The TikTok star goes legit on his latest tour with some plum Strats, a Two-Rock, and a masterbuilt pedalboard.
When Ty Myers got injured a few years back and couldn’t play sports, he took to posting videos of himself on TikTok. Before long, his song “Tie That Binds” went viral on the platform, blasting him to overnight-star status. Now, with his debut album, The Select, under his belt, the 18-year-old is taking his songs on the road to packed-out rooms.
PG’s John Bohlinger linked with country’s newest wunderkind at the Egyptian Room in Indianapolis to see how he brings his old-time-meets-new-world country to life onstage.
This FenderStratocaster, the first nice guitar Myers bought himself, was purchased from a guy in a Home Depot parking lot in San Antonio, Texas. Myers swapped in Fender Custom Shop Fat ’50s pickups, and he strings it with Stringjoy .010s.
Eye-Catching Custom
If Myers played slide, it’d be with this Custom Shop Master Built Strat, built by Dale Wilson. He went to Carter’s Vintage in Nashville with another instrument in mind, but this one caught his eye, and he had to have it. He kept the pickups it came with, and pretty soon he intends to have the action lowered.
Barry’s Bond
Myers got his first Gibson SJ-200 around the age of 10, and this one, a gift from label executive Barry Weiss, is his current go-to. It’s got an LR Baggs pickup system and goes direct to front-of-house.
Package Deal
Myers’ biggest hero is John Mayer, so it tracks that he went after this Two-Rock Silver Sterling Signature. He saw this one at Carter the same day he bought his Custom Shop Strat, and didn’t even plug it in—he just bought it along with the Master Built.
Ty Myers’ Pedalboard
Myers’ stomp station was built by the pedal professors at XAct Tone Solutions in Nashville. After the Dunlop Volume (X) Mini and the Peterson StroboStomp LE, Myers’ signal hits an Origin Effects Cali76, JHS Pedals Berkeley, Keeley Katana, Analog Man/Boss GE-7, Greer Lightspeed, MXR Duke of Tone, Browne Amplification Protein, Keeley Noble Screamer, Boss VB-2w, Boss TR-2, JHS Flight Delay, and EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master. A Strymon Zuma and Strymon Ojai keep the lights on.
Raw, rowdy, rugged, and won’t break the bank—a no-frills double cutaway delivers on its decades-old streamlined design promise with USA-made P-90s.
The GibsonLes Paul Special was first introduced as a single cutaway model in 1955, and with the exception of the sunburst Standards that were produced from 1958-1960, it was the last of the original50s-era Les Paul model variants to be introduced. An enhanced version of the Les Paul Junior with increased sonic flexibility, it featured two P-90 pickups instead of the single P-90 found on the Junior and also added a bit of extra bling in the form of a bound fretboard and a mother-of-pearl headstock logo. In 1958, the body shape was revised from a single cutaway to a double cutaway, which delivered improved fretboard access, and the Special hit its stride in 1960 when a thinner SlimTaper neck profile and a lower neck pickup placement made it more robust and easier to play than ever.
Now, Epiphone, in partnership with Gibson Custom, is proud to introduce the 1960 Les Paul Special Double Cut Reissue, an Inspired by Gibson Custom recreation of the sought-after 1960 Les Paul Special Double Cut. Like the originals, it features a slab mahogany body with double cutaways that provide excellent access to the entire length of the fretboard. The one-piece mahogany neck has a fast-playing 60s SlimTaper profile and is capped with a rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and mother-of-pearl dot position marker inlays. The fretboard has a 12” radius that makes playing first-position chords and solos with string bends further up the neck equally effortless. The Gibson “open book” style headstock is equipped with Epiphone Deluxe three-on-a-plate tuners with white buttons and a GraphTech nut to help keep the tuning nice and stable, while a historic style Wraparound bridge with intonation screws solidly anchors the strings at the other end and contributes to the excellent sustain that the Les Paul Special is famous for. A pair of USA-made P-90 Soap bar pickups from Gibson Custom that can go from sweet and clean to outright nasty and dirty-sounding are hand-wired to individual volume and tone controls with high-quality CTS potentiometers and Bumblebee paper-in-oil capacitors for authentic vintage tones that are sure to please even the most tone-conscious players.
The 1960 Les Paul Special Double Cut Reissue comes packaged in a vintage-style case with a brown exterior and pink plush interior that features Inspired by Gibson Custom graphics on the exterior. It all comes together to deliver a vintage playing and ownership experience at an accessible price that is special in every way.
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.
Tuning up for their own tour that starts this week, the loud ’n’ heavy merchants from Buffalo show PG’s Perry Bean how they apply the hot sauce.
