Two-time Grammy Award-winning rockabilly hero Brian Setzer recently played a sold-out show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in support of his new solo album, The Devil Always Collects. Tyler Sweet, who has teched for Setzer for 17 years, took PG’s John Bohlinger through the rig that rocked this town, and just about every other town in the world over Setzer’s 40 years of twanging and sanging.Brought to you by D'Addario XSRR Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Formed in 1969 by slide guitar juggernaut Lowell George, disbanded after his death in ’79, then revitalized in 1987, Little Feet combines George’s bandmate and co-writer Fred Tacket along with virtuoso Scott Sharrad in their new recording and touring lineup. Tacket and Sharrad invited PG’s John Bohlinger to their soundcheck at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to talk gear and tell classic stories from Little Feet’s early days.Brought to you by D'Addario XSRR Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Irish rock band Fontaines D.C. is a dual-guitar ensemble featuring Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley. At first, the duo used similar guitars, amps, and settings in an effort to work as a symbiotic saw buzzing their way through songs. The indistinguishable incisions lacerated their earliest work with angsty piss and vinegar. But as the quintet’s musicianship has evolved, they’ve embraced wider influences, adding different knives to their collection of cutlery. And more specifically, they’ve learned when to slice, when to dice, and how to work off each other.“I think we’re trying to be more patient and more conscious of the texture,” Curley told PG in 2022, describing how he and O’Connell have worked together to refine their sound. “The first album was very much in a fighting mode,” he continues, “with the two guitars EQ’d the same and just smashing off each other. On the second one, we learned to play together a little better. We’re still working on it, and sometimes we still try to become as one almost, when the song needs it, but I think now we’ve learned to fit in with how we’re EQing everything. It feels really good.”Ahead of their opening slot priming crowds for the Arctic Monkeys, O’Connell and Curley invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage at the Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville. Carlos covered his favored Fender solidbodies, while Conor showed off his eclectic hollowbodies, and they both walked through their respective pedalboards.Brought to you by D'Addario Trigger Capo.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

“‘Stumbled into guitar’ is a good way of putting our start with the instrument. [Spencer Stewart] and I formed the band in 2015 and that’s when I got my first electric guitar,” admits The Band CAMINO’s vocalist and guitarist Jeffery Jordan.That sort of sideways T-bone collision into guitardom allows this pop-minded duo to avoid typical tonal tropes like worrying about tubes versus modeling, or imports versus custom. Their focus was and continues to be translating their danceable melodies into guitar-driven rompers and producing the best live show possible.“We definitely enjoyed a pedalboard-and-amp-era of the band, but the tech has come so far and we’re able to eliminate so much room for error and potential inconsistencies, allowing for a freer performance,” adds Jordan.As we quickly found out in our Rundown with Jordan and Stewart, the band’s approach favors execution over exhibitionism.In mid-September, just before the band commenced their headlining Screaming in the Dark tour, in support of the just-released The Dark album, co-frontmen and dueling guitarists Jeffery Jordan and Spencer Stewart invited PG’s Chris Kies to rehearsal for a gear talk. The main chauffeurs of CAMINO explained how grabbing guitar later in life allowed them to avoid a lot of gear gossip and find tonal solutions that enrich their performances. Plus, they both discuss the stable of studs from Fender, Gibson, and Epiphone that give bounce and beauty to their merging of indie-rock and electropop.Brought to you by D'Addario XPND.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

The 15-year history of Rig Rundown has established that guitar gear fascination (and obsession) runs deep in our community. It’s the life blood of our show. But if there was ever antithetical example to guitar gluttony and equipment idolatry, it would be American Football. Their original self-proclaimed “bedroom college project” focused on self-expression, musical creativity, and working with what you had, which wasn’t much.For the recording of their pioneering American Football album released in 1999, they borrowed most of their gear, shared a single guitar cable and tuner, didn’t use bass, and formulated odd open tunings that allowed for sinuously melodic cinematic passages between Kinsella and Holmes. Their exploration of unique open tunings inspire a legion of players include 6-string virtuoso Yvette Young. (She now ships all her signature Ibanez guitars in a tricky open tuning—F–A–C–G–B–E—derived from American Football.) Their ingenious and scrappy methods went on to inform the brand of Midwest emo that simmered a devoted fanbase waiting for their return after disbanding in 2000. First returning to the stage in 2014 and delivering two more American Football albums in 2016 and 2019, the band continues using minimal gear for maximum art.Ahead of American Football’s headlining show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, cofounding members Mike Kinsella (vocals/guitar) and Steve Holmes (guitar) invited PG’s Perry Bean onstage for a refreshingly practical gear chat. Kinsella recalls the band’s basic beginnings and explains how he starts every American Football demo. Then, Holmes shows off his “gorgeous and favorite” Tele. Plus, we encounter a Rig Rundown first where the tech has veto power over setlists.Brought to you by D'Addario Trigger Capo.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

PG’s John Bohlinger hung with Alter Bridge’s two-man guitar army, Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy, before their sold-out show at The Orpheum Theater in Memphis. Tremonti and Kennedy showcased some beautiful signature Paul Reed Smith guitars, as well as a not-yet-released PRS signature amp.Thanks to techs Dave Pate and Scott Davis for their help with the details.Brought to you by D’Addario Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Emily Wolfe doesn’t play guitar. She bends it to her will. Like a bronco buster taming a stallion, she saddles up on her signature Sheratons and lets it rip. Much of the magic felt and heard on her self-titled debut was pure adrenaline hitting your speaker. And while her second album, 2021’s Outlier, incorporates Wolfe’s love of Motown grooves and modern-pop stickiness refreshening her songwriting with backdrops of more polished, waxy tones, but tumbleweed oscillation, helicopter, square-wave chops, and barbed-wire fuzz are still howls welcomed in this Wolfe pack.“When I go up there, something could hit me at any point—an emotion that I felt 10 years ago could come out in a bend on the low E. There’s so much rawness [to classic rock]; the edges are not perfect, but there’s a magic in that,” explained Wolfe to PG. But how do you marry earworm poppiness with a gunslinger’s approach to guitar?“Some of my rock friends say, ‘Pop isn’t relevant,’ and I’m like, ‘What are you talking about—it’s everywhere!’ It’s so sticky for people, and that’s really fascinating to me. I want my music to have that quality … but also the realness of a raw guitar tone. [With Outlier] I wanted to make something that would be classic 10, 20, 30 years from now,” she told PG in 2021. “That was the goal, and I think we achieved it.”Before Wolfe’s headlining show at Nashville’s Blue Room (located inside the Third Man Records compound), PG’s Chris Kies joined the shredding songwriter onstage to talk shop. The resulting conversation covers the development behind her Epiphone Sheraton, how a boring night in Cleveland spent with her “Chex-mix crushing, brother-in-tone” bass player Evan Nicholson convinced her play a doubleneck guitar, and we discover what three pedals work together to make what she describes as “the sound that belongs to me.”Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/EmilyWolfeRig2023Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENLMerch & Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.comPG's Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierguitarPG's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/premierguitar/PG's Twitter: https://twitter.com/premierguitarPG's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@premierguitar[Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard: https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR]*© Copyright Gearhead Communications LLC, 2023*00:00 - D’Addario XPND Pedalboard00:15 - Emily Wolfe Playing Intro00:34 - Chris Kies & Emily Wolfe Intro01:08 - Epiphone Emily Wolfe Signature Sheraton Stealth05:36 - Selecting the Epiphone Alnico Classic PRO pickups08:48 - Emily Wolfe's Strings & Picks10:31 - Epiphone Emily Wolfe "White Wolfe" Sheraton Signature13:09 - Epiphone G-127517:05 - Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 III19:51 - Emily Wolfe's Pedalboard#guitar #rigrundown #guitarist #epiphone #guitarplayer #emilywolfeMentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Steve Vai is much more than a great guitarist. The American guitarist has established himself as a key figure in guitar culture, and one of the world’s leading masters of shred. Vai broke on the scene in 1980 as Frank Zappa’s transcriptionist, until Zappa hired Vai, age 20, to join his touring band—Zappa allegedly called Vai his “little Italian virtuoso.”Bolstering his guitar theatrics with sharp songwriting and producing, Vai went on to conquer the world of guitar music, winning three Grammys and selling 15 million records. PG was lucky to be invited to Vai’s recent show at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s CMA Theatre in Nashville, where his tech, Doug MacArthur, took John Bohlinger through Vai’s jaw-dropping current touring rig.Special thanks to Doug MacArthur for explaining this incredibly complex rig.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

