![Rig Rundown: Third Eye Blind [2019]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=26133292&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C90)
This is Kryz Reid’s No. 1 Gibson Les Paul. It’s named “The Emperor,” and is a custom ’59 made with aged wood and outfitted with relic’d hardware.
This Gibson SG (that’s actually Stephan’s guitar) is only in the touring vault because “Blinded” is in the set within a melody of jams and requires an odd tuning (F–A–C–F–A–E).
Another one the modern side, Kryz Reid plays a 2011 Fano JM6 named “Fett.” Based on a Jazzmaster, the guitar has Lindy Fralin P-90s in the neck and bridge positions and a Bigsby vibrato.
This is Kryz Reid’s Fano TC6 that’s named after Maul.
In our 2014 episode with Kryz Reid, he was traveling with a stock 1966 Fender Telecaster Custom, but this Fender Custom Shop Tele has taken over the touring duties and name of “TK-421.”
This is Kryz Reid’s 2009 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul named “Tarkin” that is tuned a half-step up.
Here is the newest addition to Kryz Reid’s guitar family—a 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional II that comes with pull pots, but he wanted the guitar to be as black as possible (to match its dark name, “Vader”) so all the pots and pickguard were exchanged for something a tad eviler.
One of the newest guitars brought in by Kryz Reid is this Gibson Custom Shop R8 Les Paul that he’s dubbed “BB-8.” All of his guitars use D’Addario strings—this one and all other standard-tuned instruments take .010s. Guitars that are tuned down a whole step take .011s, and anything tuned lower than that uses .012s so Reid has a consistent feel under his fingertips.
This Gibson Custom Shop R0 Les Paul is nicknamed “Tydirium.” Reid keeps it tuned to open D (D–A–D–F#–A–D). It has a weight-relief body with a ’60s profile neck. Kryz shyly admits that it came specially loaded with a set of the same humbuckers put in Jimmy Page’s Custom No. 2.
For stage volume, feedback, and the ultimate, last-ditch backup, Kryz Reid has the Fender Tone-Master ready to rock. The custom finish was done by TokiDoki creator and Italian artist Simone Legno.
In our 2014 Rig Rundown, Kryz Reid was all tube, all day (using a ’93 Custom Shop Fender Tone-Master with a 1965 Marshall Plexi), but since then, and at the behest of the band’s FOH, he and Stephan made the move to the Kemper Profiler. Kryz admits in the video he was a big-time skeptic, but after working with “Dr. Kemper” aka Michael Britt to profile all his tube amps into the Kemper, he was onboard for the ease of touring.
And everything is under Kryz Reid’s control via his feet thanks to this RJM Mastermind GT and a trifecta of Mission Engineering EP-1 pedals.
This Gibson ES-335 used to be Stephan Jenkins’ longtime No. 1 before the Iceman came into the picture.
A second Gibson Explorer that is set to DADGAD for the song “Wounded.”
Here’s an old Gibson Explorer that Stephan Jenkins’ hasn’t toured with since 2002/03.
Paul Stanley’s John Hancock on the guitar’s back plate.
Stephan Jenkins' 1981 Ibanez Iceman
Before you laugh, you gotta watch the opening part of the video where Stephan Jenkins’ tech Danny Nolan explains why and how this became Perkins main ride. Yes, you read that right, a 1981 bolt-on neck Ibanez Iceman is Stephan Jenkins favorite touring guitar. About 10 days before the Nashville date, one of Danny Nolan’s buddies called him up and said that he just got an old Ibanez Iceman signed by Paul Stanley and wondered if he or Stephan would want it. Well, after inspecting it, it was determined it was obviously an import guitar from the early ’80s with a single owner. Danny bought the guitar for less than a new Squier and was walking back to the bus when Stephan spotted the black beast. He grabbed it, took it on the bus, and at soundcheck the next day, Stephan plugged it and blew the FOH guy away. It’s been Stephan’s go-to ever since because it sounds like Dokken—loud and raunchy!
