Mac DeMarco has opened up about his evolving approach to making music, with the Canadian artist now preferring to rely on natural sounds rather than guitar pedals.
In a Music Tech cover story, DeMarco shared his reasoning behind his hate for effects pedals, calling them “cheap pieces of shit” and saying he prefers to get the sound at the microphone instead.
The singer-songwriter and producer explained that he travelled with a collection of gear worth over $20,000 while he was recording his recent instrumental album, ‘Five Easy Hot Dogs’. He noted that his Minimoog synthesiser was the “lead singer of the record” and expressed his pleasure that he took it on the journey.
DeMarco also revealed that he only began using a computer to record in 2016 or 2017 and quickly realised he should limit himself when it came to effects. He added that he would rather move the microphone around or record in a different room than buy more gear.
When it comes to live shows, DeMarco said that he is using a limited pedalboard tuner, which consists of a tuner, a vibrato pedal and an impulse response effect for his acoustic guitar. He conceded that he is still using this but he hates the “sound-goodizer” pedals on the market and says that they should all be put in a big pile and burnt.
DeMarco said that he was growing up and was reflecting on his past antics. However, the artist clarified in June that he would not be retiring from music.
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