Blues-rock guitarist and gearhead Greg Koch steps into Rhett and Zach's virtual studio to talk all things tone, including part of his personal amp journey—from solid-state to the Fender Super Reverb—the makeup of his current rig, and the power of the Strat middle pickup.
Dipped in Gristle with Greg Koch
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Rig Rundown: Greg Koch
The king of gristle shares the signature gear he uses to unleash waves of unabashed sonic mayhem.
The silky smooth slide man may raise a few eyebrows with his gear—a hollow, steel-bodied baritone and .017s on a Jazzmaster—but every note and tone he plays sounds just right.
KingTone’s The Duellist is currently Ariel Posen’s most-used pedal. One side of the dual drive (the Bluesbreaker voicing) is always on. But there’s another duality at play when Posen plugs in—the balance between songwriter and guitarist.
“These days, I like listening to songs and the story and the total package,” Posen told PG back in 2019, when talking about his solo debut, How Long, after departing from his sideman slot for the Bros. Landreth. “Obviously, I’m known as a guitar player, but my music and the music I write is not guitar music. It’s songs, and it goes back to the Beatles. I love songs, and I love story and melody and singing, and there was a lot of detail and attention put into the guitar sound and the playing and the parts—almost more than I’ve ever done.”
And in 2021, he found himself equally expressing his yin-and-yang artistry by releasing two albums that represented both sides of his musicality. First, Headway continued the sultry sizzle of songwriting featured on How Long. Then he surprised everyone, especially guitarists, by dropping Mile End, which is a 6-string buffet of solo dishes with nothing but Ariel and his instrument of choice.
But what should fans expect when they see him perform live? “I just trust my gut. I can reach more people by playing songs, and I get moved more by a story and lyrics and harmony, so that’s where I naturally go. The live show is a lot more guitar centric. If you want to hear me stretch out on some solos, come see a show. I want the record and the live show to be two separate things.”
The afternoon ahead of Posen’s headlining performance at Nashville’s Basement East, the guitar-playing musical force invited PG’s Chris Kies on stage for a robust chat about gear. The 30-minute conversation covers Posen’s potent pair of moody blue bombshells—a hollow, metal-bodied Mule Resophonic and a Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster—and why any Two-Rock is his go-to amp. He also shares his reasoning behind avoiding effects loops and volume pedals.
Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.
Blue the Mule III
If you’ve spent any time with Ariel Posen’s first solo record, How Long, you know that the ripping, raunchy slide solo packed within “Get You Back” is an aural high mark. As explained in a 2019 PG interview, Posen’s pairing for that song were two cheapos: a $50 Teisco Del Rey into a Kay combo. However, when he took the pawnshop prize onstage, the magic was gone. “It wouldn’t stay in tune and wouldn’t stop feeding back—it was unbearable [laughs].”
Posen was familiar with Matt Eich of Mule Resophonic—who specializes in building metal-body resonators—so he approached the luthier to construct him a steel-bodied, Strat-style baritone. Eich was reluctant at first (he typically builds roundneck resos and T-style baritones), but after seeing a clip of Posen playing live, the partnership was started.
The above steel-bodied Strat-style guitar is Posen’s third custom 25"-scale baritone. (On Mule Resophonic’s website, it’s affectionately named the “Posencaster.”) The gold-foil-looking pickups are handwound by Eich, and are actually mini humbuckers. He employs a custom Stringjoy set (.017–.064 with a wound G) and typically tunes to B standard. The massive strings allow the shorter-scale baritone to maintain a regular-tension feel. And when he gigs, he tours light (usually with two guitars), so he’ll use a capo to morph into D or E standard.
Moody Blue
Another one that saw recording time for Headway and Mile End was the above Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt ’60s Jazzmaster, made by Carlos Lopez. To make it work better for him, he had the treble-bleed circuit removed, so that when the guitar’s volume is lowered it actually gets warmer.
"Clean and Loud"
Last time we spoke with Posen, he plugged into a Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature. It’s typically his live amp. However, since this winter’s U.S. run was a batch of fly dates, he packed light and rented backlines. Being in Music City, he didn’t need to go too deep into his phone’s contacts to find a guitar-playing friend that owned a Two-Rock. This Bloomfield Drive was loaned to Ariel by occasional PG contributor Corey Congilio. On the brand’s consistent tone monsters, Posen said, “To be honest, put a blindfold on me and make one of Two-Rock’s amps clean and loud—I don’t care what one it is.”
Stacked Speakers
The loaner vertical 2x12 cab was stocked with a pair of Two-Rock 12-65B speakers made by Warehouse Guitar Speakers.
Ariel Posen’s Pedalboard
There are a handful of carryovers from Ariel’s previous pedalboard that was featured in our 2021 tone talk: a TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Noir, a Morningstar MC3 MIDI Controller, an Eventide H9, a Mythos Pedals Argonaut Mini Octave Up, and a KingTone miniFUZZ Ge. His additions include a custom edition Keeley Hydra Stereo Reverb & Tremolo (featuring Headway artwork), an Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain oil can delay, Chase Bliss Audio Thermae Analog Delay and Pitch Shifter, and a KingTone The Duellist overdrive.
