Oklahoma City sludge rockers Chat Pile have had a busy few years. Their 2022 LP, Godās Country, broke them internationally, and their critically acclaimed 2024 follow-up, Cool World, solidified them as one of the most exciting heavy bands of the moment. We spoke with bassist Stin and guitarist Luther Manhole about the record for our November 2024 issue.
Now, we bring you the bandās first official Rig Rundown, filmed ahead of their show at The End in Nashville last fall. Tune in to see how Stin and Luther conjure the bandās brutal soundstorms on the road.
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Bari Blast
Manholeās main machine is this baritone 6-string, an Ernie Ball Music Man BFR Axis Super Sport, finished in āstarry night.ā Luther took a tip from tourmate and Agriculture guitarist Richard Chowenhill and slapped some tape over his neck pickup near the first string to prevent it from catching on the edge of the humbucker. Itās tuned to drop A, with Ernie Ball Mammoth Slinky strings.
Quite the Quilter
Back at home, Luther and Stin lean on big vintage amps, but on the road, Luther brings out this Quilter Tone Block 202, which is plugged into an Ampeg VT-40 combo amp thatās been gutted to run just as a 4x10 cabinet. Luther digs the icier, cutting tone from the 10ā³ speakers.
Luther Manhole's Board
Manholeās board is minimalist: All he needs is a TC Electronic PolyTune, a Suhr Riot for dirt, an Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy (which is set for a wobbly chorus effect), and a TC Electronic Hall of Fame for reverbāpedals heās used for over a decade. An Acoustic PBIS08 supplies the quartet with power.
Peavey Power
Around 2007, Stin went on a hunt around Oklahoma music shops for a Peavey T-40. He finally found oneāin a total āWayneās World momentāāthat belonged to a country singer who had passed away. Since the bandās formation, this āhot and clangyā white T-40 has been Stinās tool for crafting Chat Pileās elephantine, bottom-heavy sound. He uses the 5-string Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalts (.060ā.125), omitting the .040 string, and plucks with orange Ernie Ball Everlast .73 mm picks for strong, percussive attack.
Building Blocks
Stinās signal runs to this Quilter Bass Block 802, which blasts through a Trace Elliot 4x10 redline cab with hornsāthe cab thatās been used on every Chat Pile recording to date.
Stin's Board
Stin probably thinks Manholeās board is excessive. He packs just his Boss TU-3 and a Tronographic Rusty Box, each with their own individual power supply plugged into a power bar thatās fixed to the board.
Mike Stern has been around the block. The jazz-guitar virtuoso earned his stripes through the ā70s and ā80s in New Yorkās jazz scene, playing 6-string with drummer Billy Cobham before tapping in with artists like Miles Davis and Jaco Pastoriusāeven at a time when guitar wasnāt necessarily a cornerstone piece of a jazz outfit. In this episode of Wong Notes, Stern fills Cory Wong in on the ups and downs of 50 years spent in one of the most complex and underappreciated music genres.
Stern made the leap to New York from Boston when Davis invited him to join his band (back when jazz was the pop music of the day, notes Stern), but it was a rocky rideāStern says he and many other musicians were ābottoming outā from addiction, until a friend went sober and convinced them to give sobriety a try. Stern talks about Milesā hidden love for the guitar, and how he succeeded in fitting into non-guitar environments.
Wong and Stern touch on the decline of arts spaces and cultures in America (thanks, Stern says, to misallocated funding), playing gigs where the band outnumbers the audience members, the benefits of running the same rig in every room, and how to pick the right pickāfor Stern, that involves a bit of wig glue. Tune in to get the details, and be sure to check out our 2018 Rig Rundown with Stern, too.