It might actually be easier to list the artists Derek Wells hasn’t worked with, than the ones with whom he has.The Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist and producer has lent a hand to more than 100 number one singles over the years, with household staples like Kenny Chesney, Maren Morris, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, even Shakira. He’s also piled up production credits with artists like Hardy, Lainey Wilson, Maddie & Tae, and Scotty McCreery, and over the years he’s collected a flashy mantle’s-worth of awards: the Academy of Country Music named Wells their Guitar Player of the Year two times, and he was MusicRow’s 2022 Guitarist of the Year.Wells invited PG’s John Bohlinger to the studio to run down his main recording rig.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

When some people travel, they take photos on their phone to remember the trip. Old-soul voyagers will recount their adventures with pen and paper. But for Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez, who together make the globetrotting Ecuadorian-Swiss duo Hermanos Gutiérrez, their experiences conjure soundtracks, and a visit years ago to the American Southwest changed their sound forever.A couple years after forming their duo, the brothers took a trip through Death Valley and the Mojave Desert. “It just blew our minds,” Estevan told PG. The desert, he says, “is where our music was born.”“Part of what we’re doing is traveling together as brothers,” Alejandro told PG in 2022. “We go to places, we come back and we’re feeling inspired, and we feel like we’ve gotta write something about this place.”After finding bountiful inspiration in the West, the duo began turning out mystical compositions, like sonic souvenirs and passport stamps on their consciousness. “It’s just beautiful where we can go with this music,” Alejandro said last year. “It’s just my brother and I together, and we’re so happy to have this.”The sold-out Hermanos Gutiérrez concert at Nashville’s Basement East on June 20th marked their first time performing in Music City since recording El Bueno Y El Malowith Dan Auerbach at Easy Eye Sound in 2022. The pair invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage to decode their spellbinding cinematic sounds. The conversation touched on their symbiotic alchemy, enchanting hollowbodies, and how a single Strymon reset their slow-burn backdrop. Brought to you by D’Addario Nexxus 360 Tuner.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Nashville has long been the hub for all things country music but in the last two decades, transplant rockers like Jack White, the Black Keys, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Judas Priest’s Richie Faulkner and others, have all have made the 615 home. Adding to its growth is the organic blossoms generated via the rock block, cultivating names like Paramore, All Them Witches, Bully, Moon Taxi, The Wild Feathers, The Band Camino, and the guitar extraordinaires that make up Diarrhea Planet.We got caught up with the semi-retired fearsome foursome for their first headlining performance at the Ryman Auditorium ahead of their return to Bonnaroo. We covered why neck humbuckers are useless (but neck dives rule), how the whole band was gifted Klon KTRs, and what each shredator does to stand in and out among their collective guitarmegeddon.Brought to you by D’Addario dBud Earplugs.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

For more than two decades, trailblazing acoustic guitarists Rodrigo Sánchez and Gabriela Quintero have been blending metal, flamenco, pop, and jazz with their Grammy-winning duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, and they’re not showing any sign of slowing down. They’re currently on the road in support of their seventh full-length album, In Between Thoughts…A New World, released in April. It’s a characteristically adventurous endeavor, arranged as a single, album-length composition and augmented with electronics and orchestral elements.The eclectic guitar maestros toured PG’s John Bohlinger through their respective rigs before their show at Nashville’s Historic Ryman Auditorium.Brought to you by D’Addario Pro Plus Capo.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

A decade ago, Vince Gill and Paul Franklin recorded Bakersfield, a tribute to the raw-boned country music that came out of the rough-and-rowdy clubs patronized by oil-field hands and agricultural workers in the ’50s and early ’60s—packed with songs by Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. And we visited with them for a Rig Rundown then.Now, just for the good times, these two legends of modern country music—the real deal kind—have recorded Sweet Memories: The Music of Ray Price & The Cherokee Cowboys. Price was known for his warm, baritone approach to melody, which is a perfect springboard for Gill’s and Franklin’s nuanced approaches to their own instruments.If you don’t know Gill’s work, it’s about time you got informed. He has won more CMA Awards than any performer in history, plus 21 Grammys. He’s also sold more than 21-million albums and is currently in the Eagles, where his sweet tenor voice and skill with harmonies makes him a perfect match. (You can also hear Gill talk about his work on Cory Wong’s Wong Notes podcast, from November 2020.)Although Franklin spends his time over the pedal steel, this artist is no slouch. He’s played on more than 500 albums, has been named Best Steel Guitarist by the Academy of Country Music multiple times, and is in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the Musician’s Hall of Fame. Franklin is the most nominated artist in CMA history. He is also a member of Grammy-winning outfit the Time Jumpers.Along with the PG video team, I met them at Gill’s Nashville studio, where they recorded Sweet Memories. The goal: to get a close-up look at Franklin’s steel rig and some of the incredible acoustic guitars Gill used on this album.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Full Rig Details:https://bit.ly/NileRodgersRRSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeSince the early ’70s, the guitar legend has trusted his 1960 “Hitmaker” Strat to turn out chart toppers that have changed the course of music history and shaped cultures around the world. We explore its unusual origins and DNA as well as uncover some ordinary tools making extraordinary grooves.Guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers has received virtually every significant honorific that exists for musical achievement. He’s a hall-of-famer twice over, having been inducted to both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He’s won six Grammys, including the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award. The accolades hardly begin to capture how monumentally important and influential Rodgers’ music career has been. Since beginning with his disco-funk-rock fusion outfit Chic in 1972, Rodgers has been pioneering musical language that, among other things, sparked the advent of hip-hop. He’s also the producer who introduced the world to Stevie Ray Vaughan via Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”Rodgers invited John Bohlinger and the PG team to the Chic show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, where they met with his trusty tech Gert Marckx. Marckx took us through Rodgers’ streamlined touring rig, capped off with Rodgers’ holy grail guitar—the instrument that’s at least partially responsible for the sale of half a billion records around the world. (Intro video captured by https://www.youtube.com/@Biorupp)Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/NileRodgersRRSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENLMerch & Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.comPG's Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierguitarPG's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/premierguitar/PG's Twitter: https://twitter.com/premierguitarPG's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@premierguitar[Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard: https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR]00:00 - D’Addario XPND Pedalboard00:15 - Nile Rodgers & Chic Perform "Let's Dance"00:55 - John Bohlinger & tech Gert Marckx Intro01:09 - Nile Rodgers' 1960 "Hitmaker" Stratocaster05:27 - Fender Nile Rodgers Hitmaker Stratocaster Signature06:23 - Nile Rodgers' Strings & Picks06:54 - Nile Rodgers' Pedalboard09:39 - Fender Hot Rod Deville 410s10:35 - Keith Urban's Guest Rig*© Copyright Gearhead Communications LLC, 2023*#guitar #rigrundown #nilerodgers #stratocasterMentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

