Rig Rundown - Devo

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PG's Jason Shadrick is on location in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Theater where he catches up with Devo's Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale (Bob 1 and Bob 2). In this segment, both Bob's touring gear including their Ibanez guitars, Bob 1's custom potato guitar the 'Spudcaster,' their Fractal Audio Axe FXes, and the only the pedal in either rig -- the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Bob 1's Guitars
For the current tour, Bob 1’s main guitar is a Gibson Mike Bloomfield ’59 Les Paul Standard. It is completely stock and is strung up with .009 gauge strings. “This was the first time I picked up a Les Paul in a music store and thought it sounded really good,” says Bob 1.

Luthier Buzz Feiten created the T-style guitar for Bob 1. It is the third guitar that Feiten has made and outside of the humbucker/single-coil setup, it features a passive boost function that is controlled by a switch mounted near the volume knob. On previous tours Bob 1 has used this guitar for as much as half the set.

When things get a little sloppy near the end of the set, Bob 1 pulls out this Devo Spudocaster. It was made by Chopper Guitars and sports a basswood body and a copy of a Strat-style neck. Bob 1 asked them to replicate the sound of the old Gibson PAF pickups, so Chopper placed a SH-1B pickup in the guitar. The single knob is for master volume, but also contains a push/pull kill switch.

Bob 1 pulls out the La Baye 2x4 each night for “Mr. DNA.” He has swapped out the original pickups for a couple of G&L pickups (the G&L SC-2 had been his go-to guitar for quite a while) and taped up the selector switch. Over the years, he has gone through three of these guitars, but this one has been serving him well since ’94.

Bob 2's Guitars
Bob 2 keeps things simple and only brings two guitars on the road. His main guitar is a custom shop Ibanez Talman which he uses for the entire night, if possible. If he breaks a string or something goes wrong, he brings out a silver sparkle Ibanez Talman that features a Bigsby tailpiece.

Amps and Effects
Both guitarists use Fractal Audio units for their live sound. According to Bob 1, the sounds are “minorly modified” and highly confidential. Throughout the night, Bob 2 only has two different sounds, while Bob 1 uses “3 1/2.” The only other effect used is an Ibanez Tube Screamer on Bob 1’s guitar for the song Mr. DNA, which he uses the 2x4 guitar on. Both signals are routed through Shure wireless systems.