Koa Ho

Koa Ho is a Honolulu-born, Dallas-raised, and Brooklyn-based songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. As a sideman, he performs on bass and guitar with a diverse array of artists; in his solo output you’ll find him somewhere in between - on the baritone guitar attempting to glue together a diverse sonic collage of jazz and emo and folk and whatever else that someone with an attention deficit disorder might add to a longer multi-hyphenate buzzword list. His most recent project  Now That I’m Older, I Don’t Look The Same (2023) explores the diffusion of identity, as marked by the passage of time.

What made you want to add the SubSix to your current setup? 

I wanted to add the SubSix to my setup mainly because I've been searching for an added degree of control and detail - particularly in a recorded space - that I wasn't achieving with standard pickup configurations. I feel like I've tapped into just a fraction of the SubSix's potential so far, and I look forward to what's to come.

How do you currently use it? 

I use the SubSix on a baritone guitar. As a person who can never decide between being just a bassist or just a guitarist, I've found immense utility in range extension and pitch shifting effects (bass strings octave down, treble strings octave up, etc). I've also been working on the application of the SubSix in audio-to-MIDI capabilities - particularly in conjunction with  MIDI Guitar 3  by Jam Origin to control software synths and to control MIDI in a way that more organically suits my playing.

Has it changed your creative process and if so how? 

The SubSix has changed my creative process by making me reconsider what's possible with an instrument I've played almost my entire life. In the past, hex pickups were never something I'd considered beyond novelty, but Submarine's approach really resonated with me at a time when I was looking for new ways to engage my imagination with the guitar.

Has there been any surprising discoveries in the time that you've been using it? 

The most surprising discovery for me was the amount of detail I can hear in my playing - and that means EVERY detail. So while it's brilliant, it's also somewhat like having a microscope put on the flaws and imperfections in your technique. Things you might not have noticed if you didn't have the ability to listen to individual strings solo'd. 

Have you used it as part of a group/larger ensemble rather than just solo?

I have used the SubSix in a group recently! I'm a part of an artist collective and recording studio in Ridgewood, NY called Home Carried. The pickup has been my secret weapon in the studio, especially in sessions with other artists.

Have you used it in a live setting? 

I actually used the SubSix live for the first time last week in my first performance with Home Carried.

Where was it and what was the setup?

The show was at  Close Up , a new jazz club in NYC. As part of a larger hybrid acoustic-electric setup, I had the SubSix on my Danelectro baritone guitar running through a Focusrite 18i20 > Ableton > PA, in parallel with my standard pickups running through a pedalboard > bass amp. 

What is your favourite guitar gear? Software? Hardware? 

My favorite analog gear is the now discontinued  Moogerfooger MF-101 Lowpass Filter . I had a friend who used to work as an engineer at Moog and he traded it to me for a haircut (I also used to moonlight as a barber in my college days). My favorite software is hard to pick but it's a tossup between Neural DSP's  Archetype  series of amp modelers and  SketchCassette  by Aberrant DSP.

How has having multiple channel outputs changed how you use these?

Unfortunately, at the moment I haven't got 6 amps and 6 pedalboards (but i'm working on it!). So with something like Archetype amp modeling, I can utilize the power of the SubSix's effect processing capabilities while also modeling what those changes sounds like through different amps and cabinets in real time without hardware. 

Have you got any tips for other Sub6 users?

The best advice I can give on using the SubSix is to give yourself time to adapt your playing to it! Besides the more complex and powerful applications of the pickup, one of the things that honestly motivates me the most is to simply pan the strings across the stereo field (no fx) and practice with headphones on. It's hard to describe the feeling, but it's almost as if you're completely surrounded by the instrument in three dimensional space. 

What are you currently working on?

I'm working on releasing more music soon, and I have a new song called 25 which is out now!