Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison talks about the reunion of supergroup Tomahawk, his aluminum Electrical Guitar Company axes, and why he hates sustain.
Photo by Vincent Forcier
Last Halloween weekend marked only the second time in nearly a decade that alt-rock supergroup Tomahawkā vocalist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), guitarist Duane Denison (the Jesus Lizard), bassist Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle), and drummer John Stanier (Helmet)āhad played a live show together. It was at the annual Voodoo Music + Arts Experience festival in New Orleans, and it was in support of the bandās new January 2013 album, Oddfellows.
If youāre unfamiliar with Tomahawk, the Jesus Lizard, and Denisonās playing with Hank III, Firewater, Silver Jews, and the Legendary Shack Shakers, the main thing you need to know is that he eschews the blues-based mannerisms typical of so much rock music these days. Some of Denisonās fanciest playing is mutedālike an evil Andy Summersāand his rhythms and leads intertwine in unique ways that combine his scholarly knowledge of classical guitar with touches of flamenco and reggae to form a minimalist style many have called ājazz punk.ā
Denison sketched out each of Tomahawkās three albums at home on guitar and drum machine before emailing MP3s to his long-distance bandmates. Although heās always been a tasteful player, Denison has become even more enamored of space since he began writing for Pattonās wild-yet-golden pipes.
āYou donāt have to hit people over the head,ā he says on Tomahawkās tour bus before the Voodoo show. āItās nice to kind of step back and let the vocals take over. If you have a guitar sound like mine that tends to be fairly bright and shrill, ear fatigue sets in pretty quick, and unless youāre a super fan of that kind of thing, youāre gonna tune out after a while.ā
Like other musicians incubated in the ā90s Chicago scene that revolved around Touch and Go Records and producer Steve Albini, Denison is also known for his interesting gear. Throughout the Jesus Lizardās heyday, he played aluminum-necked Travis Bean guitars.
āKramer also made a primitive aluminum-neck guitar,ā he says. āIt had fake wood grain crammed in around it and a Phil Petillo [Petillo Precision Fret] fretboard that were just terrible. But even the Travis Beans ⦠I was always fighting them.ā
At some point, the āfightingā became tiresome, and Denison was thrilled when Kevin Burkett of Electrical Guitar Company offered to create a custom, all-aluminum guitar for the Jesus Lizardās 2009 reunion tour. āKevin knew Iād sold my Travis Beans off,ā Denison remembers. āI was in a new phase of playing and went to the Gibson ES-135.ā
Denisonās EGC Chessie signature model is a neck-through design with hollowed-out cavities around the wings, where gill-like slits take the place of standard f-holes. Whereas the Travis Beans he was used to playing were neck-heavy, Denisonās EGC models are almost tin-can light. āThe newest one is the lightest so farāabout 7 pounds,ā he beams. āWe had to put some ballast in the tail to keep it balanced.ā
Duane Denisonās signature Chessie 6-strings from Electrical Guitar Company: The brushed-aluminum axe at upper left features bolts on the front for fast
maintenance, and it and the white version at lower right feature Gibson Burstbucker pickups, while the P-90-equipped yellow model is for Denisonās work
with the Legendary Shack Shakers.
