A Fender Tele Deluxe “Cleaver,” a not-so-golden ’57 Les Paul, a few gifts from Grohl, and a pedal playground help “Shifty” find some sonic space.
When Chris Shiflett left No Use for a Name and joined the Foo Fighters in 1999, he almost had no gear. The band was rehearsing to support their third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and leader Dave Grohl was doing an inventory check on their newest member.
“Dave asked me how many guitars I had, and I said, ‘Well, I have two, but one has a broken headstock,’” recalls Shiflett. “Dave chuckled and said, ‘We gotta get you a few more guitars.’”
The duo ventured down to Sunset Boulevard hitting all the guitar shops and Grohl gifted Shifty a pair of Gibsons (that we’ll meet later). (This story is even more proof that Grohl is one of the coolest rock stars ever.)
“I had been going to some of those Sunset stores since I was a teenager, and they’re never nice to you because they know you’re not buying anything. So, when I went in there with Dave Grohl and his AmEx card, it was a real moment for me. Here I am joining my dream band, and he’s like, get whatever you want … and he really meant it!”
Shiflett’s gear germination didn’t stop there. “When I joined the band, I didn’t have any pedals. And now my bandmates constantly make fun of me for the size of my pedalboard—it’s ridiculously big and there are a lot of pedals on it—but my view has always been, ‘as long as I don’t have to carry it around, bring them all [laughs].’”
But they all serve a purpose and allow Chris to stand out in a three-guitar band. “I do love that my role in Foos over the years has become the color guy with all these pedals.”
His growth as an artist doesn’t stop there. Shiflett’s put out punk albums in Jackson United and for nearly 25 years, he sparked endless good times in the best punk-rock cover band (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes). In 2010, he shifted his creative outlet to busting out alt-country twangers and Bakersfield barroom bruisers as Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants, and then, later, solo. Since 2013, he’s been hosting a podcast (Walking The Floor with Chris Shiflett) that’s featured conversations with Wolfgang Van Halen, Mike Campbell, Greta Van Fleet, Billy Strings, and recent Rig Rundown subject Marcus King. Where does the dude find the time?!
Following Foo Fighters' recent Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert at L.A.’s Kia Forum to honor their dearly departed drummer, Shiflett carved out some precious time and invited PG’s Chris Kies to the Foo’s HQ, Studio 606. The laidback conversation covered his essential live guitars (including a not-so-golden ’57 Les Paul and a few gracious gifts from Grohl), some custom Friedmans, and a pair of unusual AC30 stacks that only he and Sir Paul have … and all his pedals that sting, sparkle, shimmer, and sizzle.
Brought to you by D’Addario XS Coated Strings.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
This 1957 Gibson Les Paul started out its long life as a goldtop. Shiflett believes that the rest of the instrument is true to the day it left Kalamazoo. He says in the Rundown that he bargained with himself to sell about 20 guitars on a Reverb shop with the idea of parlaying that scratch for one or two “magic guitars.” They tallied up his credit and started dusting off their most-valuable coffers. He was drawn to this one for its sound and character as a player-grade holy grail Les Paul—with its stripped finish and broken headstock. He originally thought it’d be a studio piece, but fellow Foo Pat Smear told him he had to bust it out for tours … which he now has for years. This one stays in standard tuning and takes D’Addario NYXLs (.010–.046).
Pawsome Picks
Shiflett uses lighter-gauged Dunlop Tortex picks that feature the band’s logo on one side and his husky Lucky on the other.
Meet the Cleaver
Ten years ago, Shiflett was honored with a MIM Fender Telecaster Deluxe signature. A few years later, Chris revisited the Tele Deluxe design with Fender’s Masterbilt team and devised this devilish T. They dubbed it “Cleaver, because it positively slashes through the mix,” he says. Specs include a 2-piece alder body, quartersawn maple neck, 21 medium jumbo frets on a rosewood ’board, a large ’70s-style headstock, Schaller tuners, and the Hattori Hanzō-sharp blade of this beauty is a custom pair of Lindy Fralin P-90 Soapbar pickups that are noiseless and slightly overwound.
