his solos on the new Steel Panther record: “I don't think people can tell the difference”

Steel Panther electric guitar player Satchel has noted that most of his guitar leads on the band’s new album, On The Prowl, were recorded using a Neural DSP plugin, as opposed to a ‘real’ guitar amp.

Satchel is interviewed in the latest issue of Guitar World, and tells us that he leaned away from his usual EVH 5150 heads when recording the solos on the new album. 

“For leads, a lot of the time it wasn't a real amp – there's no need,” says Satchel. “I don't think people can tell the difference, plus you can always change your tone later if you want, so I used the Neural DSP [Archetype] Gojira plugin. But I like to commit to sounds, too. I still use the second and third versions of the 5150s – they've been on every record, particularly for rhythms." 

The use of modelers over the traditional amp is a contentious subject among classic rock fans and guitar players, in particular. 

However, despite his ’80s roots, Satchel makes the (for him, really quite serious) point that guitarists are particularly prone to getting caught up in the tech, at the cost of the music itself. 

“Guitar players by nature are gearheads – which is actually dangerous,” he notes. “It's better paying more attention to being musical. If you keep fucking around, you won't write a song, let alone a record. And if you don't write a record, you can't have any solos!”

Relatedly, Satchel notes elsewhere in the piece that he’s not out to prove himself to guitarists.

“I don't care about impressing other guitar players,” he tells GW. “Because they're so fuckin' hard to please anyway, especially with all those 6-year-olds shredding on Instagram.”

Instead, he says he favors a mantra laid down by Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top's frontman and an all-'round guitar sage. 

“I remember Billy Gibbons saying something, back before I was born, when he was probably 100,” recalls Satchel, with typical reverence. “And he said… ‘When I practice, I practice sounding the way I want to sound.’ That makes sense to me.”

Speaking of Satchel’s tonal preferences, Steel Panther issued its own 1987 distortion pedal back in February.

To read the full interview with the Steel Panther guitarist, including his reflections on living with Paul Gilbert, his opinions on the seemingly un-Satchel-like Gibson Les Paul, and his $150 Strat, pick up the June 2023 issue of Guitar World via Magazines Direct.