It’d be hard to argue that anyone has changed their sound as much as Billy Strings has in the last 10 years. If you reference the pre-war traditional collaboration albums he first did with Don Julin (Rock of Ages and Fiddle Tune X), and his solo debut EP Billy Strings, and then witnessed one of his recent high-voltage shows, the songs and sounds are both worlds apart … yet familiarly rooted. He went from opening on the Bluegrass circuit to a crossover festival headliner that’s more Dead than Doc. He’s now filling arenas and amphitheaters as an evening-with performer that often crushes for over three hours by incorporating sideways jams and creative covers. However, each set still includes moments where the four musicians onstage stand around a single mic, just as their bluegrass forefathers did generations ago. So, even as he sends bluegrass into the cosmos, he keeps one foot planted in Appalachia.Strings shared his thoughts on that juxtaposition during a 2019 PG interview: “Before writing my own music, I used to be boxed in by bluegrass, but enjoying other musical genres made me realize it’s a self-made, transparent box,” he said. “Music should be freeing, with no borders. I want to express myself emotionally with my guitar, however it pours out of me.”When the Rig Rundown team traveled north to Indianapolis’ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, we didn’t know what to expect, but Strings’ full-monty setup did not disappoint. His rig still has delightful dreadnoughts, including some new old friends from Martin, but the many tricks rolled up his sleeve (or in his rack) allows this psychedelic sorcerer to cast spells over audiences all night long. Billy gave an hour to PG’s Perry Bean, where they covered electrifying acoustics, just whose ashes are in his 1945 Martin D-28, and how he continues coloring outside the traditional lines with stompboxes and modelers.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Canadian alt-country group the Bros. Landreth have become known for bringing not just layers of blues, rock, and eclectic modern influence to the traditional country sound, but for Joey Landreth’s depth as a guitarist and stunning tone on the instrument.Built on a lifetime of brothers Joey and Dave’s absorbing classic country music, the band was launched with the release of 2013’s Let It Lie, through which they not-long-after made a mark on the scene when the album garnered a JUNO Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year in 2015. Following the release of 2019’s ’87, the group later received another major accolade when Bonnie Raitt covered Let It Lie’s “Made Up Mind” on her 2022 release, Just Like That…While the original lineup included drummer Ryan Voth and pianist Alex Campbell, and the band has toured with guitarist Ariel Posen, the brothers have since taken a step back from the larger band arrangement to lead as a duo. Their latest, 2022’s Coming Home, spotlights the two in that dynamic, while featuring a few backing players.Joey Landreth hung with John Bohlinger and the PG team before the Bros. Landreth’s show at Nashville’s Riverside Revival, where Landreth played some mind-blowing guitar and demoed his unique method for reproducing his studio sound live.Brought to you by D’Addario String Finder.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Kurt Ballou takes tone very seriously. He’s been on the leading edge of aggressive guitar sounds since 1990, and Converge’s fourth album, 2001’s Jane Doe, is still seen as a game-changing release, with its ferocious performances and masterful production. His sonic temple, God City Studio, is the destination for artists looking to make their rawest, heaviest, brutalist work. Ballou has even developed a gear brand (God City Instruments) that includes guitars, pedals, and pickups, all in the pursuit of turning ideas into art.During our conversation before Converge’s sold-out performance at Nashville’s Basement East on May 22nd, Ballou dove into his Line 6 Helix spice rack and shared how 30 plus years as a guitarist and in-demand producer have informed his guitar-design philosophy. Plus, he detailed why his goal is to get to a place where “gear doesn’t matter.” And then, longtime bassist Nate Newton joined the fun by showing off his “Riffblaster” setup and how a special P-Bass helps him honor a dear friend.Brought to you by D’Addario String Finder.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Tennessee has a rich tradition that has helped shape American music. Memphis was a big contributor to blues, soul, and early rock ’n’ roll thanks to Sun, Stax, and the influx of Delta musicians. Nashville has been the long-standing capital of country music, and more recently, has developed as a hotbed of Americana storytellers. The Smokies and the surrounding Appalachian areas have given us bluegrass and undeniable icon Dolly Parton. However, while metal has eluded the Volunteer State’s thumbprint, Whitechapel’s six roughriders from Knoxville are looking to change that by showing off something a little harder than peepaw’s moonshine.Since 2006, the three-guitar stampede has dished out eight devastating albums that combine death metal, hardcore, and melodic black metal, proving the Smokies can slay. This spring, Whitechapel took to the road, playing their seventh album The Valley in its entirety, along with favorites from their earlier work. Originally, their final stop was slated to be Nashville’s Basement East, but after it quickly sold out, their promoters elevated them to Marathon Music Works (which, once again, sold out). And that’s where the Rig Rundown crew caught up with them to talk gear.Whitechapel’s guitarists Zach Householder, Ben Savage, and Alex Wade and bassist Gabe Crisp invited PG’s Chris Kies sidestage to cover their signature guitars, the inner workings of their unusual Kemper profiles, and how flip-flopping DiMarzio humbuckers made all the difference.Brought to you by D’Addario String Finder.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Over the last four decades, the courageous and creative Flaming Lips have put out 16 studio albums. Their genre is an alphabet soup that ranges from acid rock and ambient to zany psychedelia, all while pumping on a pop heartbeat. They’ve won three Grammys, written and filmed an alien colonization movie and soundtrack (Christmas on Mars), reimagined Dark Side of the Moon with Henry Rollins, had their hit “Do You Realize??” named the official rock song of Oklahoma, and of course, performed in bubbles before and during the pandemic.As members of one of rock’s most adventurous bands, founding frontman Wayne Coyne and his longtime collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd (who originally joined the band in 1991 as a drummer), have tried almost everything, including transforming their sensitive-smash album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, into a Broadway musical. And Yoshimi was back in the spotlight this spring as the Lips toured for its (delayed) 20th anniversary, playing it front to back for their show dates later in the season.Before the band delighted a sold-out crowd at the Ryman Auditorium with Yoshimi and 11 other of their greatest hits, Drozd invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage to catalog his bizarre-yet-basic setup. Steven details the origins and deterioration of his 1967 Fender Jazzmaster (and why there’s a Hot Rails in the bridge), explains the superficial reason why his doubleneck only has one fretboard, and shows off a pedalboard that’s probably smaller than yours.Brought to you by D’Addario XPND PedalboardMentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Since we last saw Yvette Young in 2019, the guitar-playing musical illustrator has been challenged, and proven courageous.“I went from a situation where I was afraid of one of my bandmates, and did what I needed to do to free myself from what I felt to be an emotionally, and thus creatively draining, situation,” Young revealed to PG earlier this year. She parted ways with Covet’s members during the recording sessions for the new album, Catharsis, and had the bass parts re-done by noted touring and session bassist Jon Button.Through the writing and recording process she found personal purification. “I feel like, on Catharsis, some of the songs are a bit darker and it was definitely me having an outlet for some stuff that was painful, but a lot of it is uplifting and very happy and dance-y,” Young said. “Music is transformative. If you’re ever feeling in a bad mood, if you write music that sounds really happy, it can uplift you. Writing music that sounds like how you wish you felt can be really helpful sometimes.”And while processing her feelings through the guitar, she became reinvigorated with the instrument and rediscovered its inherent joy.“I really have to be my own fortress and I have to really stay in tune with what excites me,” admitted Young. “The direction I go in becomes really clear when I focus on what gives me goosebumps when I’m playing, what makes me jump up and down ’cause I’m so excited about it.”Her charismatic, vivid guitar stories excite us, so we wanted to get the scoop on her ever-changing tools and palette. Weeks after releasing Catharsis, Yvette Young and her Covet bandmates headlined Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl. She invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage for a conversation covering her Ibanez YY10 signature models (and their potential upcoming changes), her dream pedal, and the key switches (and the alternative tones they produce) on her stomp station since the last Rundown.Brought to you by the D’Addario Trigger Capo.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Maestro Warren Haynes invited PG’s John Bohlinger to Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, where they hang out after Gov’t Mule’s soundcheck and take a tour through his live rig. This Gibson-heavy collection has been a 40-year-work in progress for the guitarist, who has spent his career playing with David Allan Coe, Dickey Betts, The Allman Brothers, The Dead, leading Gov’t Mule, and much, much more.New Gov't Mule Album Peace...Like A River out 6/16.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

