TV Jones debuted the new Spectra Sonic Standard at NAMM this week. Available Bigsby B7-equipped or not, these matte-black beauties feature chambered alder bodies, set-in maple necks topped with rosewood 'boards, and TV Jones T-Series Spectra-Flux pups.
The cosmic-country cowboy touts a rig inspired by the greats and powered by a mix of vintage and modern-day gear.
Hot on the heels of his new record, Horizons, Daniel Donato took PG’s John Bohlinger on a trip through his live setup, which spans more than 70 years of electric-guitar history.
This Fender Custom Shop 1963 Telecaster has “everything that a great traditional Telecaster needs,” says Donato.
Jack of All Trades
This DGN Custom Guitars T-style, built by Dan Neafsey, is dubbed the Epoch. Donato wanted a Tele that he could play all night without tiring of the tones, so Neafsey assembled this do-it-all electric. Its body is an eighth of an inch smaller than a traditional Tele’s, and its flame-maple neck sports a compound radius. Neafsey wound the PAF-style pickups, which can be configured as overwound single-coils via a coil-tap function. The steel ashtray bridge was cut to fit a humbucker.
Donato plays Dunlop Jazz III picks, and loads his guitars with a .010–.052 set of Ernie Ball Slinky strings.
Pro Tip
This 1966 Fender Pro Reverb is the first black-panel amp Donato ever purchased. It’s been converted to a 2x12 configuration in place of the usual 1x15, and it’s loaded with Weber 12F150 speakers.
Daniel Donato’s Pedalboard
Donato says that while the Pro Reverb is the steak, the Fender Tonemaster Pro is the best thing to season it with. His effects run into this floor unit, which is set to a black-panel Twin Reverb program, through a Radial Highline, and out to the front of house at a clean, crisp level. Donato uses some of the Tonemaster Pro’s onboard effects, too, like a graphic EQ and tape echo.
The rest of the board, designed by XAct Tone Solutions, carries a Dunlop X Volume Mini and CAE Wah, Gamechanger Audio Plus, Greer Lightspeed, a Keeley Noble Screamer, Cosmic Country Phaser, and Rotary, a Strymon TimeLine, Walrus R1, Universal Audio Max, DigiTech FreqOut, and Eventide H90.
An EHX Hum Debugger, always on, rests on top of his amp to keep his Teles in line.
OC Pedal Co. was formed in 2024 by Santa Ana native Evan Haymond, a session ace who toured with Jack Russell of Great White in the 2010s. Not surprisingly, OC Pedal Co.’s U.S.A.-made LA HABRA Hard Clipper evokes many of the crunchy sounds from that era.
Less is More
The LA HABRA’s control panel is minimal, with just two knobs—volume and tone. There’s no gain knob, instead you get a gain switch that lets you choose between two clipping profiles. In the right position the pedal employs op-amp clipping. Set it to the left and a set of LED diodes are activated. With humbuckers, the gain switch set to LED mode, and the tone knob at 11:00, the LA HABRA produced a toothy sound that, sure enough, produced power chord sounds that sounded more than a little like Great White’s cover of “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.”
Though the lack of a gain knob may leave some players feeling limited, the tone knob is a powerful tool for shaping the characteristics of the distortion, and with the tone knob at its darkest setting, the LA HABRA still delivers ample definition. Move the tone knob up to around 3:00, though, and there’s enough clarity and treble detail to make leads sizzle. To my ears this is where the pedal shines, and bumping the tone knob all the way up (with the gain switch still set to the LED clipping mode), the sound is super aggressive without being over-saturated.
In general, with the gain switch set to LED clipping you get a high-end boost and hear and feel more compression. Op-amp clipping tames some of the highs yielding a more balanced output, which is particularly noticeable when the tone knob is set to 3:00 and above. I generally preferred the gain switch set to op-amp clipping but each clipping mode yields sounds that can work in many contexts.
The Verdict
The LA HABRA has plenty of definition for melodic parts and is tough enough for bluesy riffs. For legato shred-type playing, there were times when I wished the pedal had a little more gain. But LA HABRA has a knack for feeling amp-like, particularly in terms of dynamics and touch sensitivity—much more so than many pedals that occupy this mid- to high-mid-gain category.
After their Covid-delayed, smash-success reunion tour a few years back, My Chemical Romance plotted the Long Live the Black Parade North American stadium tour this past summer.
PG’s Chris Kies joined the run at Soldier Field in Chicago, and before the show, he rendezvoused with techs James Bowman, Josh Schreibeis, and Joe Saucedo—who handle Frank Iero, Ray Toro and Mikey Way’s rigs, respectively—for a look at the axes, amps, and effects the heavy-hitting emo titans are using these days.
