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Guitar magazine 0805 - July 2005

Exclusive: Rammstein - One man, one heavy played guitar, one phenomenon:

Richard Z. Kruspe about the sound of Rammstein and his brand new signature-guitar They are headliners of the big festivals all over the world and Germany`s sole international musical giant. In June they played four sold out consecutive shows in Wuhlheide/Berlin- 70000 people were there. What`s behind Rammstein? And how does Richard Z. Kruspe, the newest ESP signature-guitarist, create that T. Rex of guitars? He gave us an interview at his kitchen table. Talking with other people about Rammstein – and it does not matter if they like you or not – there is always something you will have a common opinion about one thing: the sound of Rammstein. Everybody, even when he dislikes your music, says: the sound is ace. What is the "Ramnmstein-sound"?

Richard (thinks): Well, it’s, hm, it is simply, eh, it is simply simple! My basic idea was: I wanted a German sound. This was the result from my musical experiences with other bands, in which we only copied American music. Now everybody will ask: "German? What is typical German?" Germans do not like to be in the "adding" phase in music, they like to be on the "One". And it doesn`t matter, if you look at Wagner, brass music or traditional music, German music is always depending on the fulls. That is something which will return in Rammstein: a straight beat. That’s the first thing. And we add to that some simple riffs and a shot of darkness. Rammstein have a certain dark side, which I personally really like. Together with the music this creates an effect you cannot ignore. You have to listen to it. It is right in your face."

Then you had a musical vision really early and you only needed to make it work technically.

"Amplifiers, guitars and effects eventually are aids, tools of your inner self. You have a certain character, you like certain things, and that`s the basis for your sound. What I liked best with my rectifier always was that power, this hardness. No amplifier in the world works that way. You’ll switch it on and he will be there. He has this bass and the lower middles, which I missed in other amps. Of course the Marshalls have that middle stressing and that punk feeling, but they lack the dark and heavy side. A rectifier has this. But as the rectifier is a really slow amp, we tried to implement another component in the beginning: the first SansAmp (PSA-1). With this pre amp you will have a good attack. This is how you’ll get the Rammstein sound."

So you use both on stage: the rectifier and the Sansamp...

"Yes, Paul (Landers, second guitarist) plays the SansAmp; I play the rectifier."

You do not play both the same?

"No, I am the pure tube."

Do you have any recommends how to configure the Amp or does it sound good right from the start?

"That’s a question of how you want to use it, how you want to communicate with it. If you have something in your self, then you will get what you need. It´s not only a question of your skills it`s a question of the heart, too. The rectifier is the ideal tool to mediate and to explore where you really want to go. A cheerful person never will be able to play my kind of riffs. You have to have a special personality."

A kind of seamy side?

"Yes, something like that. I, personally, feel attracted to the dark sides of the force. Probably because I have them in me."

You found the fitting tools to reveal the dark sides of your personality. And this added together ends up in your right hand.

"In my left! But the right hand is also important."

Did you train it, do you have a special technique for the touch?

"Picasso once described it in a very good way that he has tried to improve his craft all the years just to end up how he had painted when he was a child. That`s a nice comparison with the guitar. You should forget what you have learned. I have attended a music school for four years to practise jazz guitar, as it was called at those times. There I learned how to play the guitar properly and forgot it in the same time, because it is all nonsense, yes, really. You are put into a scheme. In the branches of music in which I work, pop and rock music, it just hinders you. Theory of harmonies, well, ok. But what we do has to do more with emotions and..."

....intuition?

"More or less, yes. Of course I am tight, because I play a lot with the computer. That`s an important factor for our riffs. I am always told: "Ah, you are only doing sampling" and "you do not play live". I just can tell you that we have played all albums live. Of course, tightness is an important factor for us, and there are tricks. E.g. on "Mutter" the song "Links-2-3-4" I have recorded it with 24 tracks- something I do not do anymore. But the 24 is my birthday (June 1967) and I positively wanted to have a 24 tracks recording of a song (laughs). Normally I record with 4 tracks per minimum. You just achieve a more massive sound. What is really, really important: nowadays everybody plays C-Dropped, me, too. But the problem is the guitars are not built to that tuning, and therefore this causes a big problem with the tuning. Or you can play a baritone guitar which does not look that good and which sounds different."

Do you use thicker strings while playing Dropped-C?

"The thickness of strings is another problem! Of course it is better if you use thicker strings- I think I have played 0,54`s. Of course this is of help. But the problem of a thicker string is that it slows you, and you cannot produce fast and precise riffs. You wont have a problem when you’ll play a chord, but when you`ll play "diddeli-diddeli" you will have one."