It’s all about the yin and yang … and the heavy guitar tones when Scott Holiday of Rival Sons plugs in and rocks out onstage. This year, the band has got something special cooking: a pair of albums, the just-released Darkfighter and the upcoming Lightbringer, speaking of yin and yang.On the current Darkfighter tour, Rival Sons recently stopped at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works and invited PG onboard their stage for a tour of Scott’s gear. He’s made some changes since his 2017 Rig Rundown. He’s still a Firebird devotee, and that epic moustache is untouchable. But there are plenty of 6-string additions and some big changes in the amp department. Check it out!Brought to you by D’Addario AutoLock.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Two months ago, Lindsay Ell released her latest single, “Sweet Spot,” plus she’s on the way to issuing a new album, following up 2020’s Heart Theory. And for the tour leading into her next record, she’s also got a passel of updated gear since her 2018 Rig Rundown. No surprise, since there’s always something new happening with Ell—whether it’s touring under her own banner or with Shania Twain, scooping up Canadian Country Music Association awards, or serving as a judge on Canada’s Got Talent.When it comes to guitars, Ell’s 6-string tastes run to the classics and custom-builds, and she’s got her signature OD aboard, so let’s take a look.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Theo Katzman plays with a fluency and fire that makes this guitarist, producer, singer, and songwriter an MVP of modern, funk-fueled rock and pop. At a recent gig at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl outpost, Katzman—who’s also a member of the formidable Vulfpeck collective—invited PG’s Rig Rundown team to soundcheck, to see the gear that makes his tone sing. And Katzman’s tech, Nick “Turk” Nagurka, provided assistance.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Fourteen years after their Grammy-winning debut, Raising Sand, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss followed up with Raise the Roof—which was nominated for three more Grammys. Now on tour, the duo also has a new band that includes bassist Viktor Krauss, guitarist JD McPherson, and utility player Stuart Duncan. But before they hit the road, Krause, Duncan, and McPherson—and their techs Paul Ackling and Kevin Devogel— invited the PG team to a rehearsal at Soundcheck Nashville for a look behind the gear curtain. Here’s a sampling of what our team of John Bohlinger, Chris Kies, and Perry Bean saw. Watch the Rundown for the whole picture.Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Our third Rig Rundown with Periphery’s Jake Bowen, Mark Holcomb, and Misha Mansoor—at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on April 2—caught the band on their final tour stop for a spring run in support of the brand-spankin’-new Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre. Our time with the triumvirate of tone reminded us that these fellas never rest their ears. They know gear and how to make it work for them. That’s why each of them has spent extensive time in several R&D collaborations with some of the biggest, most influential companies in guitardom. This time Bowen, Holcomb, and Mansoor all dish on the evolutions of their signature gear and how everything meshes and molds together for the greater, Transformer-like machine that is Periphery. Whether it’s going up to 27 frets, utilizing Alnico 8 magnets, or adding an Evertune bridge to compensate for deeply dropped tunings, this trio of tone hounds will sniff it out. Let’s dig in!Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

“Tone is not important,” is an interesting phrase to hear while filming a Rig Rundown. But Underoath’s Tim McTague has good reason to shake his head at tone purists.“Gear infatuation can be super cool because it’s a passion or a hobby, but it’s not necessary for me to do my job. I don’t want to degrade anyone who is into it, but it’s not my thing,” admits McTague.So, what is his thing? We found that what he had to say during this Rundown echoed what he told PG in 2018 after recording Erase Me.“One of the special things about Underoath is we’ve always been energy- and vibe-focused. We play as much or just enough to where it gets the point across.”And during our Rundown, he continued along those sentiments: “To me, what’s important is energy and things that move the needle with a room full of people. My tech Diego Casillas is a tone geek, so when I can get someone to use technology that’s efficient for my onstage focus and sounds awesome, it’s really the perfect marriage.”While he’s not precious about his gear, the resulting conversation with PG’s Perry Bean at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works before a sold-out show on April 2 was both provocative and pragmatic. He explained why he “doesn’t need to tour with nice guitars” but also acknowledged the benefit of digital gear and programming. He noted that he tries to keep it “punk rock as possible.” Then the next thing he said, sarcastically, was “wanna check out my computer?” All in all, what this Rundown lacks in guitar gluttony, it makes up for in rational substance.Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

