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Rig Rundown: Angie Swan

David Byrne’s 6-string counterpart discusses the tonal, aesthetic, and production particulars influencing her gear for Byrne's HBO and American Utopia Broadway shows.

Musicians Institute grad and eclectic guitarist Rick Torres (Supreme Beings of Leisure, the English Beat, Bitter:Sweet, the Smart Set) was a fixture at L.A.’s Kibitz Room’s (attached to Canter’s Deli) Tuesday night jams. Angie and Rick started talking gear, and she found out that the he builds guitars from random parts off other instruments. At one of the jams she attended, he brought this classy, Bentley-looking partscaster. She quickly bonded with it, and he sold the guitar to her for a couple hundred bucks. She loves its unique sound and ballroom swag, but admits it weighs a ton. Sonically, Angie says it works best for smooth jazz gigs, like supporting Boney James and Cirque du Soleil. Torres calls this one the Rickencaster, because of the mash-up of the T-style body and the toaster-y pickups and Ricky truss-rod cover (see next slide). And, well, Rick’s his first name, too.


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