While most EGCs come with single-coils, humbuckers, or P-90s made in house, the Denison Chessie comes with Gibson Burstbucker pickups. At the Voodoo fest, Denison played a white Chessie for much of the show, but EGC also made him a bright yellow Chessie with black trim and traditional f-holes. Created specifically for Denisonās roots rockabilly band, the Legendary Shack Shakers, the yellow Chessie uses P-90s to produce a sound Denison says is āreal toothyājust a great vintage sound. I usually avoid P-90s because of the noise and hum. When I was a kid, if the guitar was noisy youād take tinfoil and shove it into the routing. But when the P-90s are cased in aluminum like this, the whole body is a shield and the P-90s are awesomeāsilent.ā
Of his unfinished Oddfellows-era EGC guitar, Denison says, āItās a minimalist rock machine.ā To enhance its mechanistic look, ECG drilled into the front of the guitar the bolts that normally line the edge of its guitarsā backs. Remove the bolts, and the guitar opens in one piece for repair. Its bare aluminum neck boasts the same width and pitch as a Gibson ES-135. āI canāt think of another guitar that has that combinationā the pitch, the feel, plus the scale length, and all while keeping the weight down.ā
Asked what inspired his EGC models, Denison says much of their design is owed to the year he spent working for Gibson. āI would do 30 setups a dayā bridge, tailpiece, nut, stringing it up, setting the pickups, and adjusting the action.ā In the process, says Denison, āI realized Les Pauls rarely have intonation issues. I really came to respect the pitch of the Gibson necks, and the Les Paul as a model of design. So [with my guitar], we put a pitch of three degrees and extended the scale length to 25 inches. If you keep it around 25, you can put heavier strings on and they donāt feel so heavy. The Dunlop .011s Iām using now feel great.ā
Tonally, Denison says his guitars have a little more brightness and clarity than a Les Paul. āThereās not as much sustain,ā he says, ābut thatās by designāthe quest for sustain is misguided. I want the notes to fade. I donāt want them to just howl.ā
One might imagine that an all-aluminum guitar could sound tinny, but Denison vouches for his Chessiesā versatility. āYou get all the highsā but also the lows. Itās pure sounding. Youāre not going to get a wood tone,ā he admits, ābut woodās overrated. People fetishistically insist on certain types of aged woodāand that does color the soundābut with rock distortion, I defy you to A/B it in a studio and tell me what year the wood was cut and what side of the hill the trees grew on and how much rainfall they had. I think itās the pickups, the strings, and the amp that make your guitar sound.ā
Photo by Vincent Forcier
Speaking of which amps āmakeā his guitar sound, Denison discloses that he recorded Oddfellows with Fender ampsāa recent Super-Sonic and a ā90s Vibro-Kingā although, live, heās been using a green-stained, 3-input prototype head from Emperor Cabinets. āItās a very good-sounding hybrid of a Hiwatt and a Fender Bassman,ā Denison explains. āOne [input] is more UK sounding, one is more USA sounding, and one is a blend. I use the blend input most often.ā He routes the 100-watt, 6L6-powered amp through two Emperor 2x12 cabinets varnished to look like chocolate leather. One cab has Eminence speakers, and the other has Electro-Voice EVM12Ls.
Duane Denison's Gear
Guitars
Electrical Guitar Company Chessie signature models
Amps
Emperor Cabinets 100-watt prototype head driving
two Emperor 2x12 cabs, Fender Super-Sonic, ā90s
Fender Vibro-King
Effects
TC Electronic G-Force, Line 6 JM4 Looper,
Malekko Omicron pedals (Spring, Chorus, Trem,
Vibrato) and Ekko 616 Mk II analog delay, Vox
DelayLab
Strings, Picks, and Accessories
Jim Dunlop .011ā.048 sets, DR .010ā.046 sets,
Fender medium picks, G7 capos, self-made plumbing-
supply slide, Reunion Blues straps and gigbags
Whether or not it has anything to do with Denisonās new gear, Tomahawkās latest album is a bit more experimental than past efforts. One example is āWaratorium,ā which ends in vast, hissing washes of sound. For the more textured parts on the album, Denison relied on a TC Electronic G-Force , which he augments with Malekko pedals, a Line 6 looper, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal.
Despite Denisonās particularity with his guitars and his use of semi-complicated outboard gear, fans of his past work will be both delighted and unsurprised to learn that heās still all about simplicity. He unwittingly describes the charm of his own playing style when he points out perhaps the least important technical detail of his EGC Chessie guitars. āThat, right there, is the ālogo,āā he says, pointing to the rectangular hole between the tuning pegs. āThe lack of a logo is sort of refreshingāmaybe itās kind of nice to be subtle.ā
This legendary vintage rack unit will inspire you to think about effects with a new perspective.
When guitarists think of effects, we usually jump straight to stompboxesātheyāre part of the culture! And besides, footswitches have real benefits when your hands are otherwise occupied. But real-time toggling isnāt always important. In the recording studio, where weāre often crafting sounds for each section of a song individually, thereās little reason to avoid rack gear and its possibilities. Enter the iconic Eventide H3000 (and its massive creative potential).
When it debuted in 1987, the H3000 was marketed as an āintelligent pitch-changerā that could generate stereo harmonies in a user-specified key. This was heady stuff in the ā80s! But while diatonic harmonizing grabbed the headlines, subtler uses of this pitch-shifter cemented its legacy. Patch 231 MICROPITCHSHIFT, for example, is a big reason the H3000 persists in racks everywhere. Itās essentially a pair of very short, single-repeat delays: The left side is pitched slightly up while the right side is pitched slightly down (default is ±9 cents). The resulting tripling/thickening effect has long been a mix-engineer staple for pop vocals, and itās also my first call when I want a stereo chorus for guitar.
