Italian shredder Matteo Mancuso, celebrated for his dazzling, jazz-inspired prog-rock guitar wizardry, recently touched down in Nashville for a show at City Winery, where he spent some time with PG’s John Bohlinger for this new Rig Rundown. Check out the video for a more in-depth chat on specifics, and have a look at the essentials of Mancuso’s fly rig below.
Mancuso’s sunburst Yamaha Pacifica Custom features a Vega-Trem whammy bar, rosewood fingerboard, and locking tuners. The pickup configuration includes two DiMarzio Area 68 pickups and a DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary in the bridge position.
The sunburst Revstar, meanwhile, was built for Mancuso by Yamaha’s custom shop. It features a chambered Honduran mahogany body, pill-style inlays, and Luminlay fluorescent side dots. Rather than the Revstar’s typical 3-way selector, Mancuso’s uses a 5-way blade switch, with wiring for coil-splitting on the Lollar Imperial pickups.
Mancuso runs both guitars with .009–.042 strings.
Stadium and Stomp
While Mancuso loves his JCM800 back home, for international travel, he rolls with a Line 6 Helix Stadium XL for consistency night after night. In case the Stadium XL goes down, a Line 6 HX Stomp is on hand to keep the show going.
"Jingle" John Osborne is a certified twangin' telemaster. His main squeeze for nearly the Brothers Osborne decade-plus run has been a '68 Tele he bought for $700 when he first moved to Nashville. It already had the B-bender in the body, but Osborne but enough staink and groovy grease on it to wipe away any of the previous owners' DNA. It's become so crucial to his sound that Fender recognized the companionship and honored the master and his tool with a signature model mirroring its inspiration. Here old friend John Bohlinger grabs a Osborne sig and the pair chat about guitar playing, why Teles are the best for country music, and share a couple jams. Enjoy!
The guitarist for the classic rock revivalists proves old amps, paired with even older guitars, is still a recipe for tonal success.
Tyler Armstrong, lead guitarist for St. Louis, Missouri, rockers the Band Feel, recently invited PG’s John Bohlinger out to Smoakstack Studios in Berry Hill, just south of Nashville, for this Rundown of the axes, amps, and effects he’s using to conjure the classic rock ’n’ roll sounds of the ’70s. Aside from his pedals, Armstrong sticks to the tried-and-true recipe: American guitars through British amps. Scroll for some highlights of the Rundown, and watch the video to get the nose-to-tail treatment.
This all-original 1959 Gibson Flying V is on loan from Gibson’s Certified Vintage program. Armstrong secured it for some recent studio work, and attests that out of five he test-drove that were built in the same period, this one is the best of the bunch. He’s gotta give it back, right? “We’ll see what happens,” Armstrong grins.
Friend from ’53
Armstrong acquired this “super messed-up” 1953 FenderTelecaster with the help of a friend in Illinois. The warped neck was heat-treated to make it playable, and the body has been contoured on the back and front to give it a Jeff Beck feeling. It’s kept in open-G tuning for some live performances.
Dynamic Duo
<p>In studio, Armstrong uses a 1965 Vox AC15 2x12 combo and a Marshall JMP Super Bass. When playing live, he runs the JMP alongside a 1963 Fender Bassman.<br/></p>
Tyler Armstrong’s Pedals
<p>Among Armstrong’s select studio weapons are a Sonic Research ST-200 tuner, Mythos Oracle, Electro-Harmonix Small Stone EH4800, Mythos Luxury Drive, EarthQuaker Devices Swiss Things, R2R Electric Pre-Amp with an extra knob for EQ, <a href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Phase90--mxr-m101-phase-90-phaser-pedal?irclickid=Sy72HhyqAxycWp1UwTUUjyKJUkp2l10ArRo1X80&irgwc=1&utm_source=Impact&utm_medium=Premier%20Guitar&utm_campaign=Online%20Tracking%20Link" target="_blank">MXR Phase 90</a>, vintage Maestro PS-1A, and an <a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/tag/lr-baggs">L.R. Baggs</a> Voiceprint D.I.</p>
The wait is over for HeadRush users. Firmware 5.0 has officially landed, bringing a massive suite of features to the Prime, Core, and Flex models. Beyond introducing a fully performable, highly customizable drum machine, @TomButwin details a brutal new high-gain amp model, updated IRs and transparent overdrives, plus quality of life upgrades that make practicing and gigging smoother than ever.
The Lamb of God shred king sits down to discuss making LoG's 10th album, Into Oblivion, designing his new signature GibsonLes Paul, and writing his memoir, Desolation. He offers three hot takes on guitar culture.
