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Gibson commemorates 50 years in Nashville with an unexpected, limited edition evolution of their understated Marauder.
For 50 years, Gibson has been proud to call Nashville home, shaping sound, supporting the artists who make our community special, and crafting the guitars that have defined generations of music. Now, we’re honoring that legacy with something new. Introducing the Les Paul Music City Special – 50th Anniversary, a tribute to where we’ve been and a celebration of where the music will lead next.
The Music City Special – 50th Anniversary is an updated, modern twist on two historical Gibson models, taking much of its inspiration from the 70s-era Marauder, with a touch of the Music City Junior in its DNA. Over the years, the Marauder has been used by artists from Adam Jones to Paul Stanley. This unique commemorative model pays tribute to the early days of Gibson’s Nashville production and celebrates Gibson’s 50 years of producing world-class guitars in Music City while delivering outstanding value to modern players.
The high-powered Southern rockers return for a full-on Rig Rundown.
From couchsurfing to playing the Ryman, rockers Whiskey Myers of Palestine, Texas, have had one hell of a Cinderella story. We caught up with guitarist John Jeffers back in 2021 for a virtual Rig Rundown, but this time around, ahead of the September release of their seventh LP, Whomp Whack Thunder, PG’s Chris Kies met up with Jeffers and rhythm guitarist Cody Tate before their July 19 gig at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater to get a tour of their latest and loudest noisemakers.
This ’90s GibsonLes Paul is Jeffers’ most treasured guitar, gifted to him by Tate’s uncle—an avid collector—before he passed away. It’s loaded with a DiMarzio Super Distortion and a “Jeff Beck” pickup, which is how it came to Jeffers. He strings it with .0105s.
Murphy Magic
This 1960 Les Paul reissue was hand-painted by Gibson’s custom-shop whiz, Tom Murphy.
Flavor of the Night
Jeffers has long been a Vox AC30 Hand-Wired player, but recently he’s been throwing Oranges into the mix, including a Custom Shop 50. He’ll decide night-to-night which amp he wants to go with. The Voxes have Weber Silver Bell and Blue Dog speakers, and the Orange has Celestion Vintage 30s.
John Jeffers’ Pedalboard
After a Lehle volume pedal, Jeffers stomp station has a Boss TU-3w, a Dunlop wah, PCE-FX Aluminum Falcon, Union Tube and Transistor More, Empress Compress Mk II, Interstellar Octonaut Hyperdrive, Boss BF-2, EarthQuaker Devices The Depths, two Skreddy Echos, and a Hermida Audio reverb. Jeffers jumps around them all with a Voodoo Lab PX-8 PLUS True Bypass Programmable Pedal Switcher.
Guitar Center Special
Tate calls this FenderStratocaster a “Guitar Center special,” which he’s had for 15 years now. It’s mostly stock, save for some custom wiring. He plays it with Ernie Ball Slinkies, mostly in the middle position for rhythm playing.
Brown Beauty
Tate fell in love with this heavily modded Strat when he saw it on Reverb, and he had to pull the trigger. He’s not sure what the pickups are—especially the Gretsch Filter’Tron-style bridge unit—but it’s got the signature Strat bounce with a bit of extra grease.
Marshall Law
Tate runs two Marshall JCM800s, one 50-watt and one 100-watt, through four custom cabs loaded with Weber 12" speakers.
Cody Tate’s Pedalboard
Cody’s board is slightly more restrained than Jeffers’. It includes some of the same units, including a Boss TU-3w, Dunlop wah, and Empress Compressor Mk II, plus a JHS Unicorn, Prestige, and Morning Glory. A Boss ES-5 handles the switching.
Frontwoman Jessica Dobson plunges into the depths of her Benson-powered road rig.
Seattle indie rockers Deep Sea Diver released their fourth full-length record, BillboardHeart, earlier this year via Sub Pop, and their supporting cross-country tour took them to downtown Nashville’s Blue Room at Jack White’s Third Man Records.
PG’s Chris Kies connected with singer and guitarist Jessica Dobson in 2020 for a virtual Rig Rundown, but this time we get a close-up, in-person look at Dobson’s tour kit, including her signature Benson stomp box and a custom guitar.