“Our relationship is everything about this band,” conceded Rebecca Lovell to PG in 2022. “The way that we communicate, the way that we play together, the way that we facilitate one another’s musicianship. It is the air that we breathe as a band, and everything revolves around our siblinghood.”Their symbiotic sorcery has taken them from budding bluegrass pickers in the Lovell Sisters (then alongside older sister Jessica Lovell) to real-deal rockstars as Larkin Poe with several No. 1 albums on the Billboard blues chart. Since 2010, when the sisters regrouped as an electric duo, they’ve released six studio albums, five EPs, and one live set. Each musical installment from the twosome continues to bring fresh songwriting and sonic influences, further intensifying and enlivening their core chicken-fried, boot-stompin’, roots-rockin’ sound.On the penultimate day of their first touring leg in support of 2022’s Blood Harmony, the sensational Larkin Poe sisters, Megan and Rebecca Lovell, welcomed PG’s Chris Kies onstage at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl to talk tone. Megan shows off her brand-new Beard signature Electro-Liege lap steel and a 1950s Rickenbacker B6, featuring some ingenious engineering that inspired the Liege’s unique silhouette. Rebecca explains how she fell for the HSS Stratocaster and why she’s finally ready to be in a committed relationship with fuzz. Plus, we find out who’s taking who’s gear when it comes to the Lovell sisters and their significant others.Brought to you by D’Addario String Finder.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Tim Pierce’s guitar can be heard on more than a thousand recordings, starting in the ’80s, when he played on hits by Bon Jovi, John Waite, and Rick Springfield. In subsequent years, he’s added to his resume with recorded performances for Crowded House, Christina Aguilera, Seal, Avril Lavigne, Tracy Chapman, Joe Cocker, Ricky Martin, Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Rob Thomas, Rick Springfield, Phil Collins, Madonna, Toy Matinee, Don Henley, Santana, Rascal Flatts, Chris Isaak, Jewel, Faith Hill, Celine Dion, Dave Matthews Band, the Goo Goo Dolls, Lana Del Ray, Demi Lovato, Jason Mraz, Kelly Clarkson, and many more.These days, Pierce also has a popular YouTube channel with more than 400,000 subscribers and offers an online masterclass program for thousands of users. You can get more information at timpierceguitar.com.Meanwhile, here’s what we saw—and learned—when Pieces shared the wisdom and the gear he’s accumulated in four decades of playing sessions.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Crobot’s hard-riffin’, smooth-groovin’ rock anthems often ride on the back of guitarist Chris Bishop’s handiwork. The guitarist carefully corrupts his tone with creative pedal tweaking, but he’s never lost sight of his role within the quartet.“The groove is the most important thing in the song and, being the only guitar player, my main focus is to make sure that’s there,” explains Bishop to PG in 2016.And when you’re opening for the party-rocking Steel Panther, no goal can be greater than making the crowd move ’n’ groove. Before Crobot’s set at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, Bishop welcomed PG’s Chris Kies onstage to detail his trio of guitars—a beloved offset and a pair of P-90-loaded Teles—his parti-colored pedalboard, and the Victory VS100 Super Sheriff and Kemper Profiler that work together to create his massive sound.Brought to you by D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Steel: hard metal. Panther: one of the most ferocious animals. Put them together, and you have perhaps the greatest band of the 21st century. And, hot off the release of their latest, most ass-kicking album ever, Steel Panther is re-invading America. While in Nashville, before they played a blistering set for a packed crowd at Marathon Music Works, Panther’s lead guitarist Satchel invited PG’s John Bohlinger to soundcheck to show off his mighty rig.Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Full Rig Details: https://bit.ly/EricGalesRR2023Eric Gales is back again. Since last chatting with John Bohlinger in 2017, the blues maestro’s rig has transitioned to include more signature Raw Dawg gear pieces—including pedals, amps, and, of course, his signature Magneto guitars. Just last year, the lefty slinger released the Grammy-nominated, Crown, which features collabs with his pal Joe Bonamassa. Gales was touring in support of that record when he rolled through Nashville.Subscribe to PG's YouTube Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeShop the Rig: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/ZQdNNzWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPG Don't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENLMerch &amp; Magazines: https://shop.premierguitar.comPG's Facebook: https://facebook.com/premierguitarPG's Instagram: <a...

Bush had an unbelievable debut with 1994’s&nbsp;Sixteen Stone&nbsp;that eventually surpassed 6x platinum status. The post-grunge juggernaut continued making moody, mercurial, and sometimes menacing music has continuing mutating while keeping them modern with a total of nine full-length releases with 2022’s&nbsp;The Art of Survival&nbsp;as their most recent chapter.The band’s headlining Ryman tour stop was furthering their support for the October 2022 release where the camp invited&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies onstage to catalog their compact setups. Guitarist Chris Traynor starts the chat covering his instruments that run the gamut from import steals to one-off custom baritones with and&nbsp;without&nbsp;frets. The baton gets passed to Gavin Rossdale tech Trace Foster who covers the frontman’s arsenal of Strats, SGs, and Jazzmasters before breaking down Rossdale’s core patches living within his Fractal Audio FM9.Brought to you by&nbsp;D'Addario XPND.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Right now, they’re in Europe, but Atlanta-based rockers with a distinctly Southern musical accent, Blackberry Smoke, smoked Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium for two nights in February before jumping the pond.Their latest album,&nbsp;You Hear Georgia, was produced by Dave Cobb in Nashville, and hit the top of the&nbsp;Billboard&nbsp;Americana/Folk chart when it was released in mid-2021.&nbsp;PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with guitarists Charlie Starr and Paul Jackson before their sold-out show at the Ryman to run down their ever-expanding universe of gear.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

It’s been 11 years since&nbsp;Kenny Wayne Shepherd&nbsp;filmed his previous Rig Rundown.&nbsp;PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with the blues-rocker before his recent sold-out show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium to hear some killer playing and see some untouchable—by anyone but Kenny and his tech—gear.The tour stop was supporting the December 2022 release of&nbsp;Trouble Is … 25, a re-recording of his 1997 breakthrough album, which had four top 10 hits when it was originally issued: “Slow Ride,” “Somehow, Somewhere, Someway,” “Everything is Broken,” and “Blue on Black.” There have been seven other studio recordings since then, and while he’s still mostly a Strat player, some other instruments have joined his armada, too. And&nbsp;Dumbles&nbsp;… he has&nbsp;lots of Dumbles.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

College internships can run the gamut. They can lead you into a career or dissuade you from pursuing one altogether. In 2004, while still attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, singer Rachael Price, bassist Bridget Kearney, guitarist&nbsp;Mike “McDuck” Olson, and drummer Mike Calabrese joined forces to perform as what they dubbed a “free country band,” where they intended to play country music in an improvised, avant-garde style. As it goes with many college-years experiments, it didn’t stick, but the fervid foursome pushed forward in continuing to develop their own sound. They quickly graduated to a bona fide band cultivating a buzz with infectious concerts, creative covers, and complex, groovy originals. Through their mutual influences and complimentary counterpoints, their sound matured into a harmonious fusion, as if Berry Gordy produced the Beatles in Nashville’s RCA Studio.If starting a band and shaping their sound was an internship and bachelor’s degree, self-releasing records and organizing U.S. tours would be their master’s and doctorate. They self-released 2007’s&nbsp;In This Episode...&nbsp;and 2008’s&nbsp;Promises, Promisesbefore joining Signature Sounds, who put out 2010’s&nbsp;Lake Street Dive&nbsp;and 2014’s&nbsp;Bad Self Portraits. (The latter slotted them on the&nbsp;Billboard&nbsp;charts—No. 18 in the 200 and No. 5 in Top Rock Albums.) They then signed to Nonesuch, where they’ve dropped three more albums—most notably 2016’s&nbsp;Side Pony, which put them atop the Top Rock Albums chart, while 2021’s&nbsp;Obviously&nbsp;netted them their highest single, with “Hypotheticals” hitting No. 2 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart.And while the band has continued to evolve, experiment, and expand their signature sound, they have kept to their core identity—having fun. They seem never to miss a Halloween dress-up show, and still aren’t gun-shy about covering classics and making them their own. Setlists are often littered with audience requests and reinterpretations of the Beatles,&nbsp;Hall &amp; Oates, George Michael, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis, Shania Twain, the Pointer Sisters, the Jackson Five, the Kinks, Steely Dan, Annie Lennox, Sly &amp; the Family Stone, and countless others.The afternoon before their second consecutive sellout at Nashville’s&nbsp;Ryman Auditorium, Lake Street Dive’s Bridget Kearney and James Cornelison welcomed&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies on stage for a casual gear chat. Kearney explained how she uses a pair of octave pedals through her standup double bass, and what she’s doing with four tuners! Plus, she explains what restarted her slow-burn courtship with electric bass. Then, Cornelison walks us through his setup, which includes leftover pieces from cofounding guitarist&nbsp;Mike “McDuck” Olson&nbsp;and a ratty pickup bought off a former&nbsp;PGstaffer. It both honors the band’s catalog and carves his own musical fingerprint.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario Nexxus 360 Tuner.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

