Rocco DeLuca says his favorite instrument is his baritone lap steel, but he frequently plays 12-string pedal steel as well. He says that, while it lacks the bottom end of the baritone, he can "achieve a lot of the same things, but it'll give me other colors or textures that I like and want to explore."
Rocco DeLuca has learned to hear the complexity within simple musical gestures. "An orchestra tuning up at the beginning [of a concert] … that's the most exciting part for me," he says, deep into our conversation. "How's it gonna get better than that? Everybody's reaching for the note, right? It's exotic because they've abandoned the Western philosophy when they're tuning up and they're pulling everything. There's all this microtonal information. Things are rubbing and harmonizing all over the place, there's a billion worlds, and then they're gone as they achieve it."
This serves as a good introduction to DeLuca's musical philosophy. Whether he's playing guitar, lap steel, or pedal steel, he gravitates toward what often seem like simple harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic choices. But if you listen attentively, his ideas carry considerable depth, as if there is a journey informing everything he plays.
Like any lifelong artist, DeLuca's path has been a winding one. His father was a guitarist who worked with Bo Diddley, and Rocco was drawn to pick up the guitar at a young age. Early in his career, he performed opening slots for masters such as Taj Mahal and John Lee Hooker. In the mid-2000s, he was working as a bluesy alt-rock singer/songwriter in the tradition of the late Jeff Buckley when Kiefer Sutherland signed DeLuca to his Ironworks label for his 2006 debut, I Trust You to Kill Me. Since then, he has handled quite a bit of soundtrack work for films and TV, and even made a guest appearance on Slash's 2010 solo debut.
We got into a thing and I thought, 'That's the sound I'm looking for right there. I want this all the time and I never want to hear anything but this.'" —Rocco DeLuca
DeLuca's discography tracks his progress into a nuanced singer-songwriter, culminating in his most recent solo album, the ruminative and atmospheric Live Off the Floor, from 2018. But his longtime collaboration with Daniel Lanois deserves special attention. The legendary producer/guitarist/songwriter is, like DeLuca, a bit of a seeker. He has a knack for uncovering musical truths, whether in the form of standout recordings by artists such as Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Neil Young, or albums under his own name. He must have heard something special the night he first heard DeLuca play.
"I had just come back from a four-year tour," DeLuca says. "On the day I arrived home, my friend over at [former L.A. club] Spaceland called me and said, 'A band just canceled, will you come play the set for me tonight?' I went down there and I was in good form, and Dan was right there in the front, singing harmony the whole time. Every song."
Soon, Lanois was handling production duties on DeLuca's 2009 album, Mercy, setting the stage for their long and fruitful creative partnership. In Lanois, DeLuca found someone who could push him and help him develop his sound; in DeLuca, Lanois found a simpatico musical foil who would help bring some of his own ambitious projects to life. "Rocco Deluca has the magic fingers, one of the best fingerpickers I've ever played with," Lanois says. "Rocco's dynamic range on the slide guitar can swing from delicate to dark metal. I love it!"
TIDBIT: When Rocco DeLuca, Daniel Lanois, and bassist Jim Wilson started working with Johnny Shepherd, they focused on singing four-part harmony around Shepherd's Hammond organ long before picking up their guitars.
And yet, DeLuca's musical personality is recognizable across his range of instruments, whether he's playing his 1976 Les Paul Custom, or his Sho-Bud or Franklin pedal steels, and whether he's amplifying his sound with his go-to 1948 Fender Pro or his Pignose. One instrument that sets him apart is his 8-string baritone lap steel, custom-made by California–based luthier Pavel Maslowiec. "He built me one of the most beautiful baritone steels I've ever heard in my life," DeLuca exclaims. "It's all out of mahogany and it's all business. A simple piece of wood. We went down to Santa Barbara and Seymour Duncan wrapped me a badass humbucker. It's the best tone I've ever heard of any kind, without a doubt."
It doesn't just sound great, it has a hidden superpower as well. DeLuca tells us that Maslowiec "put a magnet inside of there that I can kick in to hold one string like a theremin. So, if I'm playing and we're getting to that place and I don't want to get louder but I want to get more melodic and more defined, I kick this in and I can play these beautiful chords and it will hold my melody line through the whole thing. It's one of the coolest things."
