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Rig Rundown: Gogol Bordello’s Boris Pelekh

The ingredients for a gypsy-punk dance party are simple: a sturdy 6-string, a hearty tube amp, and a few essential tone shapers.

Pelekh loves gear, but does not burden his road crew with a monstrous setup with boats full of guitars, instead he has his No. 1—a Reverend Bayonet RA HC—and a nearly identical backup (its finish is black). The Swiss Army-Knife guitarist covers everything from gypsy jazz and cabaret-style jams to four-on-the-floor punk rock. He landed on the Bayonet after talking with Ken Haas of Reverend. Boris said this about the instrument: “Ken Haas and I were very meticulous about finding the right guitar for my playing style and one that really suits the music of Gogol Bordello. I went with the Bayonet because it has a set neck, solidbody setup with a humbucker in the bridge, and a noiseless P-90 in the neck. Using these two specific pickups both in combination and standalone provides me the tonal range to cover all the spectrums of the sound that lights up the Gogol Bordello party.”

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