Rabea Massaad: I Have Impostor Syndrome About Everything Except Being in a Band

We all know you from doing gear reviews and tests, you've tested it all it seems... What does your setup look like now?

I use Victory amps, I have been working with them for the past 10 years and I still use the same amplifier, The Kraken, and I have my pedalboard with Strymon effects and lots of Gigrig stuff. And that's still the pinnacle rig when I'm in the position to use it live – because it's such a big rig.

The size of the whole thing must limit its usability, is that right?

Exactly! But when I discovered Neural DSP and started working with them, plug-ins first and then the Quad Cortex, it was a game changer for me. I never liked the digital amp modelling... I remember thinking "These feel really good" about the Neural plug-ins and when the Quad Cortex came out, that was the first time I tried something that felt realistic. It had a three-dimensional depth to the attack and a feeling when you played. And now I use multiple different rigs. It can be amps and pedals, Quad Cortex on its own or an amplifier... There are multiple different versions, I kind of use everything, digital and analogue.

You've touched on an interesting topic. Having worked with Victory for so long and knowing the amp literally inside and out, you can really go into the detail of the sound and compare it with the Neural DSP plug-in.

The funny thing is, when we made my plug-in, I used my Victory amps for two of the amplifiers in the suite. So you've got my personal Victory amps in the Quad Cortex now. And it is interesting that I know where to set up the amp and what it does when I set it in a certain way. And the interesting part is when I set the controls the same way on the model and it reacts the same and sounds the same.

So even the EQ reacts the same?

Because it's an accurate, super clinical model, incredibly close. So it was interesting to test it and go "oh, it actually works!"

You've also touched on the topic of modern touring. When getting ready for the tour, you're already informed about what you can and cannot bring, which probably pushes musicians to go for more stable gear, not just reliable but also more flexible, especially when touring with an outfit like Frog Leap Studios... Would you go for the Neural DSP in this case too?

Yes, that's actually all I'm using for Frog Leap, just the Quad Cortex. And with Vower too. But if we can, we run it to the FX loop of the amp so we can have it run through cables and get the stage feel. It's really important to have live amps on stage so we can get the feedback and do all that. So that rig is a bit of a hybrid. Generally speaking, nowadays, for most gigs, it is way more feasible to run a small rig like that.

I'd guess there'll be a lot of people who haven't had the opportunity to interface with modelling amps and have no desire to try it out. Is there a way to lead them into opening their minds and accepting the modern solution?

For most people, it's about seeing it contextualised in a way that makes sense for them. So you could just have the Quad Cortex and be making a lot of cool sounds and they'll say "That sounds great but it doesn't work in my context" but then you might plug it through an amplifier and hear it through the speaker and they go "That sounds really cool and that might be more how I'd use it". I think it's really important for people to get an idea of how it would work in their reality and the cool thing about the Quad Cortex is that it's able to adapt to any environment like that. I was just tube amps and pedals, that was all I cared about until I tried the QC. And I was really strict when it came to the "créme de la créme" – the tubes and moving air and speakers and stuff... But the more I used it and tried it in these different combinations, the more I realised all of it was good. It's about how you use it in your context.

Rabea Massaad

Also, most of the time you go to a show, you don't know that even the biggest bands use some form of pure simulation. No tubes on the stage for those reliability reasons...

It's also freight! Only the biggest bands can afford it but then Metallica is running Axe FX. That's what you hear when you're watching them live. The amps are just there for the show. All these huge bands mostly use digital unless they're very specific... For example, Slash and Brian May are different because they can do whatever they want. But most bands use digital. And it's in part because it's so expensive to haul the amps and cables around! And it's much simpler for the sound engineers! Because at the end of the day, if it sounds good and it feels good, who cares what it is?

That's the amps and pedals... Maybe 20 years ago, Line6 made the Variax series, do you remember?

Yeah, I used to use one! I had a Line6 Variax for Frog Leap before Quad Cortex came out. And the main reason the live Frog Leap happened was that Leo discovered the Variax. All the songs are in different tuning, even verse, chorus and lead are all in different tunings and with weird effects. There was no way you'd be able to do it on a normal guitar. When I joined the band I had to use the same rig until Quad Cortex came out and you could transpose. And as soon as I realised I could do it with my own guitar I switched. The main reason being that the Line6 had a terrible, measurable latency. And it was difficult to play it live, especially lead, I really struggled with that rig.

I mean, it would be horrible even with the smallest of latencies when you're trying to keep in the groove...

Yeah, it really bothered me and it made me play worse. And also the cable, they had a limit to how long they were. I think it was 25 feet. So on big stages, I was stuck whereas now I'm using wireless.