Ace Gift from Grohl
This Les Paul Custom (Shiflett thinks it’s from 1989–1991) was one of the guitars Grohl bought him back in 1999. It’s seen a lot of pickup combinations, but it currently has a Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and a ’59 (neck). Shiflett’s a big Kiss fan, so he threw on the Ace Frehley sticker. He’s put a lot of miles on this stallion, and he says that it gallops and grooves best while in drop-D for songs like “Monkey Wrench” and “Everlong.”
The Cheapest Way to a Signature Guitar is…
getting a custom truss rod cover made and slapping it on the headstock, as seen here.
C’s Flying V
This 2002 Gibson Flying V was the first axe Shiflett ordered fresh from a guitar company. He got it just before touring in support of 2002’s One by One (the first Foo’s album he contributed to). In the Rundown, he shared his thoughts on the body shape: “As impractical as they are to play sitting down, god, they’re amazing to play standing up!” The V currently has a set of Fralin Pure P.A.F. humbuckers that are “really musical and clear.”
Dave Does It Again
This prized Gibson Explorer was the first guitar he was gifted from Grohl, ahead of his first tour in the Foo Fighters. It’s all stock except for a Seymour Duncan JB subbed into the bridge position.
Can’t You Hear Me Rocking?
When you play in an arena-filling, three-guitar rock band, you need to bring it. Shiflett toggles between the custom, two-channel Friedman Brown Eye 100W head and the Vox AC30 head. For the heavier, distorted songs, he goes with the Friedman, while the Vox is used for softer songs like “Aurora.” Both 4x12 stacks have a backup head. Shiflett claims in the Rundown that his Vox rep stated that only he and Sir Paul have AC30 4x12 stacks. Now that’s some splendid company to share!
Friedman Firepower
Here’s a closeup of the settings Shiflett’s dialed in for the Brown Eye.
Vox’s Vocals
And here’s the recipe for Shiflett’s AC30 jangle and chime.
Chris Shiflett’s Pedalboard
His current pedal playground is home to all sorts of tone toys. Starting in the top left he has an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, a JHS Muffuletta, a pair of MXRs (Flanger and EVH Phase 90), an EHX Holy Grail reverb, a Strymon Deco, and a Klon KTR. The next row starts with a Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus, a couple of Strymon TimeLines (one for each amp), and down below is a trio of Xotics—an EP Booster, SP Compressor, and an XW-1. Utilitarian boxes include a Lehle Little Dual amp switcher, Palmer PLI-05 Dual Channel Line Isolation Box, Boss FS-5L footswitch (to toggle between clean and dirty on the Friedman), and a TC Electronic PolyTune that keeps all his guitars singing on key.
Boutique guitar effects design house Interstellar Audio Machines (IAM) announces the release of their flagship guitar effect pedal: The Octonaut Hyperdrive.
The Octonaut Hyperdrive transparent overdrive delivers the unattainable cosmic tone of the gods at an affordable price. Using the iconic Klon Centaur's circuitry as a benchmark reference, the team at IAM realized the pedal's magical sound and expressive dynamic response through detailed analysis and craftmanship. Pair this little guy with any guitar rig and the resultant tone will lead to massive planetary destruction!
In addition to classic tone, the pedal offers selectable true bypass / buffered switching: you can choose your preferred mode via an internal switch. Legendary and professional guitarists alike are flocking to get their hands on the Octonaut. These early adopters include Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic, Zach Myers of Shinedown, Pete Loeffler of Chevelle, John (JB) Bell of Widespread Panic, and Jesse Triplett of Collective Soul.
Interstellar Audio Machines - Octonaut Hyperdrive Promo
Highlights
- Internal switch for selecting True Bypass vs. Buffered Bypass
- Dual-ganged gain pot makes dialing in your tone a breeze
- Rare Germanium diodes
- Refined all-analog circuit design provides pure, ultra-consistent performance
- Modern IC3 circuitry offering maximum headroom
Admission to the Klon ballpark at a bargain price.
A ticket to the Klon show for an unbeatable price. Easy to plug in, dial up, and play.
The fat boost is more necessity than option. Narrower dirt and volume range than pricier competitors.
