Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger did a pre-soundcheck hang with Isaiah Mitchell and Mike Eginton (above right) of Earthless. Check out how both Mitchell and Eginton conjured up earthy, yet cosmic, tones with minimal gear.
Isaiah Mitchell’s No. 1 is this well-worn Fender Stratocaster that he bought in high school from a friend’s dad. The body parts are impossible to identify by this point, but this loved and abused Franken-Strat has a medium-soft “V” neck (that could be from a ’55), Brierley Pickups, and a Callahan tremolo system. The strat is strung with Jim Dunlop .010–.046 nickel wound strings and played with Jim Dunlop Tortex .88 mm picks.
Isaiah Mitchell’s backup is a newer Fender Baja Tele that features many of the same specs as his Strat. One big difference is the Bigsby trem that holds on via a Vibramate V5-TEV mounting kit.
Isaiah Mitchell tours with two Tyrant amps: one is a Marshall-style head and the other Model T goes for more of a Hiwatt or Sunn vibe. Both weigh in at 100 watts and feed a Tyrant 4x12 cab with 90-watt WGS speakers. Currently, Mitchell uses the Model T as his main sound and the other serves as a backup.
Isaiah Mitchell runs a Rattlesnake cable from his guitar into a TC Electronic PolyTune Mini. From there, the signal hits a Diaz Texas Ranger, a Hex Electronics Arby’s overdrive/boost, his own TYM Guitars signature Seaweed Fuzz pedal, a Dunlop Cry Baby Mini, a SIB Electronics Echodrive, and a Strymon Flint. All the pedals sit on a Pedaltrain board and are powered by a Pedaltrain power supply. The cables are a mix of Rattlesnake, TYM and George L.
Mike Eginton tours with his 1970 Ampeg Dan Armstrong bass, strung with D’Addario flatwound strings and played with Dunlop .88 mm nylon picks.
Mike Eginton tours with two vintage amps The Acoustic 370 is the main amp and a Sunn Beta Bass acts as a backup. The head runs into a Tyrant 4x12 cabinet.
Mike Eginton runs a Rattlesnake cable from his bass to a Boss TU-3 Chromatic tuner. From there, the signal hits a Black Arts Toneworks Black Sheep, a Dunlop Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah, and an MXR Phase 100. A TrueTone 1-Spot supplies the juice.
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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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