See how three different gear philosophies—powered by crunchy combos, classic guitars, piles of pedals, studio outboard gear, and a Beatles DI console fuzz—work together to bridge the band’s brash, punkified roots with their polished pop hooks.
Cage the Elephant was formed nearly 20 years ago in Bowling Green by vocalist Matt Shultz, guitarists Brad Shultz and Lincoln Parish, drummer Jared Champion, and bassist Daniel Tichenor. That core lineup has only changed once, with Nick Bockrath replacing Parish onstage in 2013 and officially in 2017. CTE’s earliest albums—2008’s Cage the Elephant and 2011’s Thank You, Happy Birthday—captured their punk-rock pandemonium that turned venues into hurricanes. Cage’s mayhem cloaked melodies, like a Trojan horse creating early-career earworms and sing-alongs out of hits “In One Ear,” “Ain't No Rest for the Wicked,” “Shake Me Down,” and “Aberdeen.”
2013’s Melophobia brandished a trio of mellower, melodious singles: “Come A Little Closer,” “Take It or Leave It,” and “Cigarette Daydreams.” Then, 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty saw the band enter Easy Eye Sound to work with Dan Auerbach, sending the band’s sonics back to the ’60s with an emphasis on direct, pointed performances and console-driven fuzz. Their last two albums, 2019’s Social Cues and 2024’s Neon Pill, partnered them with producer John Hill, who helped wrap their memorable hooks in a smokier, after-hours backdrop that incorporated ’80s sheen with drum machines, shifting synth textures, and sleek production that pulses with flow and emotion.
The constant glue that holds these albums together (aside from the members' cohesive creativity) is the constant application—in varied amounts—of garage rock, psychedelia, and a little bit of danger. Even their softest, smoothest work portrays these gripping vibes. And while the velvet packaging of their songs have them sounding more Abbey Road than Albini—earning the group back-to-back Grammys for Best Rock Album for Tell Me I’m Pretty and Social Cues—the Shultz brothers still bring their signature piss-and-vinegar performances to the stage, where the front row will likely play host to both throughout any given setlist.
Before the band’s Bonnaroo set on Saturday June 15, Cage the Elephant invited PG’s video team to their rehearsals inside East Nashville’s Steel Mill space to cover the gear they’d be touring with in support of their sixth album, Neon Pill. On guitar, lap steel, and pedal steel, Nick Bockrath starts off the Rundown going through his sizzling setup that includes custom guitars, a bountiful pedalboard, and a special instrument from a deceased friend and Nashville legend. Then, tech Mason Osman details how Brad Shultz transformed his rig to mimic his preferred recording setup that relies on studio tube preamps and compressors for a direct, broiling sound. Lastly, tech Bailey Griffith shows a simplified-but-tsunami-sounding bass setup that includes two Fender 4-strings and 300W tube heads that kick like a mule.
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Some Like It Hot
Guitarist Nick Bockrath was approached by luthier Jacob Harper to collaborate on his “dream” guitar. The fellas landed on Harper’s existing Marilyn model with some key requests: a Bigsby vibrato, gold hardware, a Bockrath-drawn dude on the truss-rod cover, and the striking red-sparkle finish. Harper was the brains behind the pinball-flapper-button kill switch (with Bockrath’s blessing). The semi-hollow has a chimey, jangly tone thanks to its TV Jones Filter’Tron pickups. All the knobs were originally identical, but as Nick says, “we just keep it moving,” so he’s been replacing the road thrash with random knobs from his personal collection as needed. All his electrics take Ernie Ball Power Slinkys (.011–.048).
Sniped
Los Angeles-based producer John Hill, who worked with Cage the Elephant on Social Cues and their brand-new Neon Pill, had his eye on this early 1990s Gibson Les Paul Deluxe goldtop that was for sale at Carter’s Vintage Guitars. He sent the listing link to Nick Bockrath, who was going to visit the store to inspect the goldie. Bockrath called Hill from the shop, who wondered how the guitar sounded. Nick’s sly response: “It sounds like I’m gonna buy it in five minutes [laughs].” The previous owner removed the original pickups and dropped in a P-90 in the bridge and a gold-foil in the neck.