“I feel like a lot of people, when they see me play, they think, ‘Oh, it's going to be super aggressive, and there's a lot of shades of that,” shares Jared James Nichols. “But I'm so obsessed with the tone, the feel of it…. Growing up listening to&nbsp;Jeff Beck,&nbsp;Albert King, guys like that; the super feel stuff to me is where it's at.”That sentiment is overwhelmingly clear when hearing just a single note of Nichols’ playing. And what makes his musicianship that much more compelling is his abandonment of the pick—most of the time, he’s not really “fingerpicking,” but he uses his fingers to shred like any picking guitarist. He explains, “I'm a lefty, so that's where it originated. I tried to use a pick, and I was really uncoordinated. I can play a lot of the same riffs that someone could do with a pick, but play ’em and they sound a lot different.”Earlier this year, Nichols came out with his third full-length release,&nbsp;Jared James Nichols, which adds to his catalog 12 more dirt-covered, gritty tunes that dig in with his infectious passion and signature, glistening tone. The album comes on the heels of Nichols’ growing success, bolstered by his extensive touring and tens and thousands of new fans.Given his commitment to Les Pauls, it’s fitting that Nichols was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the birthplace of the guitar’s namesake inventor. Now, Nichols is a global ambassador of Gibson Guitars, an honor shared by only four other guitarists. And, since his&nbsp;last Rig Rundown, he was honored with a signature Epiphone guitar. In this new look at his rig, he shares his legion of trusty Les Pauls, as well as why he prefers simplicity when it comes to amps and pedals.Brought to you by&nbsp;https://ddar.io/XSE.RR.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Since their debut,&nbsp;Before the Sun Goes Down, in 2014,&nbsp;Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley&nbsp;have made a name for themselves as some of the hottest country and bluegrass players in the business. As individuals, their credits range from&nbsp;Willie Nelson&nbsp;to Earl Scruggs to Merle Haggard—and as a duo, they’ve toured and recorded with artists including&nbsp;Tommy Emmanuel,&nbsp;Taj Mahal,&nbsp;Jorma Kaukonen&nbsp;&amp; Hot Tuna,&nbsp;Luther Dickinson, and&nbsp;Molly Tuttle. It’s likely their forthcoming full-length release,&nbsp;Living in a Song, will only bolster their already impressive reputation.Out on February 10th,&nbsp;Living in a Song&nbsp;is a new collection of two covers and 10 originals that were inspired by Ickes and Hensley’s life on the road. They collaborated with long-time producer Brent Maher (Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson) along with some award-winning songwriters to compose a total of 40 songs, which were then trimmed down to the resulting selection. That final cut of material leans into a classic country sound, with some Americana and bluegrass thrown in.Along with the aforementioned credits, Ickes and Hensley have long been established, separately, as formidable musicians. Ickes has been International Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year an incredible 15 times, and Hensley made his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry at just 11 years old. In other words, the two have been around the block, and especially know their way around dobros and flattop acoustics.Earlier this month,&nbsp;PG’s&nbsp;John Bohlinger&nbsp;met up with the duo at&nbsp;3Sirens Studio in Nashville, where they played some mind-blowing music, and gave a rundown of some of their favorite guitars and gear.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario Humidipak.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

“You gotta remember, I wasn’t really shit until about a year-and-a-half ago,”&nbsp;Bartees Strange&nbsp;reminds the crowd at Nashville’s Basement East just before performing his song, “Hennessy.” “I was just in my basement playing guitar. And my wife was like, ‘Do the dishes ... Do something other than play guitar.’ Now all I do is play guitar again [laughs].”Strange (born Bartees Leon Cox, Jr.), is a sponge and synthesis of everywhere he’s been and everything he’s seen or heard. Born in England and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his experience performing with Brooklyn-based post-hardcore outfit Stay Inside and a later move to Washington D.C. have all contributed to his singular cosmic sound. He notes during the Rundown that, as an adolescent, his guitar heroes were&nbsp;Thomas Erak of the Fall of Troy&nbsp;and&nbsp;Omar Rodríguez-López&nbsp;of At the Drive-In and the Mars Volta. But in the next sentence, he confesses his love for Nelly.“I always thought people aren’t really honest all the time with what they’re listening to,” asserts Strange. “I think a lot of people like a lot of things. I grew up in a pretty country town, and everyone would say they just like country music. But I was like, ‘You like the Nelly record, dog. You like&nbsp;Get Rich or Die Tryin', man, and you also like LeAnn Rimes and Toby Keith songs, and&nbsp;Brad Paisley’s guitar playing. But you also jam B2K and pop songs, too.’ I’ve never been afraid or ashamed of what I like, so it all goes into my own music.”What he’s been saying through 2020’s&nbsp;Live Forever&nbsp;and 2022’s&nbsp;Farm to Table&nbsp;has been connecting with fans and critics alike. The magnetism is Strange’s smooth synergy. This allows him to touchpoint influences from albums like Nelly’s&nbsp;Country Grammar,&nbsp;At the Drive-In’s&nbsp;Relationship of Command,&nbsp;the National’s&nbsp;Boxer, and Phoebe Bridger’s&nbsp;Punisher&nbsp;into one harmonious, original package that has landed him on dozens of year-end lists and earned him an 83/100 rating from Metacritic for both of his full-length releases. [Editor’s Note: The&nbsp;Metacritic&nbsp;website uses their proprietary Metascore to distill the opinions of the most respected critics’ writing online and in print to a single number.]Finishing his earlier thought to the Nashville crowd, he summarized: “‘Hennessy’ is a song I wrote when I was a kid, and growing up I thought there was all these weird stereotypes I had to get over to become who I am … [The hook of the song is meant] to kind of say, I know there’s all these expectations of what a black person does … but I just want you to see me for who I am and for what I’m trying to say.”He might not have been “shit” 18 months ago, but he’s certainly on his way to becoming the something of the sort in the coming years. We’ll be here listening and appreciating.Ahead of Strange’s final 2022 tour date supporting&nbsp;Farm to Table, Bartees and his guitar-playing compatriots welcomed&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies onstage at Nashville’s Basement East to talk shop. During the interview, the trio explained how their “guitar wars” create a compatibly melodic arms race and structure their cohesive sound. We get introduced to a collection of oddball axes and go through their collective...

