![Rig Rundown: The Hives [2021]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/rig-rundown-the-hives-2021.jpg?id=28235821&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Just after soundcheck wrapped at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, the Hives’ redlining guitar duo of Nicholaus Arson and Vigilante Carlstroem welcomed PG’s Chris Kies onstage to talk gear. The resulting chat covered just how and why Carlstroem’s Flying V has split so many times (supposedly sounding better after each repair), and the reasons why Arson explains his vintage, bridge-pickup-only Fender Telecaster Custom is still the one. Both also quickly detail the torrid fuzzes that will never leave their respective boards.
[Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard:https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR]
Carlstroem’s Corroding Coronet
The band has several rigs situated across the globe with varying differences. However, for Vigilante Carlstroem this early 1959 Epiphone Coronet never leaves his side and tours everywhere. He’s had the stripped-down, rock-’n’-roll machine for 20 years, but when he first acquired the Epi it was “in fucking mint condition.” Prior to owning this one, he fell for its shape and vibe in the form of the similar (3-pickup) Epiphone Crestwood Deluxe. The stage staple has endured two different headstock fractures. Since getting his mitts on the axe, he’s played every Hives show with it. And he keeps everything decked out with Ernie Ball Paradigm Not Even Slinkys (.012–.056) and punishes the strings with Dunlop Tortex 1.14 mm picks.
Come Fly with V
When Carlstroem does need a neck pickup, he’ll put on this ’90s Gibson Flying V (with Lollar pickups) that’s been snapped in half and splintered several times. He swears that both this and the Coronet sound better after their rehabs.
V Marks the Spot
Here’s a glimpse of just some of the V’s battle scars.
Transatlantic Tones
Just like in our 2013 Rundown with the Hives, Carlstroem is still bringing the might with a one-two amp punch. He’s using a Divided by 13 JJN 50/100 that runs into an Orange PPC412 equipped with Celestion Vintage 30s (last time he was running Celestion Heritage Greenbacks in a different cab) and a Fender Vibro-King that pumps through three 25-watt alnico Jensen P10R-Fs. The amps’ controls and circuitry are shielded with foil because they and the Epiphone are sensitive to interference. (And an Orange Custom Shop 50 lurks in the background, as a backup for either amp.)
Old and New
When it comes to Carlstroem’s pedalboard, some things have changed while others have remained the same. Holdovers include a Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay (set to slapback setting), an Electro-Harmonix POG2 (used for an octave down or to imitate the saxophone on “Go Right Ahead” or organ on “My Time is Coming”), a custom Frantone Vigilantron tremolo, and a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus. Newcomers include a Skrydstrup R&D BF2M buffer (helping with the long cable runs) and a ZVEX Fuzz Factory Vertical. (To be fair, Carlstroem had an original Fuzz Factory—his favorite pedal—last time but has since opted for the compact version.)
T Time for Arson
Similar to Carlstroem, guitar mate Nicholaus Arson travels light when Stateside. Again, his No. 1 is a 1970s Fender Telecaster Custom that has just its overwound (stock) bridge pickup wired up. The vintage Tele once belonged to frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, who generously sold it to Arson. Both his Ts take Ernie Ball Paradigm 2020 Power Slinkys (.011–.048).
Crack My Back
Arson’s main axe has suffered several splits—none more impressive (or worrisome) than the re-glued fault line running from the cutaway to the body’s bottom.
T-Bird
His U.S. backup is this Sundberg The Arsonette that was designed by the guitarist. He aimed to make a crossbreed of a Telecaster and a Firebird by giving the single-cut a raised center block. (The neck still uses Fender-style, bolt-on construction.) The lone pickup is a Lace Sensor T-150 single-coil. The upper bout is chambered producing a deader, more-direct sound that Arson likens to a banjo or drum. He strives for a tone that is immediate and rhythmic, eschewing any sustain or lingering notes.
Eko-T
Up top, the hybrid 6-string has another cross-pollination feature: the traditional T-style headstock is elongated, similar to the old Italian Eko designs. The small text on the headstock reads: “Built by D Sundberg in favour of the hands of N Arson.”
Black-panel + Silver-panel = Fender Bliss
Keeping it all Fender, all the time, Arson plugs into both cherished time periods of Fullerton amp lore. Side A is a black-panel Bandmaster that hits a vintage Hiwatt cab outfitted with Celestion Heritage Greenback speakers. Side B is a silver-panel 1976 Fender Vibrolux. Notice Arson is plugging into the vibrato channels of both amps and each has its bright switch engaged.
