Joel Hoekstra is a longtime Les Paul guy. This 2007 Gibson Les Paul Custom is his main axe for the TSO show. It’s totally stock, and like all of his guitars, it’s strung up with Ernie Ball Power Slinky .011–.048 strings.
Joel Hoekstra’s 2017 Gibson Firebird Custom also features an ebony fretboard and 490R/ 498T humbuckers.
Here’s Joel Hoekstra’s 50th Anniversary Gibson Flying V in a Brimstone Burst finish.
This 1991 Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III was originally purchased for jazz/swing gigs, but Joel Hoekstra finds it works well with the TSO.
Joel Hoekstra also grabs this 2016 Friedman Vintage-T, which is loaded with a Fernandes Sustainer, and decked out in Vintage White to match the holiday theme. Beneath the bridge you’ll notice a small card of text that was taken from David Zablidowsky’s funeral and placed there to honor Joel’s former bandmate. (Zablidowsky was killed when a semi-truck hit the touring vehicle for Adrenaline Mob in 2017.)
This 2010 white Explorer-style guitar was built for Joel Hoekstra by Atomic Guitar Works.
Joel Hoekstra also rocks this 2010 Jackson USA Signature Phil Collen PC1 with a DiMarzio DP152 in the bridge, a DP116 in the middle, and a Fernandes PC1 Sustainer Driver in the neck.
Ironically through a Steve Vai hookup, Joel Hoekstra got his hands on this brand-new Ibanez JS1CR Satriani sig with a Fernandes Sustainiac in the neck.
When things get mellow Joel Hoekstra grabs this 2010 Martin 000-16GT armed with a Fishman Matrix Infinity VT preamp. It’s strung up with Ernie Ball 80/20 Bronze strings (.013–.056).
For quicker acoustic changes, Joel Hoekstra uses this early ’90s Gibson Chet Atkins SST.
Joel Hoekstra uses the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II XL with his tech, Galen Henson, controlling the effects in real-time with an off-stage Voodoo Lab Ground Control switcher. Hoekstra mainly uses two sounds:
- A dry rhythm sound based on the Mesa/Boogie TriAxis model into a 4x12 Recto cab model. This same preset is used with delay programmed to song tempos when needed.
- A lead sound based on the Soldano SLO-100 model into a 4x12 Recto cab model, with a TS808 model in front, delay programmed to song tempo, and a plate reverb.
There’s also a clean sound used in just a couple of instances that’s based on a Fender Vibroverb model into a Bassman cab model with light chorus, delay, and reverb.
The rig itself consists of four channels of Shure UR4D wireless, one channel for acoustic guitar direct to the board and three channels for electric guitar into a Whirlwind Multi-Selector which sends the signal to the Fractal that sends the signal directly to the board.
Chris Caffery recently purchased a trio of matching Gibsons in Hunter Green. The first one is a stock 1992 Custom Shop Flying V. This and all but one other guitar, is strung with GHS .010–.052 nickel strings.
The second matching guitar is Chris Caffery’s ’93 Gibson SG.
Finally, we have Chris Caffery’s ’92 Gibson Explorer. This guitar is kept in drop-C tuning (C–G–C–F–A–D) and uses GHS .011–.056 strings.
Chris Caffery’s Zelinski is a special TSO build with white tiger engraved graphics. The neck is engraved with the company’s patent-pending Z-Glide that’s reminiscent of a diamond pattern for a better feel and smoother movement. It’s loaded with a Seymour Duncan JB set.
This 2001 Jackson V was revamped by Chris Caffery’s tech, Fred Kowalo, who put in a set of Seymour Duncan JB pickups and returned the wiring to the proper specs. It is equipped with an Eddie Van Halen Floyd Rose D-Tuna.
This 2009 Gibson Les Paul is equipped with a TonePro bridge and tailpiece, Grover locking tuners, and a Hipshot GT1 Grover-style drop-D tuner.
The graphics on Chris Caffery’s 2008 Dean are from TSO’s Night Castle album and sports Seymour Duncan pickups and an EVH D-Tuna.
Chris Caffery’s other decked-out Dean is dubbed “The Wizard” and features custom TSO graphics, Grover tuners, and Seymour Duncan JG pickups.
This 2009 Zelinsky DBZ features Beethoven graphics, Seymour Duncan JB pickups, and an EVH D-Tuna.
The centerpiece of Chris Caffery’s rack are his DigiTech GSP1101 units. He rolls with three vintage models and combines them with a Dunlop Cry Baby rackmount wah.
In Chris Caffery’s pedal rack sits a Fulltone GT500, H.B.E. Power Screamer, and a Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble. The whole rig is powered by a Furman AR-15 Voltage Regulator.
