It might come as a shock, but there’s one thing that excites our team at Sweetwater more than anything else: music! Step into any of our departments — from our Sales Engineers to the warehouse — and you’ll find a veritable committee of hardcore musicologists always at the ready to debate every facet of sonic minutiae.
As an experiment, we decided to tap into this wealth of knowledge by asking our employees about some of their musical tastes — namely, who their favorite two-piece band was. The results were varied, eclectic, and (for some of us) highly controversial. However, the people have spoken: In no particular order, here are nine of our favorite two-piece bands!
The Black Keys
Although their sound has grown larger throughout the years, the core of the Black Keys has always been the raunchy, blues-inflected guitar playing and vocals of Dan Auerbach supported by the hard-hitting backbeat of Patrick Carney’s drums. The Black Keys’ sound, aesthetic, and even gear is deeply rooted in tradition, as their fondness for covering vintage tunes and ’60s department-store guitars clearly displays. In the best possible way, the Black Keys are a band that has never felt the need to reinvent the wheel, and for one good reason: they don’t need to. Dan and Patrick are almost supernaturally gifted in the art of old-school bluesy rock tunes, and, when every other track you put out is a veritable garage anthem, it’s probably best not to mess with the formula.
To me, they’re the basement band that everyone wanted to be — literally! Raw and overdriven blues guitar, soulful vocals, and heavy-handed drums. I wouldn’t be me without the Black Keys!
Aidan VandeStadt, Sweetwater Marketing department
The White Stripes
Few bands exemplify the bare-bones guitar ‘n’ drums approach to music better than Jack and Meg White, and it’s safe to say that the 21st century’s garage-rock revival probably wouldn’t exist without them. The White Stripes’ sound is defined by Meg White’s less-is-more approach to percussion and Jack White’s wild, often experimental, and (usually) fuzzed-out guitar tones — an indisputable influence on quite a few of the other bands on this list. In fact, while Jack’s revolutionary use of a DigiTech Whammy octave pedal in the megahit “Seven Nation Army” might seem somewhat quaint now (we all thought it was a bass at the time!), there’s a reason why octave effects became the standard for two-pieces everywhere after Jack White introduced it to the masses and not before.
Jack and Meg were truly the first of their kind. Their sound is a blind date of fraying fuzz and devoted backbeat that nobody dared set up — but ended up surprising everyone in the end!
Bill Shears, Sweetwater drum coordinator
Royal Blood
While we certainly expected Royal Blood to be near the top of this list, they were the overwhelming choice for number one! Bassist Mike Kerr’s riff-heavy sound blends seamlessly with the simultaneously aggressive and funky drums of Ben Thatcher, a style that they christened “AC/Disco” while working on their album Typhoons. Perhaps more than any other rock band on this list, Royal Blood manages to sound greater than the sum of their parts. One of the main reasons for this is Mike Kerr’s gargantuan bass/guitar/mystery sound, and we’ll let Sales Engineer Brandt Miller give you the scoop on what gear he uses to achieve his sonic signature:
Royal Blood are phenomenal. What Mike Kerr does, specifically, is crazy impressive. He plays a short-scale bass through a rig that’s split into two parts: one side runs through bass effects and Super Bassman amps; the other is pitched up an octave (via a POG 2 with just the “+1” slider pinned) through separate guitar effects and Fender Super-Sonic amps. The true beauty is in the way he navigates the BOSS LS-2 switches that control which parts of the rig are audible. Royal Blood’s songs have a lot of interplay between the bass and “guitar” parts, so it’s not just constantly running in unison but often bouncing back and forth . . . and he’s doing this all while singing! Listening to them, you’d hardly know it’s just two people producing all the sounds you hear onstage.
Brandt Miller, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
’68
Another clear Sweetwater favorite was the brash Atlanta noise-punk duo ’68, who offer an aggressive take on the two-piece that’s loaded with searing riffs, noisy freak-outs, and screamed/sung vocals that defy the ’60s rock influence that runs throughout our list. Guitarist Josh Scogin, formerly the vocalist for the metalcore band Norma Jean, leads this project with drummer Nikko Yamada (previously Michael McClellan) for a relatively simple guitar/drums setup with, you guessed it, copious amounts of fuzz and octave effects! If you’re looking for a garage two-piece but with a more abrasive edge, then ’68 has “got the sauce,” as our Music Store Sales Coordinator Drake Dunham puts it.
The brilliant Josh Scogin with some high-energy rock ‘n’ roll — for fans of the White Stripes, Jack White, Royal Blood, and any other fuzz-heavy, octave-laced jams!
Cameron Green, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
’68 is one of the most exciting two-piece bands right now. I saw this band without knowing anything about them (they were the opener), and they were explosive. They fed off of each other so well and totally stole the night. Electric.