Arson’s Antics
Three of Arson’s pedals are exactly as they were in 2013: a Crowther Audio Prunes & Custard fuzz for songs like “Tick Tick Boom,” a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay for short echo on “Take Back the Toys” and “Bigger Hole to Fill,” and a Boss AW-3 Dynamic Wah used for the intro to “Hate to Say I Told You So.” Last time he had an EHX Micro POG, but because the band was playing a fresh set of jams, he swapped it out for a TC Electronic Classic TC XII Phaser.
Even her playing style is at odds with itself. "I prefer fingerpicking. I like playing really crunchy, loud, aggressive stuff in the styling of a classical player. And when it comes time to play big power chords, honestly, I just make my fingers bleed," she says. Those divergent personalities and approaches result in singular musical snapshots rather than a predictable path through each performance, song, and album.
Sprinter, from 2015, was angsty, urgent, and erratic. And 2017's Three Futures stripped back the guitar barrage for an electronic bent, centered around stark beats and cold synths. Last year's self-produced Silver Tongue twisted the previous albums' makeup into an unusual two-step that often made the guitars pretty and the synths wicked. (Don't worry, guitar loyalists. There's still some 6-string fire.) And now Thirstier is a concise blast of catchy, power pop numbers that are heavier and shinier.
Out in support of her new album, Torres' October 14 Nashville show had her headlining the Exit/In. Before soundcheck Scott introduced PG to her Tele companions, explained why she'd rather play with bloody fingers than use a pick, and showed how seven stomps cover all the shades of traditional rock guitar and much more.
[Brought to you by D'Addario XPND Pedalboard: https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR]
Thrashy Tele
When Torres first hit PG's radar back in 2015, she was predominately raging onstage with a new-ish stock Fender Jazzmaster. She's still in the Fender family, but she remembers 2016 as the year she first flirted with the Telecaster, and she hasn't since looked back. Her current main squeeze is this Fender American Vintage '72 Telecaster Thinline.
"I'm in every way obsessed with this guitar," gushes Scott in a recent Big 5 video with PG. Some of the reasons she hasn't strayed too far from this particular T is its comfy neck profile, lightweight body, and rounder, more aggressive pickups than her aforementioned Jazzmaster or the ES-335 that was a collective Christmas gift from her family.
She typically plays on Ernie Ball Power Slinkys (.011 –.048), but this run she opted for Regular Slinky .010s. However, that experiment appears to be fleeting as she mentions in the Rundown that she's been breaking a lot more strings with the lighter gauge. And most of the set is in standard tuning, but there is a rare moment or two she'll go down to drop d.
Custom Backup
This T has a Fender Tele Custom makeup, but it's actually a parts guitar. (The dead giveaway being its naked headstock.) If all goes well with the Thinline, this yellow bird stays caged on the sidelines.
Pedal Platform Minus the Tinnitus
Scott has plugged into Blues Juniors and Twin Reverbs, but she feels the sweet spot for her live sound and volume considerations is the Fender Deluxe Reverb. The reissue is completely stock, including its Jensen C-12K speaker with a ceramic magnet.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
"Transparent" is a guitardom buzzword. It's often used in marketing speak for the next-best pedal offering organic, free-range, USDA-approved tone. (Okay, that's a bit of a stretch, but you get the point.) Nothing Scott has selected for her stomp station can be described as subtle or translucent. Even her delays and reverbs accentuate weird, supernatural flavor crystals.
The filth and fury comes in the potent pairing of a Joyo Vintage Overdrive and EarthQuaker Devices Palisades. Next is the Death By Audio Echo Dream 2 that brings in modulation, delay, and boost/fuzz. She claims this is her "most-utilized" pedal. She really likes how the echo and fuzz circuits interact with the Joyo. The EQD Afterneath brings in ambient, deep, spelunking reverbs. Beefing up the Afterneath and filling it out with faux synth vibes is the Electro-Harmonix POG2. Another favorite application for the POG2 is pulling its attack all the way down and dramatically gliding into the notes. The Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay is a complex, time-bending tool that sprinkles in modulation, reverse delay, and compression, plus the grit and saturation heard in the old tape echoes. The last pedal is a Meris Enzo that is equal parts inspiring and frustrating. The multi-voice synthesizer reacts differently to each note played by Torres. "I have a hard time getting it under control and taming the beast, but that's what I love about it."
The cozy, clean, all-in-one command center was custom built by Onkel Amplification.