After Iero got this Castedosa Marianna Semi Hollow, it became the show starter for this summer’s tour. This, and all other guitars, are tuned down a half step with Ernie Ball Paradigm strings (.011–.052).
Bury Me in White
Iero favors Ernie Ball StingRays like this one, in matte “Stormtrooper” white. The only mod on this guitar is the addition of Luminlay dots on the side of the neck.
One and Done
This 1992 GibsonLes Paul gets played only for the title track off the band’s 2006 record, The Black Parade.
Under Pressure
This tiny, light Abernethy Guitars electric takes Bowman forever to string. If anyone has tips, send them his way.
Purple Reign
After using Marshall Super Lead heads with the Dookie mod on the previous tour, Iero found these slick purple heads and brought them to Dave Friedman to match the Dookie specs and add some EQ tweaks. These two, a main and backup, are responsible for the bulk of Iero’s sounds.
A Fender Twin Reverb onstage is responsible for “small-amp sounds,” while a Twin Reverb Tone Master underneath it sends a clean DI signal for the mix in Iero’s in-ear monitors.
Welcome to the Rack Parade
Iero’s backstage rack includes three main racks of effects, all powered by Strymon Zumas.
The first carries a Mesa Boogie 5-Band Graphic EQ, Amaze by Analogman Prince of Tone, Bowman Audio Endeavors Bowman Overdrive, JHS Hard Drive, and Hayashi Craft Trick Gain.
Drawer two is about modulation, and includes a Boss TR-2, MXR Phase 100, Boss DM-2W, EarthQuaker Devices Ghost Echo, EHX Micro POG, and EHX Holy Grail.
The last drawer bears a Jackson Audio Twin Twelve, EHX Deluxe Memory Man, Ibanez Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro, and Bowman Audio Bellyacher.
Toro’s Top
Toro plays this 1978 Les Paul to start the show, including tracks “The End.,” “Dead!,” and “House of Wolves.” He runs .011–.052-gauge strings on all his guitars.
Second Fiddle
This sunburst Les Paul has been outpaced by the black ’78, but it still comes out for “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “Famous Last Words.”
Super 6
This 2005 Fender Custom Shop Telecaster sees action on six tunes in the band’s set.
Ray Toro’s Amps
A head combo of a Marshall JMP and Metropoulos Amplification Metro (both running into Fryette PS-100s) comprise Toro’s main tones, while an Amplified Nation Wonderland Overdrive 1x12 combo is used for solo sounds, and a Fender Deluxe Reverb handles cleans. Toro’s signal is pumped through two 4x12 cabs—one Marshall, one Bad Cat.
Ray’s Really Rockin’ Rack Rig
A Shure Axient wireless system sends his guitar’s signal to this system backstage, where it hits a Radial JX44 and a pair of RJM Effect Gizmos.
One drawer holds an MXR Duke of Tone, MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion, Boss GE-7, Boss CH-1, Kernom Moho, Kernom Ridge, and Wampler Gearbox.
In the next are two Boss GE-7s, two Bowman Overdrives, a Death by Audio Fuzz War, a Source Audio EQ2, a Bowman Bellyacher, and a Keeley Compressor Mini.
The third shelf is home to an EHX POG2, 1981 Inventions DRV, Chase Bliss Preamp MK II, Boss TR-2, MXR Carbon Copy, Keeley Loomer, and MXR EVH Phase 90.
A fourth level hosts a Strymon TimeLine, Strymon BigSky, and Source Audio EQ2.
Out onstage at his feet, Toro keeps a pedalboard with a TC Electronic PolyTune, a custom RJM Mastermind PBC/6X, Ibanez TS808, Bowman Audio Bowman Overdrive, EHX Micro POG, Boss TR-2, MXR Carbon Copy, and Strymon BigSky.
Strymon Zumas keep everything chugging along.
Comeback Kid
This silver-sparkle Fender Jazz bass was built for the band’s reunion tour, intended to mimic Way’s earlier signature model. It’s since been treated to more affordable Mexico-made production runs. Way runs Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky strings (.045–.105) and plays with Clayton triangle picks.
Red!
This eye-catcher was made by Fender’s Brian Thrasher, and is equipped with pickups from the Adam Clayton signature bass. Way relies heavily on this one, then switches to an identical one for down tunings.
Dodger That
Way secured permission from Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers to use the team’s exact hue of blue on this custom instrument.
Mikey Way’s Amp
Way runs through a Fender Super Bassman head into matching 8x10 cabs, with a DI signal also running to front of house.
Mikey Way’s Effects
Way keeps things simple. Along with an Origin Effects DCX Bass and Cali76 set to push his Super Bassman, his setup includes a pair of Aguilar Agros, an MXR Sub Octave Bass Fuzz, and a Malekko B:assmaster.