Torn and Frayed
Bockrath scooped this on a trade from Blues Vintage Guitars in Donelson. He can’t quite nail down its birth year, but from the serial number and similar online listings, he’s been able to deduce that it’s a SG Custom from 1969–’71. This is a bus companion that travels with Nick because he doesn’t want it out of his sight.
Trust in Russ
Russ Pahl is a pedal-steel guitar icon. He’s on a short list of first calls when an artist needs that classic country sound. On top of being an ace musician, Pahl builds partscaster guitars, and he assembled this mean T with Nick in mind. It has a standard T-style bridge pickup, but to give Bockrath a bit more bite, he opted for a Firebird-style mini humbucker for the neck slot.
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Nick’s early Nashville mentor and a friend’s father William "Bucky" Baxter played lap- and pedal-steel guitar for Bob Dylan and Steve Earle. This century-old Gibson BR-6 lap steel toured with both iconic songwriters. Bucky sold this to Bockrath because, he said, “if you were ever gonna play lap steel in a rock ’n’ roll band, this would be the one,” so Nick honors his old pal every night.
Steeler
Bucky Baxter got Bockrath hip to the GFI pedal-steel guitars when he first expressed interest in the slide instrument. Nick landed on the single-neck GFI Ultra 10-string model that’s added fresh elements to Cage’s sound on their last two albums and subsequent tours.
Royale with Cheese
Nick Bockrath's Pedalboard
Bockrath has everything but the kitchen sink on his stomp station, but he assured us that each pedal has its role and it’s all very organized. Starting on the left there are four separate time machines—a duo of Boss DD-8 Digital Delays, EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport, and a Death By Audio Echo Dream 2. Modulation and weirdo effects include a Moog Moogerfooger MF-108M Cluster Flux, a Boss TR-2 Tremolo, an Electro-Harmonix Mel9, and a Malekko Omicron Vibrato. His pair of fuzzes are the single-knob Big Ear Pedals Betty White and the Malekko Diabolik. Reverb comes from the amps and the Malekko Spring Chicken, pitch-shifting is handled by the venerable DigiTech Whammy, and spicing up his signal is either an Analog Man Comprossor or a Pedal Projects Growly boost. All the pedals are routed through the GigRig G2, a Lehle 3at1 Instrument Switcher allows him to quickly bounce around his three string-bending roles, and a Boss TU-3S keeps his guitars in check.
Tuxedo
When we last spoke with Cage in 2014 and for most of the band’s earliest years, Brad Shultz destroyed and revived import Fender Mustangs. He preferred the short-scale studs for their thin, bright sound, compact frame, and their ability to handle several surgeries. Since working with Dan Auerbach and John Hill in the studio, Shultz has broadened his stable to include models from Gretsch, Kay, Gibson, and others depending on what the song needs. For the band’s summer tour, he’s slimmed down his options to three main instruments. First up is a Silvertone 1449 BSF that employs the company’s “lipstick” single-coils that offer Brad a similar bitey, high-end snarl he’s used to with the Mustangs. Both of Shultz’s electrics take Ernie Ball Power Slinkys (.011–.048) and he hits them with Dunlop Tortex .50 mm picks.
Spacely Space Sprockets
If his Silvertone 1449 is a blast from the past, this Baranik RE-1 is one of the most futuristic designs guitardom has seen in years. Luthier Mike Baranik specializes in refurbishing and repurposing recycled parts with a modern eye, while maintaining a strict focus on tone and playability. This RE-1 features his handwound gold-foil pickup that slides, in real time, to provide maximum sonic flexibility. Other interesting bits include a wood-intonated saddle, glow-in-the-dark fret markers, illuminated control pod, and a total weight of six pounds.
Bell Curve
A handful of songs during Cage shows will put Shultz on this Gibson J-45 Standard, including “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” “Trouble,” and the title track off their newest album Neon Pill. To avoid any feedback or howling buzz, his tech Mason Osman slid in a D’Addario Screeching Halt Soundhole Plug. And this burst beauty takes Ernie Ball 2004 Earthwood 80/20 Bronze strings (.011–.052).
