Before ERRAās headlining show at Nashvilleās Brooklyn Bowl in support of their latest album, Cure, cofounding member Jesse Cash and newcomer Clint Tustināa pair of proficient guitar-playing pyrotechniciansāinvited PGās Chris Kies onstage for a conversation that was both lighthearted and enlightening. They cover their speedy 7-strings from Jackson and Ibanez, explain why they landed on their preferred DiMarzio and Fishman pickups, and reveal all the ways the Neural DSP Quad Cortex has condensed, streamlined, and optimized the duoās stage attack.
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Cassius Play
Jesse Cash is a creative force. He plays, he writes, and thatās pretty much where his love for guitar starts and ends. Heās not into gear specs nor does he overthink his setup: If it works, it works. For a decade-plus, Ibanez RG-profile guitars have been getting the job done. His current ride-or-die is the above Ibanez Prestige RG2027XL that is pretty stock aside from a few key upgrades, including a set of and DiMarzio D Activator 7 humbuckers, an EverTune bridge for tuning stability, gold hardware for eye candy, and a pearloid pickguard that Jesse likes to make his muscle car look a bit classier. It features a basswood body, Wizard-7 neck with maple and wenge tonewoods, a bound Macassar ebony fretboard, and a 27" scale length. The band tunes to drop G# and lets the Quad Cortex technology transpose any other lowered tunings so they can tour with minimal guitars and maintain a familiar feel.
Sandblasted
Clint Tustin is all Jackson, all day. The above model is the Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern Ash HT7. Itās built with an exposed ash body decorated in a dazzling ābaked blueā textured finish, a 26.5" scale length, a sturdy, graphite-reinforced, bolt-on 3-piece maple-wenge-maple neck with a compound radius (12" ā16") and a Jackson Speed Neck profile, bound ebony fretboard, a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut, and active multi-voiced Fishman Fluence Open Core PRF-CO7 humbuckers. This is his only touring guitar without an EverTune bridge.S
Prestige Production
Before acquiring the RG2027XL, Cashās main seven was this production-line 2017 Prestige 752LWFX that was featured heavily on ERRAās albums Neon and Erra. Like the 2027XL, it has a basswood body, but this one is decked out with an African black limba top, a rosewood fretboard, a 25.5" scale length, a Gibraltar Standard II bridge, and of course, the pickguard and gold hardware. They do share the same heartbeatāa set of DiMarzio D Activator 7 humbuckers. The standard scale length helps Jesse move around the fretboard quicker, so this RG sees stage time for the bandās older material.
Gold Tone
This stunner is Clint Tustinās Jackson Pro Plus Series DK Modern EverTune 7. Itās completely stock and features nearly the same DNA as his previous Dinky DK, but it has a basswood body and an EverTune bridge.
Silver Surfer
Another DK Modern EverTune 7 for Tustin that was modified by a friend to have this big-flake, bass-boat sparkle finishāincluding the pickupsāthat can be seen from the last row of the venue, or probably even space. This one has a set of Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers.
Problem Solved
These dudes are pragmatists. As digital modeling technology has improved, ERRA has evolved their live setups to achieve quicker setups, less headaches, and decreased traveling costs. Jesse and Clint are currently both using the Neural DSP Quad Cortex direct to front of house. They have no cabs or monitors onstage, and hear themselves via in-ear monitors and the PA.
As noted before, their guitars stay in GāÆ tunings, and they let the Quad Cortex transpose any lower tunings. (They did say that pitch-shifting up via the Neural setting is less accurate and so they manually tune their instruments.) They depend on the QC to make tone changes, so they are free to roam the stage and entertain the crowd.To that end, they both utilize the Sennheiser EW G4 units for wireless and in-ears. A lot of their core tones and sounds are based around a STL Tones DZL Herbert import for rhythms, Neuralās Misha Mansoor Archetype for leads, and their Plini Archetype for cleans.