DeLuca realized the power of this instrument when Lanois took him on a European tour where he performed a solo opening set on the baritone lap steel. "I was really excited to play that instrument by itself so it could be truly heard," he says. "We were going to Europe and playing these beautiful theaters, and I got the chance to really hear that thing sing. When I would play a theater, it was amazing how much sound and dynamic and dimension is in that instrument."
Rocco DeLuca's Gear
"The best tone I've ever heard," says DeLuca of his 8-string Pavel Maslowiec–built mahogany lap steel, which includes a handwound Seymour Duncan humbucker.
Photo by Simon Reed
Guitars
- 1976 Gibson Les Paul Custom
- Pavel Maslowiec Baritone Lap Steel
- 1970 Sho-Bud 12-String Pedal Steel
- 1980s Franklin 12-String Pedal Steel
Amps
- 1948 Fender Pro
- 1959 Fender Princeton
- Pignose
Effects
- Roland RE-201 Space Echo
Strings, Picks, and Slides
- Dunlop Herco Flex 52 Thumbpick
- Dunlop metal fingerpicks (for steel)
- Ernie Ball or SIT .11 sets with wound 3rd string
- SIT Buddy Emmons Signature Pedal Steel Strings (.012–.015–.011–.014–.018–.022–.026–.030–.034–.038–.042–.054)
- SIT Lap Steel (.015–.016–.017–.026–.038–.054–.060–.074)
- Dunlop Stainless Steel Tonebar (steel)
- Homemade cut wine bottle necks (guitar)
Lanois took notice, and on one fateful night jumped onstage to join DeLuca on pedal steel. The way DeLuca tells it, this was a transformative moment from which there was no return. "We got into a thing and I thought, 'That's the sound I'm looking for, right there. I want this all the time and I never want to hear anything but this.' I annoyed everybody in my life. They'd go, 'Aren't you going to sing? Aren't you going to write a song?' And I'd go, 'Do you hear this? This doesn't turn you on?'"
In 2016, the two released Goodbye to Language, a meditative album of two steel guitars following each other amidst a warm ambient sonic landscape that sounds both ethereal and completely organic. "My job was to support his movement. I thought it was beautiful to do that," he enthuses. "It was one of the best experiences of my life. Once we got our thing together, even moving to a chord, like an orchestra finding that moment, we would both be bending in different directions and land in the same spot. That's the genius, to me, of the album, because that's happening at all times. It's never not trying to find itself."
Daniel Lanois onstage with DeLuca in London, around the time they started performing as a duo. The would go on to release the ethereal Goodbye to Language in 2016.
Photo by Simon Reed
DeLuca and Lanois' most recent collaboration is Heavy Sun—released under Lanois' name—which is centered around organist and vocalist Johnny Shepherd, who was the house organist at the Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana. The two guitarists met Shepherd while working together on a modern gospel/Americana live project called The Hallelujah Train, which featured members of the church with a cast of all-star musicians.
"I got to sit next to Johnny [during The Hallelujah Train], and I just fell in love with him. I was hearing everything I love about music in one person, as far as his beautiful voicings, both with his voice and with his organ, and how quickly he can change sounds and colors," says DeLuca. After the project was finished, DeLuca invited Shepherd to Los Angeles and Lanois got involved. DeLuca continues, "I had just helped writing the Rockstar stuff with him [the soundtrack for the Red Dead Redemption II video game]—a song called 'That's the Way It Is,' and the chant for 'Unshaken,' which Dan and D'Angelo fleshed out to become the full version. We were riding high on that, and Dan was like, 'Let's do a record together,' so it got even bigger than what I thought we were going to do."
Shepherd moved to Los Angeles, where they kicked off several years of learning, writing, and recording together, along with bassist Jim Wilson. They focused on their voices as they collaborated to compose material that mixed Shepherd's background in the church with secular songwriting. "We began singing every day around the organ, around Johnny, and it became one of the most beautiful things I'd ever done," says DeLuca. "I had never been that dedicated to singing in four-part harmony every day for that long. After a while, it got very special and it helped me become a better guitar player. I felt like I was learning a lot of really valuable, ancient stuff."