From the Studio to the Stage
We interviewed Brad around the Tell Me I’m Pretty sessions that were recorded with Dan Auerbach in his Nashville Easy Eye Studio, and that’s where the band first explored plugging straight into a console. “As a guitarist, the whole approach of going direct really appealed to me, and I got that from [’60s] bands. A lot of them did the exact same thing—went right into the console. But I think the thing that influenced us the most about those bands was the separation of their tracks. When you sit and really listen to their recordings, you notice how each instrument is doing something very specific. Each part is so thought-out and placed so deliberately. I really drew from that.”
That immediate connection between instrument and player resonated with Shultz so much that he revamped his live rig to include studio gear. He tours with no amps and no modelers; instead, he plugs his guitars into a pair of rack-mounted Thermionic Culture devices for his pure, lively tone—a Phoenix SB stereo valve compressor and The Rooster 2 preamp.
Back in 2016, Shultz explained that this synergy provides a different playing experience. “It feels more human. When I hear that, I really hear the person playing, not so much this amp sound. The strings speak for themselves, almost, if that makes any sense. You can hear the pick actually hitting each individual string as you strum a chord, or you can hear each individual stroke of a lead part. So that was really appealing to me, maybe because I'm such a raw player. I basically beat the shit out of a guitar. I'm very heavy-handed. I want to hear the separation between each string when I'm strumming a chord.”
Brad Shultz's Pedalboard
All his filth, fury, and ferociousness come from hitting the rack gear with as much input signal as possible. The incremental levels of destruction are handled by five agitators—a JHS Colour Box V1, a JHS Crayon, a JHS Colour Box V2, an EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job, and a Jext Telez White Pedal. The rest of his pedal roster contains a Boss DD-7 Digital Delay, MXR Phase 100, a pair of MXR Reverbs, Caroline Kilobyte lo-fi delay, and a Boss AW-3 Dynamic Wah. Shultz’s utility boxes are a Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, a couple of Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuners, a Radial Engineering BigShot ABY, and a Voodoo Labs PX-8 switcher simplifies all his changes.
Big Cat Growl
Original bassist Daniel Tichenor has been a Fender-heavy thumper. When we saw his rig in 2014, he was using a Jazz and P basses; when he spoke with PG about Tell Me I’m Pretty, he recorded with P, Jag, and Mustang 4-stringers. For this 2024 run supporting Neon Pill, he’s mainly laying down the groove with the above Fender American Standard Jaguar bass that uses La Bella RX-S4D Rx Stainless Roundwound Bass strings (.045–.105). Tichenor bounces back and forth between fingerstyle and using a pick, but when he does the latter, he rakes the strings with Dunlop Tortex .88 mm picks.
'Stang Stinger
For Cage’s mellower numbers, Tichenor will saddle up on this Fender Player Mustang bass that rides with La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwound strings (.045–.105).
Tower of Power
The Jag and ’Stang go through a Fender Super Bassman 300W head (the second is a backup) that feeds two Fender Bassman 810 Neo cabinets.
Daniel Tichenor's Pedalboard
The lone effect that colors Tich’s tone is a Fender Engager Boost that spurs the flatwound Mustang with a punch of dBs. The other boxes on the Pedaltrain Nano+ board are DIs for FOH, and the boost is powered with a Truetone 1 Spot Pro CS6.
