We had the good fortune of catching up with California hardcore outfit Drain on their Good Good Tour, a year after the release of their 2023 LP, Living Proof. A few hours before the band ripped Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, guitarist Cody Chavez gave PG’s Perry Bean the scoop on how he achieves his brutal rhythm and lead tones that form the basis of the band’s thrashy, metallic hardcore.
Brought to you by D’Addario
Sparkly but Savage
Chavez’s first workhorse is this Jackson Virtuoso 6-string, finished in a dazzling deep blue sparkle. The band has a deal with the legendary manufacturers of heavy-music machines, and Chavez leaves his mostly stock, with a Floyd Rose tremolo system, locking tuners, and Seymour Duncan pickups. Chavez used to roll with heavier gauges, but these days, he favors .009–.042 strings.
Frozen Flamethrower
This Jackson X Series Soloist SL3X DX is finished in an insanely cool design dubbed “frost byte crackle,” and is Chavez’s favorite of the two Jacksons. It’s super light, with a neck-through-body construction and three Jackson pickups: two mini humbucker rail pickups and one full-size humbucker.
Tone Master of Puppets
In the past, Chavez played through all sorts of holy-grail tube amplifiers. But when he tested a Jackson guitar through a Fender Tone Master Pro, he was smitten with the great sounds and intuitive interface, so he’s brought one out on the road. He runs both his lead and rhythm sounds through the EVH 5150 amp profile, with different virtual effects chains for each preset. For his base rhythm tones, he runs an always-on Tube Screamer plus a light chorus and EQ, with settings copped from Dimebag Darrell. For leads, a more spacey, intense, “triple double” chorus is applied along with a slick digital delay. Chavez runs his guitar to the Tone Master Pro via a wireless system.
Power Up
When he first got his Tone Master Pro, Chavez ran it right into his Marshall 4x12 cab, and he couldn’t figure out why it was so quiet. A friend clued him in that he’d need a power amp to run with it, so he picked up this Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700, which powers his signal through the Marshall cab. In the future, Chavez might go totally DI, but for now, he stands by the power of a beat-up speaker cabinet blasting out gnarly riffs every night.
If In Flames didn’t invent melodic death metal, they cemented the genre’s arrival with Lunar Strain and Subterranean, and if those were early blueprints to the burgeoning style, the Swedes’ The Jester Race and Whoracle were the impeccable benchmarks that made the aggressive artform matter. They’ve continued to push the genre forward with ten subsequent releases—including 2023’s raw, visceral Foregone—further strengthening their core sound that, at its heart, is a modernized blend of intensified Iron Maiden and accelerated Black Sabbath.
Before the band’s headlining show at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, In Flames’ Björn Gelotte, Chris Broderick, and Liam Wilson welcomed PG’s Perry Bean for a conversation about their powerful setups. Gelotte detailed his workingman’s signature Epiphone Les Paul Custom before his tech Greg Winn showcased a pair of unknown Marshall prototype amps never featured on a Rundown. Shredmeister general Chris Broderick discussed his hands-on approach to designing his signature sound that includes a beveled Jackson Diabolic CB2, modified DiMarzio humbuckers, and a thumbpick he invented. Lastly, Wilson compared the requirements and difficulties between playing bass with Dillinger Escape Plan and In Flames before dissecting his morphing setup that’s trying to feel like home while honoring Peter Iwers’ and Bryce Paul’s thunderous footsteps.
Brought to you by D’AddarioB.I.G.
Björn Ingvar Gelotte used his favorite Gibson Les Paul Custom so much he beat it into submission. It was a special instrument that he wore down to retirement because of fear of ruining it beyond repair. Luckily, around that same time, Gibson called the Swedish shredder wanting to collaborate on a signature model, but being a man of the people, he opted for an Epiphone namesake to keep the price down for fans and aspiring guitarists. It has a mahogany body and neck, an ebony fretboard, a LockTone “Nashville-style” Tune-o-matic bridge, Grover tuners, and a set of high-voltage EMG 81/85 MetalWorks active pickups finished in gold. Both of his guitars take a custom configuration of Dunlop strings (.012-.016-.022-.038-.052-.068) and they either ride in C or A# tunings.