![Rig Rundown: Periphery [2023]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/rig-rundown-periphery-s-jake-bowen-mark-holcomb-misha-mansoor-2023.jpg?id=33635214&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Our third Rig Rundown with Peripheryās Jake Bowen, Mark Holcomb, and Misha Mansoorāat Nashvilleās Marathon Music Works on April 2ācaught the band on their final tour stop for a spring run in support of the brand-spankinā-new Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre. Our time with the triumvirate of tone reminded us that these fellas never rest their ears. They know gear and how to make it work for them. Thatās why each of them has spent extensive time in several R&D collaborations with some of the biggest, most influential companies in guitardom. This time Bowen, Holcomb, and Mansoor all dish on the evolutions of their signature gear and how everything meshes and molds together for the greater, Transformer-like machine that is Periphery. Whether itās going up to 27 frets, utilizing Alnico 8 magnets, or adding an Evertune bridge to compensate for deeply dropped tunings, this trio of tone hounds will sniff it out. Letās dig in!
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Final Fantasy 27
Jake Bowen busted out this blue belle first because itās his most-recent signatureāan Ibanez JBM9999 that features a basswood body in their RGA shape, a 5-piece maple-walnut neck, a bound-ebony fretboard, a 25.5" scale that crams in 27 frets, Gotoh MG-T locking tuners, and Ibanezās Gibraltar Elite bridge, plus it comes loaded with a fresh set of Bowenās latest signature DiMarzio Mirage humbuckers. The neck model is a custom-voiced, Strat-style, single-coil-sized humbucker that incorporates some finessed tones via the 5-way. Position one and five are standard and individually engage the bridge and neck humbuckers (respectively). Position four puts the neck humbucker into parallel mode. The center slot gets both humbuckers involved, while position two selects the bridge side of the neck humbucker and the neck side of the bridge humbucker. The reason Jake opted for the single-coil-sized humbucker was to inspire fans who want to swap in their favorite single-coil pickups without any extra routing.
Ibanez is known for their wild combinations of letters and numbers for product cataloging, but the 9999s have a significance to Bowen ā¦ beyond sounding like an injury law firmās phone number. Heās a superfan of the Final Fantasy world and 9999 is the max damage you can get in the earlier games, so Bowen requested that gamer Easter egg and they obliged. All his 6-string signatures take Horizon Devices Progressive Tension Heavy 6 strings (.010ā.014ā.019Āā.030ā.042ā.058).
Back in Black
Bowen commissioned this sleek JBM9999 from Ibanezās L.A. Custom Shop. It matches all the previous modelās accoutrements but shakes it up by including an Evertune bridge. That appointment means it comfortably rides in GāGĀĀāCāFāAāD tuning and sees the stage for āReptileā and āZagreus.ā
The Mojo Machine
This JBM9999 has a few different wrinkles than the previous two. It has a roasted-maple neck and fretboard, and while the single-coil-sized neck humbucker looks like another Mirage model, itās actually DiMarzioās The Chopper. That pickup worked as a starting point when Bowen was testing out their rail hum-canceling Strat pickups, and that ultimately led him to the voicing of his signature Mirage version.
Knight in White Satin
Lastly, hereās Jakeās signature Ibanez JBM100 7-string, stocked with his original signature DiMarzio Titan ābuckers, that was shown off in the 2017 Rundown. His first standard sig model was generally done in a matte black finish, but he wanted something special and felt the gold pickup covers would really pop with a white finish. The JBM100s have a mahogany body/maple top configuration.
A $200 Private Stock PRS?!
Back in 2016, Mark Holcomb ordered this 7-string custom from PRSā Private Stock team. Itās based on his 2015 signature model, but with all of Paul Reed Smithās bells and whistles. A few things make this guitar unique to PRSā signature artist roster in that it has a 26.5" scale length, a flat 20" radius on the fretboard, and Holcombās first signature Seymour Duncan Alpha & Omega humbuckers.
When it was built, PRS sent the special instrument via FedEx (signature required), and it was left by the delivery person without Holcombās John Hancock outside his Austin, Texas home. It was swiped by a porch pirate and assumed to be gone forever. Mark rallied his online followers to get the word out and a fan recognized it in a flea market 60 miles south of Austin. The kicker: It was being sold for $200! The fan bought the guitar and returned it to Mark. The best part, Holcomb didnāt let the sloppy bandit deter him from touring with it as he uses it on āRagnarokā and other low-tuned riffers. He laces all his 7-strings with Progressive Tension Heavy 7 (.010ā.014ā.018ā.028ā.039ā.050ā.065).
