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Rig Rundown: Band of Skulls

The English rock band travels heavy with Fender solidbodies and Gretsch semi-hollows while proving that pedal swaps make a group closer.

Guitarist/frontman Russell Marsden’s longtime No. 1 was his first real guitar—a late ’90s Fender Jazzmaster that his parents got him after graduating high school. It has been featured on all four of the band’s albums and used nearly every night since the band formed. The body and neck on the guitar are original but not much else is as he’s swapped out the original bridge for an upgraded Mastery, put on an aftermarket pickguard designed after the aesthetics of a ’59 Jazzmaster, put in custom-wound P-90s by Monty’s Guitars in London, and updated the tailpiece, switches, and knobs because they’ve all busted over the time he’s owned the instrument.

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The country virtuoso closes out this season of Wong Notes with a fascinating, career-spanning interview.

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Tom Bedell in the Relic Music acoustic room, holding a custom Seed to Song Parlor with a stunning ocean sinker redwood top and milagro Brazilian rosewood back and sides.

As head of Breedlove and Bedell Guitars, he’s championed sustainability and environmental causes—and he wants to tell you about it.

As the owner of the Breedlove and Bedell guitar companies, Tom Bedell has been a passionate advocate for sustainable practices in acoustic guitar manufacturing. Listening to him talk, it’s clear that the preservation of the Earth’s forests are just as important to Bedell as the sound of his guitars. You’ll know just how big of a statement that is if you’ve ever had the opportunity to spend time with one of his excellently crafted high-end acoustics, which are among the finest you’ll find. Over the course of his career, Bedell has championed the use of alternative tonewoods and traveled the world to get a firsthand look at his wood sources and their harvesting practices. When you buy a Bedell, you can rest assured that no clear-cut woods were used.

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A beautifully realized mashup of two iconic guitars.

Reader: Ward Powell

Hometown: Ontario, Canada

Guitar: ES-339 Junior

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ENGL, renowned for its high-performance amplifiers, proudly introduces the EP635 Fireball IR Pedal, a revolutionary 2-channel preamp pedal designed to deliver the legendary Fireball tone in a compact and feature-rich format.

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