Shop Cage the Elephant's Rig
Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Goldtop
Gibson Custom 1963 Les Paul SG Custom Reissue
Supro 1933R Royale 2x12 Combos
Boss DD-8 Digital Delay
EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport
Boss TR-2 Tremolo
Electro-Harmonix Mel9
Lehle 3at1 SGoS Instrument Switcher
Gibson J-45 Standard
JHS Colour Box V2 Preamp Pedal
EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job
MXR M107 Phase 100 Phaser Pedal
MXR Reverb
Boss AW-3 Dynamic Wah
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner
Radial Engineering BigShot ABY
Voodoo Labs PX-8 Switcher
Fender Player Mustang Bass
Fender Engager Boost
Fender Super Bassman 300W Head
Fender Bassman 810 Neo Cabinet
Ernie Ball Power Slinkys (.011–.048)
Ernie Ball 2004 Earthwood 80/20 Bronze Strings (.011–.052)
La Bella RX-S4D Rx Stainless Roundwound Bass Strings (.045–.105)
La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwound Strings (.045–.105)
Warm Audio’s dead-on homage to the Moog Moogerfooger MF-102 ring modulator is a source of everything from rich tremolo pulses to haunted bell tones and alien voices.
Very accurate reproductions of MF-102 tones and functionality. Deep and colorful modulation textures. Satisfying to use intuitively. Invites unusual playing techniques.
Finding precisely the same tone twice can be tricky.
$219
Warm Audio RingerBringer
warmaudio.com
When Moog released the Moogerfooger pedal line around the turn of the century, there were few musical devices I lusted after more. They were beautiful objects, built in the spirit and aesthetic of Moog’s legendary, lovely wood-clad Minimoog and other synthesizers in the company’s line. They also made amazing sounds and were, in every way, instruments in their own right. But they were pretty expensive for a young person minding their pennies, and since their discontinuation, prices for secondhand specimens climbed to ever more stratospheric heights. That exclusivity made the Moogerfoogers logical targets for Warm Audio, who excel at authentically replicating vintage circuits as well as the physical, tactile experience of working with them. And the new RingerBringer, Warm’s take on the Moog MF-102 ring modulator, is an experience indeed.
Earthy Elements and Starbound Sounds
You could confine your activities to intuitively tweaking the RingerBringer’s controls and find your way to countless fascinating places. But in mastering the device, it can be helpful to think of the RingerBringer as a little synthesizer instead of a guitar pedal, and get to know the principles behind the basic effect.
Ring modulation occurs when the RingerBringer’s carrier frequency, a sine wave that’s tuned via the frequency knob, interacts with the signal from your instrument. At the pedal’s lower carrier frequencies (selected via the hi/lo rocker switch), those interactions tend to sound like tremolo. At higher frequencies, the combined signals can generate intense modulations with bizarre harmonics and overtones.
The LFO section of the pedal oscillates the carrier frequency within a range of as many as three octaves (which is determined by the amount knob), and the rate knob governs how fast that oscillation happens. The waveform selector plays an enormous role in shaping this oscillation, too. In square-wave mode, the LFO will effectively move between the two extreme points in the oscillation, creating a choppy modulation. In sine-wave mode, the oscillation sweeps between those extremes, producing a comparatively smooth and vocal sound. The RingerBringer also features a drive control at the pedal’s input that kicks up cool low-gain distortion and generates sharp, resonant peaks. All of these controls are highly interactive. And even if you only use the four knobs and six switches, you can uncover troves of freakish and lovely tones. But you can also assign an expression pedal to any of the four knobs, which opens a whole new realm of possibilities, particularly when you add unconventional prepared guitar techniques.
Of Flutters and Faraway Worlds
The tremolo-like effects that live in the low-frequency range are among the real joys of the RingerBringer, though you’ll encounter some very crooked takes. Various combinations of square and sine waves, frequencies, rates, and drive levels yield pulses that are deep, rich, resonant, and rubbery, but also percolate with hiccups, odd accents, burbles, and subdivisions that can color or craze a picking pattern, depending on the wet/dry mix and your intent.
The high-frequency range is where the aliens and Daleks live. But depending on the frequency and rate controls, you can also create the toll of haunted trans-dimensional church bells and the whir of UFO engine rooms. These frequencies are highly reactive to changes in picking intensity, and even the point along the string’s length where you pluck a string. They can also drive other effects in cool ways. For instance, if you use a low effects mix and pair the pedal with a delay setup for a long sequence of slapback repeats, you can generate dissonant notes that subtly shadow the true notes from your dry mix as the delay manufactures whistling sheets of overtones and compound notes. These settings free you to chase intuitively fashioned note clusters that generate off-kilter harmonizing chords—a liberating exercise that can make you look at the fretboard in totally new ways.