The aptly named Kali distills elements of the Fortin Cali—a Plexi-inspired amp—into a 2-channel pre-amp and distortion pedal. Each channel has three gain modes—vintage, raw, and saturation—which are selectable via a mini toggle. And each mode has a very distinct vibe, which could be loosely categorized as low-end-heavy, midrangey, and high-gain-centric, respectively.
Charging right into Kali’s arms, I selected the vintage mode on Channel 1, and set the gain 2 knob to 9 o’clock. The gain 2 knob, which controls the gain level that hits the circuit’s front end, is the default gain knob for both channels. The gain 1 knob, which adds additional gain stages, only works on channel 2. But even at this modest setting, I was already into toothy distortion that was very touch-sensitive.
Wide Range of Rage
Without changing any other settings, things got significantly filthier by merely switching over to the saturation mode. And even at this lower-gain setting, the output is tailor-made for heavy rhythm in a classic metal jam. Pumping the gain 2 knob to around 3 o’clock, meanwhile, makes the Kali a very in-your-face proposition, with sounds rooted in Sunset Strip/Jose Arredondo Marshall-mod energy.
Interestingly, even though saturation mode has the most aggressive gain structure, it doesn’t feel especially compressed. It’s also the quietest of the three modes when tested across identical settings. This was especially noticeable when I switched between vintage and saturated modes at high gain 2 settings. It follows, then, that raw mode—the pure sound of the pedal without any extra gain stages and essentially the preamp only—is the loudest of the three modes.
Well Put Together, With a Bright Personality
Channel switching is handled by one of the two footswitches (the other
is for bypass) and it enables you to cascade one channel into another. In cascaded-stage mode, gain knob 1 is active and serves as a pre-gain (hence the gain 1 designation). In saturation mode, with both gain knobs at noon, switching between the channels sounds organic. Channel 2 is generally thicker and sustains bends for a tad longer. But the two channels definitely do not feel haphazardly thrown together. They are clearly cut from the same cloth.
“[It’s] a very in-your-face proposition, with sounds rooted in Sunset Strip/Jose Arredondo Marshall-mod energy."
In general, the Kali is bright, but if you need brighter, there are a pair of 3-position bright switches for each of the two channels. At low output volumes the changes offered by these bright switches are noticeable but not too dramatic. They are much more pronounced at high output volume. The active +/- EQ knobs actually have much greater impact on the Kali’s personality—particularly in the zones between 9 and 3 o’clock, where minor tweaks yield very different tonal realms.
The Verdict
The Kali comes across as a cohesive whole, yet its interactive controls and powerful EQ unlock a wide range of Plexi and modded-Plexi tones. No matter how you set it, it sounds impressive.
Unlock your guitar's true potential with the Fralin Pickups Push-Pull Blender Pot! Blend tones, split coils, and explore endless sonic possibilities without permanent changes. Ready to elevate your sound? Check out the Joe BonamassaHumbucker Set and more gear to keep your music alive!
Fralin Pickups
Push Pull Blender Pot
Unlock a wider range of tones with the Fralin Pickups Push-Pull Blender Pot. Compatible with guitars and basses, this versatile control blends pickup outputs, adds coil-splitting and out-of-phase options, and enables many wiring mods—giving you flexible, player-friendly tonal shaping without permanent changes to your instrument.
Joe Bonamassa has long been a fan of Tommy Bolin, whose work influenced generations of guitarists. After a 10-year search, Joe acquired Tommy’s 1960 GibsonLes Paul and worked with the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop to recreate these P.A.F.s. The first 500 sets are signed by Joe and Seymour Duncan.
Don’t let fret sprout stop you from playing your favorite guitar. This kit has everything you need to fix it yourself. When dry weather comes around, your fretboard can shrink and the fret ends poke out. Sharp fret ends can slow you down, feel uncomfortable, or cut your hand.
When performing live, the small problems can turn a great show into a nightmare. A loose screw, slipping string, or guitar poorly leaned against an amp can create major stress. So, we created the Guitar Tech Case Candy Set—a compact collection of essential tools designed to keep your guitar stage-ready.
Designed for matching specific fretboard curvatures, Floyd Rose Original saddle sets now offer several radius options without the need for individual saddle shims. Crafted in the U.S. from high-quality tool steel using precision CNC machining, the saddles are then heat-treated and plated to withstand the demands of the heaviest performers.
Introducing authentic upgradable hardware kits for FR Tremolo Systems, available in eight stainless steel finishes as well as titanium. Each hardware upgrade kit comes with seven string-lock screws, seven saddle-mounting screws, four nut-clamping screws, four block mounting screws, and string lock insert blocks.
StewMac
