Positive Mental Trip

Luke Weiler has played a BOSS AW-3 Dynamic Wah/Envelope Filter Pedal in Positive Mental Trip since 2016. He has played more live shows using this pedal than any other Envelope Filter wah pedal during the 2016-2019 Positive Mental Trip era. Often using it with an expression pedal for a rather warm standard wah sound without the ice pick like treble-y sounds, it was one of Luke’s favorite pedals. It was not used in the studio during the 2018-2019 studio sessions for the “Love Never Dies” album and it was last played live at “The Black and White Album” release party in 2017. “It is still one of my favorite pedals much like my white GCB cry baby my father gave me but we have higher quality analog wah filters to use now. I prefer to use the Xotic XW-1 for Standard wah wah sounds and the MOOG Low Pass Filter. My E-Bow broke but if I can get an E-Bow before recording for this album finishes I’ll take a killer E-Bow solo with the AW-3. I try to feature every pedal in my collection on at least one guitar part on every PMT Album.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip plays an MXR M68 Uni-Vibe Chorus/Vibrato on the Vibrato setting with a faster rate. A couple other Uni-Vibe pedals in his arsenal the TC Electronic Viscous Vibe and the Source Audio Orbital Modulator he tends to use with a very slow, thick swirl/throb on the Chorus setting. The MXR M 68 Uni-Vibe is the only uni-vibe pedal in the Positive Mental Trip Uni-vibe arsenal, he prefers on the vibrato setting on a fast rate. It is also the only analog Uni-Vibe played on Positive Mental Trip albums or live. Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip loves all Filter and modulation pedals but especcially loves the throbbing hypnotic pulse of this particular effect.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip plays an Xotic XW-1 wah pedal. Luke uses this pedal live and in the studio finding it extremely versatile with lots of control on sweep ad tonality. He also enjoys the smaller size of the pedal when it comes to stage space where every inch counts.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip plays an Earthquaker Devices Spatial Delivery V2. He uses it in the studio and also live recently in 2019. “A top jacked, pedalboard size friendly ,unique and very cool sounding Envelope Filter. I have no complaints with this pedal. It sounds a lot different from the others in my arsenal which makes it exactly the wah Filter pedal I was looking for.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used a Schecter C1 Elite since 2006. It was his backup guitar at many many shows in case the Fender Stratocaster broke a string.(as it often would early on with the live band) During the solo loop PMT era (2008-2010) the Schecter C1 Elite has a Roland Synth Pickup installed on it and (using the Roland GR-20 Luke used to have) provided all the basslines and synth craziness Luke used to loop live on those solo loop tours. It is still one of his favorite guitars to this day and it is said to have needed way less setups then any of his other guitars.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has played the Malekko Ekko Dark 616 MKII since early 2018. It is tied with the MF Delay for his favorite Analog Delay out of the ones he owns. The Malekko Ekko Dark 616 MKII are both used for many analog delay sounds during many sessions recording for the new 2019 studio album. (“Love Never Dies” 2019) If only this pedal has an expression pedal option it would be my favorite. I love the expression pedal option on the MOOG MF Delay.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings on and off since 2006. During sessions for both “change your mind” (2012) and “The Black and White album”(2017) all his electric guitars had Ernie Ball regular slinky strings. Luke really likes Elixir Nanoweb and Polyweb strings the most but has a lot of guitars and plays all of those guitars a lot. Luke also loves the sound of D’addario and DR Strings on electric guitar but 90 percent of the time from 2006-2019, Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings have been on all his electric guitars except the Godin Multiac.(nylon string electric synth guitar)

