Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Rig Rundown - Bush's Chris Traynor

PG's Chris Kies is on location in Moline, IL, at the iWireless Arena where he catches up with Bush's guitarist Chris Traynor. In this Rig Rundown segment, Traynor talks to us about his favorite Gibson guitars, and his newly-setup Fractal Audio Axe-FX II rig.


PG's Chris Kies is on location in Moline, IL, at the iWireless Arena where he catches up with Bush's guitarist Chris Traynor. In this Rig Rundown segment, Traynor talks to us about his favorite Gibson guitars, and his newly-setup Fractal Audio Axe-FX II rig.

Guitars
Chris Traynor prefers Les Pauls, but still tours with the first LP he ever bought 20 years ago, a 1973 Les Paul Custom that's been on every tour and album he's played on (left). The guitar had TonePros hardware, Gotoh tuners, and a Lollar bridge pickup. One of his current favorites is a Les Paul Standard that was stripped and refinished by his friend Dave Johnson and Area 59 Hysteric Parts (middle). The guitar was completely rebuilt from the knobs and switches to the binding, truss rod, and fretboard. The pickups are DiMarzio 35th Anniversary humbuckers. The guitar on the right is a Teye that he uses on occasion and not pictured is his dual-P-90 semi-hollow Cobra Cavehound.

Traynor uses Clayton 2.0mm picks and keeps his guitars set with higher action and heavier strings because he says, "I like a little bit of fight in my instrument."

Rack
Traynor uses a duo of Fractal Audio Axe-FX II units, which he's used since the company's very first iterations of the units. For part of his sound, he uses Atomic Reactors power amps to power the Axe-FX that go to custom Atomic cabinets. Another line from the Fractal systems goes out into the amps on top of his rack (see below).

Amps
He uses Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (first revision) with a Divided by 13 FTR 37 (not pictured), which he also relies upon heavily in the studio. He likes combining the characteristics of multiple amps to achieve his tone, also using a Marshall EL34 100/100 and a Marshall JMP-1 that was being modded for his rig by Voodoo Amplification. These amps go into Rivera Silent Sister isolation boxes loaded with Eminence speakers.

Floor
Traynor controls the Axe-FX with a Voodoo Lab Ground Control (the same one he's used on tour for 10 years). He also uses a Boss TU-2, a Dunlop Jerry Cantrell Signature Cry Baby, and an Ernie Ball VP JR Volume Pedal.