When it comes to&nbsp;jazz virtuoso Julian Lage, you’d be hard-pressed to find an electric guitarist who uses less gear. “Any time I’ve [used too much equipment], there’s an awkwardness where I’m still grappling with the fact that I play here,” he says, gesturing to his guitar, then gesturing to his amp, “but the sound comes out there.” He continues, “It sounds like a joke, but it’s been a struggle for me. Any time there’s layers or filters or anything, I feel dissociated.” Of course,&nbsp;Lage’s rig, which buoys his clean, no-frills tone, makes sense for a musician like himself—whose playing often comes across fluidly, and as gently as his personality.For Lage, that fluidity stems from his conception of music as a language. “I think that the way people speak is often more unfettered,” Lage told&nbsp;Premier Guitar&nbsp;in 2021. “There might not be an obvious correlation between the way people speak in a lecture and the notes on the guitar. But it's just a little stretch of the imagination to see that those are pitches, those are rhythms, those are phrases."On&nbsp;View with a Room,&nbsp;Lage’s second release on the hallowed Blue Note Records, he’s offering a fresh, bold continuation of the conversation he’s created over the years. The album features his latest ensemble, made up of himself, bassist Jorge Roeder, and drummer Dave King—but this time, he’s added the legendary Bill Frisell. Together, the musicians help to expand Lage’s body of work with performances of 10 of his original compositions.While on tour for the album, Lage invited&nbsp;PG’s John Bohlinger to the soundcheck before his show at Brooklyn Bowl inn Nashville to share his insights into why he likes a straightforward rig and “honest” tone. In the interview, Lage elaborates on his three main guitars (his Nachocaster, Collings signature, and ’55 Les Paul), explains why he prefers low volume on his amps, and offers a remarkably brief tour of his pedalboard.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

We’ve featured loud rigs. We’ve stood strong in front of&nbsp;Matt Pike’s octet of Oranges, been washed over with waves of volume from Angus Young’s nine Marshalls for&nbsp;AC/DC’s “small gig setup”&nbsp;in an arena, trembled from&nbsp;J Mascis’ three plexi full stacks, and even withstood&nbsp;Bonamassa’s barrage of seven amps&nbsp;at the Ryman, but nothing prepared us or compared to the Godzilla-rising-from-the-Pacific roar that is&nbsp;Sunn O)))’s auditory artillery. And it’s more than the sheer sight of 14 amps and 16 cabs or the dishing of deafening decibels; it’s the interplay of these characters and their conductors.“The third member of the band is the amplifiers!”&nbsp;laughed Greg Anderson in a 2014 interview with&nbsp;PG. “We use vintage Sunn Model Ts from the early ’70s. They’re a crucial part of the show. I’ve got more amps than I have guitars.”Stephen O’Malley takes a more metaphysical outlook to the connection between him and the thundering Model Ts. “My philosophy is that I’m just part of this bigger circuit of the instrumentation,” he says. “You have, of course, the amplifier valves, the speaker, effects pedals acting like different and various voltage filters, the air in the room, and the feedback generated from all this equipment, so who’s in the band is immaterial.”We learned more about O’Malley’s perspective when, following a 90-minute drive southeast from Nashville to Pelham, Tennessee, and a short descent into&nbsp;The Caverns, the Sunn O))) guitar tag team welcomed&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies onstage for an amplifying chat. O’Malley details his signature Travis Bean Designs SOMA 1000A, while Anderson explains how a broken guitar led him to his beloved Les Paul goldtop. Both pay homage and reverence to the eight Sunn Model Ts that form the band’s foundational tonal force, and explain why the LM308-chip Rat influenced their&nbsp;Life Pedal collaboration&nbsp;with EarthQuaker Devices.Special Silver 25th anniversary edition of the V.3 Life PedalSunn O)) Official WebsiteBrought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

KingTone’s The Duellist is currently Ariel Posen’s most-used pedal. One side of the dual drive (the Bluesbreaker voicing) is always on. But there’s another duality at play when Posen plugs in—the balance between songwriter and guitarist.“These days, I like listening to songs and the story and the total package,”&nbsp;Posen told&nbsp;PG&nbsp;back in 2019, when talking about his solo debut,&nbsp;How Long, after departing from his sideman slot for the Bros. Landreth. “Obviously, I’m known as a guitar player, but my music and the music I write is not guitar music. It’s songs, and it goes back to the Beatles. I love songs, and I love story and melody and singing, and there was a lot of detail and attention put into the guitar sound and the playing and the parts—almost more than I’ve ever done.”And in 2021, he found himself equally expressing his yin-and-yang artistry by releasing two albums that represented both sides of his musicality. First,&nbsp;Headway&nbsp;continued the sultry sizzle of songwriting featured on&nbsp;How Long. Then he surprised everyone, especially guitarists, by dropping&nbsp;Mile End, which is a 6-string buffet of solo dishes with nothing but Ariel and his instrument of choice.But what should fans expect when they see him perform live? “I just trust my gut. I can reach more people by playing songs, and I get moved more by a story and lyrics and harmony, so that’s where I naturally go. The live show is a lot more guitar centric. If you want to hear me stretch out on some solos, come see a show. I want the record and the live show to be two separate things.”The afternoon ahead of Posen’s headlining performance at Nashville’s&nbsp;Basement East, the guitar-playing musical force invited&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies on stage for a robust chat about gear. The 30-minute conversation covers Posen’s potent pair of moody blue bombshells—a hollow, metal-bodied Mule Resophonic and a Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster—and why&nbsp;any&nbsp;Two-Rock is his go-to amp. He also shares his reasoning behind avoiding effects loops and volume pedals.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Swarms of musicians and guitarists have found social media’s current 60-second attention span inspirational and fruitful. But what happens after that first minute? Well, for TikTok bass tycoon Blu DeTiger, you become a shooting star. However, her story isn’t that sudden or serendipitous. She’s been working towards the spotlight since she first picked up the bass to jam with her drummer brother, Rex, at age 7.“He was playing drums and I wanted to play an instrument,” recalls DeTiger. “As a girl, I thought guitar was ‘mainstream’ because I saw that everywhere and thought bass was rare and it would be more unique to play. I fell in love with it and my passion took over.”Further fanning her musical flame, she joined School of Rock and performed semester-ending concerts covering Zeppelin, Bowie, Prince, the Stones, and others. She collaborated and performed with Chromeo and Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers. Inspired by horn-playing DJs, she even toted her bass to DJ gigs, where she laid down the funkiest lines she could muscle out over the top of her playlists.“I saw people playing saxophone or trumpet over songs they were DJ-ing and I had really never seen bass used in that context. Bass is fire and it should feel good in a club because of the low frequencies hitting you.” An added benefit of the symbiotic sets was elevating her improvisational skills.Then, the pandemic hit and DeTiger took to social media, finding a creative outlet on TikTok by adding dance-y flourishes and bouncy thunder to classic tracks. She earned a spot helping announce&nbsp;Fender’s Player Plus P&nbsp;and scored a deal with ALT:VISION Records, releasing the&nbsp;How Did We Get Here?&nbsp;EP in early 2021. She’s since graduated to being an UMG Recordings/Capitol Records artist and continues to embrace the snippet culture by churning out singles: “Blondes,” “Blutooth,” “enough 4 u,” “Crash Course,” and “Hot Crush Lover.” Yeah, you might only see 60 seconds of her talent before the algorithm pushes you by, but she’s put in years of sweat to get this far. What’s the plan going forward? To throw one helluva party, of course!Ahead of her headlining set at&nbsp;Nashville’s Basement East, the booming bass star jumped at the chance to give her eager fans what they’ve been asking for—a Rig Rundown. In the chat with&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies, she covers why she saw the bass as an underdog, how a Jazz tops a P bass, and explains the reason behind not going through her “crazy pedal phase” yet.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