Have a Drink on Me
This is Björn’s second signature Epiphone Les Paul Custom finished in bone white. It has the same DNA as the midnight ebony slugger, but it has gold “top hat” knobs and a stainless-steel bottle opener on its backside.
Mystery Machine
Gelotte has trusted his live tone to tenured tech Greg Winn for many years. Winn has encountered many growlers, but to his ears, nothing purrs like these rare Marshall MD61 heads (top and middle). He notes during the Rundown that they use four EL34 power tubes and four ECC83 preamp tubes. These are not production amps and Winn believes that less than 20 prototypes were built. They use JVM-series parts but have unique sonic architecture in their wiring. The top and middle MD61s are Björn’s clean and dirty amps, and because they’re a scarce commodity, they travel with a third Marshall (JVM205H) for backup purposes.
Can't You Hear Me Rocking?
In Flames has a clean, quiet stage. The MD61s hit an iso cab offstage that houses a single Celestion Vintage 30, which is miked by a couple of sE Electronics Voodoo VR1 passive ribbon mics.
Björn Gelotte's Pedalboard
A Les Paul Custom and Marshall don’t need much help to sound great when playing metal, but to add some spice and space, Gelotte will engage an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer or MXR M193 GT-OD Overdrive for extra gain, and a MXR Carbon Copy delay for leads. Any additional effects come from the rackmount TC Electronic G-Major 2. To keep everything tight and crisp, Gelotte hits an ISP Technologies Decimator Pro Rack G. He plugs his guitars into a Shure AD4D wireless system and a couple Lehle boxes—1at3 SGoS and 3at1 SGoS instrument switchers—to organize signal flow and work with a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI foot controller.
Beveled Beauty
Chris Broderick has toured with In Flames since 2019. He officially became a part of their crew in 2022 and made his studio debut with the band on 2023’s Foregone. Onstage he’s been getting the job done on a 4-pack of devilish 7-string instruments. Here’s his Jackson USA Custom Shop Chris Broderick Diabolic CB2 that is made with a mahogany body topped with a flame-maple cap, a quartersawn maple neck-through-body that has graphite reinforcement, an ebony fretboard, a recessed Floyd Rose Pro 7 bridge, D’Addario Auto-Trim tuners, and direct-mounted, custom-voiced DiMarzio humbuckers that are tweaked versions of their D Activator (bridge) and PAF Pro (neck). It’s worth noting the push-pull tone knob, when in the pull position, engages the tone circuit, whereas when pushed down, it bypasses it.
White Walker
This slick ride was the first-ever prototype for Broderick’s Diabolic signature line. He dug it so much that only minor changes were requested: moving the neck deeper into the body pocket for a tighter silhouette and slightly moving the controls out of his way, otherwise the Jackson Custom Shop knocked it out of the park
Flamethrower
After the success of partnering with Jackson on the Diabolic CB2, Broderick wanted to create something more subdued and built off the company’s Soloist platform. The Jackson USA Signature Chris Broderick Soloist 7 includes many of the same ingredients—mahogany body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, Floyd Rose Pro 7 bridge, and custom-voiced DiMarzio humbuckers—from the CB2 but some differences include a coil-split option with a push-pull master volume, a quilted maple top, a set-neck construction, and a kill switch.
Broad Strokes
Proving not only the quality of the Jackson Pro series, but also that a talented painter can use any brush to make art, he also tours with his import Jackson Pro Series Chris Broderick Signature HT7 Soloist that has a mahogany body, maple neck, laurel fretboard, Jackson hardware, and Broderick’s custom-voiced DiMarzio humbuckers. Like the Soloist, it includes the master volume push/pull option for coil-splitting, the tone circuit can be removed (when pushed down), and a kill switch.
Excalibur
Broderick has tried finding the pick for years. He finally found the perfect plectrum … he only had to design and make it himself via a CAD program and 3-D printer. As you can see, it’s a wide, rounded thumb pick that has a short tip for fluidity and precision. And all his guitars take Ernie Ball 7-String Super Slinkys (.009-.052).
