In just seven years since meeting based on a recommendation, Eric Burton and Adrian Quesada formed the Black Pumas, released two albums, and have already been nominated for seven Grammys. However, this fruitful friendship was almost never developed.
Quesada was enrolled at the University of Texas but flunking out due to his dedication to guitar over textbooks. His parents gave him a proposition: Either stay home in Laredo, or return to Austin without a guitar in hand to focus on studying. He went with option B and headed back for school in Austin—or so his parents thought. Quesada took his remaining book money (about $200) and headed to Ray Hennig’s Heart of Texas, where he snagged a Squier Telecaster Thinline. His parents eventually figured out the switcheroo, but Quesada was determined and hasn’t looked back. (Side note: The family obviously sees and supports his musical talents, and attended Black Pumas’ Ryman show the night before the filming of this Rig Rundown.)
That matador move pulled off by Quesada allowed him to become a longtime fixture in the Austin music scene with bands Brownout, Ocote Soul Sound, Spanish Gold, Echocentrics, and Grupo Fantasma (with whom he played for over 15 years, earning a 2011 Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album). He started to explore new ideas that didn’t fit the mold for Grupo, and needed someone to narrate his musical vistas. A friend recommended he link up with Austin newcomer Eric Burton, who traded his busking spot on the Santa Monica pier for the bright lights of Sixth Street. The duo met up, and as the results prove, the rest is history.
Before the Black Pumas’ second headlining show at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, bandleader Adrian Quesada, bassist Brendan Bond, and band tech Bryan Wilkinson invited PG’s Chris Kies into the hallowed grounds for a chill conversation about their tonal tools. During our time with the Black Pumas, we learned about Quesada’s love for tremolo (he even included it as a secret weapon in a semi-hollow Jazzmaster), Bond’s fateful trip to the Wilco Loft in Chicago, and why a ’59 ES-125 is Wilkinson’s perfect pairing with Burton’s expressive and emotive voice.Brought to you by D'Addario:
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The Custom Shop Cracks the Code
Black Pumas’ 2019 self-titled debut was like a drug—it soothed, it hypnotized, it recalled the past, it burned slow, and it was an addictive listen. It helped the band tally four Grammy nominations. But in addition to all that attention, it caught the collective ear of the Fender Custom Shop squad, who wore it out for months—so much so, that the team built the above Telecaster. Their aim was to create a guitar that nailed Quesada’s tones on the album, and they surprised the Texan with it. He’s been in love ever since, and mentioned that he’s collaborated on two other Teles—having some input on specs and design—but neither sound as stellar as this one. This one-off Tele is a pairing of a ’60s-style T (sunburst finish with a maple fretboard, standard-sized headstock, small pickguard, and barrel knobs), and a ’72 Telecaster Custom (single-coil-and-humbucker pickup configuration). Since acquiring it, this Tele has been Quesada’s main guitar onstage. He puts D’Addario EXL125 XLs (.009 –.046) on all his guitars, and uses Dunlop Tortex picks with custom printed Black Pumas graphics.
Lucky Loaner
The guitar that Quesada used the most prior to Black Pumas was a Gibson ES-446 that marries a 335 with a Les Paul. He loved its woody core tone and its humbuckers’ ability to lasso fuzz in a musical way. He’s retired the steed to the sanctuary of the studio, but stills requires sinewy sounds, so he checked in with Gibson to borrow a 335. They didn’t have one available but gave him this 345, which has proven a dependable sidekick punching in for time onstage and in the studio. Quesada mentions that the Varitone switch is useful for the studio, but he leaves it in position one (bypass) for Black Pumas’ sets.
A Puma and Jaguar Walk Into the Ryman...
And they sell it out two nights in a row! This fresh feline is the result of another partnership between Quesada and the Fender Custom Shop. He wanted another thinline instrument, but already designed a Tele, so he gravitated to the popular offset body style. The alder body with a natural finish is a nod to his first Squier Tele. The pickups are a custom gold-foil (adorned with a coy puma hood) in the bridge and a covered ShawBucker. It features a Fender American Vintage Jazzmaster bridge and tremolo. A striking bound rosewood fretboard with block inlays sits atop a maple neck that is capped with a blacked-out headstock. The 4-bolt neck plate honors Quesada’s Electric Deluxe with the recording space’s logo.
