![Fall Out Boy Rig Rundown [2024]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/fall-out-boy-rig-rundown-with-patrick-stump-joe-trohman-pete-wentz-guitar-bass-gear-tour.jpg?id=52823626&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
Back in March, Chicago’s Fall Out Boy blasted through Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of a year-long tour supporting their 2023 release, So Much (for) Stardust. It was their first solo headline tour since 2018, and they brought along loads of new noisemakers for the occasion.
Frontman Patrick Stump has moved on from his trademark Gretsch electrics, guitarist Joe Trohman scored an Explorer that may or may not remind us of a certain purple McDonald’s character, and Pete Wentz packs some basses that bring both ice and fire to the gig. And while tube amps still reign supreme in the studio, including the recording of So Much (for) Stardust, the band goes digital and speaker-free on the road.
Brought to you by D’AddarioPaint It Red
After his love affair with Gretsch came to a close, the Guild S-60D has become Patrick Stump’s new muse. Given his intense vocal responsibilities during performances, he’s aiming for function over form these days, and the S-60D and S-300 models are fitting the bill for playability and position in the mix. “I want something that stays in tune,” he says. “I try to be as minimal as possible.”
Stump bought this S-60D with its all-over bright-red paint job, then set about sourcing red components to make it almost entirely monochrome. He also dropped a DiMarzio Super Distortion humbucker in the bridge and a Seymour Duncan Little ’59 in the neck.
Multicolor Halo
Stump commissioned this Halo guitar, which turned out radically different from what he initially pitched. It was first envisioned to help Stump out with some metal playing he was recording for a TV project, so he called for some classic touches like scalloped frets, a Floyd Rose, and a Seymour Duncan Dimebucker in the bridge. But the color ended up anything but metal. It’s not totally applicable to most Fall Out Boy material, but Stump is giving it a shot at some live play time.
Horse With Name
For slower moments, Stump goes with this Martin X Series acoustic he picked up at Guitar Center around 15 years ago. Since he had a deal with Fender, he covered the headstock Martin logo with some black tape that’s remained there ever since.
Mighty Zemaitis
First up, Trohman shows off this Japanese-made Zemaitis The Portrait Hisashi Signature Model, a model built in honor of Glay guitarist Hisashi Tonomura. While not a genuine Tony Zemaitis build, Trohman likes this one for its stability and build quality.
The Grimace
Trohman was lusting after this ’80s Gibson Custom Shop plumburst Explorer when he saw it pop up on Reverb, and when it sold, he was heartbroken. A few days later, his wife surprised him with it. It’s named Sanders, in honor of her maiden name.
Smokin' a Sig
Trohman also brings out his signature Squier Joe Trohman Telecaster, a take on the Tele Deluxe that includes a 5-position rotary selector switch to navigate the triple-pickup configuration.
Catching Rays
Tech Christian Zayas shows off this stunning custom paint job Sterling by Music Man Pete Wentz StingRay, which is outfitted with passive (rather than the typical active) pickups and a Hipshot drop tuning system. Note the signature red-eyed-loon inlay art on the 12th fret.
Winter Wonderland
This brand new, heavy-as-hell signature StingRay is full of some type of liquid (Zayas believes its anti-freeze) plus white material that turns it into a bass-shaped snowglobe. Wentz pulls it out for a fantasy sequence in the show, and it doesn’t stick around long because of its weight and more mellow tone.
Don't Sink the 8 Ball
This Pete Wentz StingRay is also a new addition, and comes out for an 8-ball-related encore.
Pete Might've Started the Fire
The last Sterling in the stable is also Wentz’s most deadly, doubling as a flamethrower during some of the show’s pyrotechnic flourishes. A primer on the upper bout preps the rear-mounted flame system, and the red-covered switch controls ignition. The pyro team tests it before each show with local fire departments to ensure its safety. “Sometimes we wanna be KISS, and we are,” says Zayas.
Farewell To Tubes
Joe Tone
Joe Trohman's tech Ben Young helped the FOB lead guitarist creep in digital modelers and here he provides additional details for what's happening inside the Axe-Fx III:
"The Fractal is set up where we have a different patch for each song, and then use scenes for each section of the songs. I have a template with all our dialed in amps and effects for everything. All the amp sounds are based off a JCM800 for our mid gain “crunch” sound, and a Dual Rectifier for our classic Fall Out Boy heavy sound. We also have a Friedman amp and a “brown sound” amp for other higher gain options that we’ve been using on newer songs and a Matchless for clean stuff."