Holcomb Burst
For any Periphery songs that only require a standard 6-string attack, he shoulders his brand-new 2023 PRS SE Mark Holcomb that is off-the-shelf stock. Ingredients include a mahogany body topped with a quilted maple top that incorporates an elegant violin carve, a satin maple neck with 24 frets, an ebony fretboard with a flat 20" radius, a 25.5" scale length, and this one leaves the factory with Holcombās just-released Seymour Duncan Scarlet & Scourge humbuckers. Controls are just a 3-way pickup selector, master volume, and push/pull tone knob for coil splitting. Holcomb puts Horizon Devices Progressive Tension Heavy 6 strings on all standard guitars.
7th Heaven
This is Holcombās PRS SE SVN signature that is identical to its little brother, but has the added string and a 26.5" scale.
Evertune Eviscerater
For the set opener āReptile,ā Holcomb enlists this PRS SE SVN signature that was modded with an Evertune bridge to accommodate āthe stupid-low G tuningā that Mark stumbled upon while riffing away on vacation in Spain.
Reptilian Rocker
For the bandās rumbling GāGĀĀāCāFāAāD tuning, Misha Mansoor grabs this Jackson USA Misha Mansoor Signature Juggernaut HT6. Its DNA starts with a caramelized basswood body, caramelized quartersawn maple neck and fretboard, 24 jumbo stainless-steel frets, a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut, a 25.5" scale, Hipshot open-gear locking tuners, and Mishaās signature Bare Knuckle Ragnarok humbuckers. He puts Horizon Devices Progressive Tension Heavy 6 strings on it. And it has a retro-fitted Evertune to keep things tight, prompting Mansoor to commented that āthis tour is the most in-tune āReptileā has ever sounded. Itās been wonderful.ā He notes that he recorded nearly all his parts for Peripheryās last two albums with this silver siren.
Orange You Glad
A few years back, Mansoor listed a bunch of gear on Reverb during an equipment purge. He almost listed this one but had second thoughts and is very glad he didnāt. His tech Vinnie gave it some serious TLC and itās back in the rotation. A cool tidbit about this first-generation Jackson USA Misha Mansoor Signature Juggernaut HT7 is that it has a stunning quilted maple cap sitting over a roasted basswood body. There was a slight blemish on its top, so to salvage the build Misha suggested painting over the quilt, but leaving the edges exposed for a quilted binding effect. It sees work for āRagnarok,ā in their unique variation of drop-A-flat tuning (F#āD#āG#āC#āF#āA#āD#).
Snobs Need Not Apply
Another staple for Mansoor during Peripheryās live set is this import Jackson Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT7 in shimmery blue sky burst. Many of the same appointments are here: a basswood body and a caramelized maple neck and fretboard. The stock models roar with a set of Jackson MM1 humbuckers, but Mansoor opted to upgrade with a set of Bare Knuckle Ragnaroks.
Easy Peasy
āThis thing just shreds, man. Itās just so easy to play and it doesnāt fight me for the little note-y bits in āMarigold.āā The set closer puts this matte Jackson USA Misha Mansoor Signature Juggernaut HT6 into drop-C tuning. Mansoor is a mega car enthusiast and Formula 1 fan, so he had Jackson put this one in matte red to match Ferrari finishes.
Pass the Scalpel, Please
This might look yet another Jackson USA Misha Mansoor Signature Juggernaut HT6 with a basswood core and quilted maple top, but it has a mahogany body and flame maple cap for a darker sound and heftier weight. Mishaās signature Bare Knuckle Juggernauts give this baby a bite. Mansoor says the Ragnaroks are a sledgehammer, whereas the Juggernauts are a precision tool.
All in the Family
Misha and Jake have nearly identical setups and patches when it comes to amps and effects. Both are using Peavey Invective120 headsāa design alliance with Mansoorāthat each run their own Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL+ units through a Peavey Invective 412 and out to FOH. The cabinets are loaded with two pairs of Celestion speakers: Vintage 30s and Creambacks. Mark uses a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL+, but his is juiced by a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700. He also has a Peavey Invective 412 cabinet onstage. In addition to live stage audio via 4x12s, each guitarist relies on Sennheiser EW IEM G4 Wireless In-Ear Monitor and side fills for a complete sound. And the three amigos plug their shred sticks into Shure ULXD4Q Wireless Units.