Lap steel, standard round-neck guitar, pedal steel, and harmonica are all within DeLuca's grasp. His recent release, Live Off the Floor, shows what he can do alone with a stash of instruments.
Photo by Robbie Jeffers
After about two years of singing together around the organ, the rest of the band decided to join DeLuca at a residency he was performing at a Los Angeles club, Zebulon. Their guitars started to play a greater role as they brought the songs to a live audience, though they now approached their instruments—DeLuca and Lanois both on their Les Pauls—informed by their vocal practice. DeLuca says, "There was never a need in life to fish for any notes ever again, to try to invent something, because it's all in the voicings of the chord, everything we need. Everything I was looking for, at least. It's in the changes, and you pick the voice you want to use, or the many voices you want to use on a string instrument."
By the time Heavy Sun was complete, the musicians had spent around three years developing the material and bringing it to life. The result is a powerful and moving album that rewards careful listening. The songs feel timeless and the performances resonate amongst Lanois' dub-infused production. It's hard not to be inspired by Shepherd's singing and warm charisma as well as the focus and care taken by Lanois, DeLuca, and their collaborators—namely Wilson and engineer Wayne Lorenz—to nurture the creative process.
With Heavy Sun released, DeLuca joins Shepherd every week on his 12-string pedal steel at the New Revelation Baptist Church in Pasadena, California, where the organist leads services. They've released a single of the meditative, soulful ballad "Liberation," and are finishing up a new collaborative album called Mighty Glad. DeLuca says the process of working with Shepherd has helped him to better serve the music he plays. "Once you serve something, then you have a purpose or an intention, and it's not accidental playing. You can be spontaneous and creative, all those things, but you're not playing accidentally," he explains. "When a player plays like that, their whole thing changes—their dynamics change, pitch changes—and if you isolate them after they've served something and you've pulled out the ingredients, you'd have probably their best playing."
ZEBULON SESSIONS /// ROCCO DELUCA /// MAY 29 2020
Filmed live in Zebulon, the same L.A. club where the Heavy Sun group performed their residency, this video shows Rocco DeLuca delivering late-night desert vibes on his pedal steel, Les Paul Custom, and Pavel Maslowiec– built 8-string baritone lap steel.
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In the ’80s, Peter Buck’s clean, chime-y arpeggios defined the sound of alt-rock to come. From R.E.M's start, his post-Roger McGuinn 12-string style served as the foundation for the band’s simple, plain-spoken approach, offering a fresh take on what an independent band could be and inspiring generations of artists to come. Buck not only found his sound quickly, he evolved throughout the band’s career. By the ’90s, R.E.M.’s sound had evolved to incorporate organic, acoustic textures, and eventually leaning into a glam- and grunge-inspired, distorted-guitar-focused sound on 1994’s Monster.
This episode is sponsored by Voodoo Lab.
“I’m a big fan of old things,” says Danny Worsnop. “From cameras to guitars to microphones to cars, I like the stories they tell and the lives they’ve lived. I think old stuff has more soul.”
Best known as the lead vocalist of rock bands Asking Alexandria and We Are Harlot, British-born Worsnop has also released two solo albums that explore country and blues. He’s currently in the studio working on his third solo release.
With his love of vintage aesthetics and appreciation for instruments that age with character, he’s spent much of his life searching for a guitar that feels like home. “I’m always on the quest to find the perfect thing,” he says.
For years, Taylor’s GS Mini-e Koa Plus has been his go-to songwriting companion. “I don’t need a bunch of things to do the job,” he explains. “This guitar was the first one that did that, and it’s been with me for years. The finish is beat up. It’s got shiny spots from the sweat on my arm. This has been my daily driver and workhorse and life partner since I got it. It’s more than a guitar. It has a life and a personality and a sound. You pick up any other GS Mini-e Koa Plus in the world, it doesn't sound like this one.”
With his love of older things, Worsnop acknowledges the challenges of making a deep connection with an out-of-the-box acoustic. “All the nice, shiny new guitars that anyone has sent me over the years are great—I have fun with them,” he says. “But I've never loved them. I find it hard to love new stuff because it kind of doesn't have a life or personality yet.”
