Facing a mandatory shelter-in-place ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the 18th video in that format, and we stand behind the final product.
Dave Davidson graduated from Berklee in 2008 and quickly began turning heads and breaking necks with the brutal death metal band Revocation. As the primary songwriter, composer, singer, and lead guitarist, Davidson has taken Revocation far beyond guttural growls, bludgeoning blast beats, and rapid-fire soloing. His scholastic focus on polyrhythms and jazz has continually seeped into the band’s thrashy spine over the course of seven full-length records and two EPs. Furthering the band’s musicality is the coalescing of his expertise and enthusiasm for dynamics by incorporating dissonant chords, fusion runs, and funky colorings.
And earlier this year, before the world shut down, Davidson revealed a new facet to his artistic expression by unveiling Gargoyl—a haunting, grunge-influenced prog-rock band. Think Yes meets Alice in Chains. In addition to pursuing both bands, Davidson is getting back to teaching, both on a 1-on-1 level and holding workshops at his alma mater.
Just after launching his new website (davedavidsonguitar.com) and before releasing Gargoyl’s self-titled debut album on October 9, Davidson virtually welcomed PG’s Chris Kies into his New England-based jam space. The technically-proficient shredder (and jazz cat) opens up about personalizing the Jackson Warrior for his signature model, reducing the fire in his humbuckers for a more all-around, versatile pickup set, and condensing his pedalboard by codesigning a “solo” stomp.
Dave Davidson’s lineage with the Jackson Warrior can be traced back to his admiration of Martyr cofounder and current Voivod guitarist Dan Mongrain. “I was just enamored with the guitar when he played it,” says Davidson. “It has these cool, sharp edges, yet it’s sleek at the same time. It’s the Ferrari of guitars.”
Knowing that, it’s even more appropriate that when Dave got his first Jackson—a gift from his family for graduating high school—it was a 6-string Warrior in Ferrari red.
His first signature collaboration with Jackson was a few years ago and it birthed the above Custom Shop USA Signature Limited Edition model that featured a caramelized ash body with a satin finish, a 3-piece caramelized maple neck with compound-radius fretboard (12"–16" that’s also caramelized maple), and is outfitted with a Floyd Rose Original 7-String Double-Locking tremolo. And a possibly overlooked Davidson touch is the rearranging of the controls—he swapped spots with the pickup selector and the volume knob to alleviate any accidental control turning and making it easier to seamlessly move between pickup positions.
A signature hallmark within the signature guitar is Davidson’s signature DiMarzio Imperium 7 humbuckers. Prior to this development with his sig set, Dave was a longtime user and abuser of DiMarzio pickups often playing D-Activators and other hot ’buckers. For the Imperium, he backed off the output and focused on an all-around, clear, articulate pickup that would equally excel in cleans and crunch, while still having a midrange bark and snap. “I really love that when I play big, beefy, gross chords it’s still very pleasing sound to my ears [laughs]…all the notes ring out clear as a bell.”
For strings, Davidson relies on a custom set of D’Addario NYXLs Light Top Heavy Bottom strings (.010–.062) and he typically tunes the 7-string for Revocation down a half step to Bb standard. For Gargoyl, he’s only using 6-string guitars so he tunes to Eb.
Above is the 2020 Pro Series version of Davidson’s signature Warrior WR7. The notable differences are in the body tonewoods (Custom Shop uses caramelized ash, this one is mahogany) and the Pro has a Floyd Rose 1000 Series Locking tremolo. The neck shape/dimensions are the same—something Davidson was keen on: “During the Custom Shop run Jackson’s senior master builder Mike Shannon just nailed the neck profile and feel with its urethane finish, so I was glad we were able to put that on the Pro Series instrument.” It still has his signature DiMarzio Imperium humbuckers. And this year’s run saw a dignifying upgrade. “Adding some walnut stains and allowing the natural beauty of the wood, gives the extreme-looking instrument some class.”
The non-reverse headstock for Davidson’s Jackson 7-string signature.
“This is one of my babies right here,” says Davidson as he pickups up and displays his 1969 Gibson ES-335 he scored during a visit at the Chicago Music Exchange. It’s immaculately untarnished for being over 40 years old and the major components are all stock. Davidson leaned on this semi-hollowbody quite heavily while recording the bulk of clean tones on the forthcoming Gargoyl LP. During the Rundown, he says his sweet spot for the ES is on the neck pickup with the tone knob set to about five. For this ride, he uses a custom set from D’Addario that are gauged .010 –.049 with an unwound 3rd string.
Davidson has played through countless amps including original Pitbulls and 5150s (from the other company), but for almost as long as he’s been with Jackson, he’s been rocking EVH heads. Of course, this beast roars, and he loves to riff in the red channel, but what sold Davidson on it was the complexity, liveliness, and warmth packed into the clean channel.
He’s played through 100-watt stacks onstage and used the 6L6 variants, but for his at-home setup he’s been spending some quality time with the above EVH 5150 III 50W EL34 head and matched 2x12 cab. (For those keeping score at home, Davidson loves both tube setups, but he prefers the “modern sounding” EL34 head for Gargoyl and goes with the 6L6 for Revocation.)
With Revocation, Gargoyl, jazz gigs, or teaching, Davidson’s board mutates to best fit the application. Currently, he’s at home focusing on instructing so his pedal playground reflects that duty.
We gotta start with his signature Dunable Eidolon pedal. Dave’s tone formula for soloing is reverb+delay+boost. Prior to developing the Eidolon he would need to kick on several pedals for one desired result. Searching for a one-stomp solution proved fruitless, so he looked to create it and reached out to his friend/guitarist/luthier Sacha Dunable. Dunable successfully partnered with Damnation Audio for the Splatterblaster (two fuzzes/one box), so the duo worked with Davidson to construct his solo stomp. In addition to blending handsomely together, the three effects can be dialed in or out as one desires. And an added bonus to substituting the one box for three allows for a quicker setup and smaller board for crunched tours.
Other pedals include a J. Rockett Animal (a modded Marshall drive), Strymon Mobius, Electro-Harmonix Freeze (uses to hold a note and solo over in teaching moments), TC Electronic Ditto Looper (inspiration and educational tool), and a Fortin Mini Zuul calms the amp down from any unwanted buzzing or squealing. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus juices the pedalboard, a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir keeps his guitars in check, and a EVH 5150 III MIDI switcher controls the amp.
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Chris Kies has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. He's now the multimedia manager maintaining the website and social media accounts, coordinating Rig Rundown shoots (also hosting and/or filming them) and occasionally writing an artist feature. Other than that, he spends time with his pitbull and enjoys non-guitar-related hobbies. Follow him on Instagram & Twitter.
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