Brothers Jake and Sam Kiszka (above right) of Greta Van Fleet serve up buckets of old-school, paint-peeling tone and deep riffs. Fueled by a big industry buzz, the Kiszka brothers have been logging some serious miles across the globe. During a recent two-night, sold-out stay in Nashville, Jake and Sam talked to PG’s John Bohlinger about their live setups and musical influences.
Jake Kiszka records and tours with his beloved and abused 1961 Gibson Les Paul which features two PAFs. The LP is strung with D’Addario .010s. Currently, gaff tape holds the lower bout of the guitar together.
When the ’61 is out of commission, Jake Kiszka plays his 2018 Gibson Custom Shop SG.
For something a bit more twang-a-licious, Jake Kiszka goes with what he calls his Coodercaster, which is a Fender Strat neck and body modded to a three-way switch with single volume and tone Bakelite knobs. Like many mods, the details about some of the parts are lost along the way, but luthiers Todd Money and Ted Kellison did a bit of guitar archeology and they estimate that the neck pickup is probably from a Teisco Del Rey, but it could be a Kingston lap steel pickup. The bridge appears to be a vintage gold-foil out of a Harmony/Silvertones/Teisco/Norma.
For acoustics, Jake Kiszka goes with his 2017 Gibson J-45, strung with D’Addario light-gauge strings. Jake plays with Dunlop .60 mm picks.
Jake Kiszka runs a 30-watt Marshall Astoria CME Edition into a stock 1970 Marshall 4x12 cabinet.
An effects minimalist, Kiszka runs two Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Reverb pedals and a lone Jext Telez Range Loard pedal. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO 5 supplies the juice.
Sam Kiszka’s favorite bass is an early ’80s Fender Precision Bass body with a Jazz Bass neck. Although between string changes during our interview (the first since he’s owned the instrument), Kiszka usually keeps it strung with D’Addario flatwound (.050–.070–.085–.105) strings.
Sam Kiszka’s backup is a stock 2017 Fender American Standard Jazz Bass, strung with the same D’Addario flatwound strings.
Sam Kiszka plugs his bass straight into a new Fender Super Bassman 300 Pro that feeds an Ampeg 8x10 cab. He also carries an Acme Motown D.I. WB-3 for backline dates to send the signal to front of house.
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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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