Geared Up: Alt-Metal Trio Terminals Discuss the Array of Gear Used to Create their Cinematic Sound

Hailing from Birmingham, Terminals are James Whitehouse (vocals & guitar), James Cohu (bass) and Joe Cooper (drums). Formed at the end of 2022, the three-piece are cite Deftones, Radiohead and Loathe as influences, using those influences to craft a musical melting pot of ambient riffs, immersive soundscapes and honest, emotional storytelling.

Following the release of their recent single, “Swim”, the trio dropped their enthralling, cinematic Baptise EP. For the latest round of Geared Up, V13 spoke to all three members of the band to discuss the set-up they used to create their atmospheric sound, their favourite kit and the most they’ve ever spent on an instrument.

First up, check out their recent single, “Swim,” below.

First things first: what’s your current setup?

James Whitehouse: “For amps, I’m running a Marshall JCM800 2203 100w head through a Marshall MX212R 2×12 cabinet speaker. I run two pedalboards, one for guitar and one for my vocals at shows. The guitar pedalboard features Boss TU-3 Tuner, JHS Whitey Tighty Compressor, JHS Prestige Buffer/Boost, EHX Micro Pog, JHS Morning Glory V2 Overdrive, EHX Big Muff (The big one), Way Huge Geisha Drive, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, Walrus Audio Julia V2 Chorus, Line 6 DL4 Delay, Strymon Big Sky Reverb.

On the vocal pedalboard, I have JHS Andy Timmons Overdrive, Big Top Candy Floss Mini Chorus, MXR Carbon Copy Delay, Strymon Blue Sky Reverb.

My guitar setup is a Fender Jazzmaster Classic Vibe (Drop C/Drop A/Drop G), Gibson SG Classic P90 (Drop C/Drop A), Fender Stratocaster / Partscaster (Drop A#), Fender Telecaster (Open E Tuning // EAEG#BE), Squire Bass VI Classic Vibe (Double Drop D).”

Terminals Geared Up #1, photo provided by Artist

James Cohu: “Currently, I play a Squier Jazz bass setup in drop C, I like that it has a fairly neutral yet iconic sound, most of my tone comes from my pedals so it leaves a nice clean slate to work with. My pedalboard is built mostly around my Sansamp, with a few different distortions running into it, an Earthquaker Sunn O))) Life V3 distortion, ProCo Lil’ Rat, Boss ODB-3, Ampeg Scrambler and a Zvex Mastotron. I also use a Boss TU-3 tuner, an Earthquaker Astral Destiny and an Earthquaker Dispatch Master, everything runs into a Hartke HA3500 head and a Hartke Hydrive 410 cab.”

Joe Cooper: “For drums I use a Tama Starclassic kit, with a 13” snare, 12” rack tom, 16” floor tom and a 22” kick. It’s my first and only kit, and I use the hardware that came with it, along with a few extras over the years by Mapex and Gibraltar.

Cymabls are 13” Meinl Byzance Vintage Sand Hats, 18” Meinl Byzance Extra Dry Dual Crash, 19” Dream Dark Matter Crash, 20” Zildjian K Crash/Ride, 18” Fazley FX Crash stacked with a 10” Zildjian A Custom Splash or a 10” Istanbul Trash.

For Synths I run a Roli Block (expressive MIDI keyboard) through Logic Pro X and a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 for live sets and additional production, using Roli’s exclusive software Equator for pad sounds and Labs for piano.”

Terminals Geared Up #2, photo provided by Artist

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?

James W: “I have many pieces of gear that add to my signature sound. It’s very difficult to choose one thing, among the guitars, the amp and the pedals I use, but for me, the one thing that stands out is the Fender Jazzmaster.”

James C: “This would have to be the Tech 21 Sansamp Programmable Bass Driver DI, it’s a brilliant pedal and shapes my entire bass sound, everything else is built around the Sansamp. I have the drive set fairly mid just to generate some crunch, nothing brutal, bass, treble and presence are all boosted slightly, I set the presence lower when I have new strings on and higher when the strings get old.

