Song Rig

Lift the Curse

Matt Schofield · Anything But Time · 2007

Tone Overview

What Makes This Sound Unique

Matt Schofield's most celebrated composition — a slow, heavy blues that showcases the British blues guitarist's Freddie King and Albert King influences. The ES-335 through the Divided By 13 amplifier produces a warm, thick tone with the natural amp breakup that Schofield prefers over high-gain pedals.

Signal Chain

1Gibson ES-335 (neck pickup, volume 8)
2Divided By 13 FTR 37 amplifier
3Xotic BB Preamp (light boost)

Amp Settings

Gain / Volume6

Bass7

Mid7

Treble6

Reverb3

The Divided By 13's natural breakup is warmer and more dynamic than Mesa or Marshall high-gain tones — it responds to picking attack in a way that allows both soft and loud playing from the same settings. Schofield uses this responsiveness as an expressive tool.

Technique

How to Play It

Double-stop lead phrasing in the Freddie King tradition — Schofield frequently plays pairs of notes rather than single notes, giving his lines a fuller, more harmonically rich quality than pure single-note blues players.

Budget Alternative

Achievable With

ES-335 neck pickup → Divided By 13 or Two-Rock (American-voiced amp that breaks up naturally) → Xotic BB Preamp as light boost → practice double-stop patterns: target the 3rd and 5th of each chord as your primary double-stop intervals.

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