And we couldn't forget this one — a curvaceous interpretation of a classic is Joel Hoekstra’s 2018 Gibson Modern V.
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Chicagoland Strong
What’s terrific about this guitar is that it looks sharp, is well built, and is a joy to play. The slim body gives the guitar a light, sleek feel not unlike my Stratocaster. And at a gig, the test model’s gracefully arched solid mahogany body and flame maple top (in trans-wine finish with natural binding) was attractive enough to draw questions from musicians and civilians alike. Hardware including the GraphTech piezo-acoustic bridge, stop bar, pickup selector, and four nickel speed dials all look as substantial and efficient as they proved to be in practice. The 20:1 locking tuners are easy to grip and held steady as I changed from standard to open tunings and gave the strings a beating. Making adjustments to the humbucker/piezo mix and the output volume was smooth and easy. The sole exception was a small crackling sound that occurred every time I switched the coil tap between humbucking and single-coil modes.
The Z-Glide Custom has a set 24 3/4" neck, with a rosewood, 12"-radius fretboard and 22 perfectly seated and smooth-ended frets. Tasteful-but-artful diamond inlays pretty up the fretboard. And the neck was every bit as comfortable and fun to play as my usual array of familiar Telecasters, Stratocasters, and Les Pauls. The guitar also weighs in at a groovy seven pounds, making the LaVoce a four-sets-a-night player’s dream.
I’m less sure about the merits of Zelinsky’s patented Z-Glide neck. I agree with his basic concept—that reducing the neck’s rear surface area via a waffle-style finish eliminates some friction that a lacquered neck can cause. But in practical terms, I didn’t feel like I ran faster or jumped considerably higher. (Admittedly, I’m no shredder.) It’s also possible that those tiny waffled spaces are going to fill up with grime over time (Zelinsky, for their part, asserts that a regular wipe-down after use prevents such accumulation).
LaVoce’s Voices
I tested the LaVoce through a blackface Twin Reverb, my dual Orange Micro Terror stereo rig, and a Roland Cube 30 (which, of course, yielded the most acoustic-guitar-like tone). In general though, it responded best to my 1972 Marshall Super Lead. Given Zelinsky’s metal-centric design pedigree and the elevated temperature of the LaVoce’s pickups—10.2k for the SideKick neck pickup, and 15.4k for the Custom bridge pickup—that’s not especially shocking.
Ratings
Pros:
Well-built. Great neck. Good looks. Super-playable. Nice single-coil tones.
Cons:
Humbuckers may be too hot for players with vintage tastes. Dirt-trapping neck.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$899
Dean Zelinsky LaVoce Custom
deanzelinsky.com
Relative to ’50s or ’60s Gibson-style humbuckers, LaVoce’s humbuckers are very mid-focused, an effect that was particularly pronounced on the neck pickup, where I prefer a lot of depth and warmth. There was also a distinctive snap, most prominent on the bottom string—with or without the piezo dialed in—that can be a little unflattering. (I did not, however, attempt to adjust the height of the pickups, which can sometimes subdue these percussive sounds.) Using the tone control to massage the output doesn’t yield profound shifts in this basic sound, and the tone control itself could use a more-gentle taper. Most likely, the two alnico pickups are simply too sizzling to achieve a lot of classic, low-output humbucker nuance. For those that like to keep the pedal to the metal, however, LaVoce’s humbuckers might well be set up in the sweet spot.
Single-Coil Boil
Things get hot in a good way with the single-coil settings. Impressively, there is no volume loss when switching from humbucker settings. And pumped through both high- and low-gain amps, the neck and bridge pickups produced very warm, Strat-like tones that were crisp and articulate.
“Stage acoustic” is probably the best way to describe the piezo tone alone, since it, at best, merely approximates the sound of an actual amplified acoustic 6-string. Overall the LaVoce’s piezo sound lacks the airiness, woody warmth, and delicacy of true acoustic tones. But—and I liked this aspect of LaVoce’s sound a lot—it did remind me of the hollowbody or semi-hollowbody electric guitar sounds found on ’50s and ’60s recordings by Fred McDowell or Lightnin’ Hopkins— snappy and articulate with a little edge. Cool—and an unexpected dividend.
The Verdict
Although the LaVoce Z-Glide Custom has a good core electric sound, it might not suit players that gravitate toward classic bread-and-butter tones. It’s probably a best fit for shred or heavy-rock inclined players that like hot humbucker tones and raw power with the flexibility of serviceable acoustic tones with some rootsier single-coil textures. And while it may come up short in its declared mission to be all guitars to all people, LaVoce’s solid build, joyful playablity, and nice single-coil sounds make the $899 street price seem quite fair.
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