Adam Dutkiewicz

Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz, often referred to as Adam D or "Big Dude", or Adam "Da Man" D, (born April 4, 1977) is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as a guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock and Times of Grace. Biography edit: Dutkiewicz, of Polish descent, grew up in Westhampton, Massachusetts. Dutkiewicz attended Hampshire Regional High School. Dutkiewicz also later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying production, audio engineering, and bass guitar. While at college, he began playing in the band Aftershock with friend Joel Stroetzel. Stroetzel would later join Dutkiewicz, Mike D'Antonio, and Jesse Leach in forming Killswitch Engage. Dutkiewicz was the drummer of Killswitch Engage, until the release of its second album, Alive or Just Breathing, when he moved to guitars, and Tom Gomes became the band's drummer. Dutkiewicz tracked guitars for A Song for Chi on June 24, 2009, in San Sebastian, Spain. He has assumed the role of producer on all of Killswitch Engage's records, except on their second self-titled album Killswitch Engage, which was released June 30, 2009. For this album he took on the job of co-producer alongside Brendan O'Brien (known for his work with AC/DC, The Offspring, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Incubus, Mastodon, and Stone Temple Pilots). Adam has also produced for the bands As I Lay Dying, Underøath, The Devil Wears Prada,The Acacia Strain,Unearth,All That Remains,From Autumn to Ashes,Johnny Truant,Parkway Drive,The Agony Scene,Every Time I Die and others. He has been compared to Ross Robinson, producer of many nu metal albums, because of his influence on modern metal and shaping the sound of melodic metalcore. He is also an engineer for Zing Recording Studios, which has produced for numerous artists, including several from Tooth & Nail Records and its heavy metal sub-label Solid State Records. Equipment edit: Guitars edit: Dutkiewicz has been a longtime player of Caparison Guitars mostly using the Caparison PLM-3, a discontinued model, with EMG pickups (EMG 85 in the bridge, and two EMG SA single coils in the middle and neck positions) and DR Tite-Fit .012-.052 strings. He is quoted as saying that he likes the guitars because they have a very "strat-like neck." Ever since 2007, he has been seen using various models and brands, but still uses Caparison for tracking in the studio. In 2008 shows, he used a black Parker Fly with an EMG 81/EMG 85 set for pickups. Atop this, he used a custom Caparison, modeled after the Dellinger model. He previously used Parker guitars for their light weight so as to avoid worsening his back problems, but ended his endorsement due to quality issues after getting his signature model. Sometime in 2008, he switched to using a stock PRS Guitars Custom 22, which he used for a few years. In the video for "In Due Time", Adam can be seen using an EVH Wolfgang Hardtail. He has since then switched to EVH Wolfgangs full-time, keeping the guitar stock and un-modified. When he officially took up second guitar duties after the release of Alive or Just Breathing, he could be seen using a Fender Stratocaster, possibly modded with a stacked bridge humbucker. Amplification and effects edit: Throughout his career, Dutkiewicz has used a range of different amplifiers including Hughes and Kettner TriAmp MK II, Vox AC30's, Peavey 5150's and Mesa/Boogie Triple-Rectifiers and Roadsters, Diezel VH4s, and Splawn Nitros, with Mesa/Boogie and Hughes and Kettner 4x12 Cabinets, loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. Ever since The End Of Heartache, a Framus Cobra has been a mainstay in his recording rig, which is usually tracked with other amps, such as the ones previously mentioned. He is currently endorsed by Laney Amplification, using their Ironheart series of amplifiers live and in the studio. For effect pedals, he has been known to use Maxon AD-9 Pro Delay and Maxon OD-808 Overdrive units, and he and fellow guitarist Stroetzel have also both been credited with helping develop the Maxon OD-9 Pro+ Overdrive pedal, even though they still use the OD-808 in their own rigs. He runs the delay pedal in the loop of his amplifiers, while he runs an overdrive pedal in the loop of a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor. For tracking the recent Killswitch Engage album, Disarm the Descent, both he and Stroetzel used Laney and Fuchs amps, using the Laney Ironheart head alongside a Fuchs Mantis (also known as the Viper). For his live amp rig, he uses Laney Ironhearts exclusively, using a Laney Ironheart IRT120H head with a V30-loaded Laney Ironheart 4x12 cabinet for distorted tones, and a Laney Ironheart IRT60212 combo for cleans. For his current effects rig, he uses a Maxon OD-808 Overdrive, Maxon AD-9 Pro analog delay, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, Boss AB-2 two-way selector, Jet City JetDirect DI box, and a Korg DTR2000 tuner. For wireless, he uses an Audio-Technica 5000 Series. He currently uses D'Addario EXL115 (.011 - .049) string sets with Intune 1.14mm picks. His former, Hughes and Kettner-driven rig was featured in the Guitar World, Vulgar Display of Power column 1. The rig for his side projects appears to consist of a Framus Cobra and possibly a similar effect pedal setup to his Killswitch Engage rig. Stage show edit: Adam D is an energetic stage personality during Killswitch Engage's live shows. One of the most active band members, he is well known for his trademark of wearing eccentric or odd clothing (such as a cape and Short Shorts in the World Ablaze DVD, the pirate hat he wore during a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, or even a Katy Perry T-shirt). Due to this stage presence, he is commonly referred to as the "Jim Carrey of guitar players."

Source: Wikipedia

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