The blend I set to full, I’ve experimented with moving the blend around but for our style of music, I love the fully wet tone. The XLR out and pad/ground features are also very useful, I’ve run my bass directly out from the Sansamp at a good few gigs and it never fails.”

Joe: “Regarding drumming, my baby is the Meinl Byzance Dual Crash, it’s easily my favourite cymbal. It’s really crunchy and aggressive, but oddly warm and great for recordings, with a nice short decay, perfect for accents and stinky riffs. This, along with my Frankenstein-ed stack, is nice and crunchy and can poke out.”

Terminals ‘Baptise’ EP Artwork

How did you come to possess your piece of equipment? Vintage shop, regular shop, borrowed money, gifted? Give us the details.

James W: “I saw it on Facebook marketplace. I contacted the seller and said how much I loved how it looked (it’s an off-white finish and it had a white pickguard, really unique for a Jazz Master), but I said I didn’t have the money for it at the time, so he kept it for a month. I waited until I got the money, which was from a work bonus, and I travelled from Birmingham to Bolton to have a look at it and test it out.

The guy was really cool, let me try it out through his amp in his living room, and we spoke a lot about gear and music in general. He’s in a band called Heaven Unknown, with a couple of people I went to college with, so it was a really cool small-world moment.”

James C: “It was the first pedal I ever bought, besides a tuner of course, I bought it from eBay a long time ago second hand, I didn’t originally go looking for the 3-channel programmable Sansamp but I had found one on eBay that was cheaper than the standard versions so I bought that. Having 3 channels is handy, I personally use it to make presets for different basses I own, as every bass plays slightly differently through it.”

Joe: “I bought my Meinl Byzance Dual Crash from Gear4music, and it’s actually my third version of the cymbal! I managed to crack my first a couple of months in, had it replaced, and then shared years of bliss with the second. That one also broke, and I had it briefly fixed, however, the moment the second one cracked I immediately ordered a new one. It served me very well, I could keep fixing and using the broken one, and I’m yet to play anything that comes close to it. I also absolutely cane the kit when we play live, so I could hardly be mad at the cymbal for succumbing to what I had done to it. I might still try to make a splash with the remnants.”

Terminals Geared Up #3

What made you choose this particular piece of gear and were there any close seconds or alternatives?

James W: “I ALWAYS wanted a Jazzmaster, ever since I joined the college in 2014. One of my guitar tutors had a custom-built one, and I instantly fell in love with the look, especially the body shape and the huge soap bar-style pickups. I always loved the bands who used these guitars too.”

James C: “I used to work at some festivals and got talking to the bassist of Tigercub Jimi, about his tone. He recommended the Sansamp and I went home and found one on Ebay straight away. I’ve always thought about trying out different alternatives like the Darkglass etc, but I have no urgent need to swap it out, I still adore how it sounds.”

Joe: “I think I had become a bit fed up with the gear I tended to go for. My need for big, abrasive and mean drums had been met, but all of my cymbals seemed too bright and clean, tonally, and I wanted to go bigger, thinner and crunchier. The sudden surge of ‘extra dry’ cymbals seemed to take over, and every manufacturer seemed to be releasing ranges that looked burnt and sounded super sandy, and I loved it, it looked and sounded sick! This particular cymbal caught my eye mostly because it gives a nice balance between brightness and trashy aggression, and gave me exactly what I was looking for.”

What about this piece of equipment makes it so important to you?

James W: “There are a lot of things that really make this guitar important to me, I love how the Jazzmaster always cuts through the mix live, and how lovely and jangly you can get the clean tone to sound. Even though the Jazzmaster generally sounds quite bitey and thin, running it through the Big Muff, Geisha drive, or the POG, makes it sound absolutely huge! But I also think that years of adoring the looks of the guitar and dreaming of owning one also make it a milestone in my gear journey as a guitarist.”