Worsnop’s done his best to infuse them with some of his own personality by tweaking them in different ways–chasing a specific feel and sound that makes a guitar feel more like an extension of himself rather than just another utilitarian tool. But his most recent acoustic arrival was different.
“It’s more than a guitar. It has a life and a personality and a sound.”
Striking Gold
Worsnop recently got his hands on Taylor Guitars’ new Gold Label 814e, designed by Andy Powers, the creative visionary behind many of Taylor’s guitar innovations since 2011. For Taylor’s new Gold Label Collection, Powers drew inspiration from the sound of flattop acoustics from the 1930s and 1940s.
Worsnop was immediately drawn to the Gold Label 814e’s vintage-inspired visual aesthetic—influenced by old banjos and mandolins, early Taylor designs, and Powers’ pre-Taylor archtop guitars. But the true revelation came when he played it.
“When I saw this guitar... I mean, it looks super cool, like an older guitar,” he says. “And the second I picked it up, it was different. It was like, this plays like a guitar that is so old and has stories and songs in it already. I fell in love with it.”
Worsnop says that with other Taylors he has owned, including his GS Mini-e Koa Plus, he would often modify them in some way to give them a more vintage sensibility. But not with the Gold Label.
One of the defining features of the Gold Label 814e is its new Super Auditorium body shape. The non-cutaway body bears a clear family resemblance to Taylor’s popular Grand Auditorium, but the Super Auditorium is slightly longer and wider at the lower bout, with a slightly shallower depth. The new body dimensions, combined with Andy’s version of a long-tenon neck and his new fanned V-Class bracing pattern, are all key ingredients in a new sonic recipe that defines the sound of Taylor’s Gold Label collection. The result is a warm, old-heritage voice that’s unlike anything Taylor has ever produced.
Worsnop says the guitar complements him musically because it supports his dynamic vocals with extraordinary volume and responsiveness to a lighter touch.
“Because I sing loud, having something that’s loud enough, but not so loud that when I do drop down you can’t hear me anymore, is important for me,” he explains.
The Gold Label 814e comes with back and sides of solid Honduran rosewood or solid Hawaiian koa (Worsnop has the Honduran rosewood model) paired with a torrefied Sitka spruce soundboard. Each model is available with a natural or sunburst top.
The Revolutionary Action Control Neck™
One of the standout features of the Gold Label 814e is Taylor’s patented new Action Control Neck™, an innovative neck joint design that allows for quick, easy, and precise neck angle adjustments. It marks another step forward from the patented, micro-adjustable design Bob Taylor introduced back in 1999. Unlike traditional neck resets, this system, like Bob’s, is also glue-less, and in this case enables effortless fine-tuning on the fly without having to remove the neck or even the strings, and without the use of shims. By simply using a 1/4" nut driver (or standard truss rod wrench) on a nut in the neck block (accessible through the soundhole), a player can raise or lower the action to dial in an ideal setup.
“It is a massive deal,” says Worsnop. “When it comes to traveling musicians, it’s absolutely game changing. This allows you to do a micro-adjustment without having to get in the car and drive. When I’m in the studio, I like having that precision to be able to make it just perfect.”
For professional musicians, service techs, and recreational players who want to quickly fine-tune their action, the innovative neck design marks a paradigm shift.
In Studio and Onstage
In his Tennessee home, Worsnop has an upstairs studio where he records most of his music. It’s where he’s tested countless guitars, searching for the right fit. Though his trusty songwriting guitar has been the aforementioned GS Mini-e Koa Plus—perfect for capturing spontaneous new ideas—when it comes to recording, the Gold Label 814e has taken center stage.
“I’m working on the new album right now,” he shares. “If I’m at home and I’m just wandering around downstairs, which is usually where and how writing happens, [the GS Mini] is the guitar I’m walking around with. And then as soon as there’s an idea, I’ll go upstairs, and it’s the Gold Label. Honestly, I don’t play anything else up there now. I put the album recording on hold for this guitar. It’s the only guitar on the album.”
And it won’t just live in the studio. Worsnop plans to bring the Gold Label 814e on tour, making it his primary acoustic guitar for live performances.
