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Gallery: Pro Pedalboards 2014, Pt. 1

Tasty stomp stations from top players.

The Pixies’ Black Francis

As with his guitars and amps, Charles “Black Francis” Thompson keeps his pedalboard spare. He stays in tune with a Boss TU-2, uses a Klon Centaur for overdrive, and gets some silicon-fuzz action with a 1-knob Duh pedal built by none other than Premier Guitar senior editor Joe Gore. A Boss FS-5L activates his Vox’s tremolo circuit. Thompson powers his pedals with a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus, and he uses a Lehle Dual SGoS to switch between his tuner and his electric and acoustic signal paths. The latter uses a Radial J48 active direct box.

We rummaged through our entire backlog of Rig Rundown footage and photos to compile a guide to some of 2014’s tastiest, most elaborate stomp stations, including boards from the Cult’s Billy Duffy, Keith Urban, the Pixies, the Sword, Carlos Santana, Brent Mason, and more.

Onstage, Tommy Emmanuel executes a move that is not from the playbook of his hero, Chet Atkins.

Photo by Simone Cecchetti

Recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, the Australian guitarist’s new album reminds listeners that his fingerpicking is in a stratum all its own. His approach to arranging only amplifies that distinction—and his devotion to Chet Atkins.

Australian fingerpicking virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel is turning 70 this year. He’s been performing since he was 6, and for every solo show he’s played, he’s never used a setlist.

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Featuring a newly-voiced circuit with more compression and versatility, these pedals are hand-crafted in Los Angeles for durability.

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Joe Glaser has been a pillar of Nashville's guitar community for decades. He's a man that dreams in mechanical terms often coming up ideas while deep in a REM cycle. Through his various companies he's designed, developed, and released a handful of "blue water" solutions to age-old instrument problems making the tolerable terrific. In this comprehensive visit to Glaser's home base, we get up close and personal with several of the products that enhance intonation and playability without disrupting the guitar's integrity.

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With 700 watts of power, built-in overdrive, versatile EQ options, and multiple output choices, this bass head is designed to deliver unparalleled clarity and performance in a lightweight, rugged package.

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