James C: “My entire tone is built around the Sansamp, if you hear the difference between it turned on and off it’s hilarious. There are characteristics to a Sansamp you don’t really hear in other pedals, it’s a very unique sound. There have been situations where we’ve played live and the amp hasn’t worked for whatever reason, and the gig sounded absolutely fine running straight DI’d out of the Sansamp.”

Joe: “It just sounds amazing, you can groove on it during a particularly heavy riff, and it can be used to accent parts and stabs, which is especially cool with the James because they’re both such rhythmic players and locking into small inflections or stops can be so effective with this cymbal. It’s also become one of my ‘constants’, regardless of the gig. Whether it’s live or studio, rock or pop, loud or quiet, it’s such a mouldable cymbal, which is surprising considering how unique and bold it is. I’ve also taken this cymbal with me everywhere for every gig I’ve done since having it.”

Terminals Geared Up #4, photo provided by Artist

Did you use this gear during the recording of your latest song or album? If so, please elaborate on how and for what parts.

James W: “Yes I did. When we went away to an Airbnb to record our debut EP Baptise I used it on our song “Swim”, paired with my SG. The Jazzmaster was used for all the leads in “Swim”, and I also used it on the previous release Exist/Capsize. I used to Jazzmaster to overdub certain parts in the song “Baptise” too, the main guitar I used for that is a Subzero Rogue VI Baritone in double Drop D, so the Jazzmaster in the overdubs gives the song some nice clarity for the bigger sections, mainly the riff after the chorus.”

James C: “I use the Sansamp on everything, even clean songs, I did make a preset on there for cleaner songs which just dials back the drive a little bit. I will tweak the settings between live and recording, everything is set slightly less aggressive when recording.”

Joe: “I did indeed, all over the place, potentially every 4 or 8 bars! It was used as one of my primary crashes when we recorded our EP; I didn’t utilise it to groove or for any flashy flexes, but we have more songs on the way where I’ve clearly learnt the joy of hitting it even more.”

Terminals Geared Up #5, photo provided by Artist

Do you have a special way that you recreate your album (guitar/vocal/bass) tones in a live setting, or is it more just plug-and-play?

James W: “Interestingly, I used different pedals and amps during the recording of our EP, and the pedals I’m running through now actually better capture the recorded sound in a live setting. I was using the JHS Andy Timmons Overdrive through an Orange TH30 and a Marshall Origin 50-watt head whilst recording, but on recording the amps combined with that pedal sound a lot more open than the pedal naturally sounds when you plug it into an amp, so the Geisha drive and the Big Muff do a much better job at capturing that big open sound that the guitars have on the record at live shows.

The vocal pedal board also does a great job of recreating the recorded vocal effects live, and having the option to recreate those recorded effects and be in control of them at shows is great when trying to replicate the recorded sound live.”

James C: “Inside the songs I try to play everything the same way we recorded it, there are a few pedals I have changed since we recorded, but these don’t sound massively different. In between songs, I enjoy messing around and making some noise which you don’t hear recorded really, I have a delay and reverb which is thrown on to make some strange noises in between tracks, and a Boss Harmonist pedal I sometimes use for its diving pitch shifter effect.”

Joe: “A massive part of our live shows is the Roli Block synth, a 2-octave MIDI keyboard that I have on a table next to me whilst performing. The keys are rubbery and allow the player to play expressively with vibrato, intensity and pitch bends using Roli’s exclusive software Equator. Though we have used this in places on the EP, namely Big Sky, I use it heavily live, as it allows us to have seamless transitions between songs for tuning and guitar changes, adding fluidity and a sense of cohesion to the set.

As I’m using the same software that we recorded with, it also helps to translate our recordings, whilst adding a slightly different version when used to replicate additional guitar layers that we can’t achieve live without a backing track. I also occasionally use the synth pad whilst drumming, which is something we’ve been actively looking to implement more in a live setting to add to the huge sound James and James are already making.”

Terminals Geared Up #6, photo provided by Artist

We know you love this piece of gear, but are there any major cons? (Okay, you can also list the pros.)

