Jesses Cook's gear

JESSE COOK
On Vertigo, Jesse Cook played a Condé Hermanos flamenco guitar that he bought in Madrid in 1997. "I took about a week to pick out the guitar that I wanted," Cook says. "The Condé Hermanos won my heart. I tried all the guitars, and this is the most beautiful guitar that I heard while I was there. I love it."
Cook uses his Hermanos in the studio but says it's too fragile to take on the road. For live gigs, he uses either a nylon-string Godin Multiac or a Takamine classical cutaway CP-132SC. "The Multiac gives me access to synthesizers while I'm playing a nylon-string guitar," Cook explains, "and it has strong feedback resistance, which is great for performing on a big stage." He plays the Takamine in more intimate settings. This guitar has been modified with an RMC pickup—the same pickup that's in the Multiac. Cook also uses a Roland GR-9 guitar synthesizer and a Roland JV880 sound module for synth sounds in a live setting, as well as a T.C. Electronic G-Force effects processor.
Cook uses Luthier Concert Gold guitar strings on his Hermanos and D'Addario Pro-Arté hard-tension nylon strings on the Godin and the Takamine. "The Luthier strings are not as bright as the D'Addarios," Cook says. "They offer a more subtle sound, which is good because my style is a bit abrasive." He plays with either a custom-ordered Dunlop pick or his fingers (he treats his nails with superglue).
Cook records using a Bruel and Kjaer 4006 microphone. "It was originally designed for use as a reference tool for acoustic engineers because it was so accurate," Cook says. "Lately, audio engineers have been using it in the studio and finding it not only flat but very musical as well." He also sings the praises of Yamaha's 40-channel O2R mixing console, which features fully digital 32-bit mixing. "In the past, I was not a big fan of digital EQ or compression, but with the higher bit resolution, this machine is both pristine and warm at the same time," he says. For recording, Cook uses a Mac 9600 loaded with Logic Audio and Pro Tools as the audio engine.