Stephan Jenkins' 1954 Gibson LG-3
During a visit to the tone heaven that is Chicago Music Exchange, Stephan Jenkins nabbed this 1954 Gibson LG-3 and now uses it for most of the acoustic numbers. And to bring its voice to life onstage, tech Danny Nolan put in a Fishman Matrix pickup system.
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How do we know? Easy. Our YouTube channel (youtube.com/premierguitar)—where we post our weekly Rig Rundown videos after debuting them on premierguitar.com—has 72 million views. If we had a Mickey D’s-style sign over PG headquarters, we’d have to update it almost as often as Ronald does—“Over XX million served.” Of course, you click to see all of the gear. But of all the cool stuff there, the stomps are the easiest for the average gear junky to scrimp and save for.
In years past, we’ve talked to everyone from Steve Vai to Joe Satriani, Josh Klinghoffer, Dan Auerbach, Nick Zinner, the dudes from Mastodon, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Scofield, Zach Myers, and hundreds more. But enough about those. We’re here to talk about the latest batch o’ boards. So dig in, lust away, and then go watch the vids to figure out how these great players make these boxes earn their keep.
The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel
A longtime lover of the stomp, Adam Granduciel of psych-rock outfit the War on Drugs recently took his board to the next level and employed Bob Bradshaw to bring his pedal visions to life with a loop-based setup. The command center of the rig is a Custom Audio Electronics RS-T MIDI Foot Controller that configures selections from his other pedalboard. Next to the RS-T is a Custom Audio Electronics Line Driver (which feeds his Fender ’65 Princeton Reverb reissue), a Boss TU-3 tuner, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal.
The pedalboard with all the gear being controlled by MIDI includes a JHS Bun Runner, a Wren and Cuff Tall Font Russian, a Mountainking Electronics Loud Box, a Blackstone Appliances MOSFET Overdrive, a vintage MXR Flanger, a Moog Minifooger Tremolo, a vintage Electra Phase Shifter, a Wren and Cuff Phat Phuk, a Hardwire DL-8 Delay/Looper, a Hardwire RV-7 Stereo Reverb, an Auralux King Trem, an Ibanez Echo Shifter, and two vintage Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Delays—one of which sits on the floor next to the board, while the other resides under a CAE Boost/Overdrive.
Bring Me the Horizon’s Lee Malia
Lee Malia from British metalcore quintet Bring Me the Horizon routes his Gibson and Epiphone guitars into a Bedford Audio JB1 Junction Box/Line Receiver (lower right), a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, and a Free the Tone ARC-03 Audio Controller loop switcher that lets him bring desired effects in and out of his signal chain. His stompboxes include a J Rockett Audio Designs Chicken Soup Overdrive, a Fulltone OCD, a Boss DD-20 Giga Delay, a Boss DD-7 Digital Delay (paired with a Boss FS-5U tap-tempo footswitch), a Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb, and an Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Stereo Reverb. He checks his tuning with a TC Electronic PolyTune, and all the pedalboard gear is powered by an MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC403 Power System.
Brent Mason
Death from Above 1979’s Jesse Keeler
Larry Carlton
Jazz-fusion legend Larry Carlton—aka Mr. 335—has two main pedalboards, both built by his longtime friend and guitar tech, Rick Wheeler. Carlton’s fly-date board starts with a Korg Pitchblack tuner. The signal then travels to a modified Sho-Bud volume pedal, followed by a Dunlop 95Q Cry Baby Wah. Next the signal goes to a Tanabe Zenkudo Overdrive, a Visual Sound Liquid Chorus, a TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb, and a Providence Chrono Delay.
