The long-running punk quartet pick prototypes, P basses, and Pauls for their latest live shows.
On tour supporting their 12th full-length record, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…, California rockers AFI rolled through Nashville’s Marathon Music Works in October. After first running down their rigs in 2017, PG’s Chris Kies linked up again with guitarist Jade Puget and bassist Hunter Burgan to see how their gear has evolved in the past eight years.
Puget found this Les Paul Standard hanging at Guitar Center 15 years ago, and it’s still his go-to live guitar. A surprisingly light specimen, it’s had a Seymour Duncan pickup swapped in, and it’s strung with Ernie Balls—usually .010s.
Throughout AFI’s set, Puget switches between tunings: D sharp, drop C sharp, D standard, and E standard.
Silver Surfer
This new Schecter, a prototype made for Puget, is his first ever silverburst, which saw service in the music video for “Holy Visions.” It’s loaded with a Sustainiac system in the neck position.
Willing and Ableton
Puget has experimented a lot to get his rig to this point. His signal runs through a pair of rack-mounted Line 6 Helix units in a stereo configuration, and also through a computer running Ableton that triggers the exact sound designs he created while recording. The RJM Mastermind and Effect Gizmo are programmed to control all pedals, the Helix, and Ableton.
Jade Puget’s Pedalboard
Most of Puget’s effects come from the Helix, but he also runs a few pedals in his rack, including an MXR EVH 5150 Overdrive and Carbon Copy, Boss DC-2W, RV-2, and BF-2, and a Keeley Compressor.
Another board carries a Boss TU-3, TC Electronic Mimiq, EHX The Clone Theory, TC Electronic Arena, MXR Echoplex, and L.R. Baggs Venue DI.
Blackout
In live contexts, Burgan uses Fender P basses exclusively. This is his No. 1, which he’s had since 2012.
Pinky
This dazzling Fender P was made custom for Burgan before this tour.
Triples is Best
Burgan runs this trio of Ampeg SVT Classics.
Hunter Burgan’s Rack Setup
Burgan uses a RJM Mastermind GT to control his in-show switching. In his backstage rack, there’s an EHX Bass Big Muff, Micro Synth, Satisfaction, Nano POG, Bass Clone, and Graphic Fuzz, and on a second shelf, there’s the rest of the collection: a Bass Soul Food, Battalion, Lizard King, Neo Mistress, and Memory Toy.
Harness the same tight low-end and attack Duff is known for with a pickup combination sure to inspire anyone looking for an aggressive bass tone without the hum.
Seymour Duncan is proud to offer this special pickup set featuring:
Combines a Hot Stack Jazz Bass Bridge with a Quarter Pound Precision Neck
Hum Cancelling
Fits most standard PJ routs.
Hand-built in Santa Barbara, CA
Since the mid-1980s, Duff McKagan’s bass lines and songwriting have powered hits from Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, and his other highly influential projects. On classic performances like “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, “Slither”, and “Welcome To The Jungle” his weapon of choice was a Fender® PJ bass loaded with Seymour Duncan pickups. Now you can harness that same tight low-end and sharp attack Duff is known for with the Duff McKagan Signature PJ Pickup Set.
Great bass players know that a PJ pickup combination can give you the punchy, thunderous tones needed for rock, punk, funk and beyond. Chasing that flexibility, Duff used his first record advance to buy a Fender Jazz Bass® Special with a Precision® split-coil pickup in the neck position and a Jazz bass pickup in the bridge. The original single-coil bridge pickup was swapped out for a Seymour Duncan Hot Stack Jazz bass® pickup, nixing the hum in all positions while also adding some extra output.
Years later, Duff was gifted a bass with the Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound P-Bass® pickup in the neck. The large diameter alnico 5 magnets and high output coils gave Duff an exciting new dimension to his sound, and he began to pair it with the Hot Stack Jazz Bass bridge for a powerful pickup combination with plenty of grit, low end, and attack. This pairing became Duff’s signature sound, and he’s used these pickups on hit recordings and world tours ever since.
Seymour Duncan has partnered with Duff to offer these two pickups as the Duff McKagan Signature PJ Set, bearing his distinctive skull & crossbones logo. This combination is sure to inspire anyone looking for an aggressive bass tone without hum, perfect for stage and studio. Load these high output pickups into your PJ bass to achieve Duff’s trademark sound – noise free and with plenty of attitude.
Elliot® introduces the Trace Acoustic® Clarity™ effects pedal. Designed for use with most acoustic-electric instruments, the pedal is designed to enhance the acoustic sound qualities of an instrument when amplified. The pedal is now available worldwide via online and local retailers.