The second-gen H3000S, introduced the following year, cemented the deviceās guitar bona fides. Early-adopter Steve Vai was such a proponent of the first edition that Eventide asked him to contribute 48 signature sounds for the new model (patches 700-747). Still-later revisions like the H3000B and H3000D/SE added even more functionality, but these days itās not too important which model you have. Comprehensive EPROM chips containing every patch from all generations of H3000 (plus the later H3500) are readily available for a modest cost, and are a fairly straightforward install.
In addition to pitch-shifting, there are excellent modulation effects and reverbs (like patch 211 CANYON), plus presets inspired by other classic Eventide boxes, like the patch 513 INSTANT PHASER. A comprehensive accounting of the H3000ās capabilities would be tedious, but suffice to say that even the stock presets get deliciously far afield. There are pitch-shifting reverbs that sound like fever-dream ancestors of Strymonās āshimmerā effect. There are backwards-guitar simulators, multiple extraterrestrial voices, peculiar foreshadows of the EarthQuaker Devices Arpanoid and Rainbow Machine (check out patch 208 BIZARRMONIZER), and even button-triggered Foley effects that require no input signal (including a siren, helicopter, tank, submarine, ocean waves, thunder, and wind). If youāre ever without your deck of Oblique Strategies cards, the H3000ās singular knob makes a pretty good substitute. (Spin the big wheel and find out what youāve won!)
āIf youāre ever without your deck of Oblique Strategies cards, the H3000ās singular knob makes a pretty good substitute.ā
But thereās another, more pedestrian reason I tend to reach for the H3000 and its rackmount relatives in the studio: I like to do certain types of processing after the mic. Itās easy to overlook, but guitar speakers are signal processors in their own right. They roll off high and low end, they distort when pushed, and the cabinets in which theyāre mounted introduce resonances. While this type of de facto processing often flatters the guitar itself, it isnāt always advantageous for effects.
Effects loops allow time-based effects to be placed after preamp distortion, but I like to go one further. By miking the amp first and then sending signal to effects in parallel, I can get full bandwidth from the airy reverbs and radical pitched-up effects the H3000 can offerāand I can get it in stereo, printed to its own track, allowing the wet/dry balance to be revisited later, if needed. If a sound needs to be reproduced live, thatās a problem for later. (Something evocative enough can usually be extracted from a pedal-form descendant like the Eventide H90.)
Like most vintage gear, the H3000 has some endearing quirks. Even as it knowingly preserves glitches from earlier Eventide harmonizers (patch 217 DUAL H910s), it betrays its age with a few idiosyncrasies of its own. Extreme pitch-shifting exhibits a lot of aliasing (think: bit-crusher sounds), and the analog Murata filter modules impart a hint of warmth that many plug-in versions donāt quite capture. (They also have a habit of leaking black goo all over the motherboard!) Itās all part of the charm of the unit, beloved by its adherents. (Well, maybe not the leaking goo!)
In 2025, many guitarists wonāt be eager to care for what is essentially an expensive, cranky, decades-old computer. Even the excitement of occasional tantalum capacitor explosions is unlikely to win them over! Fortunately, some great software emulations existāEventideās own plugin even models the behavior of the Murata filters. But hardware offers the full hands-on experience, so next time you spot an old H3000 in a rack somewhereāand youāve got the timeāfire it up, wait for the distinctive āclickā of its relays, spin the knob, and start digging.
The luthierās stash.
There is more to a guitar than just the details.
A guitar is not simply a collection of wood, wire, and metalāit is an act of faith. Faith that a slab of lumber can be coaxed to sing, and that magnets and copper wire can capture something as expansive as human emotion. While itās comforting to think that tone can be calculated like a tax return, the truth is far messier. A guitar is a living argument between its componentsāan uneasy alliance of materials and craftsmanship. When it works, itās glorious.
The Uncooperative Nature of Wood
For me it all starts with the wood. Not just the species, but the piece. Despite what spec sheets and tonewood debates would have you believe, no two boards are the same. One piece of ash might have a bright, airy ring, while another from the same tree might sound like it spent a hard winter in a muddy ditch.
Builders know this, which is why youāll occasionally catch one tapping on a rough blank, head cocked like a bird listening. Theyāre not crazy. Theyāre hunting for a lively, responsive quality that makes the wood feel awake in your hands. But wood is less than half the battle. So many guitarists make the mistake of buying the lumber instead of the luthier.