Do you still have time to play around with the vintage stuff?

I've got my dad's Strat from the 70s and a Les Paul from 1971 which I love playing, I have custom shop Strats and my Gretsch and I play them all the time. Most of what I do on stage features the music that I write which is more modern and heavier, so I'm using this gear because each guitar makes you play differently. This signature Music Man makes me play a more riffy, modern style, the Strat ends up more bluesy or ambient whereas when I pick up my Gretsch it tends to be chimy chordal stuff and if I end up on the Les Paul it's either totally 70s rock or Tool!

You got recognition through your YouTube videos but you've avoided the trap of doing only one thing by touring with all these different bands – Dorje, Toska, Frog Leap, Now Vower... And also by doing workshops and other projects for other musicians and fans...

I love doing all of it! The Neural stuff is probably more in line with how I want to do things nowadays because I'm brought on these trips as an artist so I play my own material and you know, there's a separation. I'm not the gear guy who sits there and talks about turning the gain to 12 o'clock... I'm there to play guitar and show how it sounds. But I also get to travel with my best friends because most of the guys who I travel with, we've been friends for like 15 years, so way before Neural was founded.

Do you think it's still possible to do the "YouTube thing" and get the recognition you've got?

It's changed a lot, I think, because of short-form content like reels and TikToks and all that. A lot of people are now gaining ground from that. I was – for want of a better word – old school because when I started doing videos in 2011 or 2012, there wasn't that much content. Nowadays, there are so many requirements, your video quality has to be great – lighting and production quality has to be up there, you have to be personable and enjoyable to watch and listen to, you have to be able to educate, inform and entertain, you have to be good in one way or another, whether it's the music or the guitar playing... And you have to hit all platforms, short-form, long-form and everything in between and it requires an enormous amount of hustle to break above all the amazing creators... And be consistent, never falter!

I've been scrolling Instagram recently and on one of your videos I saw a comment from Joe Satriani, saying "I could listen to this for hours, man..."

It's wild, man! He's commented a few times over the last year. He must've discovered my Instagram or something...

Rabea Massaad | Photo: archives

So, you two haven't met?

I've never met him, no. But he's commented on maybe ten reels over the last year and every time it's like wow, it's crazy! And it makes you feel really good because a lot of the time, especially on Instagram, you scroll through and see insane players, crazy shredders, the most outrageous stuff. What I like to do is to be a breath of fresh air, so you scroll through this craziness and then maybe land on what I'm doing which is more relaxed, chilled, feelsy, atmospheric...

Musical?

Musical, haha, yeah! And it may make people stop for a minute. That's become something I feel strongly about trying to do on the platform rather than just... mindlessness. And when someone like Joe Satriani comments, it's like "ooh, that must've struck a chord" – no pun intended – enough to let me know he enjoyed it! And I messaged him saying "I'd love to jam with you" and he responded "Let's make it happen"... Hasn't happened yet but you never know!

That brings me to my last question, what's on the plate for you in 2025?

The first one is the band. I'm currently recording an album in my studio and we're hoping to have it released at the end of this year so I'm very focused on getting it done. Because I'm acting as engineer, producer, mixing engineer, guitarist and songwriter as well with the rest of the band! That's a big focus.

On top of that, I need to focus more on my guitar playing again because for the longest time ever, I've sort of been treading water as a guitarist. I've been writing music and I've been creative but as a player, I feel the bug again to progress.

And the third thing is to pursue my original material as well. Maybe do a solo EP? That'd probably give me more confidence in this industry... Because I have imposter syndrome all the time about everything... Except for being in a band! I like my band, I think we sound good and I think people enjoy it. But as a guitar player in the industry with my own model, I'm constantly thinking this is crazy, I don't deserve it!

Do you do all the work on the album on your own or do you bring in people to lend their ears and "check your homework"?

It's been a slow and steady trajectory with my confidence on this. I've been really interested in mixing and recording since just before the pandemic. I used to sit in on mixing sessions, just passively learning until the time came for me to do it myself! I just got addicted to it and over the course of the pandemic and also by doing more recordings on my own, I built confidence. And I did the last single for Vower, called "Satellites". It was my first sort of major release. I was nervous but I had guys like Nolly and the guy who mixed our previous albums, Mark Roberts who are kind enough to listen to it and they've been really instrumental in me getting better at that. And my bandmates went "sounds great, you might as well do the album!"

Great as a vote of confidence but that's a lot of work and a lot of time, too!

Yeah, a lot of time and lot of work. But hopefully, with everything I've learned, I'll be able to get it done in the time frame. I think we need to have it finished by mid-May so there's not much time but I think I can do it!