Carlton’s larger pedalboard works in conjunction with three rack units (not shown)—a Roland SDE-1000 digital delay, a TC Electronic TC 1210, and a Lexicon MX400 that Carlton uses for reverb. The board starts with two Hilton volume pedals—one for electric and one for acoustic—each of which has an output to send a signal to the Korg DTR-2000 tuner (top). The lead from the electric volume pedal then runs into a Dunlop 95Q Cry Baby Wah and to Carlton’s amp. The pedalboard also has a chorus on/off switch (for the TC 1210), a tap-tempo trigger (for the Roland), an A/B switch to select electric or acoustic guitar, and a channel switcher for Carlton’s Bludotone amp.
Pixies’ Charles Thompson and Joey Santiago
Pixies frontman Charles Thompson (aka Frank Black, aka Black Francis) keeps his pedalboard fairly spare. He stays in tune with a Boss TU-2, uses a Klon Centaur for overdrive, and gets some silicon-fuzz action with a 1-knob Duh pedal built by none other than Premier Guitar senior editor Joe Gore. A Boss FS-5L activates the tremolo circuit from Thompson’s Vox AC30. A Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus powers his board, and a Lehle Dual SGoS switches between his tuner and his electric and acoustic signal paths—the latter of which uses a Radial J48 active direct box.
Joey Santiago controls his pedals primarily through his GigRig G2 switcher, which enables him to engage various combinations of pedals while keeping those that aren’t being used out of the signal path. His stompboxes include a Boss LS-2 Line Selector, Keeley Compressor (2-knob), Swart Atomic Boost OC44, Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz, Fulltone OCD, Maxon AD9Pro analog delay, Empress Tremolo, a trusty and crusty old DOD FX-17 wah-volume, an Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano, a TC Electronic PolyTune, and a Lehle Dual SGoS for amp switching. Hidden under the top portion of Santiago’s pedalboard are three Moog Moogerfooger pedals—an MF-104M analog delay, an MF-108M Cluster Flux, and an MF-105 MIDI MuRF—all of which are switched by a GigRig QuarterMaster. A Roland EV-5 expression pedal controls different Moog parameters, depending on which is engaged. A Boss FS-6 footswitch controls the Vibrolux’s tremolo. All pedals are powered by a GigRig Modular Power Supply setup.
Third Eye Blind’s Kryz Reid
Dave Phillips at L.A. Sound Design built two rigs for Third Eye Blind’s Kryz Reid—a main, rack-based pedal rig, and a backup pedalboard (shown) with the same pedals but simplified switching and parameter control. The main setup uses a rackmounted RJM Effect Gizmo programmable loop switcher (not shown) controlled by an RJM Mastermind GT MIDI foot controller, an A/B box, two custom Mission Engineering expression pedals, a modified Ernie Ball volume pedal, a Boss TU-2 tuner, and a TC Electronic Ditto Looper. Reid’s signal feeds a Dunlop Cry Baby Rack Wah (controlled by the white Mission pedal), then hits the RJM Effect Gizmo en route to a DigiTech Whammy DT (controlled by the red Mission pedal), a Keeley-modded Boss DS-1, a Way Huge Swollen Pickle, a Keeley 4-Knob Compressor, the Cry Baby Rack Wah’s volume feature (controlled by the modded Ernie Ball volume pedal), a Strymon Mobius (whose parameters can be controlled via the red Mission pedal), a Roger Linn Adrenalinn III, a Strymon TimeLine (also controlled by the red Mission pedal), and a Strymon blueSky Reverberator.
Brand New’s Jesse Lacey and Vincent Accardi
Jesse Lacey, vocalist/guitarist for alt-rock outfit Brand New, did all the wiring and soldering on his pedalboard. When his signal first hits the board, an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI sends a signal to the front of house. Another line runs into a GigRig Pro-14 switching system, which routes the signal to a Crowther Audio Hotcake overdrive, a modded MXR Blue Box, a Fuzzrocious Zuul, a BYOC Large Beaver, a Walrus Audio Voyager, an Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain, a TC Electronic Corona, a Mr. Black DeluxePlus, a Dr. Scientist Radical Red Reverberator, a Smallsound/Bigsound Buzzz, a Boss DD-6 Digital Delay, and a Boss TU-2 tuner.