The Trace Acoustic Clarity is a frequency expansion device consisting of two proprietary variable filters, controlled by separate LOW and HIGH pots, to enhance the existing undertones in both low and high frequencies of an acoustic electric instrument. With input and output fixed at unity, combined with a bipolar 18V internal supply from a standard 9VDC supply or battery, the Clarity delivers dynamic acoustic tones throughout any instrument's acoustic range. The pedal is to be used in line, between an instrument and any PA system, instrument amplifier, or pedalboard setup.
Goldbird, an independent NYC-based music gear brand, has announced the release of its signature line of electric guitar strings. Designed for modern musicians who value reliability, simplicity, and style, Goldbird’s products combine top-tier materials and performance with a community-driven approach.
The new Goldbird electric guitar strings are available in Light (9-42), Medium (10-46), and Heavy (11-50) gauges. Each 6-string set is crafted to deliver durability, balanced tone, and consistent feel across all six strings.
Key product features include:
Made in the USA
Nickel-plated steel construction — the ideal balance of brightness and warmth
Three simple gauges — covers most common playing styles
Thoughtful packaging — rust-inhibiting material extends shelf life
The debut string offerings are a product of the company’s indie energy. Goldbird is a New York–based music gear brand founded in 2025 with a mission to support emerging musicians and the next generation of creators. Goldbird’s products are designed to make gear simple, reliable, and inspiring — whether you’re practicing at home or playing on stage.
Goldbird strings are available at www.goldbirdmusic.com for $10 per set or $25 for three packs.
Audio announced the release of Temperance™ Pro. Building on the revolutionary foundation of Temperance Lite, which introduced the world's first musical reverb, Temperance Pro adds 29 modal spaces, advanced sequencing capabilities, MIDI control, and specialized modal and temper controls for transforming your spaces in ways that were previously not possible.
Temperance Pro speaks the language of music, operating on the 12-note chromatic scale, letting users create spaces that feel musically intentional rather than incidental. This unique modal approach models reverb as collections of thousands of independent resonators, each one adjustable in real-time for unprecedented ways to shape space.
Pete Bischoff, the Product Owner said of the plug-in “Temperance impresses me on so many levels. The notion that you can recreate a room from thousands of individual resonances, complete with delays, flutters, and other nuances intact just blows my mind. The engineer in me can't figure out how Eventide got them to cooperate so perfectly and how they managed to squeeze them all into a real time effect. The musician in me giggles at the thought of the sheer number of tiny "instruments" playing in concert and what novel sound avenues they could explore.”
Woody Herman, Sr. DSP Engineer with Eventide added, "I've always enjoyed Eventide's willingness to try something different. As an engineer, it's especially rewarding to work on a project that tries to re-think something we've known about and used for a long time. Temperance is a different way of thinking about reverb that I think is new, fun, and hopefully leads people to make creative decisions they normally wouldn't.”
Temperance Pro introduces two controls for advanced shaping of musical texture. Target Select controls when tempering happens in time, choosing whether selected notes bloom with early reflections, with the late reflections during the reverb tail, or both. Note Width defines how many nearby modes are included in each note, with lower settings offering more musical precision and higher settings affecting more of the overall reverb for broader, more pronounced results.
Three powerful note selection methods add depth and creative potential. Manual Mode offers note-roll style input with instant access to chords, scales, modes, or intervals through the Choose Scale dialog. Sequence Mode programs note changes to follow chord progressions with adjustable beat grid and session offset for precise timeline positioning. MIDI Mode provides real-time keyboard control with Octave Repeat, offering an immediate and tactile way to work, whether performing live or sketching ideas in the studio.
Three unique modal controls offer unprecedented ways of shaping space. Position adjusts the balance between early and late reflections, working independently from tempering. Density controls how many modes are active, from full quality reverb to progressively fragmented, lo-fi tones. Offset shifts the center frequencies of all modes by up to ±500Hz independent of temper settings, changing the pitch of the entire space for dramatic results.
Temperance Pro delivers 29 spaces spanning intimate rooms, grand halls, lush mechanical reverbs, and experimental synthetic spaces. The collection includes faithful recreations of legendary acoustic spaces, including several designed by acoustics pioneer Ralph Kessler, alongside original creations built specifically to showcase modal reverb technology.
The plug-in features over 120 creative and production-focused presets including 11 tutorial presets. Professional features include ultra-low latency suitable for live performance, fully automatable controls, Dual Mono mode, A/B comparison states, and Eco Mode for CPU optimization.
Temperance Pro is available for $179 MSRP from Eventide Audio and authorized dealers worldwide. Crossgrade from Temperance Lite is also available for $79. The plug-in supports AAX 64-bit, AU 64-bit, and VST3 64-bit formats on Windows 10+ and macOS 10.14+. For more information visit eventideaudio.com.
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