The real magic in this cunning cat is where the Jazzmaster’s rhythm circuit is supposed to reside. In its place is a tremolo circuit because Quesada cooks his tone in that effect like it’s salt and pepper. In 2022, he confessed to PG, “I love everything with tremolo. I put tremolo on everything,” so we should’ve seen this coming. The rocker switch toggles the tremolo on and off, and the two rollers control speed and depth.You're My Boy, Blue!
Adrian adores Fender amps. His Austin-based recording studio is loaded with noteworthy models from the company’s golden years, yet he proudly tours with a Fender Limited Edition Electric Blue ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb reissue. (It’s worth stating that a proper ’72 silver-panel Deluxe Reverb was in a road case.) The bright tolex covers an otherwise standard circuit, however the stock combo did have a Celestion Creamback in it. But when Quesada’s tech Bryan Wilkinson found and landed the score for his boss off Craigslist, it had been modded with an Electro Voice SRO Alnico 12" speaker. Adrian loved how it sounded, so it stayed in, and he’s been using the combo on tour ever since.
Adrian Quesada's Pedalboard
We’ve established that Quesada lays on some tremolo any time his guitar is plugged in, but another stompbox spice he rarely avoids is reverb. He does acknowledge that amp reverb, especially from Fender combos, is tasty, but having it in a pedal format allows fine-tuning from gig to gig and room to room. Doing the heavy lifting for both effects is the Strymon Flint. (Adrian mentions that he turned Alejandro and Estevan of Hermanos Gutiérrez onto this staple, found on both of their boards.)
The other stomp stalwart has been the Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail that provides a healthy dose of spring reverb. Both ’verbs are engaged for drippy songs like “Fire.” He has a pair of delays: a Line 6 Echo Park used for its tap tempo function, and a Catalinbread Echorec for longer, dreamier repeats. The Boss GE-7 Equalizer works to match the different outputs between his three main instruments. A Catalinbread Belle Epoch preamp/buffer pedal replaced an Xotic EP Booster because it has a second knob for preamp for more detailed contouring.
Any growl or sizzle Quesada needs for his Tele and Jazzmaster, the EarthQuaker Devices Park Fuzz handles it. The Fulltone Clyde Wah Deluxe has stepped in for a different filter sweeper because Adrian digs its full-sounding throw that stays warm from heel to toe. A Jam Pedals Ripple two-stage phaser gets used on a track from Chronicles of a Diamond, and a TC Electronic PolyTune2 Noir keeps his guitars in check.
His second board (bottom) bypasses the amp and was specifically built to play roughly with Quesada’s 345, recreating a guitar-into-console overdrive sound that gets pumped into the onstage monitors and PA. To capture that crackly goodness, he runs the 345 into a combination of pedals including a JHS 3 Series Delay, a JHS Crayon, and an Electro-Harmonix Nano POG. Utility boxes on here—Strymon Ojai, JHS Mini A/B, and TC Electronic PolyTune—handle switching, tuning, and power.
P for B
Black Pumas bassist Brendan Bond had the good fortune to hang out at the Wilco Loft in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. He quickly bonded with an old P bass that preoccupied most of his time in the space. Up to that point, his fingers have mostly danced around newer basses, so the allure of vintage gear never tempted him. That all instantly changed (“It was like I was playing a different instrument,” he commented), and when he landed back in Austin, Texas, he took a car right to Austin Vintage Guitars, where he landed this 1974 Fender Precision bass. It’s been his main sweetheart ever since. He puts D’Addario ECB81 Chromes Flatwounds (.045 –.100) on it, and always plays with his fingers in Black Pumas.
Tube Time
Bond has toured with lightweight, class-D bass amps, but now given the opportunity that his own back doesn’t have to lug the gear, he’s bringing out the big guns in the shape of an all-tube, 6550-powered Fender Super Bassman that hits a matching Bassman 410 Neo cab.
Brendan Bond's Pedalboard
Three pedals get the job done for Bond: an Acme Audio Motown D.I. WB-3 Passive D.I., a JHS Colour Box, and a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner.
A '59, But Not That '59
Black Pumas’ singer/guitarist Eric Burton started his career busking in Santa Monica. He’s always accompanied himself with an acoustic guitar, but as the Black Pumas formed and took off, he needed something louder, which pushed him into the hollowbody and semi-hollowbody realm. His main collaborator has been this 1959 ES-125 that is all original and still has its purring P-90. He uses it for the Pumas’ songs “Colors,” “Stay Gold,” “Fast Car,” and “Tomorrow.” Burton’s guitars take D’Addario NYXL1149 Nickel Wounds (.011 –.049).