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used a POG 2 Polyphonic Octave Generator since early 2019 regularly. However he did borrow one to use on a couple songs on “The Black and White Album” (2017). “The new album (2019) you will really hear some of these POG2 sounds, and they will not be subtle at all”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip plays an Electro Harmonix RING THING since summer of 2018. Hasn’t got the chance to play it live yet but it is being tracked on a song on the new album “transcending isolation”. About 2 min. Into the video above you can hear Luke’s 1 preset on the pedal which adds a cool swirly almost uni-vibe like feel over the top of the main melody loop. The main melody was made with a Gibson Sg Standard and the Memory Man W/Hazurai. Another pedal luke has not had the chance to use live as it is a larger size pedal. Luke is hoping to build a larger board so he can use his large box style EHX pedals live to recreate sounds from the forthcoming 2019 album “Love Never Dies”. He is unsure if the larger board will be built before the summer of 2020 which is when he really plans to play live again in support of the new album. He will mainly be recording and finishing the album in upstate NY studios w/ special guests and sit ins in the summer of 2019.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip is known for his expressive sound, as demonstrated in the "John the Baptist" video on his official YouTube channel. In the video, he utilizes a Roland EV-5 Expression Pedal in the studio, alongside a Source Audio Dual Expression Pedal, showcasing his preference for dynamic expression effects.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip is a huge fan of ambient Volume swells when creating a huge soundscape with multiple effects and swelling in and out of it. Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses a BOSS FV-30 H for volume swells on standard pedals that do not have expression options. It is the only standard volume pedal he has ever owned and ever will. However some of the swelling of sounds luke does live or in the studio with effects is directly related to the expression pedals he uses. For a straight up volume pedal the BOSS FV-30H is the PMT volume swell Sound creator.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used the SKB PS-45 as his live pedalboard from 2006-2019. Luke has had a lot of trouble trying to dig the pedaltrain and new school pedalboards on the market.

Like Weiler of Positive Mental Trip often tracks to the SD card on the ZOOM R-24 and mixes and masters up to 24 tracks (depending on the song) on a computer using Studio One Professional. “I try to use computers as little as possible, if I’m going to get carpel tunnel it better be from playing my instruments too much!” -PMT Luke

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has been using the Radial Tonebone London Distortion pedal since early 2017. He incorporates it into both bass and guitar tracks in the studio, as heard in demos and recordings like "Sunshine Beams" on BandCamp.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses a Digitech Luxe anti-chorus polyphonic detune pedal. Luke is known to use it on vocals with the Radial Voco Loco on demos and recordings. He is known to use it on cymbal sounds on the newer recordings.(2019) You can definitely hear it on the Fender Stratocaster on “sleeping dreamland” a B-side from “The Black and White Album.(2017)

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses a TC Electronic Ditto X4 Looper. “I’m definitely way more into my BOSS RC-30 but I also use the TC Electronic Ditto X4 looper. I’ve only used a loop on one current recording. About 40 seconds into “belly dancers from outer space” you can hear a loop kick in. I’m not sure the track will make it on the album in August (2019) but it’s on the bandcamp for people to check out.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses the Dunlop Echoplex EP103 Delay on guitar, drums, and vocals. “I really dig the tap tempo function on this pedal. My other favorite the TC electronic Gauss Tape Echo is a great pedal but it doesn’t have the tap tempo. If I need to tap it in I roll with the EP103 echoplex for that particular type of Tape Delay Sound.” You can clearly hear the echoplex on guitar and vocal tracks on “living and dying” which is said to be a Segway track between 2 other longer songs on the “Love Never Dies” album.(set to release in August 2019)