Which leads us directly to your new signature-model. Is the RZK-1 designed for downtuning?

"A bit, yes. But they could not promise it to me, but then they would have had to put three extra bundles on it, and that I did not want (laughs). But it was important for me that you do not have to do a lot of tuning in the studio."

When you introduced the new RZK-1 in last April on the music fair in Frankfurt you caused hell there. Probably you could have been going on with signing the whole day...

"The funny thing is: it must have been nearly one year after the wall had fallen when I was only a visitor of the music fair when I had fallen in love with a guitar. You always hear those things like"fall for a guitar" and stuff like that. But I have circulated round that stall for five, six times, always with a decent distance, so that nobody would think:"Hey, this guy is crazy, does he want to steal our guitar?" That was an ESP guitar; I bought her there directly and still keep her. Since then I play ESP."

On this year’s fair everybody circulated around you.

"(laughs) Yes, and I, eventually, saw my signature guitar."

Why does it look this way?

"You know why? (pats on his powerbook) Because of this. I always liked that look, therefore I wanted that Mac-style. In the beginning I had a totally different idea. I would have liked a guitar which looked burned - fitting to the show. I called ESP and told them: Listen, it`s easy. You varnish the guitar with Sunburst and then put it into the oven." They were shocked and told me they could not do that. I said."Why? Put it into the oven, varnish it again and then it will look very nicely burnt." I positively wanted my burnt guitar, but they could not handle it. Therefore I chose this platinum design. It would have been interesting, if the burnt version would have been produced in series..."

You must be proud when you, as an ESP fan, now attend the fair as a superstar and people nearly tore town the hall; and you are only the second German ever, to whom the honour of a signature guitar is given.

"Who was the first?"

Kai Hansen (Gamma ray, Helloween), but this was in the times of the old Japan/Helloween connection. But in Germany you are really the first one. What a privilege - in one row of ancestors with James Hettfield and mates.

"Well,..I do not see that superstar thingy, I am grounded. I have played guitar models for years which I modified. Mostly I played the KH-4 (Kirk Hammet-Signature from ESP)- and I still do it often now."

What`s the story behind the features of your guitar? The shape is very uncommon.

"ESP was of the opinion I should use a Gibson shape as a basis, because they sell it very well. But I did not like it that much, although I like Gibson and the guitars look cool. So I started with a (female) friend of mine to draw guitars and to try out the variations. We developed for half a year or a year. In regards of weight I relied on ESP. But for the sounds I demanded:" I like to play the KH-4, because it has a controlled bass area, this is an important part of the Rammstein sound." We need the bass, but it has to be controlled. And this guitar controls the bass really well, even if you play heavy riffs."

Therefore maybe the EMG 81-Pickups.

"Yes."

How has your taste in guitars developed over the years up to the RZK-1?

"I’ve been raised in the Eastern part of Germany and instruments were always a problem there. You could have some "layers", which were so difficult to play and which sounded a bit shitty. At those times I made jewellery as a side project- that was where I earned some money with besides the music, because you did not earn that much in the East. There were to steps: one was you were privileged because you had studied and you could play music, or you were, legally, not allowed to play music, because you had to prove that you had a full job. I have made the jewellery, sold it on the street and played music as a side project. At those times I changed the money for an awful exchange rate: 15.000 Ostmark for 1.200 Westmark. I met a guy in a café and asked him, if he could get me a guitar - a Stratocaster or something like that, that was the optimum. I thought: if I have such a guitar, you do not need to be able to play yourself, the guitar will do the job. He took the money and I heard nothing from him for two month. I noticed: Well, that is that. And 1.200 Westmark were really a lot of money, for which I had to work hard. But shortly before Christmas this Stratocaster was there in front of my door- my first real guitar. I unpacked it and played it, just to notice: it is only a guitar."

The Stratocaster is something really different in comparison to your ESP...

"After that I played a Telecaster for a long time, a Black & Gold. They were very seldom, really heavy. When I fled to West-Berlin I saw a Black & Gold for the first time in a rehearsal room of a Berlin band called Space Cowboys- a hot thing, so heavy, so good-looking. I wanted those, but could not get them anywhere. But some time later I could buy two of these guitars and I built Seymour Duncun Jeff Beck-Humbacker into them. The problem was: When I changed the amplifier I had trouble with the bass. Therefore I had to try out other guitars and found out that the KH-2, which I played at that time - cold control the bass very well, even in connection with the rectifier."

