Andy Gill, founding member of Gang of Four, talked gear with PG’s John Bohlinger while in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge. Gill is known for his hard hitting, jagged guitar riffs that helped to shape post-punk in late-’70s England. Not one to remain locked in the past, Gill’s rig and approach to live and recorded guitar has evolved into something decidedly modern.
Andy Gill has been through a lot of guitars over his long career. His No. 1 for the past several decades is this ’80s Fender Strat Ultra that has been modified with a kill switch.
This Reverend Double Agent also serves time during a Gang of Four set. It has an angry P-90 in the neck with a humbucker in the bridge. All of Gill’s guitars are strung up with Ernie Ball 2222 (.09–.046) Hybrid Slinky strings.
Gills runs two Peavey Classic 50 4x10 combos. One is angled to hit stage right and the other is angled straight to hit stage left.
The “modern” part of Gill’s rig is centered around these two MacBook Pro computers running Apple’s MainStage. For each song in the set, Gill has a specific patch that covers the tones he will need. The signal chain is rather complicated, but here’s a quick overview: It starts with a Boss TU-2 tuner before splitting out into a pair of Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 audio interfaces. Those interfaces are connected to their own computer via USB. The 2i4s then each feed a Radial ProD2 DI which gives the FOH a MainStage-only mix. Each of the DI boxes also are connected to individual Radial ProRMPs, which feed the Peaveys.
Instead of a traditional pedalboard, Gill uses a pair of Tech 21 MIDI Moose pedals (one on each side of the stage) to change patches in MainStage.
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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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