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip plays what he believes is a white Mexican Stratocaster which was a gift from his father. He used it on the very strange guitar track on “Drag To Need” blasting it into the BOSS PH-3. He has used it live in 2016-2017. “I plan to put a sustainiac pickup in the neck position so it’s like that fender Radiohead guitar. I’ll probably switch out the other pickups for some Seymour Duncan single coils. The guitar is already a Frankenstein but I love it ...it was a gift from my father so I’ll always play it and keep it around and modify it into something more awesome then a standard Mexican strat. It has a Wayne’s World neck plate and I covered the stickers that were on it with NYS Music and NY band stickers of my favorite NY Jambands Moe. and Formula 5. I feel like a sustainiac pickup will really make this guitar one of the best guitars in my collection and will give me some sounds none of my other guitars can give me.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used Studio One Professional to mix and master songs from 2017-2019. With exception to “The Road” and a few special guest appearance Luke Weiler played every instrument and mixed and mastered every song on “The Black And White Album”.(2017) “The Road” which starts the Album was mixed and mastered by Tony Gonzo(Fuzz Heady)/Loud and Conscious studios who luke worked with on “smile (hip hop)”, “Passing Storm” and “Out of My Head” on “Change Your Mind”.(2012) “I really like Studio One Pro because I can focus on my instrumentation and I can get a song finished without producers. Also it allows me to master and upload mastered demos right to bandcamp where fans can here demos and watch the metamorphosis of songs from early versions to the versions that make the real album. I honestly would rather record in real studios and work with real producers/sounds engineers (like Positive Mental Trip did for all of the songs on the 2012 album “change your mind”) when I have to DIY albums at home Presonus studio One Pro gives me that freedom.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has played a Taylor 814ce on recordings such as “The Happy Old Man” (2017) and on a couple of the newer PMT recordings for “Love Never Dies”.(release date August 2019) Luke enjoys different flavors of mics blended, electrics blended, and acoustics as well. Luke will only be playing a Gretsch Rancher Falcon jumbo live but often uses a Gibson Custom J185 rosewood cutaway or a Taylor 814ce in the studio.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip borrowed a Strymon Mobius from Pedal Genie for 4 months in 2019. “It really does the rotary and tremolo sounds very well. I’ve used the rotary and tremolo sounds on 2 songs on the new album “Love Never Dies”(release date August 2019) I might end up buying one someday but not anytime soon I have a lot of other ways to get close to those sounds live. It is a very cool pedal and has a lot of sounds in it. The filter sounds are cool too lots of Grateful Dead, 311 style sounds in there.”

All of the music Positive Mental Trip toured with and sold at shows from 2007-2010 was recorded using Pro tools 7 and a digi 003 console. The songs on change your mind at applehead we’re also recorded using pro tools but it was not LE. They use the Pro Tools HD there. All Positive Mental Trip cds sold out of the van before “Change Your Mind” on tour we’re definitely recorded by Luke himself with Pro Tools 7 LE and a digi 003. Luke spent years messing with Pro Tools but completely abandoned it for good. “I felt like the customer service was pretty terrible and overall I think your better off with ableton or Logic if your a producer. If your a musician like me I think Studio One Professional is the cheapest easiest and highest quality way to go. If you went to college and learned pro tools then your married to it ...maybe. I didn’t go to music school for that and I’m not married to pro tools at all, I actually hate pro tools. I hate production in general I’d much rather focus on the music then look at a computer screen.” 2 songs on the Positive Mental Trip album “Change Your Mind”(2012) were produced by Zach Howell (who is also one of the 30 or so musicians who have taken the stage with PMT since 05’) Zach had a really cool Great River Mic/instrument Preamp and was really good with Pro Tools. We had a lot of fun making “back up again” and “Hoping for the best” on that album. Zach sang and played guitar on a few songs on “Change Your Mind” and was a big part of that album. He took the 1 st 1/2 of the lead guitar solo on track 2 “smile(reggae)” as well.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip often works with producers who use Ableton Live. PMT is recording some sessions at Loud And Conscious Studios in Woodstock, NY and Ableton Live V9 is being used to track during these sessions. “The Road” was the only song on “The Black and White Album” (2017) that we had time to record together. We are tracking a lot down in Woodstock for “Love Never Dies” some of it will hopefully be ready for volume 1 released in August 2019. A lot of the stuff we are doing in Woodstock might take longer production wise and end up on “Love Never Dies” volume 2, which is set to be released in the summer of 2020. On “change your mind” (2012) “Passing Storm”, “out of my head”, and “Smile (hip hop)” were recorded by Loud using Ableton Live. “I like recording with Ableton Live a lot, as long as someone very skilled in the art of Ableton Live is running the session. I’m not a producer and I don’t enjoy that aspect as much. I like the instruments or microphones in my hands at all times during sessions. I like to watch what the producers do and sometimes even record it (for making a PMT movie out of all the footage we have from 2011-2019) because I think it’s really cool the artistic aspect of producing. I have a lot of respect for people who spend there whole lives mostly on the production aspect of music. I like to document our recording process what we used equipment-wise and how producers manipulated it. We have a lot of fun in the studio and a lot of musicians don’t get to do that. Studios can be a place that is extremely serious and sometimes even painful. A lot of the recording process and the shows that followed during the “Change Your Mind” (2012-2014 era) have a lot of darkness attached to it for me personally. I dealt with a lot of that on “the black and white album”(2017) and now I’m ready to really dedicate every moment of music to having fun. If we aren’t having fun in the studio during a session it won’t be on the album. I don’t want a record of a time that wasn’t fun on a Positive Mental Trip album from 2019- forever.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip used a digidesign 003 to track all recordings sold on PMT tours from 2007-2010. “ I really loved the 003 it was a great console with the moving faders. However no matter how much I tried I could never get into production and PRO TOOLS like some do. I use computers as little as possible now and I gave the digi 003 to a family member who wants to produce and record music. I’m sure he will have a blast with it it’s a great piece of gear and I wasn’t using it. If your into production of music the 003 and Pro Tools can be a lot of fun. It took me years to figure out I’m a musician and not a producer. I use Studio One Professional now and that’s for musicians like me.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has used Mogami silver instrument cables since 2016.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses Elixir Nanoweb custom light acoustic guitar strings on his Gibson J185 custom acoustic. “When I was on the road I was very hard on my guitars. Some nights I would play 2-3 hours on my acoustic or more. If the venue was less about the experimental dance music with synth loops and wild lead guitar shreds I might play acoustic for 4 hours a night. I had thicker gauge strings on all my guitars so I would’nt break strings during a performance. This took a toll on the Gibson in particular. I had to use 10 gauge strings on it for ahwile to fix the damage I caused it. I can put 11s on again now after a few years of baby-if it with 10s and it seems to be doing alright after a year. I will keep elixir custom light strings on it from now on to play it safe.This is a guitar I want to use on recoridings when I’m 50 and I want my son to use on recordings until he grows old.”