Performance Highlight: "Ain't No Use"
In a recently recorded performance of his song “Ain’t No Use”, Worsnop showcases why the Gold Label 814e is such a great fit for him. The song, rich with storytelling and emotional depth, aligns well with the guitar’s vintage aesthetic and warm tonal character. It explores the universal tension between who we are and who we want to be, while emphasizing the transformative power of acceptance despite imperfections. The guitar’s deep, open sound and full-bodied, muscular tone are a perfect complement to Worsnop’s soaring, soulful vocals, amplifying the expressiveness of his performance and highlighting a symbiosis between player and instrument. A video of the performance is featured at the top of this article.
For Worsnop, the Gold Label 814e represents the culmination of years of searching, experimenting and refining his sound. It’s an instrument that feels like it has lived a life, carrying with it the soul and character he always craved in an acoustic.
“I have played music since I was 6 years old, and I’ve spent my entire life looking for my instrument,” he reflects. “At 34, I’ve found it.”
CIOKS DC-7
This power supply features a 1" profile, seven DC outlets with four switchable voltages (9, 12, 15 and 18V) on each outlet, plus a 5V USB outlet and can be expanded for even the most power-hungry boards.
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Strymon Zuma
Strymon Zuma is the quietest and most powerful pedal power supply of its kind, capable of powering a huge number of guitar pedals silently and reliably with a staggering 500 mA.
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Mission Engineering 529i
This powerful power supply offers eight 9V isolated outputs and an internal rechargeable battery. It powers your pedalboard for four hours on a single charge via USB port or 12V input. It also includes a doubler cable that allows two 18V outputs.
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Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 3 PLUS
From standard battery-operated stompboxes to high-current DSP effects, the expandable 12-output Pedal Power 3 PLUS combines cutting-edge technology and time-tested analog engineering to ensure any pedal will sound its best.
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D’Addario XPND Pedal Power Battery Kit
If you need portable, wireless power, this unit offers 10,000 mAh that can last up to 10 hours on a single charge. It also includes a USB-C power supply and a patent-pending Gateway hub for ultra-quiet operation.
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Introduced on Smith’s birthday, February 18, the Charcoal Phoenix Limited Edition is part of the PRS Guitars 40th Anniversary celebration. Only 150 of these instruments will be available worldwide, with each including a 40th Anniversary certificate hand signed by Paul Reed Smith himself.
"When we released the Private Stock John McLaughlin Limited Edition in 2023, I was inspired by its exceptional sound and playability. For the Charcoal Phoenix, I wanted to create something equally remarkable but with a stoptail bridge," said PRS Guitars Founder & Managing General Partner, Paul Reed Smith. "Using chaltecoco for the neck and ziricote for the fingerboard, I achieved an instrument that sustains beautifully and rings with clarity. The deep crimson back and the charcoal microburst top inspired the name ‘Charcoal Phoenix,’ evoking the imagery of a phoenix rising from fire and ashes.”
Over the past year, Smith has road-tested this guitar, refining its design and tone. Most recently, he played this model on stage at the late-January 2025 PRS Guitars 40th Anniversary concert at the House of Blues in Anaheim. A deep crimson back contrasts with the Private Stock-grade figured maple top in a charcoal microburst finish. The ripple abalone “Old School” bird inlays on the ziricote fingerboard add a vintage touch.
The Charcoal Phoenix also features the PRS TCI pickups, newly updated for 2025, and EQ mini-toggle switches. The TCI pickups are crafted with American Alnico magnets and slightly modified winding, wiring and electronics specifications. Based on Smith’s experience playing this guitar live and in the studio for more than a year, these pickups offer clear tones from spanky single coils to full soapbars. The EQ mini-toggles act as tuned high-pass filters when engaged, removing shelved low end and allowing the high frequencies through for more clarity and musical highs.
Rounding out the details are the PRS Stoptail bridge and PRS Phase III Non-Locking Tuners. The bridge is engineered with curved string slots, brass inserts and steel studs. It is designed to maximize the transfer of the strings’ vibrations through the guitar. The lightweight tuners promote tone transfer for a louder, more resonant instrument.
PRS Guitars is planning a year full of new product introductions. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year at www.prsguitars.com/40 and by following @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.