Stealth Cat
For songs needing more gas and go, Burton will dance with this stock ES-335.
Regal Prince
This prototype was born from conversations with the Fender Custom Shop, who took inspiration from Eric’s connection with hollow and semi-hollow instruments. The Telecaster Thinline has a few special appointments, including a sparkle-purple finish offset with gold hardware and an anodized gold pickguard, conjuring thoughts of the president of Paisley Park. The other interesting bit is the hot P-90 in the neck position.
Mighty Mate
Burton plugs all his guitars into an off-the-shelf Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb.
Eric Burton's Pedalboard
Burton is the band’s lone wireless member. To accommodate his onstage prowling, tech Bryan Wilkinson uses a Radial JDI passive direct box that takes in the XLR from the audio subsnake wireless rackmount and routes it into the first pedal Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner. From there, Burton only has a couple pedals—a DigiTech Mosaic to mimic a 12-string for “OCT 33” and a JHS Colour Box for any required heat. A Strymon Ojai turns everything on.
Shop Black Pumas' Rig
Gibson ES-345
Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
Strymon Flint
EHX Holy Grail
Catalinbread Echorec
Boss GE-7 Equalizer
Catalinbread Belle Epoch
EarthQuaker Devices Park Fuzz
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah Pedal
JHS 3 Series Delay
JHS Crayon
Electro-Harmonix Nano POG
Strymon Ojai
JHS Mini A/B
TC Electronic PolyTune
TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Noir Mini Polyphonic Tuning Pedal
D’Addario EXL125 XLs (.009 –.046)
D’Addario ECB81 Chromes Flatwounds (.045 –.100)
Fender Super Bassman
Bassman 410 Neo Cab
Acme Audio Motown DI WB-3 Passive DI Box
JHS Colour Box
Boss TU-3
D’Addario NYXL1149 NYXLs (.011 –.049)
Gibson ES-335
Fender Telecaster Thinline
Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb
Radial JDI Passive Direct Box
DigiTech Mosaic
The term bolero is loosely translated as “ballad,” although it refers to a specific type of song form derived from traditional folk poetry. As a genre, bolero is a dramatic, semi-theatrical musical style that got something of a facelift in the psychedelic era when groups like Los Angeles Negros and Los Pasteles Verdes reinterpreted them on more modern instruments like electric guitars—drenched in reverb, obviously—and combo organs, although without venturing too far from the music’s more traditional, romantic roots.
Adrian Quesada, iLe - Mentiras Con Cariño (Official Video)
On Boleros Psicodélicos, Quesada uses that classic bolero repertoire as a starting point, but the album is no revivalist tribute or throwback. He wrote most of the tracks, experimented with new timbres and technologies, and his approach is thoroughly modern. He’ll grab vintage gear—and run it through tape, too—if that’s what’s needed to get the sounds he’s after, but he’s not averse to digital effects and plug-ins, and the entire project, ultimately, was recorded inside the box.
“I do have a full analog setup, but I’m no purist with what the process is,” Quesada says. “That was true with this record, in particular, because Boleros Psicodélicos was pretty much recorded remotely. I started everything myself, sent it out to people, and they sent me files back. It was done during the pandemic, so nobody came into the studio.”
The digital process makes collaboration—not to mention editing—infinitely easier, although for Quesada it isn’t always the most productive route for finding the ideal tone.
“I would be dialing knobs for two hours and then I thought, ‘What if I just run it to tape?’ I ran it to tape—that takes 5 minutes—and I’m like, ‘That’s the sound I was hearing.’”
“Plug-ins and whatnot are really pretty amazing now, as is the modeling you can get digitally,” he says, “but man, there were times where I’d spend two hours pulling up all the modeling and plug-ins to get that tape-and-tubes sound. I would be dialing knobs for two hours and then I thought, ‘What if I just run it to tape?’ I ran it to tape—that takes 5 minutes—and I’m like, ‘That’s the sound I was hearing.’”