The new amplifier was a rectifier?

"In Germany I was one of the first who played with the rectifier. I was on a fair when Mesa Boogie introduced the rectifier. In this huge room only was one single Amp and a big American, who played this Amp. I had tried a lot before, but when I heard this Amp I only managed a "Wow!" This Amp I still play today."

The very same Dual Rectifier?

"Yes. Sometimes he is a bit flat; even in connection with the EMG-Pickup you do not have great jumps in the dynamic. If you like to play fast riffs with a tight sound, then the EMG is perfect, because it is very transparent and you can handle him easily in connection with a rectifier. But if it is dynamic we talk about..."

Then Singlecoils are better...

"Yes, they are easier to play. Last year I was in Japan in a Custom shop and there I played a singlecoil-guitar- she sounded very nice and dynamical. I am trying out a lot of things these days. In my beginnings I tried to be as tight as possible. That was when computers came on the market. Nowadays I do things totally different. I am already so tight that it is too much. Now I have difficulties to play together with a drummer." Richard, from someone experienced: How do you try to be tight?

"Now I am trying to lose it!(laughs) Be careful, stay as you are! A lot of people play only on their own, without rhythm, without a metronome. And as I already said before: the right hand is the important one. Rhythm is everything, really. This is where the music comes from. All I can say is: play with a metronome or with a drum computer, because the problem starts, when you play together with someone else. I have played a lot with drum computers."

Now we know how you play and all about the basic sound. What are the tricks that guitars sound even more heavy and tight? "Of course there are other things as the Amp as well. Last time I was really interested in guitar cables. You wouldn’t believe the differences! I wondered, too, and I bought, after long trying, a Sommer cable- a German producer. Another important factor is the microphone, very important. At some time we used a microphone which normally is not known for being used for guitar recordings, a M 149 from Neumann. That is a microphone with a big membrane, which is mostly used for orchestra and voice recordings. We put that in front of the speakers und had to face a lot of trouble at first, so that we had to put some adapter in-between, because we were not able to tune it down. And while recording you cannot turn the amplifier quiet. But that is the microphone I am still using. Each time we record, we put six, seven microphones in front of the guitar speaker, I close my eyes and listen to the sound, and every time we will return to the Neumann microphone. With my solo project I wanted to create a new guitar sound and therefore used additionally another microphone, a Bändchen-mic from Royer, to add another component. And this Royer, which you can hear in a lot of American productions, has this deep sound. This combination is an interesting version. One of the most important components. And the second important thing is: the microphone pre-amp."

Do you have a favourite?

"There are three I normally work with: one API, a Millenium, very good in the middle areas, and a Vintec X 81- a Neve copying. We once used an original Neve, but I wanted to order one now and if I had ordered a Neve I would have had to wait for six month. I try not to use only tube-thingies in the chain of components. This means: when I already use a tube amp, I do not have to use a tube pre amp in addition. Note: Microphone pre amps are very important."

Just a moment, a short summary of the Richard-chain: The RZK goes via Sommer cable into the Dual Rectifier. This delivers to the Neumann 149 with one of your three microphone pre-amps and than the whole stuff ends up in the computer. What happens in the computer?

"Not much."

If you have a good signal in that computer...

"Yes. Basically nothing happens, only in case you do not play very well, then one stanza maybe will be looped. But (knocks on the table for three times) I did not play badly in the last years. Only a few corners are cut off sometimes. Also nothing happens when it comes to compression, because the rectifier compresses a lot. I have the direct comparison at the moment, because with my project I use two Amps, the rectifier and my new Soldano. The Soldano shows you instantly if you are out of tune and he shows you your weaknesses – a very honest amp. That is a good connection, because the rectifier already compresses a lot on its own. And if you record six guitars on it you will get your compression."

The guitar is in the computer, you have enough compression, and now she only has to fit tight with the drums.

"I have a very special way to play together with our drummer. I always try to be a bit behind the beat."

That`s nearly like Reggae.

"I hate Reggae! Maybe it is a kind of love-hate relationship. I always try to be a bit behind the drums and to let the drummer lead. In contrary to AC/DC where the guitars lead. With us it is the drums which are leading."

You should listen more to Reggae.

"(laughs)Yes, maybe."

Even you should like Reggae, regarding the sad message of it.