$69
TC Electronic Zeus Drive
tcelectronic.com
There's no shortage of lower-priced pedals vying to match the overdrive characteristics of the Klon Centaur. That's no surprise. When Klon founder Bill Finnegan started building his legendary stomps again in 2019, his first new 3-knob wonder auctioned for more than $2,000, and used first-generation Centaurs now fetch $5,000 or more. That's pretty exalted. But pedals like the J. Rockett Archer and the Wampler Tumnus allow us less affluent folks a taste of this sacred dirt for under $200. (For more, see Joe Gore's "Klon vs. Klone: 5 Affordable Stomps Go Head to Head with a Gold Original" in the April 2020 issue of PG.)
Golden God
At just $69, the TC Electronic Zeus Drive is an audacious new competitor. It's got the classic 3-knob Klon/clone array of drive (or gain, on the original), treble, and volume (output on the Centaur), augmented by a fat boost toggle to thicken up the low mids. The Zeus is small and appealingly designed, with ¼" in/out jacks and its 9V DC barrel-style input (no battery option) mounted on the crown of its sturdy, golden 2.2" x 2.2" x 3.9" metal enclosure. The knobs are solid, well-spaced for quick adjustments, and the circuit is switchable from true bypass to buffered, thanks to an internal DIP switch.
Clip #1 — TC Zeus Drive vs. J. Rockett Archer (Medium Gain Chords)
1958 Les Paul Special with single-coils (all controls full up) into Carr Vincent (volume at 9 o'clock; 3-band EQ at noon, reverb at 11 o'clock, drive off, 7 watts setting). Sequence: no pedal, Archer, Zeus without fat boost, Zeus with fat boost, Archer.
Archer settings: volume just past 9 o'clock, treble at 2, gain at 2.
Zeus settings: volume at noon, treble at 1, drive at 2.
Clip #2 — TC Zeus Drive vs. J. Rockett Archer (Higher Gain Single Notes)
Same overall settings except Archer gain at 10 o'clock and Zeus drive just past 9.
Like the Klon, the Zeus' drive section is all analog and sports a pair of 1N34A germanium clipping diodes. TC's pedal also uses a charge pump to steps up the 9V DC and increase headroom and dynamic response. And there's one more trick—the dual-ganged pot optimized the balance between clean signal as you add dirt to preserve your tone's core character.
Clone Wars
While I don't own a Centaur, I've had an Archer on my pedalboard for years. So it seemed natural to A/B the Zeus with the Archer, paired with guitars bearing single-coil, P-90, and humbucking pickups, all plugged into a Carr Vincent with its three EQ knobs at noon, the drive off, and the volume and reverb at 10 o'clock. Like the Archer, the Zeus responded expressively to shifts from light to heavy attack for both single notes and chords, baring its teeth when I dug in. It also stayed articulate while adding dirt to all three flavors of pickups.
There's a nice range to the Zeus' gain and volume, although it's not as wide or darkly gritty as the Archer's. Its treble control— well, it does brighten up the pedal for times when you might need to really cut through in a mix or onstage, and it can lift a guitar with dialed-down tone pots to screaming highs as needed. But the pedal's inherently bright, transparent nature may also be a pitfall for some players. When I step on a stomp, I'm looking for a little more transformation—and in an overdrive, for me that typically includes a more sculpted, robust, mid-saturated tone along with an enhanced response to chord-hand nuances and dynamics.
"The Zeus responded expressively well to shifts from light to heavy attack for both single notes and chords, baring its teeth when I dug in."
Without the fat boost engaged, the Zeus' transparency was evident, but it could sound a bit thin, making the boost more a necessity than an option, to my ears. With the boost on, and minor adjustments to the treble and drive controls, I was able to get tones closely aligned with the more costly pedal. And that's saying something!
When I had the boost on and the Zeus dialed in to my liking, both low-gain (drive at 8 or 9 o'clock, volume at noon, and treble at 1) and high-gain settings (drive maxed, volume at 10, and treble at 2 or 3) had the vibe of natural amp breakup. Edging the drive to noon generated singing sustain, nudging my Carr ( running at just 7 watts), into old-school Marshall territory. At 35 watts, the distortion was downright pushy.
The Verdict
Want to enter the Klon-tone ballpark at a bargain price? The Zeus Drive could be your ticket. It's easy to control and adjust on the fly, solid as a brick, and responsive to nuanced playing, even when it's cranked. And with the fat boost engaged, the Zeus' sound is as portly and bold as more expensive klones, and that's pretty sweet.