A big part of the Thrice sound comes down to the way Teppei Teranishi and Dustin Kensrue find their own distinct tone. Kensrue has been getting a lot of mileage out of this Nash JM-63 that’s loaded with a Lollar High Wind Imperial Humbucker in the bridge and a Lollar El Rayo Humbucker in the neck. He strings it up with Ernie Ball Cobalt strings (.011–.056). The custom set features these string gauges: .011, .014, .018, .032, .044, .056.
Kensrue also goes with this Cave and Canary Baritone Solaris that’s equipped with a Bigsby and strung up with Ernie Ball Cobalt strings (.011–.068).
Dustin favors a two-amp setup. This Fender ’68 Custom Vibrolux lives behind a baffle to help control volume.
He combines the Vibrolux with a New Vintage Amps Custom DK36 that was modded by Nic Patullo from New Vintage.
The control center of Kensrue’s Pedaltrain Classic Pro is an FAMC Liquid Foot+ Mini, which works with a pair of Voodoo Lab Hex units to switch between pedals. The choices available are plentiful and include a trio of Strymon pedals (a TimeLine, a Mobius, and a BigSky), JHS Mini Foot and Muffuletta fuzzes, a Walrus Audio Deep Six, a Line 6 M5, an Electro-Harmonix POG2, and a pair of custom Mojo Hand Fx “Kensrue” Rook overdrives. A TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir aids with tuning.
Teppei Teranishi likes it low and rumbly with this Fender Baritone Custom Jaguar (which was renamed the Jaguar Bass VI Custom in 2006).
This 1972 Gibson Les Paul Standard—bought off eBay—was Teppei’s first real guitar he got when first starting out in the band. The guitar originally came with DiMarzio Super Distortions, but at some point Teranishi put in a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge.
Teranishi’s 2004 Nash T-style guitar is strung up with Ernie Ball strings (.011–.054).
This Supro Dual Tone is only part of Teranishi’s dual-amp setup and rests comfortably atop a blonde Fender Bassman 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s.
A rather young, but well worn, Vox AC30 sits alongside the Supro/Fender setup to add some British chime.
A full shot of Teppei's dual-amp setup.
Teranishi’s Pedaltrain board is stocked with a variety of tone-shaping tools. He rocks a few JHS pedals (a Double Barrel, a Pulp ’N’ Peel, and a Panther Cub), Walrus Audio gear (Descent and Julia pedals, as well as an Aetos power supply and Transit 5 switcher), a Line 6 M5, and a Mojo Hand Fx Bayou. A TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Mini is used for tuning, and a Mission Engineering continuous controller governs various Walrus Descent parameters.
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Last August, metalcore giants Poison the Well gave the world a gift: They announced they were working on their first studio album in 15 years. They unleashed the first taste, single “Trembling Level,” back in January, and set off on a spring North American tour during which they played their debut record, The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, in full every night.
PG’s Perry Bean caught up with guitarists Ryan Primack and Vadim Taver, and bassist Noah Harmon, ahead of the band’s show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl for this new Rig Rundown.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Not-So-Quiet As a Mouse
Primack started his playing career on Telecasters, then switched to Les Pauls, but when his prized LPs were stolen, he jumped back to Teles, and now owns nine of them.
His No. 1 is this white one (left). Seymour Duncan made him a JB Model pickup in a single-coil size for the bridge position, while the neck is a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Staggered. He ripped out all the electronics, added a Gibson-style toggle switch, flipped the control plate orientation thanks to an obsession with Danny Gatton, and included just one steel knob to control tone. Primack also installed string trees with foam to control extra noise.
This one has Ernie Ball Papa Het’s Hardwired strings, .011–.050.
Here, Kitty, Kitty
Primack runs both a PRS Archon and a Bad Cat Lynx at the same time, covering both 6L6 and EL34 territories. The Lynx goes into a Friedman 4x12 cab that’s been rebadged in honor of its nickname, “Donkey,” while the Archon, which is like a “refined 5150,” runs through an Orange 4x12.
Ryan Primack’s Pedalboard
Primack’s board sports a Saturnworks True Bypass Multi Looper, plus two Saturnworks boost pedals. The rest includes a Boss TU-3w, DOD Bifet Boost 410, Caroline Electronics Hawaiian Pizza, Fortin ZUUL +, MXR Phase 100, JHS Series 3 Tremolo, Boss DM-2w, DOD Rubberneck, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Walrus Slo, and SolidGoldFX Surf Rider III.
Taver’s Teles
Vadim Taver’s go-to is this cherryburst Fender Telecaster, which he scored in the early 2000s and has been upgraded to Seymour Duncan pickups on Primack’s recommendation. His white Balaguer T-style has been treated to the same upgrade. The Balaguer is tuned to drop C, and the Fender stays in D standard. Both have D’Addario strings, with a slightly heavier gauge on the Balaguer.
Dual-Channel Chugger
Taver loves his 2-channel Orange Rockerverb 100s, one of which lives in a case made right in Nashville.
Vadim Taver’s Pedalboard
Taver’s board includes an MXR Joshua, MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe, Empress Tremolo, Walrus ARP-87, Old Blood Noise Endeavors Reflector, MXR Phase 90, Boss CE-2w, and Sonic Research Turbo Tuner ST-200, all powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Big Duff
Harmon’s favorite these days is this Fender Duff McKagan Deluxe Precision Bass, which he’s outfitted with a Leo Quan Badass bridge. His backup is a Mexico-made Fender Classic Series ’70s Jazz Bass. This one also sports Primack-picked pickups.
Rental Rockers
Harmon rented this Orange AD200B MK III head, which runs through a 1x15 cab on top and a 4x10 on the bottom.
Noah Harmon’s Pedalboard
Harmon’s board carries a Boss TU-2, Boss ODB-3, MXR Dyna Comp, Darkglass Electronics Vintage Ultra, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. His signal from the Vintage Ultra runs right to the front-of-house, and Harmon estimates that that signal accounts for about half of what people hear on any given night.