"For me Reggae is much too happy. That’s my feeling about Reggae. I like listening to Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and System of a Down. It is very seldom that new music inspires me. I have listened to the radio a lot during the last month in New York – K-Rock, they play a lot of good stuff. And then they played this SOAD-song "B.Y.O.B." und I thought(whispers): WTF is that?" I turned on the volume immediately, and the refrain is ace."

That song is really strange in the beginning and then resolves.

"Marvellous!"

Really good.

"We have toured with them in America. When Paul had to go back to Germany in-between Daran (Malakian, guitarist of SOAD) has played to shows with us. He wore Paul`s jacket and then we played."

He could replace Paul so easily? "I showed him how to play the songs, we jammed a bit, and it was o.k."

But Paul is still in the band?

"(laughs) Yes, of course! Rammstein only is Rammstein with all six of us."

How did you two develop your playing together over the year? You play a lot in unison.

"Yes, most of the times we play together. This "in unison thing", too, is on the one hand something typical for the creation of the Rammstein sound- and on the other hand a real punishment."

Because you cannot show your ego then?

"Guitarists are the big egos in the band, and now they have to split the job between them and they have to play in unison. The funny thing is that we are totally different personalities. Paul is the happy guy and plays very tight, but cannot let go so easily. But together we just have the dark side of the force (laughs)."

How much did you copy from your producer Jacob Hellner (e.g. Clawfinger) concerning the sound? "Jacob definitely is the kind of producer, who forces you to perform best. He has a big influence on my playing. He tries to visualize things with me. At the last recording he told me: "Imagine 80.000 people in front of you". He switched on the tape, danced in front of me and yelled:"Yeah, yeah!" It is incredible how he motivated me with this. You really can imagine than all the people in front of you and someone dancing right before your eyes causes you to play differently. Great! He is so capable, a very skilled psychologist. I think he is a really important part of Rammstein. Not only for the guitars, he also works very well with Till (Lindemann, vocalist) und our drummer. He dives into the music and hears things I am not able to hear. I really wished I could but I cannot. He does a really great job."

You once said that during production 30 % are added to the songs...

"Jacob enters the rehearsal room, listens to a song. Then he does not say: "Try this or that". He just tells us, if it works or not. And he is very good in details from which you think they are not that important, such like: "Which HiHat do you use? Which cymbal?" A wrong HiHat can kill the sound or a whole song or hinder the improvement. These 30 % are very important – and sometimes it is necessary to lead the band, because with six people in it we would never come to an end."

So he is a kind of coach?

"Absolutely. And his experience is important. When I recorded the demos in former times at home with a PreAmp I was tighter and faster than later in the studio with a normal Amp. Jacob knew this problem from his work with Clawfinger. And they decided "O.K., we just use the SansAmp and do not use Amps." But I had my own vision and I really like that tube sound. When I do demos nowadays, I always use Amps. Therefore I have built a cabin with thick walls in my New York apartment, use my speaker and my amps and produce my demos- directly with the fitting sound."

Can all those changes be discovered in the process from the first albums to "Reise, Reise"?

"Certainly. Firstly this has to do with the fact that every musician wants to change- sometimes this is good, sometimes not. There are a few bands which still sound the same, like my favourite band AC/DC. But I don’t know if they are happy with it. "Reise, Reise" is like coming back, because with "Mutter" we had so much trouble in the band that things had to be changed. Rammstein is a democratic band, and I was a bit too much involved in "Mutter" (laughs). Therefore we went back into the studio for the songwriting, because you play and compose in a different way in the studio. The computer is a great aid, and I still use it to write songs. But in the studio you do things because you like them: you play one parts for six times, on the computer you would just have looped that part. With the computer there is no dynamic, and that is the advantage with a band. On the other hand you always have to discuss and to cope with the other band members."

Is "Sehnsucht" your most personal album? "On "Sehnsucht" you can see in an extreme way the introduction of computers as a first big love in music- a time when I used the computer a lot and drove myself into a lot of abysses, also when it comes to drugs. There are a lot of bands whose albums, which were created under the influence if drugs, are of greater interest for me. Ministry for example. "Psalm 69" definitely was written under heavy drug influence – brilliant. The problem is that you will reach a point when you notice: "O.k. I could not go on like this forever. You have to stop it at one point. Then the question occurs: "Am I able to do it without drugs?" Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails for example, with whom we played together lately, and his album "The fragile" which he, as he admitted, has written under the influences of drugs. Listen to it and compare it with the new album – you will hear the difference. In the depths. I do not want to say which one is better. But I, personally, always was attracted more to the dark side of the force. The problem the of course is: you will not have a great life expectancy. A time will come when you have to deal with that problem and when you have to change things. I did it in an extreme way. Nevertheless the longing for death still occurs sometimes. Thank the Lord I have found a band in which I am able to express this dark side in the songwriting. You can hear it on "Mutter" and "Sehnsucht". In my opinion "Mutter" is the album with the most depths, especially concerning the mood."

