The metal giants return to the stage with a show powered by gold-and-black axes and pure tube power.
Except for two new singles in 2020, alt-metal icons System of a Down haven’t released new music in 20 years. But luckily for their fans, System—vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan—took their catalog of era-defining, genre-changing hard-rock haymakers on tour this year across South and North America.
PG’s Chris Kies connected with Malakian onstage at Soldier Field in Chicago ahead of System’s second show at the football stadium. Malakian and his tech, Patrick Lachman, explained how some color-coded Gibson, Ibanez, and Friedman gear give Malakian the fire he needs to burn through the band’s legendary set.
This Gibson SG is brand new and “hot off the presses,” per Malakian’s tech, Lachman. Built in Gibson’s Custom Shop, it’s got Seymour Duncan Custom Shop pickups. On this run, he starts shows on this guitar, and will typically switch things up after about 10 songs.
Malakian plays custom, extra-pointy Dunlop picks, and runs all his axes with a custom set of Ernie Ball strings (.010–0.50). System’s catalog, and therefore Malakian’s guitars, are predominantly in drop-C tuning.
Freeze!
Next up during the set, Malakian will turn to his iconic Ibanez Iceman, one of his most heavily leaned-upon toys during this tour. This one has black “secret ninja binding,” his tech quips, virtually invisible to all but Malakian. It’s wired with Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Pearly Gates pickups.
B.Y.O.V.
Malakian always liked how Albert King’s Flying V looked with its Les Paul-style headstock, so when Gibson was making him a V, he requested that it be outfitted with the same look. This one’s rocking a pair of Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Special pickups.
Semi-Hollow Star
This Gibson ES-335, dressed in the same black-and-gold scheme as all of Malakian’s guitars, also came fresh from the Custom Shop for this run of shows.
Old and New, All Tube
Malakian doesn’t have anything against modeling technology, but he prefers to keep things old-school. He runs two generations of Friedman BE-100 heads at the same time: The newer BE-100 Deluxe head (below) is used for dirty tones, while the first-gen BE-100 (above) stays dialed for cleans. They’re connected to two Marshall 4x12 cabinets onstage, dedicated to either the clean or overdriven signals. The speakers are Celestion G12M-70s.
Loaded onto Malakian’s rack above the amp heads are a Shure AD4Q, Radial JX 44, MXR Smart Gate Pro, Voodoo Lab GCX, AmpRx Backline, and Furman PL-Pro DMC.
Daron Malakian’s Pedalboard
Malakian’s switching is handled backstage by his Scars on Broadway bandmate Orbel Babayan via this board. In addition to a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro switcher, Akai MPK Mini, and Scarlett Focusrite interface, the board is dead simple, with just an MXR Phase 90 and Boss DD-6 delay. No dirt pedals needed; all Malakian’s drive comes from the Friedman. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus fires up the affair.
A finish made up of apple-red satin, Rustoleum red glitter, and Magic Marble paint echo the playful spirit of Leroy the cat, who appears on the headstock in his more dangerous guise.
Reader: Cary Cummings
Hometown: Seattle, WA Guitar: Catocaster
“The problem with cats is they get the exact same look whether they see a moth or an axe murderer.” —Edgar Allen Poe
Leroy had the courage to live on this earth for 19 1/2 years.
I had no idea what to expect when we arrived at the live animal will-call area at the airport. I knew I was picking up a 12-week-old Burmese kitten. When they brought out his little crate carrier, I was nervous and excited. But when I opened the door to peek inside and greet our new arrival, I saw a shockingly tiny, scared little creature that could fit in the palm of my hand, and I felt so bad that he was put through such an ordeal. He seemed pretty calm about the whole thing.
“Leroy liked flashy things, chaos, and movement.”
At his full-grown eight pounds, Leroy was the patriarch of our household and animal family. Over the course of his days, he lived and played with six different labrador retrievers, outliving three of them. He was everyone’s buddy and tormentor in equal measure. He slept on his bed when he wanted, curled up on a dog’s tummy, or on one of our heads. He loved to play fetch, knock over unattended glasses full of water, and relished a 90 mph sneak attack as we descended the stairs. He loved us, but often reminded us that we really lived in his world and he could take us out at any time. If he had been as big as one of the dogs it would have been terrifying. Sometimes it was terrifying anyway.
