The Valeton GP-150 and GP-180 pack a lot into a small footprint. Tom Butwin breaks down what these compact processors share and where they part ways. Both offer 24-bit/48kHz audio, 200 effects, 100 NAM profiles, built-in battery life up to 6 hours, and Bluetooth streaming, along with essential multi-effects features like a looper, tuner, drum machine, and metronome. The GP-150 adds an expression pedal, making it a strong candidate for an all-in-one fly rig. The GP-180 swaps that for a third footswitch and dedicated effect buttons, a better fit for players who want tactile control or need to slot it into an existing pedalboard.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers have been burning the world up with their blues- and boogie-rock for more than half a century, and before their February gig at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, our Rig Rundown crew met up with Thorogood, tech Rev Jones, and veteran Destroyer Jim Suhler at PRG Nashville for a look at how they cook up their kick-ass riffage onstage these days. PG’s John Bohlinger takes you through all the details in our video, but have a look at some essential pieces of the pie below.
Thorogood’s long been a vintage Gibson ES-125 TDC devotee—the dual-P-90, single-cutaway, semi-hollow design has been his calling card for decades—so Epiphone created the George Thorogood ES-125 “White Fang” Outfit for him so he’d always have a road-ready 125. The instrument has P-90 PRO pickups and Wilkinson Deluxe tuners.
Thorogood’s tech, Rev Jones, cuts and tapes lengths of copper pipe for Thorogood to use as slides in open-G and open-D tunings. Jones uses GHS strings, with .012–.054 for standard tuning and .015–.056 for open tunings.
Paint It Black
Aside from its finish, this black ES-125 is as close as can be to Thorogood’s primary “White Fang,” so they can be switched out at any time with almost no change in feel.
George Thorogood’s Pedalboard
Thorogood uses Electro-Harmonix 22 Caliber Power Amps—which aren’t manufactured anymore—on the road, cranked through Mesa/Boogie 1x12 cabinets. Ahead of that setup, he runs a rack-mounted board operated with a Voodoo Labs PX-8 Plus Programmable Switcher, which includes an MXR Boost/Line Driver, Empress Para EQ, DigiTech FreqOut, Boss BF-3, Boss TR-2, and Boss DD-5.
Goldie Rocks
Longtime Destroyer Jim Suhler likes this goldtop Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro III for touring thanks to its comfort and consistent tone.
Jim Suhler’s Pedalboard
Like Thorogood, Suhler’s sound runs through a combo of Mesa/Boogie cabinets and EHX 22 Caliber Power Amps. Upstream from them, on Suhler’s board, are a TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Noir, Fender Micro DI, TC Electronic Spark Mini, J. Rockett Archer Ikon, and Boss TR-2.
It's no slag to pin Rich Robinson as a rhythm-guitar master. He actually prefers that lane of rock. His musical heartbeat pulses on complex chord changes and moving, harmonious melodies that you can hum. If big brother and Black Crowes' lead singer Chris Robinson is the driver, Rich is the rumbling Hemi motor. It's not always been easy, and it's not always been pretty, but the duo has rock and rolled for 36 years producing 11 groovy albums including their brand-new release, A Pound of Feathers.
Leading up to the record's release Rich sat down with host John Bohlinger to speak on several topics: riding the band's meteoric rise in 1990, dealing with their unimaginable success as a teenager, explaining why he never forces creativity or guitar playing, sharing the reasons he regularly relies on open tunings, reminiscing being shaped and inspired by the Atlanta music scene (including bands like R.E.M. & the B-52s), and trying to remain true, honest, and pure to their simpatico sibling songwriting approach.
Italian shredder Matteo Mancuso, celebrated for his dazzling, jazz-inspired prog-rock guitar wizardry, recently touched down in Nashville for a show at City Winery, where he spent some time with PG’s John Bohlinger for this new Rig Rundown. Check out the video for a more in-depth chat on specifics, and have a look at the essentials of Mancuso’s fly rig below.
Mancuso’s sunburst Yamaha Pacifica Custom features a Vega-Trem whammy bar, rosewood fingerboard, and locking tuners. The pickup configuration includes two DiMarzio Area 68 pickups and a DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary in the bridge position.
The sunburst Revstar, meanwhile, was built for Mancuso by Yamaha’s custom shop. It features a chambered Honduran mahogany body, pill-style inlays, and Luminlay fluorescent side dots. Rather than the Revstar’s typical 3-way selector, Mancuso’s uses a 5-way blade switch, with wiring for coil-splitting on the Lollar Imperial pickups.
Mancuso runs both guitars with .009–.042 strings.
Stadium and Stomp
While Mancuso loves his JCM800 back home, for international travel, he rolls with a Line 6 Helix Stadium XL for consistency night after night. In case the Stadium XL goes down, a Line 6 HX Stomp is on hand to keep the show going.
"Jingle" John Osborne is a certified twangin' telemaster. His main squeeze for nearly the Brothers Osborne decade-plus run has been a '68 Tele he bought for $700 when he first moved to Nashville. It already had the B-bender in the body, but Osborne but enough staink and groovy grease on it to wipe away any of the previous owners' DNA. It's become so crucial to his sound that Fender recognized the companionship and honored the master and his tool with a signature model mirroring its inspiration. Here old friend John Bohlinger grabs a Osborne sig and the pair chat about guitar playing, why Teles are the best for country music, and share a couple jams. Enjoy!
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