PG's Chris Kies is on location in Des Moines, Iowa, where he catches up with Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton and the band's guitar techs to get the details on Mark's setup, as well as the rigs of guitarist Willie Adler and bassist John Campbell.
Guitars
Guitarist Mark Morton plays his Signature Jackson Dominion models. This particular guitar (left) features a prototype "White Boy" finish and binding that will be available for shredders in 2013 (along with additional finishes/colors). The 24.75" scale length Jackson also is equipped with Morton's Signature DiMarzio Dominion pickups, which will come loaded in both of Morton's Japan-made and import-level signature Jackson guitars in 2013.
Willie Adler's #1 baby is a signature ESP Will Adler BC model (middle). It features Adler's go-to camo finish, Lamb of God flag inlay, mahogany body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, bone nut, TonePros hardware, and Seymour Duncan pickups (JB-bridge; '59-neck). The pickups have the Lamb of God flag and Adler's John Hancock engraved into the top of the pickup covers. Adler's tech says they were surprised how the covers improved his tone (clarity in single notes) so much so that they have requested Seymour Duncan to send him more covers for the rest of his ESP guitars. And since this is Adler's #1, he insisted on flying his Washington Redskins colors.
Bassist John Campbell's go-to bass is his Jackson signature 4-string with EMG-P and EMG 35DC pickups, a bolt-on neck, 3-band EQ, and Badass III bridge. This red model (right) is tuned to C# and features Warbird inlay.
Amps & Effects
Morton's rack sits off the side of the stage. When we caught up with him, he was using two Mesa/Boogie Mark IV heads (one for FOH and one that powers Stiletto 4x12 cabs onstage). Since the video, Morton has gotten two Mesa/Boogie RA-100 Royal Atlantic heads to match the current setup and mimic his recording tone used on Resolution. (The Mark IV amp sitting on top of the rack is a backup.)
The effects in Morton's chain include a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, MXR Carbon Copy Delay, MXR EVH Phase 90, MXR GT-OD, a rackmount Cry Baby Custom Shop wah unit, a rackmount dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate, and a Boss TU-2 Tuner.
Adler's offstage rack is controlled by his tech during shows. In the rack, Willie has two Mesa/Boogie Mark IV heads (one for powering the Mesa/Boogie Stiletto 4x12 cabs on stage and one that goes to FOH). A third Mark IV head sitting on top of the rack is a backup.
As for effects in Adler's signal path, he has a rackmount dbx 266XL Compressor/Gate, a Boss TU-2 Tuner, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and a MXR Stereo Chrous (that only comes on when Adler plays clean to "thicken up" the tone), and a custom-made (by Mesa/Boogie) amp switcher.
Campbell's rack holds two 500-watt, all-tube (Class A/B Power / 12x6L6, 4x12AX7) Mesa/Boogie Bass 400+ amps (one is a backup).
Campbell's modest pedalboard (sitting on top of the rack) contains a Boss TU-2 Tuner, EBS MultiComp, and a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, and is powered by a Jim Dunlop DC Brick power supply. (The compressor and bass driver are on all the time, and FOH takes a direct XLR signal from the Bass Driver.)
