Q: What’s the craziest guitar mod you’ve ever seen?
Billy Howerdel — A Perfect Circle
A: Definitely [Muse frontman] Matt Bellamy’s various mods. I know he has several different specially outfitted guitars, including some with touchpads. One thing I’ve always wanted to do is replicate [Fishbone bassist] Norwood Fisher’s shoes, which have a goldfish in the sole, as a guitar.
Current obsession: As I recently did some scoring, I’ve been enjoying scores from Bernard Herrmann, Henry Mancini, and others. Exploring such amazing work knowing it was created with such limited technical means helps me re-approach music today in a world of too many choices.
Jeff Roggendorf — Reader of the Month
A: I installed a door knocker as an homage to Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria, who also has one installed on one of his Explorers. Basically, it’s a noisemaker that will make the body and strings resonate like you were hitting your guitar, but much louder!
Current obsession: Coheed and Cambria! I’m a huge fan, to the point that almost my whole rig is based on Claudio’s. I have Good Apollo, Vol. 1 and The Afterman double album on repeat, as they’re both modern prog-rock masterpieces with fantastic guitar work. I find new parts I hadn’t heard before with every listen.
John Bohlinger — Nashville Correspondent
A: This started as a candy apple red 1964/65-ish Fender Jaguar with a matching headstock. Inventor/musician James Gross added half of a Mustang pickup, a new neck with a wider fretboard, a bridge to accommodate two bass strings, a gate latch, and what looks like a primitive computer port behind the input jack. All this butchering was not for naught: Gross sold the “door latch claw” idea to Rickenbacker, who used it on the Model 366 Convertible. Tim Mullally at Dave’s Guitars showed me this beautiful weirdo.
Current obsession:
Educating my toddler about the super sounds of the ’70s: Boston, Fleetwood, Skynyrd, Petty, Eagles, etc. Put on Sly & the Family Stone and she immediately starts shaking her tiny butt.
Ted Drozdowski — Senior Editor
A: The last time I saw Fred Frith play solo, he had a humbucker mounted over the nut end of his 1958 Gibson ES-345’s neck, and the signal from the standard pickups and that pickup were traveling through multiple routable/switchable effects chains. He also used a strip of leather or a capo so he could play the upper and lower halves of the neck independently—as well as the drumsticks, brushes, marbles, clips, and other things he typically applies as he flies. Heavenly!
Current obsession: Exploring insane sounds in roots-based music. Got a Pigtronix Mothership 2—Bernie Worrell for guitar! An expression pedal ups the ante. Read our review of the award-winning pedal.
Tessa Jeffers — Managing Editor
A: Working at PG, we see a lot of mods. One that caught my eye was from jazz guitarist Gilad Hekselman, who put an RMC piezo-style pickup in his Victor Baker archtop (pictured). He didn’t want to drill holes in his guitar, so he wired it up through the bridge to the bottom f-hole. Wicked!
Current obsession: Meshell Ndegeocello’s new album, Ventriloquism. This might be the most inventive work of “covers” I’ve ever listened to. Her intricate arrangements and reinterpretations infuse authentic soul into classic pop and R&B tunes from artists including Prince, TLC, George Clinton, Janet Jackson, Tina Turner, and Sade.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
Released in 1983, the Roland SDE-3000 rackmount delay was a staple for pro players of the era and remains revered for its rich analog/digital hybrid sound and distinctive modulation. BOSS reimagined this retro classic in 2023 with the acclaimed SDE-3000D and SDE-3000EVH, two wide-format pedals with stereo sound, advanced features, and expanded connectivity. The SDE-3 brings the authentic SDE-3000 vibe to a streamlined BOSS compact, enhanced with innovative creative tools for every musical style. The SDE-3 delivers evocative delay sounds that drip with warmth and musicality. The efficient panel provides the primary controls of its vintage benchmark—including delay time, feedback, and independent rate and depth knobs for the modulation—plus additional knobs for expanded sonic potential.
A wide range of tones are available, from basic mono delays and ’80s-style mod/delay combos to moody textures for ambient, chill, and lo-fi music. Along with reproducing the SDE-3000's original mono sound, the SDE-3 includes a powerful Offset knob to create interesting tones with two simultaneous delays. With one simple control, the user can instantly add a second delay to the primary delay. This provides a wealth of mono and stereo colors not available with other delay pedals, including unique doubled sounds and timed dual delays with tap tempo control. The versatile SDE-3 provides output configurations to suit any stage or studio scenario.
Two stereo modes include discrete left/right delays and a panning option for ultra-wide sounds that move across the stereo field. Dry and effect-only signals can be sent to two amps for wet/dry setups, and the direct sound can be muted for studio mixing and parallel effect rigs. The SDE-3 offers numerous control options to enhance live and studio performances. Tap tempo mode is available with a press and hold of the pedal switch, while the TRS MIDI input can be used to sync the delay time with clock signals from DAWs, pedals, and drum machines. Optional external footswitches provide on-demand access to tap tempo and a hold function for on-the-fly looping. Alternately, an expression pedal can be used to control the Level, Feedback, and Time knobs for delay mix adjustment, wild pitch effects, and dramatic self-oscillation.
The new BOSS SDE-3 Dual Delay Pedal will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. BOSS retailers in October for $219.99. To learn more, visit www.boss.info.