Boleros Psicodélicos is also dripping in rivers of tremolo. The effect wasn’t that prevalent on the classic psychedelic boleros, but Quesada couldn’t resist. “I love everything with tremolo,” he says. “I put tremolo on everything.” As a general approach, he goes for the best sound, regardless of the technology most aficionados insist is the only way to achieve it. For tremolo—and despite a studio full of classic amps loaded with an assortment of vintage warbles—he often found himself leaning on the completely digital Strymon Flint.
“If I had to keep one pedal on my pedalboard, that would be it,” he says about the device. “I do have a lot of different tremolos in the studio as well—and you can’t beat amp tremolo, a lot of those just sound so musical and a lot more natural—but on the record I used the Strymon Flint a lot. It’s so easy and practical, and has color.”
Adrian Quesada recorded Boleros Psicodélicos during the pandemic, collaborating remotely with Marc Ribot, Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, Gaby Moreno, Money Mark, and many others.
On Boleros Psicodélicos, you can hear Quesada’s tremolo in action in the subtle orchestrated textures he employs on tracks like “Mentiras Con Cariño,” which features Grammy-winning vocalist Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, otherwise known as iLe, as well as the lush—that’s “lush” in a very mid-’70s Holiday Inn-hotel-bar kind of way—“El León.” He uses other tones not usually associated with bolero as well, like a wah for the beautiful and catchy leads on “El Muchacho De Los Ojos Tristes” and an acoustic on “Tus Tormentas.”
Throughout his career, and regardless of genre, he’s always gravitated toward grittier, complex sounds. “With guitar, I’ve always liked a tiny bit of dirt on there,” Quesada says. “Whether it’s pushing an amp to get the sound… tubes crunching up is a very appealing sound to me, although I also like the sound of tape reacting. I like those artifacts that come with it. I don’t like the guitar to be too smooth. I prefer fuzz tones over overdrive. I like things that have a little more color to them. Even if they can be a little bit abrasive, that’s where I gravitate. I like things with character like that.”
“I don’t like the guitar to be too smooth. I prefer fuzz tones over overdrive. I like things that have a little more color to them—even if they can be a little bit abrasive, that’s where I gravitate. I like things with character like that.”
A good example of that on Boleros Psicodélicos—at least, just a touch—is Marc Ribot’s guest performance on “Hielo Seco,” which also features Money Mark of Beastie Boys fame.
“Marc was a big influence on me,” Quesada says. “When I was in college and really discovering this music, he had done a project called Los Cubanos Postizos, which means ‘the Prosthetic Cubans.’ He was doing Cuban music and it was almost traditional—the rhythms were correct—but he was playing electric guitar with a tremolo. You know, my use of the tremolo, honestly, especially in lead playing, a lot of that came from hearing him play. Everything was overdriven with a tremolo. It was just such a different approach to Latin music and his leads were so unique. You could tell he knew jazz, but he wasn’t quite playing like that. It was really outside the box.”
Adrian Quesada’s Gear
Adrian Quesada’s pedalboard currently has eight pedals, but the MVP is his Strymon Flint. “If I had to keep one pedal on my pedalboard, that would be it,” he says.
Guitars
- Fender Parallel Universe Jazz Strat
- Fender Custom Shop Telecaster with humbucker in neck position
- Gibson ES-446
- Gibson ES-125
Amps
- 1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb
- 1972 Fender Deluxe Reverb
- Fender Princeton Handwired Reissue
- Fender Tweed Champ
- Fender Twin
- Gibson GA-20
Effects
- Strymon Flint
- Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano
- Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
- Line 6 ToneCore Echo Park
- Catalinbread Epoch Boost
- Catalinbread Echorec
- EarthQuaker Devices Park Fuzz Sound
- TC Electronic PolyTune 2
Strings & Picks
- D’Addario Super Light Plus (.095–.044) or .010 (.010–.046) sets
- Green Dunlop Tortex .88 mm
Coming full circle, it was a fortuitous glitch in the matrix that led to Ribot appearing on the record. “I hit a wall when I was recording ‘Hielo Seco,’” Quesada continues. “I was going to play guitar on it myself and I was getting tired. I was like, ‘What can I do to finish this song?’ I was working in my yard one day and the YouTube algorithm spit out one of those Marc Ribot Los Cubanos Postizos songs. I thought, ‘He would be perfect for the song,’ and luckily, he did it.”
Often in the studio, Quesada gets those distorted sounds plugging direct into the board and recording to tape, without bothering with an amp. He also prefers the sound of a tape reel that’s been used a few times, which he feels adds character.