Vincent Accardi’s MKS Pedal Pad uses both built-in MKS and Walrus Audio Aetos power supplies to juice a Boss TU-2 tuner, two Boss PS-5 Super Shifters, a Gig-Fx Chopper, a Dunlop Cry Baby from Hell wah, a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret, a Pro Co RAT, a Marshall ShredMaster, a Boss TR-2 Tremolo, a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, a Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter, and three delays—an Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain, a Boss DD-6, and a Boss DD-7.
Jonny Lang
The Gaslight Anthem’s Alex Rosamilia
Guitars
Next is “Vadar,” a 1979 Gibson The Paul, which was the first good guitar Reid bought. The guitar sports a Seymour Duncan Antiquity humbucker in the neck position and an Alnico II at the bridge. Reid uses “Vadar” for “Graduate,” “The Background,” “Can You Take Me,” and anything using open-D tuning (D–A–D–F#–A–D).
“TK-421” is a stock 1966 Telecaster Custom. Another vintage gem is “Sidious,” his stock 1966 Jazzmaster that’s currently tuned to F#–A–C#–F#–G#–E.
On the modern side, Reid plays a 2011 Fano JM-6 named “Fett.” Based on a Jazzmaster, the guitar has Lindy Fralin P-90s in the neck and bridge positions and a Bigsby vibrato.
Other guitars in the boat currently are three new Les Paul Traditionals used as backups, a 2013 Fano TC-6 (“Maul”), and a ’68 Reissue Custom Shop Stratocaster (“Death Star”). All are strung with D’Addario .011 sets, except The Paul and the open-D backup, which are strung with .012 sets.
Amps and Cabs
Reid travels with a main rig and a redundant rig that closely mirrors his primary one. The main rig includes a ’93 Custom Shop Fender Tone-Master and matching cabinet for clean tones. The cab houses Celestion Vintage 30s, the head has four 5881s and three 12AX7As.
The main rig’s dirty sound comes from a 1965 Marshall Plexi configured with 6L6s and 12AX7As driving a Mesa 4x12 cabinet with Vintage 30s. (Reid mistakenly calls the Marshall a ’67 in the video, but who can keep track of this much vintage gear?)
The redundant rig consists of another Fender Custom Shop Tone-Master for clean and a 1969 50-watt Marshall JMP 45 for dirty tones. Reportedly, the latter was the main amp used on Bad Company’s first record, most notably heard on “Feel Like Makin’ Love.”
Effects
Dave Phillips at L.A. Sound Design built two rigs for Third Eye Blind’s Kryz Reid—a main, rack-based pedal rig, and a backup pedalboard (shown) with the same pedals but simplified switching and parameter control. The main setup uses a rackmounted RJM Effect Gizmo programmable loop switcher (not shown) controlled by an RJM Mastermind GT MIDI foot controller, an A/B box, two custom Mission Engineering expression pedals, a modified Ernie Ball volume pedal, a Boss TU-2 tuner, and a TC Electronic Ditto Looper. Reid’s signal feeds a Dunlop Cry Baby Rack Wah (controlled by the white Mission pedal), then hits the RJM Effect Gizmo en route to a DigiTech Whammy DT (controlled by the red Mission pedal), a Keeley-modded Boss DS-1, a Way Huge Swollen Pickle, a Keeley 4-Knob Compressor, the Cry Baby Rack wah’s volume feature (controlled by the modded Ernie Ball volume pedal), a Strymon Mobius (whose parameters can be controlled via the red Mission pedal), a Roger Linn Adrenalinn III, a Strymon TimeLine (also controlled by the red Mission pedal), and a Strymon BlueSky Reverberator.