Pickups: Magnetic Hopes and Dreams
The engine of the guitar, pickups are the part that allegedly defines the electric guitarās voice. Sure, swapping pickups will alter the tonality, to use a color metaphor, but they can only translate whatās already there, and thereās little percentage in trying to wake the dead. Yet, pickups do matter. A PAF-style might offer more harmonic complexity, or an overwound single-coil may bring some extra snarl, but hereās the thing: Two pickups made to the same specs can still sound different. The wire tension, the winding pattern, or even the temperature on the assembly line that day all add tiny variables that the spec sheet doesnāt mention. Donāt even get me started about the unrepeatability of āhand-scatter winding,ā unless youāre a compulsive gambler.
āOne piece of ash might have a bright, airy ring, while another from the same tree might sound like it spent a hard winter in a muddy ditch.ā
Wires, Caps, and Wishful Thinking
Inside the control cavity, the pots and capacitors await, quietly shaping your tone whether you notice them or not. A potentiometer swap can make your volume taper feel like an on/off switch or smooth as an aged Tennessee whiskey. A capacitor change can make or break the tone controlās usefulness. Itās subtle, but noticeable. The kind of detail that sends people down the rabbit hole of swapping $3 capacitors for $50 āvintage-specā caps, just to see if they can āfeelā the mojo of the 1950s.
Hardware: The Unsung Saboteur
Bridges, nuts, tuners, and tailpieces are occasionally credited for their sonic contributions, but theyāre quietly running the show. A steel block reflects and resonates differently than a die-cast zinc or aluminum bridge. Sloppy threads on bridge studs can weigh in, just as plate-style bridges can couple firmly to the body. Tuning machines can influence not just tuning stability, but their weight can alter the way the headstock itself vibrates.
Itās All Connected
Then thereās the neck jointāthe place where sustain goes to die. A tight neck pocket allows the energy to transfer efficiently. A sloppy fit? Some credit it for creating the infamous cluck and twang of Fender guitars, so pick your poison. One of the most important specs is scale length. A longer scale not only creates more string tension, it also requires the frets to be further apart. This changes the feel and the sound. A shorter scale seems to diminish bright overtones, accentuating the lows and mids. Scale length has a definite effect on where the neck joins the body and the position of the bridge, where compromises must be made in a guitarās overall design. There are so many choices, and just as many opportunities to miss the mark. Itās like driving without a map unless youāve been there before.
Alchemy, Not Arithmetic
At the end of the day, a guitarās greatness doesnāt come from its spec sheet. Itās not about the wood species or the coil-wire gauge. Itās about how it all conspires to either soar or sink. Two guitars, built to identical specs, can feel like long-lost soulmates or total strangers. All of these factors are why mix-and-match mods are a long game that can eventually pay off. But thatās the mystery of it. You canāt build magic from a parts list. You canāt buy mojo by the pound. A guitar is more than the sum of its partsāitās a sometimes unpredictable collaboration of materials, choices, and human touch. And sometimes, whether in the hands of an experienced builder or a dedicated tinkerer, it just works.
Two Iconic Titans of Rock & Metal Join Forces for a Canāt-Miss North American Trek
Tickets Available Starting Wednesday, April 16 with Artist Presales
General On Sale Begins Friday, April 18 at 10AM Local on LiveNation.com
This fall, shock rock legend Alice Cooper and heavy metal trailblazers Judas Priest will share the stage for an epic co-headlining tour across North America. Produced by Live Nation, the 22-city run kicks off September 16 at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, MS, and stops in Toronto, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and more before wrapping October 26 at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX.
Coming off the second leg of their Invincible Shield Tour and the release of their celebrated 19th studio album, Judas Priest remains a dominant force in metal. Meanwhile, Alice Cooper, the godfather of theatrical rock, wraps up his "Too Close For Comfort" tour this summer, promoting his most recent "Road" album, and will have an as-yet-unnamed all-new show for this tour. Corrosion of Conformity will join as support on select dates.