In Better Lovers, guitarists Jordan Buckley and Will Putney, plus bassist Stephen Micciche, go heavy and strange—a combination they achieve by carefully selecting their instruments, amps, and effects. Their latest album is called Highly Irresponsible, but when it comes to nailing their riffs and sounds, this Rundown with PG’s Perry Bean, filmed recently at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, makes it clear they are anything but that!
One-Eyed 6 Strings
Putney’s main guitar is a road-worn Dunable Cyclops, built especially for him by Sacha Dunable. It became the blueprint for his Dunable signature model. “The signatures are awesome, but I love this guitar. I play it to death,” he says. It‘s got an EMG 81 pickup and a master volume dial. That’s it. Putney has a backup that’s nearly identical, except for the stage rash.
Practice Makes….
Putney is using this DE version of his signature to practice new songs and the new sounds that come along with them, including those made via the onboard EHX Pitchfork circuit, with power/signal bypass, momentary on/off latching, pitch up/down/both selection, an interval selector, and a mix knob. The scale is 25.5" and it sports a Graphtech TUSQ nut along with an EMG 81. Most Better Lovers tunes are in drop D, by the way, with Ernie Ball strings.
Power Rager
This Peavey 6505 V2 arrived just in time for this night's gig, sliding in next to the two 5150s that have been in Putney’s live rig for years. It’s got 120 watts and invokes the spirit of one of Eddie Van Halen’s favorite heads. It’s got 6L6s, but he’s contemplating a swap with EL84s after the tour, just for an A/B test.
Cab Envy
How about a pair of Atlas custom 6x12 cabinets to plug your guitar and pedals into? “They’re loud,” Putney understates. And he A/Bs between that Peavey/Atlas combination and a Vox AC30 for his clean and dirty sounds. He uses a Mastermind PBC by RJM Music Technologies for switching both amps and pedals.
Set It, Don’t Sweat It
Here’s a look at where Putney’s AC30 lives.
Pedal Power
Running through that Mastermind are a fuzz pedal Putney designed with God City’s/Converge’s Kurt Ballou called the Pariah, and there’s also a Sinkhole, Astral Destiny, and Soft Focus Reverb from Catalinbread, an EQD Dispatch Master, two EHX Pitchforks, a Fortin Zuul+, a Strymon El Capistan, a Better Lovers signature Night Terror overdrive, and a Kevin Hickey Signature Chorus.
Blue Bomber
Buckley got this ’78 SG from Rochester, New York’s House of Guitars when he was a kid. It’s been through a lot of breaks but has come through triumphant, with double EMG 81s. And the Vox AC30 it’s leaning on is his, too. Listen to how it sounds with a whole lotta reverb and a slide in the Rundown! That’s his sound for the concert opener on the current tour.
Don’t Even Look at This Guitar
Here’s Buckley’s favorite ESP Eclipse, also with EMGs and lot of wear on the rear upper bout an around the picking zone. It’s got an ESP “full-thickness” body, so it’s heavier than his beloved SG.
More Dunable
This Cyclops has got its original two Dunable pickups and a tone and volume control—another stripped-down heavy-rock machine! How did Buckley acquire this one? He wanted a red guitar for a video, and Dunable, after an ask from Putney, delivered.
Effect-ive
What’s he got on the floor? A Lehle Little Dual II amp switcher, a TC Electronic Polytune, a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, an EarthQuaker A/B box and Dispatch Master, an MXR Analog Chorus, a Walrus Audio Fathom Multi-Function Reverb, a Better Lovers signature Night Terror overdrive, and a Coppersound X Jack White Triplegraph Octave.
Marshall Power
Buckley says he’s been using JCM 800s for decades. This one is borrowed and “feeds back a little less than the ones I own,” he confides.
Preacher Tone
And here’s his Revv Generator 120, which he sets on channel 4.
Foam-O
Micciche’s seafoam green Deluxe PJ is a not-so-common bottom rung. It has a P body and a J neck. It boasts a pair of Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder bass pickups.
The Ass Beater
That’s right: Micciche calls this one the Ass Beater. It’s an Ibanez with active Bartolini pickups. Strictly speaking, it’s an Iron Label SRMS625EX with a 5-piece, multi-scale walnut neck and Ebonol fretboard.
California Dreamin’
This Sandberg California model was a custom order, with active and passive pickup options.
Bass Barkers
Here’s the array of Micciche’s powerhouse bass amp line-up: an Orange AD 200 Bass Mk3 he’s had about 15 years anchors his stage left, stage right hosts an Orange Terror Bass, the AD 200 goes through an Orange cab while the Terror hits an Aguilar 8x10. Both rigs fire at once, all the time.
Dirty Half-Dozen
A modest six boxes rest on Micciche’s board: an Orange Two-Stroke, a Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra, an MXR Studio Compressor, a Lehle Little Dual switcher, a TC Electronic Polytune, and his wireless. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 4 stokes the fires.
