Plugin and virtual instrument fortunato's STL Tones have teamed up with legendary nu metal guitarist Wes Borland to deliver his own plugin suite titled, "Tonality: Wes Borland." Being known for his out of the box techniques, gargantuan pedal setup, and his every growing mashup heavy riffs and experimental tones, it was a great surprise to finally see the Limp Bizkit guitarist collaborate with a formidable plugin company to tackle his sound in a way that can be achievable for other musicians; whether bedroom riffers or professional producers.
As far as the set up goes, we'll break it down into four categories: amps, pre effects, post effects, and cabinets. Borland's three amp setup in this plugin suite features amps based on a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus, a Diezel VH4, and a 1965 Selmer Zodiac 50 MKII Tremolo, respectively. Amp 1 is described via STL Tones as ,"a mainstay in Wes Borland’s live touring rig, often seen with different painted images across the cabinet speaker mesh." Overall, this replicated amplifier has a very pristine tone that is fantastic to use in conjunction with some of the virtual stomp box pedals to create the ethereal "clean tones" that Borland is known for within some of the relatively toned down portions of Limp Bizkit songs, as well as his other projects. Amp 2 is very much optimized for heavier tones. If you're looking for a way to play songs such as, "Break Stuff," "Keep Rollin'," or just trying to tap into your inner bouncy, heavy riffage, this is the place to start. Amp 3 is the most diverse of the three amplifiers and definitely configured with leads and effect heavy instrumentation in mind. Whatever the dynamic or level of break on a guitar someone is looking for, all three are sure to scratch the itch.
For someone as well known for his expansive pedalboard, the pre effects and post effects are suprisingly few in number, but still pack a wallop. The Mini Filter, inspired by the Electro-Harmonix Mini Q-Tron, emulated the wah-wah effect including in much of Limp Bizkit's (and all of nu metal's) collective catalog. Right next to is a fuzz pedal based on the iconic "Big Muff Pi" fuzz pedal, utilized for sustain and extra pounding distortion. As an amateur guitar player and hoarder of plugin suites, it was great to see an iconic fuzz pedal put in with the Tonality: Borland, as so many other suites tend to leave out virtual fuzz plugins. The post effects pedals consist of two dealys and a chorus/flanger pedal. The first delay was inspired by the BOSS DD-8 (digital delay 8) which is an industry standard and emulated extremely well, providing four different virtual knobs that can alter the effects level, feedback, time, and mode. The second delay is emulated form the Dunlop Echoplex Delay pedal for a more tape, analog delay function to contrast the DD-8's digital. Borland's WB7 Chorus/Flanger is based on the Ibanez CF7 Chorus/Flanger, which can range from subtle choral effects to full on dissonant phasings, perfect for any lead or atmospheric sounds.
The cabinet section aesthetically matches the cabinets primarily used by Borland on tour, and STL Tones sums it up in the following, "To achieve the ultimate in realism and accuracy, we collaborated with Wes to measure each speaker cabinet from his live touring rig. Using five different microphones and over 156 unique positions, we captured the most realistic impulse responses, all of which can be used and adjusted within the plugin." Not much more needed to be said here. The plugin looks cool, has a lot of customization, and is at industry standard levels at bare minimum for its capabilities and toggling.
After trying the free trial of this plugin for a few days, it can be said that this is worth the current price (and $50 off until September 30th!). If you're a more intermediate or beginner guitar player where dialing in tones independently is daunting on a suite like this, the presets are a great foundation to start with and later tweak as you go. For more seasoned producers and musicians, it's very intuitive, customizable, and most importantly keeps your individual playing style as you put it through the suite. I should have more to say on how well it works with original music, but honestly I spent most of the trial playing through some of my favorite Borland riffs and leads, which no surprise, sounded fantastic with this. The one caveat I have is that I wish there was an octaver or pitch shifter pedal for the pre effects. While Borland utilizes an actual whammy bar for most of these sort of sounds, it would really make it the perfect suite for his tones and unconventional playing techniques to be accessible to anyone that purchases the product.
That's extremely nitpicky, though. This thing rips. Go get out your favorite PRS model, or a bass, plugin, and keep on rolling, baby.