Dobson picked up this slick Bilt S.S. Zaftig to replace her beloved but terribly heavy Fender Starcaster. This one has Lollar Regal Wide-Range humbuckers in it.
Regrets, I’ve Had a Few
Dobson purchased this used Fender Elvis Costello Jazzmaster in 2010, and has since met the person who sold it—and totally regrets it. It’s strung with D’Addario .011–.052s, and tuned to E standard.
Blue Benz
U.K.-based builder Elliott Trent modeled this custom Trent guitar for Dobson on her mother’s old blue Mercedes, and loaded it with P-90s.
Benson Boom Box
Dobson’s amp of choice, taped to perfection, is this 30-watt Benson Chimera 2x12 combo.
Jessica Dobson’s Pedalboard
Dobson runs a busy board powered by a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus and operated via a Boss ES-8. There’s also her signature Benson Deep Sea Diver, plus a Benson Germanium Preamp, JHS Pulp N Peel, Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive, Benson Germanium Boost, EHX Deluxe Memory Man, Strymon blueSky, EHX POG2, Chase Bliss Brothers Analog Gainstage, and Menatone Pleasure Trem 5000, plus a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir.
Declan Mehrtens and Gus Romer brought the heat for the punk quartet’s storming spring headline tour.
Australian punks Amyl and the Sniffers have had a pretty good year. In October 2024, they released their third full-length, Cartoon Darkness, and opened a run of North American shows for Foo Fighters. This year, they warmed up the stage for the Offspring for a handful of shows in Brazil, then tore off across the United States and Canada for a headlining tour.
Ahead of their stopover at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, PG’s Chris Kies met with guitarist Declan Mehrtens and bassist Gus Romer to see what weapons the Aussie invaders are using to conquer the music world.
Mehrtens reckons he’s played around 300 gigs with this trusty Gibson Explorer, and it was used on just about every track on Cartoon Darkness. While recording, he equipped it with flatwound strings and a Lollar P-90 pickup in the bridge, but for tour, it’s got a Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Special in the bridge in addition to its stock neck pickup. It’s tuned a half-step down, and an identical (though less beat-up) Explorer is on hand in case this first one goes down.
Deluxe Dreams
This FenderTelecaster Deluxe comes out for the set’s softest song, “Big Dreams.”
Marshall and Friends
In addition to his beloved JCM800, Mehrtens is running a Hiwatt Custom 100, a model he discovered in Foo Fighters’ studio. Both are dialled in for a general-purpose rock tone, and an always-on Daredevil Drive-Bi, kept behind the stacks, runs into the Hiwatt to push it into breakup.
Declan Mehrtens’ Pedalboard
The jewel of Mehrtens’ board is his SoloDallas Schaffer Replica, famous for its recreation of Angus Young’s guitar tone. In addition, he runs a TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Noir, Electro-Harmonix Soul Food modded with LED diodes, MXR Micro Flanger, two MXR Carbon Copy Minis, and a Vox wah pedal. A switcher with six loops, built by Dave Friedman, manages the changes.
P for Punk
Romer plays this Fender Precision Bass, which is either a 2023 or 2024 model, though he insists the “P” in P bass stands for “punk.”
Three-Headed Beast
Romer’s signal is split into three channels: One split comes after his tuner, and runs clean to front-of-house, another channel runs direct and dirty from this Ampeg SVT Classic, and the last runs through his cabinet into a Sennheiser MD 421.
Gus Romer’s Pedalboard
Romer’s board, furnished with the help of Mehrtens, gets right to the point: It features a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, a Boss ODB-3, and an MXR Distortion+.
Looking for versatility without cranking a stadium-level rig?
In this video, PG contributor Tom Butwin puts three sub‑50-watt amplifiers to the test: the British‑voiced Suhr SL15, the mid‑’60s American‑style PRS Sonzera 20, and the gig‑ready solid‑state Blackstar Debut 50R. Tom explores the tones, features, and ideal use cases of all three amps—highlighting who they're best suited for and how they perform in different setups. Which one fits your playing style and needs?
