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Rig Rundown: Between the Buried and Me [2015]

The prog-metal juggernauts discuss how their signature axes cranked through Axe-Fx units create their brutal live tone.

Earlier this year Waggoner moved on from PRS and developed a signature guitar with Ibanez—the PWM100 Paul Waggoner signature model that has a Wizard III neck and comes with Mojotone PW Hornet signature pickups. Waggoner describes the sig axe: “It’s like the S-series guitars Ibanez has been putting out for years, but a little thicker than a stock S-guitar. It has a super lightweight swamp ash body. It’s a pretty bright-sounding wood. I designed some pickups with Mojotone that we’re calling the PW Hornets. They highlight the brightness of the guitar without overdoing it. The bridge pickup has a ceramic magnet that gives me that punch I need for the high gain stuff. The neck pickup is a totally opposite approach: It has an alnico magnet and a friendlier sound. The guitar will come stock with those pickups. They sound good in other guitars, too—we put them in mahogany guitars, and they sounded great. It just so happens that when we were trying to dial them in, we were using my swamp ash Ibanez as the reference. It’s a very bright-sounding guitar, and you can’t just throw any pickups in there. Mojotone did a good job of dialing in the perfect balance.”

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This wonky Zim-Gar was one of many guitars sold by importer Gar-Zim Musical Instruments, operated by Larry Zimmerman and his wife.

The 1960s were strange days indeed for import guitars, like this cleaver-friendly Zim-Gar electric.

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Dive into the ART Tube MP/C with PG contributor Tom Butwin. Experience how this classic tube-driven preamp and compressor can add warmth and clarity to your sound. From studio recordings to re-amping and live stage applications, this time-tested design packs a ton of features for an affordable price.

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In line with the MOOER’s recent expansion on the MSC range, the company is excited to announce the new MSC50 Pro, an Alder-bodied electric guitar with gloss finish, available in the new Magic Crystal color.

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Our columnist’s silver-panel Fender Bandmaster.

How this longstanding, classic tube amp design evolved from its introduction in 1953.

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