And also concerning the functioning of songs?

"I only can listen once to that album; like many other people. "Reise, Reise" can be played in the background, but with "Mutter" it is different, I do have to listen to it closely; you have to get involved; and after the listening you will be done."

In September Rammstein will release already a new album...

"Yes. We had recorded much more songs than necessary for "Reise, Reise" and released only those tracks which fitted best in regard of the tracklisting of the album. Now we are in the lucky situation to have some more songs on stock and therefore we are able to chose from eight new and seven old songs."

We were always interested in this question: How do you create a Rammstein song? Normally the situation is as follows: a rock musician tries "G" then "C" and searches for a melody. But with Rammstein there is a very heavy played crazy riff, a keyboard blubbering in one stanza and something happening in the bridge. And you cannot use a piano or a acoustic guitar.

"I have changed a lot in my songwriting. Because I also sing in my solo project I have changed my songwriting. Now I do what you have said and play acoustic guitars, but this cannot be transferred easily to Rammstein, because the Rammstein sound consist of simple, hard played riffs..."

AC/DC!

"Definitely. That`s where I come from, that`s what I like. Also old Black Sabbath songs. Two days ago in the Netherlands I have been totally nervous because Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page only stood two meters away watching me playing the guitar. I was all in (laughs). Yes, my origins are simple riffs, and the good old Rammstein sound is based on one riff. But as Till has a deep voice we had to leave some space for him in the songs and therefore had to switch the guitars off. But we wanted to fill these parts with something else and created some sequences."

Do you sometimes part the song into fragments and rebuilt it in another way?

"Rarely. If you enter the rehearsal room with an idea it will be torn to pieces but after three weeks you will end up with the original idea. This is an important process, but it irritated me a lot in the past, because you are very sensitive when you have written something- it is your baby. But everybody has to feel to be involved as a part in the song- with no regard to who had the original idea. Rammstein is a democratic band, we had to learn it the hard way. I always say: Rammstein is the greatest therapy I have ever made in my life. Now we have relaxed a bit, because the individuals do not have the power to fight anymore or maybe because we do not have to fight anymore. But this does not necessarily improve the quality. I believe all big, successful bands had this kind of love-hate relationship and it is the same with Rammstein."

What can we expect from your solo project?

"That’s the question I ask myself everyday (laughs)."

But it won’t be Reggae... "(laughs)No, no Reggae. It is a fresh, young sound. It was important for me to do what I really wanted to do: singing. I think all guitarists want to sing as well. And I did not want to regret not to have done it when I will die one day. It definitely will be a mixture of New York and Berlin, whatever this will be. You will hear New York in the music because I have written and worked out the music there most of the times. The city inspires me a lot."

But we will listen to rock music...

"Absolutely"

And now we still talk about distorted guitars...

"We definitely speak about distorted guitars (laughs)."

We haven`t asked one typical Rammstein question until now but there is one we do have to ask..

"O.K."

How do you explain the worldwide success of the phenomenon "Rammstein"?

"To be honest, I am personally still fascinated with the success. I cannot really explain it, because I have never seen a Rammstein concert only as a viewer. But I know there is this fascination for something that gives you the creeps which people feel when they view us. A kind of Tolkien 2005. Manson needs a lot of make-up for this, we have it naturally. Of course entertainment is another aspect, but people love the dark side, which is authentic in our band. To be authentic is very important, and also that we have tried to make music with German lyrics and it works. English is a wonderful language and has a totally different groove. But have a look at 2raumwohnung (a German band with the former singer of the Neue Deutsche Welle band Neonbabies; the band name means two-room-flat and they sing in German) and their music- it works! Lindenberg (Udo; famous German singer, known with his Panik Orchester e.g. for the songs: Sonderzug nach Pankow, Auf der Andrea Doria, etc)- it works. If the music matches with the singer’s voice and the song than language is no problem. The most important thing is to be authentic and, in a way, different. We have experienced a lot of respect from international musicians. I really appreciate people like Jimmy Page or Tony Iommi coming to us saying: " You did a fuckin’ great job" and musicians, who have created great music, thanking us for our music and honouring it. In Germany you will hear this only very seldom."

© 2005 Richie baby