I built this guitar to remember and honor Leroy. He liked flashy things, chaos, and movement. He also loved “helping” change guitar strings and occasionally trying to swallow them. This build consists of a S-style poplar body from Ultratouch Guitars in Texas and a Warmoth quarter-sawn S-style neck with a Clapton carve and 6150 frets. I sprayed the body with a primer coat, followed by apple-red satin, and finished it off with Rustoleum red glitter to give it some sparkle. To add interest and movement, and a little chaos, I dipped it into a 32-gallon garbage can filled with water topped with a swirl of Magic Marble paint, finally sealing it in with 10 coats of wipe-on poly.
The finishing touch included an orange anodized pickguard, Wilkenson/Gotoh VSVG tremolo bridge, Wilkenson low gauss, blade style pickups, 250k CTS pots, 0.015 uF ceramic disk capacitors, Gotoh gold tuners, and a dangerous cat decal on the headstock.
I like to imagine Leroy somewhere over the rainbow bridge playing with his friends: Charlie, Dewey, and Olive. I hope to find them again one sunny day. I know Leroy would approve of this guitar and probably give me another sneaky needle-toothed surprise attack to celebrate.
From Tom Bukovac’s first-year ’58 to Larry Carlton’s iconic ’69 and Molly Miller’s well-worn ’78, this PG best-of Rig Rundown celebrates the artists who made the ES-335 their own. Hear Charlie Worsham’s Vince Gill gift story, Tim Pierce’s player-grade philosophy, and Sturgill Simpson’s stage-shaking tones—plus why so many pros trust this semi-hollow classic.
Gibson ES-335 Satin Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar Satin Cherry
Today, Tame Impala (Kevin Parker) unveils “Loser,” the second song of this new era. LISTEN HERE. The track continues Parker’s fearless exploration of rhythm, texture, and sonic experimentation, building on the meticulous studio approach that has defined his career. The single is accompanied by a music video directed by KRISTOFSKI, and starring actor/musician Joe Keery (Stranger Things, Fargo). Watch the clip HERE:
Prior to today’s release, Parker gave fans a taste of what’s to come with the release of his sprawling, drum-beat heavy “End of Summer.” It drew listeners back to the acid house summer of ’89, free parties of the mid-90s, and Australia’s bush doofs in outback paddocks. “Loser” continues Parker’s journey into new sonic territory, layering hypnotic rhythms and textures that push Tame Impala’s sound ever forward. Drawing from a rich history of dance music, his work transforms the imagined past into a sound that feels both present and eternal, reaffirming Tame Impala as one of modern music’s most visionary acts.
Kevin Parker has emerged as one of the most influential voices of the last decade. A singular artist renowned for carving out a distinct sound all of his own, Parker crafts transcendent genre-bending sonic landscapes playing every instrument and acting as writer, producer, mixer and engineer on his projects. He has been nominated for four GRAMMY awards with one win for his collaboration with Justice on 2024’s “Neverender.” In his home country of Australia, he’s racked up an impressive 13 ARIA Awards and 27 Nominations. He’s won the BRIT Award for Best International Band and scored nominations for two Billboard Music Awards and an American Music Award. Tame Impala has had numerous US Alternative Radio Top 10 songs including two #1’s for “Lost In Yesterday” and “Is It True.” Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know The Better” is part of the Billionaires Club with over 2 billion streams and the project has racked up numerous gold and platinum certifications globally.
Tame Impala has headlined festivals and arenas around the world and released four full length albums - InnerSpeaker, Lonerism, Currents and his most recent album The Slow Rush. The Slow Rush landed at #1 in multiple territories and was his highest charting album to date in both the US and UK, with 14 top 10 chart positions around the world. As a writer and producer Parker has collaborated with Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, SZA, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Mark Ronson, Gorillaz, Thundercat, Kali Uchis, 070 Shake, Rhianna, Miguel, A$AP Rocky and many more.
Experience a sprawling collection of fuzz, delay, and modulation pedals that fuel massive walls of Pscyh-Rock sound. From vintage fuzz faces to boutique builds and custom creations, look back at classic Rig Rundowns from The Flaming Lips, All Them Witches, Elder, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, and more.