This Guild X-350B is a near-exact replica of the Epiphone Zephyr Emperor Regent.
This gorgeous 1958 Guild X-350B came through our doors at Fanny’s House of Music and told us a sweeping tale of sour times and sweet times, taking us all the way from Turkey to New York. This is the story of how Guild picked up Epiphone’s lemons and made some lemonade.
In 1873, a 12-year-old Greek boy named Anastasios Stathopoulo, who had just moved with his family to İzmir, Turkey, began acquiring woodworking skills by watching his father, a lumber merchant, at work. Anastasios, however, was much more interested in the local folk music scene than in carrying on the family business, and in 1890, he started his own musical instrument manufacturing business. Then, three years later, he and his wife Marianthe welcomed their first child, Epaminondas (“Epi,” for short), into their young family.
Ethnic tensions in Turkey forced the Stathopoulo family to move to the United States in the early 1900s. Anastasios set up shop in Manhattan and became very successful, and little Epi worked alongside his father until Anastasios died of cancer in 1915. It was then Epi’s time to take over.
Marianthe died in the early ’20s. As mandolins were becoming less popular, Epi made the savvy decision to shift the company’s focus to banjos. Eventually, he changed the name of the company from the House of Stathopoulo to Epiphone, combining his nickname with the Greek word for sound: “phone.” Epiphone’s move to banjos proved prescient, and they rocketed ahead of their primary competitor, Gibson.
Following Epiphone’s move from NYC to Philadelphia in 1953, several employees began working for the Guild Guitar Company.
Gibson beat Epiphone to the burgeoning guitar market, which touched off an arms race of sorts between the two companies. In 1931, Epiphone tried to pull ahead by introducing their Masterbilt line, featuring guitars that were 3/8" wider than their Gibson counterparts. Gibson followed that up with guitars that were nearly 3 1/2" wider than the Masterbilts, and Epiphone followed that up with a guitar called the Emperor, that was a 1/2" wider still! Competition between the two companies raged on, and Epiphone’s growth would likely have continued unabated if not for the production restrictions of World War II, and the death of Epaminondas in 1943.
Epi’s brothers took control of the company and tried to revamp its offerings with more electric instruments. They gave the Emperor a pickup, and it became the Zephyr Emperor (with the word “Regent” added to the model if it had a cutaway), featuring a cool push-button pickup selector. Unfortunately, this top-of-the-line instrument would be the last hurrah of the storied company, as Epiphone’s finances were shaky, and Epi’s younger brothers proved to not be as gifted in promotion and organization as he had been.
One distinguishing feature on this model and its Epiphone counterpart is its unique push-button pickup selector.
Epiphone’s deteriorating relationship with unions led to a four-month strike and the company moved production to Philadelphia in 1953. But many of the craftsmen chose not to leave New York, and some had already begun working for the nascent Guild Guitar Company, bringing their ideas and designs with them. Eventually, in 1957, Epiphone was sold to Gibson.
Our 1958 Guild X-350B is a near-exact copy of the Epiphone Zephyr Emperor Regent with its three pickups, two knobs, and unique push-button pickup selector that reminds this author of the Chrysler push-button automatic transmissions from the mid ’50s. This is the rare blonde-finished version (hence the “B” in the model name), and behind the 60 years of buckle rash is some beautifully figured maple on the back and sides.
Speaking of buckle rash, sometimes you can just tell that a vintage guitar was very well-loved. This Guild is one of those. The edges of the neck are perfectly rounded, the way only years of playing can achieve, like a piece of glass that’s been rolling around in the ocean for a while and all the corners have rubbed off. Much of the finish on the back of the neck is worn away, and playing this guitar is a delightfully soft experience, sort of like a hug from an old friend.
“Epiphone’s move to banjos proved prescient, and they rocketed ahead of their primary competitor, Gibson.”
Especially because of the “buckle rash” on the guitar’s back, a sign of heavy use, our columnist deems it very well-loved by its prior owner(s).
Life handed lemons to many of the folks in this story. The Stathopoulo family had to leave their home in Turkey and start a new life in the United States. The employees at Epiphone had to decide whether to move to Philadelphia with their employer or try to find new work in New York. Their collective choices led to this beautiful guitar time-traveling 66 years to our shop, where pretty soon someone will find it as refreshing as a cold glass of lemonade in the summer, and take it home to enjoy for the next 66 years.
Sources: Epiphone.com, “The Epiphone Zephyr Emperor Regent as told by Walter Carter” by Carter Vintage Guitars on YouTube, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars by Walter Carter and George Gruhn.