James W: “I wouldn’t say anything major, in fact, I think all pieces of gear have cons, it just depends on how you implement it into your setup. The main issue I had with the Jazzmaster for a while is that it is very thin, much thinner than my other guitars tone-wise, but after I replaced my overdrive pedal and got the Big Muff, it makes the guitar sound much fatter and bigger.”

James C: “There is an LED light that is slightly damaged and shows up a bit dim, but other than that I’ve never had any issues, one con is that for some reason the knobs are too big to accommodate standard-sized footswitch toppers, a little bit annoying. I noticed that they released a newer model however and I’m very tempted to upgrade soon. It has a more expanded EQ section and now has a parallel dry output which would be so handy for recording.”

Joe: “I can’t think of anything; it can be quite funny when it’s particularly dark on stage and I’m trying to figure out which note on the totally black keyboard is the one I need, but that’s on me to know the parts well enough! I’m also a sucker for a cool plug-in, so I’m always keen for Roli to program more presets on the Equator, as there isn’t an absurd amount of control over various parameters with each sound. Then again, it’s a complicated piece of gear well beyond my capacity, so I don’t know how feasible it is to allow users to change everything.”

How does the piece of gear hold up with regular touring and gigging?

James W: “It’s absolutely perfect, the intonation never goes out, the neck barely warps in different environments and it ALWAYS stays in tune, even in very low tunings it always keeps the tuning very stable.”

James C: “The Sansamp is an absolute brick, you would really struggle to break it. I was recently looking through a Sansamp subreddit and there were people saying they’ve owned theirs for 20+ years and never had any problems with it.”

Joe: “So far so good! Considering that most of my favourite equipment gets hit really hard by me quite often, it’s done a great job and should keep up the good work. Big thanks to Protection Racket for giving my cymbals a safe home, otherwise I’d be responding very differently.”

Terminals Geared Up #7, photo provided by Artist

What’s your favourite piece of equipment you’ve ever owned?

James W: “It’s a hard question to answer as I love all of my gear so much, but for me probably my favourite piece of gear would be my pedalboard as a whole, I’ve spent so many years swapping pedals in and out because certain things don’t do something as nicely as I would like it to, but the pedal setup I’m running now is absolutely perfect and sounds great through any and every amp, and with any and every guitar.”

James C: “In favour of not having to talk about the Sansamp any more than I already have, I would probably pick the Sunn O))) Life pedal. Although we sound nothing like Sunn, their tonal influence shines through in so many heavy shoegaze bands, so to use a distortion styled on their sound works for our genre very well. The pedal also features an octave switch, very handy for boosting big riffs with a low octave, and a clean boost which I turn on for choruses to give them a slight volume lift.”

Joe: “I’ve given my cymbals so much love, but a constantly amazing piece of equipment is my Tama Starclassic snare. It came with the kit and is only 13” but can handle anything I need from it, whether it’s a fat 70s sound or a pingy trash can sound. I’ve used it for heavy gigs, Jazz gigs, orchestral gigs, studio recordings and live and it’s always been a darling to me.”

Terminals Geared Up #8, photo provided by Artist

What’s the most you’ve ever paid for gear?

James W: “My JCM800, which I bought new for £1649.”

James C: “My most expensive piece of gear is a Fender Jaguar Bass that I played for one gig, I cut my hand and bled all over it, then never played it at a gig again. I should probably sell it and buy a new Sansamp, probably. I bought it from a Cardiff-based music producer called Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Motorhead, Funeral For A Friend, Nova Twins, Twin Atlantic, Kids In Glass Houses) for £500.”

Joe: “I think around £400 on my 21” Zildjian K crash/ride, and I have no regrets, it’s a luscious unit. I think I got excited that day and got another crash and my 10” Istanbul trash, so it came closer to £800.”

What gear item has the most meaning to you, or is the most important to you?

