When GWAR stomped through Nashville with the goriest gear of all, we had to take a look. PG’s Chris Kies caught up with the band at Marathon Music Works to hang with Grodius Maximus, Bälsäc the Jaws ’O Death, and Casey Orr (aka Beefcake the Mighty). The band rolls cab-free, armed with a stack of dangerously signature gear.
Grodius Maximus’ rig is all about spectacle, aggression, and controlled chaos—designed to sound less like a guitar and more like a “big crazy animal.” His primary instruments come from Radical Instrument Products in Salt Lake City. His go-to is pointy, pink, and equipped with a locking tremolo and a single humbucker. He also carries a gold neck-through model loaded with a pair of humbuckers and a coil tap.
Inspired by Buzz
Rounding out the guitar lineup is an Electrical Guitar Company instrument—something Grodius was turned onto by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins. That guitar features dual humbuckers and a Mastery bridge, adding a slightly more refined edge to an otherwise savage setup.
Dark Favorite
Grodius calls the Orange Dual Dark 100 his favorite amp of all time. While it’s not being used onstage for this show, its DNA is still present via a Kemper, which houses a model of the Dual Dark that anchors his core tone.
All Sorts of Nasty
Effects are where things get truly unhinged. On his rack, a Line 6 Filter Pro handles “all sorts of nasty tones,” while a lineup of Bananana Effects pedals sit in reserve, ready to be unleashed when needed. Switching duties are handled by a Voodoo Lab Guitar Audio switcher, and he also shows off a Death By Audio prototype, alongside trusted staples like the DBA Echo Dream 2 and DBA Robot.
His actual pedalboard is deceptively compact but vicious: a Boss Chromatic Tuner, a Line 6 FM4 pedal, a Hotone expression pedal, DOD Gonkulator, Bananana Mandala, and an MXR Carbon Copy Bright, all powered by a Voodoo Lab supply.
Bälsäc the Jaws ’O Death - Blue Beast
Bälsäc’s rig blends modern metal precision with an openness to conventional and unconventional tools. His signature Schecter Bälsäc Blue Jaw model—soon to be released at what he jokingly calls “an exorbitant price”—is constructed using material from his actual costume. Finished in Antarctic crackle, it’s loaded with a pair of blue Fishman Fluence pickups, delivering clarity and aggression in equal measure.
Non-Metal Vibes
He also relies heavily on a Schecter PT Custom with a purple finish—a T-style guitar that initially raised eyebrows. “It’s surprising how much I love the PTs,” he admits. “It’s such a non-metal shape.” The guitar is outfitted with Fishman Fluence pickups and an Amptone XY MIDIpad, which wirelessly controls his Fractal Axe-Fx III.
Modeling Rig
The Axe-Fx handles amp modeling duties, often dialed in to a Mesa/Boogie-style sound. He also rocks the familiar purple Line 6 Filter Pro. Because Gwar performs to click tracks, all patch and effect changes are automated through Ableton, keeping everything locked tight.
Chaos via Kaoss
Bälsäc’s pedalboard is deep and experimental: a Chase Bliss Onward, Death by Audio Robot and Disemboweller, and a Meris Ottobit and Hedra. In the rack, he keeps a Korg Kaoss Pad, EarthQuaker Devices Data Corrupter, and an EHX C9 organ emulator, allowing him to blur the line between guitar, synth, and noise weapon. He even uses a Moog Theremini as an expression controller, further expanding his sonic vocabulary.
Casey Orr/Beefcake the Mighty - Slim Nikki
Handling low-end duties behind the scenes is Casey Orr, who you might better as Beefcake the Mighty. His primary instrument is the Schecter Casey Orr Beefcake Bass, which shares its electronics with the Riot 4, but features a Nikki Sixx–style body, slimmed down for comfort. The bass also sports a thinner neck, along with 24 frets, a kill switch, and a pair of EMG pickups—a combination Orr describes simply as “super comfortable.”
Backpack Rig
On the amplification side, the cornerstone of Orr’s sound is the Darkglass Alpha·Omega Ultra, which he calls the “missing link” in achieving the bass tone he’d previously been chasing—aggressive, articulate, and perfectly suited to Gwar’s controlled mayhem.
John Bohlinger chats with Sacha Dunable about the new Minotaur DE, available in iterations with EMG 81/85 pickups and with passive Cthulhu pickups. Also showcased: the Will Putney signature Cyclops with built-in Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork pedal and single EMG 81, plus new custom shop seven-string models across all Dunable platforms with in-house pickups and Hipshot hardware.
Dunable
Minotaur DE
SCALE LENGTH: 25.5"
NECK PROFILE: 1.65" nut width, .81" thick at 1st, .89" at 12th, Medium "C" profile
Dunlop's Bryan Kehoe takes us on a tour of some fantastic new gear, including the MXR EVH Modern High Gain pedal developed with Eddie Van Halen, featuring input/output boost, smart noise gate, and bass shift switch. Also on the docket: the Way Huge Jumbo Fuzz Swollen Pickle XXX with silicon/LED clipping switch and high-output volume and the limited-edition Iron Maiden Killers Cry Baby.
MXR
EVH Modern High Gain
Unleash the full force of your rig with the MXR EVH Modern High Gain Pedal. Designed in direct collaboration with Eddie Van Halen in 2015, this powerhouse of a device delivers EVH High Gain tone in raw, uncompromised and crushing form. It’s searing, it’s intense, and it’s razor sharp.
Silvertone's Rick Taylor takes us through the new 1446 Semi-Hollow, updating the 1962 classic with center-block construction, set neck, modern neck profile, and era-specific mini-humbuckers reverse-engineered from original Gibson P13 pickups with Alnico 5s. Available with Bigsby or trapeze tailpiece, the pickups are also offered as a standalone matched set.
Silvertone
1466
Silvertone has reintroduced the iconic 1446 semi-hollow electric – one of the most recognizable guitar models in rock history.
Played by legendary artists Chris Isaak, Elvis Costello, Hubert Sumlin and more, the Silvertone 1446 is now, for the first time in decades, that sound - and that guitar - can be yours.
Originally sold through the Sears catalog from 1961 to 1967, the Silvertone 1446 holds a special place in electric-guitar history. Over the last 60 years it has become one of the most sought-after models among recording artists and collectors.
Now, Silvertone proudly reintroduces the 1446 - meticulously recreated with modern performance features while honoring every detail that made the original a legend.
Gibson's Dinesh Lekhraj walks us through the brand's new ES-335 models offering '50s and '60s options—the '50s featuring a chunky neck profile, dot inlays, and Alnico 3 pickups, and the '60s with a slimmer taper, block inlays, and hotter T-Type pickups. We also check out cool Custom Shop ES-330 reissues in '59 and '62 specs, with dog-ear P-90s, trapeze bridges, and full-hollow construction. Also new: the Victory offset, now available with longer 24 3/4" scale, 24 frets, ebony fretboard, and Floyd Rose (or fixed bridge), with baritone and seven-string versions coming soon.