Tickets will be available starting Wednesday, April 16 at 10AM local time with Artist Presales. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning Friday, April 18 at 10AM local time at LiveNation.comTOUR DATES:
Tue Sep 16 ā Biloxi, MS ā Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Thu Sep 18 ā Alpharetta, GA ā Ameris Bank Amphitheatre*
Sat Sep 20 ā Charlotte, NC ā PNC Music Pavilion
Sun Sep 21 ā Franklin, TN ā FirstBank Amphitheater
Wed Sep 24 ā Virginia Beach, VA ā Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Fri Sep 26 ā Holmdel, NJ ā PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat Sep 27 ā Saratoga Springs, NY ā Broadview Stage at SPAC
Mon Sep 29 ā Toronto, ON ā Budweiser Stage
Wed Oct 01 ā Burgettstown, PA ā The Pavilion at Star Lake
Thu Oct 02 ā Clarkston, MI ā Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sat Oct 04 ā Cincinnati, OH ā Riverbend Music Center
Sun Oct 05 ā Tinley Park, IL ā Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Fri Oct 10 ā Colorado Springs, CO ā Broadmoor World Arena
Sun Oct 12 ā Salt Lake City, UT ā Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue Oct 14 ā Mountain View, CA ā Shoreline Amphitheatre
Wed Oct 15 ā Wheatland, CA ā Toyota Amphitheatre
Sat Oct 18 ā Chula Vista, CA ā North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sun Oct 19 ā Los Angeles, CA ā Kia Forum
Wed Oct 22 ā Phoenix, AZ ā Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Thu Oct 23 ā Albuquerque, NM ā Isleta Amphitheater
Sat Oct 25 ā Austin, TX ā Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sun Oct 26 ā Houston, TX ā The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
*Without support from Corrosion of Conformity
MT 15 and Archon 50 Classic amplifiers offer fresh tones in release alongside a doubled-in-size Archon cabinet
PRS Guitars today released the updated MT 15 and the new Archon Classic amplifiers, along with a larger Archon speaker cabinet. The 15-watt, two-channel Mark Tremonti signature amp MT 15 now features a lead channel overdrive control. An addition to the Archon series, not a replacement, the 50-watt Classic offers a fresh voice by producing retro rock āclassicā tones reminiscent of sound permeating the radio four and five decades ago. Now twice the size of the first Archon cabinet, the Archon 4x12 boasts four Celestion V-Type speakers.
MT 15 Amplifier Head
Balancing aggression and articulation, this 15-watt amp supplies both heavy rhythms and clear lead tones. The MT 15 revision builds off the design of the MT 100, bringing the voice of the 100ās overdrive channel into its smaller-format sibling. Updating the model, the lead channel also features a push/pull overdrive control that removes two gain stages to produce vintage, crunchier āmid gainā tones. The clean channel still features a push/pull boost control that adds a touch of overdrive crunch. A half-power switch takes the MT to 7 watts.
āSeven years ago, we released my signature MT 15 amplifier, a compact powerhouse that quickly became a go-to for players seeking both pristine cleans and crushing high-gain tones. In 2023, we took things even further with the MT 100, delivering a full-scale amplifier that carried my signature sound to the next level. That inspired us to find a way to fit the 100's third channel into the 15's lunchbox size,ā said Mark Tremonti.
āToday, Iām beyond excited to introduce the next evolution of the MT15, now featuring a push/pull overdrive control on the Lead channel and a half-power switch, giving players even more tonal flexibility to shape their sound with a compact amp. Canāt wait for you all to plug in and experience it!ā
Archon Classic Amplifier Head
With a refined gain structure from the original Archon, the Archon Classicās lead channel offers a wider range of tones colored with gain, especially in the midrange. The clean channel goes from pristine all the way to the edge of breakup. This additional Archon version was developed to be a go-to tool for playing classic rock or pushing the envelope into modern territory. The Archon Classic still features the originalās bright switch, presence and depth controls. PRS continues to stock the Archon in retailers worldwide.
āThe Archon Classic is not a re-issue of the original Archon, but a newly voiced circuit with the lead channel excelling in '70s and '80s rock tones and a hotter clean channel able to go into breakup. This is the answer for those wanting an Archon with a hotrod vintage lead channel gain structure without changing preamp tube types, and a juiced- up clean channel without having to use a boost pedal, all wrapped up in a retro-inspired cabinet design,ā said PRS Amp Designer Doug Sewell.
Archon 4x12 Cabinet
As in the Archon 1x12 and 2x12, the mega-sized PRS Archon 4x12 speaker cabinet features Celestion V-Type speakers and a closed-back design, delivering power, punch, and tight low end. Also like its smaller brethren, the 4x12 is wrapped in durable black vinyl and adorned with a British-style black knitted-weave grill cloth. The Archon 4x12 is only the second four-speaker cabinet in the PRS lineup, next to the HDRX 4x12.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40 th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year. For all of the latest news, click www.prsguitars.com/40 and follow @prsguitars on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, X, and YouTube.