Tyler Dworak, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
Death from Above 1979
In the early 2000s, right around the time that the White Stripes were hitting their commercial peak, a couple of Canadians were turning the indie world on its head with a fuzzed-out, dance-punk take on the two-piece band. Death from Above 1979’s bare-bones setup of a Rickenbacker bass, two amplifier stacks, and a drum kit was all that Jesse F. Keeler and Sebastien Grainger needed to pump out a furious intensity that rivals any full band. But, just as soon as they had taken over the indie sphere, they disappeared, leaving a single album of filthy, distorted bass lines and manic, full-force drums that would serve as the blueprint for many a band during their hiatus. A full decade later in 2014, they released their sophomore album and have been going strong ever since, refining their sound with the addition of synthesizers and other electronic elements to bolster their aggressive-yet-danceable aesthetic.
One of the best bands to make you go, ‘Wait . . . it’s only two people?!’ With their raucous blend of punk, garage rock, and dance music, DFA1979 takes bass guitar and truly makes it a lead instrument that anyone can groove to.
Eric Taylor, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
I remember seeing them live when I was like 14–15, and it blew my mind to see a two-piece band absolutely dominate a stage presence/performance. They really opened my eyes to how bands can operate and function.
Brendan Wright, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
Essential gear for starting your own garage rock duo:
Daft Punk
While most of our list resides firmly in the noisy garage-rock territory, we were still able to find room in our playlists for everyone’s favorite pair of French robots. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter spent close to three decades revolutionizing the world of electronic music, and, although calling them a two-piece band might be a bit questionable, they’re without a doubt one of the most influential musical duos of all time.
Daft Punk’s songwriting abilities, the gear they used, their futuristic mystique, and their showmanship paved the way for many musicians around the world (no pun intended). I will always remember them as one of the most influential and recognized duos of the modern age.
Eric Askew, SweetCare content creator
Sylvan Esso
The husband-and-wife duo Sylvan Esso rejects the maximalist approach favored by many other electronic artists and instead zeroes in on a highly personal, intimate sound . . . but that’s not to say there’s no groove! Nick Sanborn’s glitchy production offers a sparse, textural canvas of sound for the beautifully restrained vocals of Amelia Meath — if you spend any time reading about them, then you’re all but guaranteed to run into a thesaurus page full of synonyms for “dreamlike.” If you’re more comfortable making music in the bedroom than in the garage, then Sylvan Esso’s minimalistic beat is sure to inspire.
My favorite two-piece band has to be Sylvan Esso. Their music is so ethereal and makes you want to dance no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
Paige Smith, Sweetwater Marketing
Sylvan Esso creates gorgeous music that makes the most of their minimalist, two-piece approach. Amelia Meath’s rhythmically and melodically playful vocals are perfectly complemented by partner Nick Sanborn’s tasteful electronic soundscapes and always-groovy beats.
Jake Jenkins, Sweetwater Marketing
Twenty One Pilots
Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots carried the two-piece torch into the 2010s with a slew of hits that propelled them into the pantheon of pop royalty. While their hybrid electronic/live approach certainly reduces the limitations associated with the down-and-dirty garage bands on this list, this group’s bombastic sound and worldwide success is truly a testament to how far a self-made duo can go with modern music-making tools. For a band that so effectively blends the worlds of rap, electronic music, and alternative rock, you’d be surprised by how closely their shows can resemble some of the more stripped-back bands on this list — it’s not uncommon to see them onstage rocking the tried-and-true bass/drum two-piece combo!
Twenty One Pilots are my favorite two-piece. Even though they use backing tracks live, they put on an amazing live show between the two of them.
Zackary Kempen, Sweetwater product tester
Essential gear for starting your own electronic duo:
The Milk Carton Kids
It’s somewhat difficult to overlook this list’s absence of another acoustic duo that’s famous for angelic vocal harmonies (of both the Everly Brothers and Simon & Garfunkel variety), but our choice for the ever-popular acoustic two-piece is the unabashedly old-school Milk Carton Kids. In contrast to most of the bands on this list, the Milk Carton Kids forgo any sort of effect or studio enhancements to bolster their sound and instead revel in the inherent intimacy of their two-man, two-guitar setup, often playing into a single microphone. One key to their sound (also utilized by the incredible Gillian Welch and David Rawlings) is their guitar pairing of a large dreadnought and a diminutive parlor guitar; Joey Ryan’s bass-heavy Gibson J-45 tone fills out the rhythm, allowing the nimble lead playing of Kenneth Pattengale’s midrange-focused Martin 0-15 to shine.
Two dudes, two acoustic guitars, best band around. Saw them live at Red Rocks, I drove all the way there just for them (and I would do it again).
Lucas Norton, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
Essential gear for starting your own acoustic 2-piece:
Who Did We Miss?
Looking to start your own two-piece? Need a fuzz pedal to cop Jack White’s tone? Want to argue with someone because your favorite duo didn’t make the list? Make sure to give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700.