We caught up with Joe “Blower” Garvey and Mark King of Hinder just before they peeled the paint off the walls of Nashville’s legendary venue, Exit/In. Garvey and King get their bone-crushing tone through a wealth of Gibsons and some modeled versions of classic amps.
Garvey’s current No. 1 is this stock Gibson 2010 Les Paul Custom. All of the guitars are tuned down a full step and strung with Ernie Ball Beefy Slinky (.011–.054) strings.
This Gibson Les Paul Standard, nicknamed “Cherry,” was supposed to be smashed in 2006 for the “Get Stoned” video before Garvey stepped in and saved it.
When Hinder goes unplugged, Garvey uses this 2005 Epiphone SST Studio, which remains on a stand so he can play it without taking off his Les Paul.
Mark King’s No. 1 is a 2006 Les Paul GT, a rocker workhorse appointed with flame accents and mirrored fret markers. The guitar was a gift from Gibson for Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” video.
King’s Gibson SG features a carved top, which gives him a bit more spank in the upper mids. All of King’s guitars are tuned down either one or two steps, depending on the song, and are strung up with Ernie Ball strings (.012–.054).
As is the trend amongst many current rock bands on the road, both Garvey and King have left their vulnerable tubes amps and cabs at home in favor of a more bulletproof solution. Garvey and King tour with four Avid Eleven Rack units, (one to play, one as a spare). Both guitarists start their signal with Audio-Technica AEW-R4100 wireless systems that run into their Eleven Racks.
The Eleven Racks run into a Palmer PDI-09 The Junction DI that sends the signal to front of house and the band’s in-ear monitors.
Garvey and King control their rigs with Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI Foot Controllers. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus provides the juice and a trusty Boss TU-3 keeps things in tune. The only non-Eleven effect used all night is Blower’s DigiTech Whammy, which lives in the rack and is controlled via MIDI.
Special thanks to guitar tech Cameron Conyer.
John Bohlinger is a Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist best known for leading the band on NBC's Nashville Star, serving as music director for the CMT Awards and specials on PBS and GAC, and of course for his appearances in PG Rig Rundown, Review Demo, Axes & Artifacts, and What Bohlinger Plays videos.
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