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Punch Brothers: The Undiscovered Country

In a windowless rehearsal room in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. the Punch Brothers are exploring—to co-opt a Shakespearean phrase—“the undiscovered country.” While the famed bard was referring to death, for this quintet of top-notch bluegrass players, it means learning how to play live while utilizing audio effects on their instruments which they incorporated for the first time in the recording of their new album.

At the moment, fiddler Gabe Witcher is sitting cross-legged on the slightly elevated stage toying with various pieces of equipment arranged before him, namely an M9 Stompbox Modeler. Mandolinist Chris Thile, the group’s defacto leader, is standing above him, repeating the same few phrases over and over as Witcher punches buttons and dials the device’s six knobs up and down.

Most people wouldn’t notice a difference between the effects that Witcher’s proposing to the rest of the band who are standing in front of the stage giving feedback. However, to a once self-confessed acoustically “puritanical” band, using effects—however small and nuanced—is a very big deal. It’s an interesting dynamic watching world-class acoustic musicians fumble around with figuring out to how to corral various effects processors.

After 15 minutes, Witcher, Thile and the band’s sound engineer, Dave Sinko, appear to have finally keyed in on at least one of the tones that they’re after for Thile’s mandolin. “Might be a little too bright,” says Thile a moment after. “It’s not that it’s too bright; it’s that there’s not enough beef.” A few bars later later it sounds too “mid-rangy” to him.

After another spell of minute changes—with one misstep inspiring Thile to vamp on Weezer’s “Undone- Sweater Song”—it once again appears that the band has collectively found the tone they’re searching for. It proves mercurial.

“Whatever you just did killed most of the beef in the sound,” says banjoist Noam Pikelny to Witcher.

“It’s too bright, isn’t it?” says Thile again of the latest version.

“That kills it—you’re losing most of the body of the instrument,” responds Pikelny.

“That’s just the treble,” Witcher says looking up and appearing mildly perplexed.

“That sounds nasally,” retorts Pikelny of the next offering.

“What’s this do?” Witcher asks, tweaking a knob.

“Makes it clearer,” says Pikelny, whose eyes are closed in concentration.

After Thile plays a few more bars and Witcher finesses further, the fiddler asks for more feedback.

“Put the Tube Screamer back in,” says Pikelny in reference to a guitar overdrive pedal, later suggesting more gain on the M9 before rejoining guitarist Chris “Critter” Eldridge and bassist Paul Kowert at a table piled with stacks of coasters featuring individual portraits of each band member by New Yorker cartoonist Matt Diffee.

The first 2,500 pre-orders of the band’s new Who’s Feeling Young Now? album will receive a complete signed set. At the moment, the task seems almost Sisyphean to the group who’ve spent a majority of their down time over the last few days signing the coasters. (While this might not be the case, then it certainly feels that way to them.)

Thile and Witcher hop off the stage a short while later, seemingly content—for the moment, anyway—with the last round of effects decisions.

“It’s the first tech rehearsal we’ve had in five-and-half-years of playing,” confesses Pikelny with a mix of pride and embarrassment.

More to the point: Five-and-a-half years ago, the Punch Brothers didn’t exist.