Eviscerators
Chris matches Björn’s ferocity with a dual-amp setup, too. His weapon of choice, however, is the 4-channel Engl Savage 100. Each head motors up to 120W and rumbles off a pair of 6550 tubes. He runs a clean-and-dirty setup with the two Engls and has a third Savage as a backup. Unlike Gelotte, Broderick runs his amps into a full 4x12 (ENGL Amplifiers E412VGB 240W cab with Celestion Vintage 30s) that’s out of view on the side of the stage.
Chris Broderick Pedalboard
Keeping things tidy onstage, everything changing Broderick’s tone resides offstage in a rack. Signal from the guitar starts with the Shure AD4D wireless system, an ISP Technologies Decimator Pro Rack G keeps down the noise—with an ISP Technologies Decimator II G-String for extra coverage—and a TC Electronic G-Major 2 and Eventide H9 do the heavy coloring. And a Lehle 3at1 SGoS instrument switcher handles guitar changes.
Tone Zon
Bassist Liam Wilson spent the last 20 years holding down the chaos for Dillinger Escape Plan. He joined In Flames last year and helping him seamlessly make the transition is a pair of longtime 4-string companions. They are Zon Sonus Special 4 models that both have a 35" scale length, ash body with a maple top—black is flame and brown is burl—composite neck and fretboard, and specially-wound Bartolini “multi-coil” active pickups that give the basses amazing clarity and punch. With Dillinger, he used picks, but for In Flames material, he exclusively plays fingerstyle. He goes with a custom set of Ernie Ball strings (.070-.090-.110-.135).
Here's what Liam said on a recent social media post about the instruments: “Absolute masterpieces. I appreciate all the time you spent to keep the dialogue going and deliver EXACTLY what me and the In Flames crew needed. Your commitment to the craft is inspiring. Endless thanks for digging so deep to get these to me in time, at the craziest time of the year, I’ve never felt so in my power as I do playing these instruments…Next level stuff!”Jab! Cross! Uppercut!
Prior to In Flames, Liam has always used a variation of an Ampeg SVT. He replaced Bryce Paul, who was an Orange dude, so Wilson has been trying several combinations of amps and pedals to nail the band’s evolving bass tones from their 14-album lineage. At the Nashville stop, Wilson was putting his Sonuses through these clobber boxes—a Tech 21 SansAmp RBI bass preamp, an Orange 4 Stroke 500, and an Ampeg SVT-4 Pro.
Shop In Flames' Rig
EMG 81 MetalWorks Gold
Jackson USA Signature Chris Broderick Soloist 7
Jackson Pro Series Chris Broderick Signature HT7 Soloist
MXR GT OD
MXR Carbon Copy
Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
EMG 85 MetalWorks Gold
Shure AD4D
sE Electronics Voodoo VR1 Passive Ribbon Mic
ISP Technologies Decimator Pro Rack G
Lehle 1at3 SGoS 3 Amp Switcher Pedal
Lehle 3at1 SGoS Instrument Switcher
Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI Foot Controller
Ernie Ball 7-String Super Slinkys (.009-.052)
ENGL Amplifiers E412VGB 240W Cab
Eventide H9
ISP Technologies Decimator II G-String
Tech 21 SansAmp RBI Bass Preamp
Ampeg SVT-4PRO 1200-watt Tube Preamp Bass Head
Before ERRA’s headlining show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in support of their latest album, Cure, cofounding member Jesse Cash and newcomer Clint Tustin—a pair of proficient guitar-playing pyrotechnicians—invited PG’s 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 duo’s stage attack.
Brought to you by
D’Addario Strings: https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr
D'Addario XPND: https://ddari.io/xpnd.rr
Cassius Play
Jesse Cash is a creative force. He plays, he writes, and that’s pretty much where his love for guitar starts and ends. He’s 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. It’s built with an exposed ash body decorated in a dazzling “baked blue” textured finish, a 26.5" scale length, a sturdy, graphite-reinforced, bolt-on 3-piece maple-wenge-maple neck with a compound radius (12" –16") 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, Cash’s main seven was this production-line 2017 Prestige 752LWFX that was featured heavily on ERRA’s 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 heartbeat—a 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 band’s older material.
Gold Tone
This stunner is Clint Tustin’s Jackson Pro Plus Series DK Modern EverTune 7. It’s 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 finish—including the pickups—that 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 G♯ 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, Neural’s Misha Mansoor Archetype for leads, and their Plini Archetype for cleans.