We revisited setups for&nbsp;Anthrax,&nbsp;Megadeth,&nbsp;Guthrie Govan,&nbsp;Bonamassa, and others, introduced ourselves to&nbsp;Cory Wong's and&nbsp;Wolf Van Halen's gear, but who's guitarsenal got the most clicks? Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard:&nbsp;https://ddar.io/xpnd.rrMentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Inspired to by play guitar by his 6-stringing father,&nbsp;Shawn Tubbs&nbsp;emerged from the Christian-music scene. By his late teens, he was doing club and session gigs, and became part of The Violet Burning. In 1992, he played with&nbsp;Stone Temple Pilots&nbsp;on an episode of&nbsp;MTV Unplugged, then got deeper in the high-profile Nashville session scene, and began touring with Carrie Underwood. He’s since stopped road-tripping in favor of the studio, where he’s a first-call player and his credits include recent work with&nbsp;David Crosby. The 30-year-veteran guitarist’s current album,&nbsp;Demolition, A Collection of Short Jams, can be heard on SoundCloud, and he’s got a popular YouTube channel, but you can hear him demo is own gear in this Rig Rundown, filmed at his home studio.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

When you produce acts like Taylor Swift,&nbsp;Fall Out Boy,&nbsp;Panic at the Disco, Weezer,&nbsp;Green Day,&nbsp;Pink, Rayland Baxter,&nbsp;Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr., it’s hard to find time for your own music. Yet in 2022, Butch Walker managed to release his 10th album,&nbsp;Butch Walker as … Glenn—a surprising tribute to the ’70s piano-rock balladeers that were among the rulers of FM radio in his youth. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop him from bringing a fleet of cool Fender and Gibson guitars, and a hemi of an amp, a&nbsp;Two-Rock Bloomfield Drive, on his recent It’s About Damn Tour tour.For Walker, playing those guitars is something of a comeback celebration. In 2007, the house he was renting in Malibu from&nbsp;Flea&nbsp;of the&nbsp;Red Hot Chili Peppers&nbsp;caught fire and the Rome, Georgia, native lost the collection of classic axes he’d spent a lifetime accumulating, as well as the masters to every song of his own that he’d recorded. As Walker explains in the Rundown, it was a hard lesson about keeping up with insurance and making sure all his valuable instruments are covered—which they weren’t.Today, he splits time in Nashville, where he’s also built a new version of his RubyRed studio in the old Warner Music building, from the 1950s. As Walker said in a Facebook post. “There’s been countless hits and amazing country and rock ’n’ roll songs recorded here over the years. It smells a little funny. It’s maybe haunted (hell, it was a morgue at one time). But I love it. It’s got vibe for days, sounds incredible, and people dig working here.”So, dig into Walker’s Rig Rundown, which we filmed in November at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XS Strings.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr

Trivium steadily raised its metal flag through the old-fashioned method—relentless touring. The band took any and all opening slots, priming crowds for Metallica, Iron Maiden,&nbsp;Killswitch Engage, Machine Head,&nbsp;DragonForce,&nbsp;Korn, and&nbsp;Megadeth&nbsp;before graduating to headliner status. That constant grind was fueled by 10 full-length releases that incorporate varying tints and tinges of their three core musical tenets: metalcore, melodic&nbsp;death metal, and&nbsp;thrash. (The band derives their name from a Latin word that means “three-way intersection,” describing their combination of these aggressive subgenres.)And while tone dictates many decisions made by a guitarist, touring comes with a cost and might be the one thing that could trump a player’s desired setup or sound. Now, with elevated gas prices, venues fleecing bands for merch cuts, and overall hiked inflation, many artists are having to compromise and condense their live arsenal. Thankfully, digital modelers like the&nbsp;Fractal Axe-Fx&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kemper Profiler&nbsp;have made that decision easier (or harder, depending where one sits on the digital-versus-analog debate). Trivium embraced the future in the early 2010s, when they shifted towards the Axe-Fx II and then pivoted to the Kemper Profiler.“We were one of the first bands to use Axe-Fx and Kemper, and both those things rule,” says Matt Heafy. So, it’s rare to see a hard-charging, globetrotting force like Trivium—who were rocking Kempers during our&nbsp;2014 Rig Rundown—return to their roots, blasting through furious 5150-style heads after nearly a decade on the digital dial.“In 2019, when we were in the studio recording&nbsp;What the Dead Men Say, we didn’t have any amps and it was a bummer. We had to scramble to find somebody who had tube amps that we could use to track, so after we finished that album, I never wanted to be stuck in that situation again. I scoured Reverb and bought all my favorite amps and everything we used for all our past albums. Through that process, I really got back into messing with gear,” explains Corey Beaulieu.Onstage, the return of the stacks enhanced their performance. “The modelers had a slight latency—I don’t think the crowd noticed the difference—and I felt that if we could shave off a little bit of that by bringing back the amps, reducing the response even closer to zero, we’d be better for it. We’ve just really loved returning to live tube heads.”The afternoon ahead of Trivium’s headlining performance at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works on October 14, guitarists Beaulieu and Heafy joined&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies to cover the pair’s smorgasbord of signature gear—they know what they like, and brands are eager to hit their high standards—and why they transitioned&nbsp;back&nbsp;to traditional tube-drenched tone.Brought to you...

Rut busting and reconstructing has probably been happening since the discovery of fire and advent of the wheel. Guitarists confront it each time they pick up a new instrument to avoid predictable patterns and tones.&nbsp;Premier Guitar&nbsp;contributor (and recent Rig Rundown subject)&nbsp;Pete Thorn&nbsp;has addressed this by&nbsp;suggesting several practices&nbsp;to approach our beloved 6 strings in a fresh perspective. And recently&nbsp;John Bohlinger&nbsp;recommended&nbsp;playing a different instrument&nbsp;to fertilize musical crops. But what does a guitar-playing producer and multi-instrumentalist do to shake things up for his band’s fourth album? Well, for&nbsp;Puscifer’s Mat Mitchell and the band’s 2020 release,&nbsp;Existential Reckoning, you go back in time 40 years to 8-bit synth sounds and the archaic sampling lurking inside the proto-digital Fairlight CMI.“Part of [the appeal],” Mitchell told&nbsp;PG&nbsp;in a 2021 interview, “is the flow—the way that you work when you’re using these tools. It forces you to do things differently. They are very limited, and being creative within very set boundaries is really good.” And being the creative force he is, Mitchell found gold in the antiquated sounds and tech.“They sound very unique,” he explains. “Of course, you can sample one and put it in a laptop, but it’s different. All the voices are separate hardware. When you hit a note, it is bouncing around between [processor] cards, so you can hit a note five times and it may sound different all five times. There are all these little things that affect the way it sounds when you’re performing, which is a very different sound from what you get when you sample.”But he would never tour with this digital dino, so how does Mitchell recreate 8-bit tones in a performance setting? Thankfully, moments ahead of the audience filling the pews of Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium, Puscifer’s aural architect welcomed&nbsp;PG’s Chris Kies for a chat about how&nbsp;Existential Reckoning’s inspiration took him back to the future, and how his live rig has metamorphized and been miniaturized with contemporary gear to realistically represent those superannuated sounds.Brought to you by&nbsp;D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.Mentioned in this episode:Check out D'Addario's latest here: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr