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Rig Rundown: Todd Rundgren

The multi-instrumentalist, producer, and all-around sonic shaman explains the origin story on his No. 1 “Foamy," discusses fixing Clapton’s “Fool” SG, and reveals how he stays musically energized after nearly 50 years.

For this tour, Todd Rundgren left behind the big stage show and truckloads of gear and opted for a string of streamlined, intimate performances spanning his entire career. To make the show happen, he toured with just two guitars—his longtime No. 1 is this MIJ ’80s Fernandes P-Project “super strat.” As he tells in the video, the industry was much different in the late 1980s. He toured Japan just before the ’90s started, and he was gifted with a pile of Fernandes guitars. He took some of them back to the States and sat on them for years. He eventually got curious and started a tone shootout between all the freebies. This seafoam green model emerged victorious and was bestowed the obvious name, “Foamy.” He never really used tone knob or switches, so he had those disconnected and now it has a single volume control and a 5-way toggle. He uses D’Addario NYXL .010–.046 strings and always tunes to E.

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