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip has been known to use Elixir Nanoweb electric guitar strings on whatever electric he is playing the most. This changes a lot. He ussually keeps Ernie ball strings on most guitars and keeps 1 pair of Elixir coated strings on the guitar he feels he will be practicing, using in the studio, and playing live with the most. “Someone told me once I should change my guitar strings every 10 hours I play. That would cost me way too much $. I play 10 hours of guitar every 2-4 days!. The coated strings tend to last longer and unless they are dead as hell I play a set of strings until I bust them. I’m hard on strings and I do go through them a lot. I definitely play longer then 10 hours on every set of strings. It always feels good to put a fresh pair on when I’m done with the last one, since I play them straight to death.”

In the 1 st guitar pedal demo Luke ever did you can see a George L’s pedal cable from a George L’s pedal cable kit. Luke only made 2 guitar pedal demo/shoutouts with an I phone held manually before moving onto the ZOOM Q8 mounted on a mic stand.

In a 2017 performance at The Cannery Music Hall, Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip is shown using the Moog Minifooger MF Boost pedal, as captured in a video by I 3 Productions.

Luke Weiler of Positive Mental Trip uses a Yamaha MG XU mixer for live looping shows. He has also started to use the Yamaha MG 16XU on home studio recordings for more EQ, better mic preamps,(then the zoom R-24 offers on non phantom power channels)simple one knob compression for all channels before it even hits the zoom r-24 interface, more phantom power etc. etc. The Yamaha MG 16XU is an Analog mixer which has benefits for looping live and recording at home for song ideas to perfect them for the real studio, or for recording at home on a budget. Positive Mental Trip is known to have some songs on the album recorded, mixed, and mastered by Luke, and others done in top notch studios with producers and all the amazing mics and preamps and goods you can only get at pro studios. Positive Mental Trip has recorded at Applehead recording studio(Saugerties/Woodstock ny), blue sky recording studios(delmar NY), Loud and Conscious recording studios(Rosendale/Woodstock NY), and at PMT recording studios.