Another big piece of the tonal pie for Posen is his signature brass Rock Slide. He worked alongside Rock Slide’s Danny Songhurst to develop his namesake slide that features a round-tip end that helps Posen avoid dead spots or unwanted scratching. While he prefers polished brass, you can see above that it’s also available in a nickel-plated finish and an aged brass.
Mateus Asato shares on his experiences playing with pop stars, what it means to be of service to a song, and how taking a break from social media—which was where he built his fan base of 1.2 million—was crucial to his mental health.
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
Use this link for 30% off your first year.
Mateus Asato on Learning from Bruno Mars | Wong Notes Podcast
From John Mayer’s “lost” song to Derek Trucks’ ode to the Super Reverb, we covered a lot of ground this year.
10. Bruce Hornsby: “Trying to Keep the Self-Loathing at Bay”
How does a legacy artist stay on top of his game? The pianist, hit singer-songwriter, producer, and composer talks about the importance of musical growth and positive affirmation; his love for angular melodicism; playing jazz, pop, classical, bluegrass, jam, and soundtrack music; and collaborating with his favorite guitarists, including Pat Metheny and Jerry Garcia.
9. Yngwie J. Malmsteen: "I Never Felt That Art Is a Sport”
The tennis-playing, art-enthusiast, Ferrari-collecting shredder talks about his passion, his practice, his love for the Strat, and who he thinks is the greatest guitar player who’s ever lived.
8. Mike Campbell Likes the “Real Stuff”
The Heartbreakers guitarist and Dirty Knobs frontman answers deep questions about songwriting, producing, and hitmaking.
7. Ariel Posen: “Dynamics Are the Most Important Thing.”
The roots-guitar innovator talks about controlling his sound, when to play large or small amps, using overdrive and compression, mastering slide, building community on social media, and the overall role gear plays in defining his distinctive tone.
6. Victor Wooten: "Music Needs Us."
The bass wiz and author shares deep wisdom about bass, music, and more.
5. What Scares Julian Lage?
The jazz phenom chats about flying with his guitar, how he approaches fluidity on his instrument, overcoming injury, and his take on pedals and tunings.
4. Derek Trucks: “There’s a Lot of Music Out There”
The slide master talks about amalgamating influences, keeping it fresh, how he approaches tone, and the best amp ever made.
3. Vai on Vai: “That’s Me—Obtuse and Quirky”
The legend talks gear, almost jamming with Prince, guitar heroes, melody, fear, swapping technique for passion, his hydra guitar, why he chose the players on his latest album, and his true superpower.
2. John Mayer Pt. 2—A Song Too Perfect to Record?
Cory and John Mayer sit down with their guitars to jam and discuss how they approach playing, songwriting, record-making, and the music business.
1. Mayer Is King
Cory and John Mayer sit down with their guitars to jam and discuss how they approach playing, songwriting, record-making, and the music business.
Hear professor Paul go deep on EVH’s moves and play some of the maestro’s classic riffs.
Wong Notes is presented by DistroKid.
Use this link for 30% off your first year.
Paul Gilbert Knows Every Van Halen Song | Wong Notes Podcast
Paul Gilbert on the Magic of Eddie Van Halen
Cory Wong: I have heard a rumor that you can play basically any Van Halen, like if somebody calls you up and was like, "Paul, we're doing a Van Halen set down at the Forum tonight. We need somebody to play. Here's the set list." You'd just be able to show up, like yeah what time? Like, oh yeah I can't make rehearsal, but no problem, I got it. Is this true? Can you do this? Can you play every Van Halen tune?
Paul Gilbert: As I get older, I forget more and more, but that was my training ground as a kid. Those records would come out and I would just try to learn everything. Now, I should say that the solos I never even attempted, because first of all, I could tell the spirit of it. You go hear Eddie play it, he wouldn't play it the same way. It was more like amazing freak out in B minor, and a couple signature things you want to grab. But overall, it was more just the spirit of it, but the rhythm parts I would try to get. And it was funny, later I would realize, like my fingering got different. But yeah, overall... Well, name one.
Cory: "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love"
[Paul rips through a chorus and solos on it.]
Cory: You tuned it down with a peg, dude.
Paul: Well, I wasn't playing a guitar with a whammy.
Cory: Okay, "Somebody Get Me a Doctor.
Paul: I love that song. I teach that a lot at my online school, so I know that one. Now this is the magic of Eddie because he goes chick-a and then it has this really clean transition to the note. So, it's chick-a note, and there's no blur. Everybody blurs that and it's like. And the same thing in "You Really Got Me." That's the magical part, that. So if you can clean that up, you're golden. And then "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" has got the same thing. Michael Anthony. (singing)... I don't know if I can do the Roth part (singing). That's the solo with the volume part. That's all in there, but It's fading.