“I like what it does after you reuse it a little bit,” he says. “You tame some of the high end and that’s favorable to me for some stuff like drums and guitars. I reuse a reel for just enough—to where I start hearing a little bit too much degradation—and then I get a new one. But I will recycle them for quite a few runs though. It’s like breaking in guitar strings—by the third or fourth show you realize they’re not as stiff anymore.”
Adrian Quesada fingerpicks a Gibson ES-125 archtop in this outtake from the music video for the lead single, “Mentiras Con Cariño,” from Boleros Psicodélicos.
Photo by César Berrios
One hallmark of Quesada’s approach to production, which stands out on Boleros Psicodélicos, is his exceptional sense of orchestration. He brings in subtle touches, often for just a single verse or repeated figure—like a fingerpicked part or a mild tremolo warble—that, although understated and hard to catch on first listen, transforms an arrangement.
He approaches each composition with a concept in his head and records the basic tracks with those ideas in mind—usually to give the vocalist guideposts to work with—and then revisits the entire arrangement once the vocals are complete.
“I was working in my yard one day and the YouTube algorithm spit out one of those Marc Ribot Los Cubanos Postizos songs. I thought, ‘He would be perfect for the song,’ and luckily, he did it.”
“I hear most of the arrangement already before a singer even does anything,” he says. “But I try not to overdo it. It’s a real fine balance you have to find. I want to put enough color in there for the singer to react to and to feel certain moments that I want accented, but, also, I don’t want to overpower. I want to leave room to hear what they do. It’s like two stages, and when I get the files back, I usually go in there and strip stuff away—I put some stuff back, too—and use their vocals to figure out where I can bring certain things out, but also not step on the vocals. It’s almost like cooking: I try and wait for the end to really add everything.”
That intricate production style—as amazing as it sounds on record—can be something of a disadvantage when trying to perform the music live. What gets left out? What is essential? Does the music suffer? That was a particular challenge for Boleros Psicodélicos, because the music was never intended to be played in front of an audience.
Casada at his Electric Deluxe Studios in South Austin, Texas.
Photo by Jackie Lee Young
“We did some radio promotion, and that was the first time these songs had been played live,” Quesada says. “We had to rehearse and commit to what parts we wanted to keep and what we wanted to scrap. It was a good challenge to get in there and decide what was really crucial. Obviously, there are going to be parts that are not going to be there—because I can’t have a 20-piece band—but honestly, when I’m making an album like that, I try to imagine somewhat what it would be like if we were together in a room. I try to make it seem somewhat natural or human. I don’t like to record 40 guitars just to do it.”
That’s similar to how the Black Pumas’ album was recorded as well. “With Black Pumas, it was almost like night and day. When we made that album, we hadn’t really played live, either. But once we started to play live, all the songs took on another life. It’s almost like completely different arrangements from the album.”
“It’s almost like cooking: I try and wait for the end to really add everything."
Pulling together those influences—which is drawn from years of experience and a well-defined aesthetic sense—is ultimately how Quesada puts the pieces together. It’s how he can take an older, beloved genre like bolero and coax out something that’s contemporary and relevant, and real.
“When I started the Boleros album, I had a playlist of inspiration songs I was using at first to get off the ground, but honestly, I didn’t want to get stuck making a covers album or any sort of carbon copy—you can just go back and hear the originals. I used the older music as a template, but then I ran with it. I tried to make it a little bit more varied and a little truer to myself than just covering it exactly. After a while, I stopped referencing the old stuff and was just off on my own. Obviously, it’s still in the ballpark referencing the older material, but I wasn’t trying to copy anything.”
Adrian Quesada's Boleros Psicodélicos in KUTX Studio 1A
A rare live performance recorded for KUTX in Austin, Texas. Check out Quesada’s unusual all-upstroke picking technique on the first and third songs. The drummer is Jay Mumford, aka J-Zone, an accomplished hip-hop artist. “I remember following him on social media,” Quesada says. “I love that he’s someone who came from a hip-hop production background and then started approaching the drums like that. The dedication he put into being a good drummer was really inspiring. I was watching him and watching him, and then he started posting videos and I was like, ‘This guy is really good.’ During the pandemic, I was looking for somebody to help remote record some drums, so I just hit him up.”
