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Rig Rundown: The Black Angels

Discover how these Austin psychers utilize Beatles-inspired guitars with several gnarly fuzzes and lush ’verbs to bridge the vibes of Roky Erickson and Dick Dale.

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This instrument started it all. This is Christian Bland’s main baby and he’s had it since the band formed in the early 2000s. He scored this 1978 Rickenbacker 345 on eBay after getting his SG stolen from bandmate Alex Maas’ house. Being a big Beatles fan, he always wanted a Rickenbacker and had to settle for this model even though John used 325 and 325-12 models. (Lefties can’t be too picky.) He uses D’Addario Pure Nickel (.011 sets) on all his guitars and shreds with Dunlop Orange Tortex .60 mm picks.

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