James W: “My Dad’s guitar, is a 1979 Aria Pro 2 LC440. My dad bought this guitar for around £100 when he was 15 years old, and over the years it broke in different places, and when I turned 17, he gave it to me. It was the best guitar I’d ever used, it had the pickups swapped out for a Seymour Duncan 59 in the bridge, a Gibson Dirty Fingers in the middle, and a Seymour Duncan JB in the neck, and with the coil tap option, it did everything I ever wanted from a guitar all in one.

I used it for jamming, and for all the gigs with my previous band, and it always played and sounded incredible. I don’t use it so much now for recording, though I did use it on our song ‘Big Sky’ on our upcoming EP, and I don’t use it at shows as I want to keep it well looked after. It’s a very very special piece of gear to me as it was given to me by my Dad and it had a HUGE impact on how I interpret guitar tone and how I play.”

James C: “This would have to be my Squier Jazz, it’s not expensive or anything special really, but I’ve used it at pretty much every gig we’ve played, in this band and others, recorded with it multiple times. If I was going to upgrade my bass I would probably only do so for a Fender equivalent of the Squier model I have now, I’ve played more expensive and different-sounding basses and I’ve never really found one that tops the tone I get from the Jazz now.”

Joe: “I’m terribly sentimental and get attached to most things, but the first would be my Tama kit. It was a gift from my mum and stepdad and I’ve had it for over 10 years; I’ve taken it everywhere, it’s been driven, dropped and battered relentlessly, and it’s still just perfect. It’s also a lovely reminder of their relentless support throughout the years, from when I decided I wanted to pursue music, to buying instruments, allowing me to drum along to Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica mid-afternoon, driving me and my friends to gigs and an endless list of other favours. I’m endlessly thankful for that, and having a sick drum kit to remind me of that is really cool.

My electric guitar also means a great deal to me; my dad passed it down to me before moving to Saudi Arabia for work. It’s made by Michael Kelly, and I’ve always thought it looked like a ‘retro’ PRS. It’s helped me figure out how playing guitar in my weird upside-down left-handed way, helps a lot with writing and producing generally, plays really nicely and can handle silly tunings. I’d play it obsessively with a solid three chords whenever I’d visit.”

Terminals Geared Up #9, photo provided by Artist

What setup did you spend the most time idolizing as a kid growing up?

James W: “I always loved Tom Delonge’s set up as a kid growing up, mainly the amps and the signature ES335 he used in Angels & Airwaves. But as I grew up, into my early 20s and still now to this day, my favourite setup and one that has influenced the creation of my own is Luke Caley from Press To Meco & unpeople’s setup.

On Press To Meco’s last album, he was running a Telecaster through a Marshall JTM45, and he used a POG to beef up the riffs and it sounds absolutely unreal, as soon as we formed Terminals I bought the POG because of Luke’s sound on that album. I also loved his SG from the first two albums so much, it was blue and just looked and sounded so unique, and as soon as I discovered them I wanted to get an SG.”

James C: “There are a few bands that have influenced me tonally, Jimi from Tigercub has always had an unreal live tone and is probably the person that I’ve taken the most influence from directly from their setup. I love the way he and the singer Jamie click their tones together, there are other bands I love tonally but I take my influence mainly from 3-piece bands because it suits our style a lot better. Another band I’ve admired for their tone is Spotlights and their use of distortion stacking to achieve walls of shoegaze riffs, I think these 2 bands combined are probably 90% of my influence.”

Joe: “Funnily enough, I’m quite allergic to this kind of setup now, but growing up I loved The Rev’s (Avenged Sevenfold) drum kit. It had three bass drums, no idea what one of them was for, a crazy amount of toms and crashes, and two rides on either side. I think it was just really brazen to me, and he was such a sick drummer that it was fair enough because he utilised everything and innovated in cool ways with it.

He did these mad tricks with the double ride thing, and these crazy runs down the toms, whilst throwing his sticks about and singing really high notes. He also wrote most of the best songs by them, so I see his kit and just think well yeah fair enough, you’re a God. I’d like just one rack tom please.”