The Verdict
It probably goes without saying that the RingerBringer won’t be for everyone. Though it’s capable of pretty sounds—generally the ones on the tremolo-like spectrum—it might be a candidate for the pedal most likely to get you kicked out of your cover band. But if your musical inclinations are more experimental, you’ll find the RingerBringer overflowing with sounds that can shift the mood of a song from neutral to haunting, futuristic, alien, or unsettling—or recast it into an altogether different musical entity. Players with more conventional tastes should take my ratings as highly subjective. I relished almost every sound here and many of them sparked fresh musical ideas, so my tones and value ratings might be higher than they would be for folks down to pick a few James Taylor jams. But at just $219, this very authentic take on a Moog classic will be a righteous deal for those that regret missing out on scoring the real thing.
Warm Audio RingerBringer and Warm Bender Demo | PG Plays
Carlos O’Connell deforms his guitar with an unusual ordering of shapeshifting stompboxes, while Conor Curley embraces jangling and kerranging melodies on his hollowbody howlers. Together, they combine for a charming, chaotic chemistry.
Irish rock band Fontaines D.C. is a dual-guitar ensemble featuring Carlos O’Connell and Conor Curley. At first, the duo used similar guitars, amps, and settings in an effort to work as a symbiotic saw buzzing their way through songs. The indistinguishable incisions lacerated their earliest work with angsty piss and vinegar. But as the quintet’s musicianship has evolved, they’ve embraced wider influences, adding different knives to their collection of cutlery. And more specifically, they’ve learned when to slice, when to dice, and how to work off each other.
“I think we’re trying to be more patient and more conscious of the texture,” Curley told PG in 2022, describing how he and O’Connell have worked together to refine their sound. “The first album was very much in a fighting mode,” he continues, “with the two guitars EQ’d the same and just smashing off each other. On the second one, we learned to play together a little better. We’re still working on it, and sometimes we still try to become as one almost, when the song needs it, but I think now we’ve learned to fit in with how we’re EQing everything. It feels really good.”
Ahead of their opening slot priming crowds for the Arctic Monkeys, O’Connell and Curley invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage at the Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville. Carlos covered his favored Fender solidbodies, while Conor showed off his eclectic hollowbodies, and they both walked through their respective pedalboards.Brought to you by D'Addario Trigger Capo.
A Punchy Pinger
While recording with producer Dan Carey for 2022’s Skinty Fia, Carlos O’Connell fell for Carey’s mid-’60s red Fender Mustang. To replicate the album’s tones onstage, he found a similar ’Stang online. The listing originated in N.Y.C., so he had a friend at the band’s label, Partisan Records, scoop up the instrument. O’Connell was finally introduced to it before a U.S. tour, but there was something immediately wrong. The student model instrument normally came in a compact 24" scale, but a handful of ’65 & ’66 Mustangs, including this one, left Fullerton with an even shorter scale length of 22.5". O’Connell admits any guitar work handled beyond the 12th fret gets cramped, but he loves the small steed’s “snappy, pingy, high-end punch.” For a song like “Televised Mind,” he’ll engage the out-of-phase switch in conjunction with a Moose Electronics Cosmic Tremorlo. The combination intensifies the shrillness of the guitar for an undeniable sting. All of O’Connell’s electrics take Ernie Ball Burly Slinkys (.011–.052).
Irish Icon
O’Connell scooped this Fender Custom Shop Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster with a heavy relic from Chicago Music Exchange. He wanted something to contrast the ping of the Mustang with a guitar that had a heftier, chunkier sound, which would add more low end for the band’s D-standard songs. The Strat was the perfect foil, and the replica based on Rory’s 1961 is a fitting way to honor his fellow Irishman.
Secondary Strat
Backing up the Rory Strat is Carlos’ Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster.
Hi-Hat Chime
“I can’t stop thinking about the guitar as an extension of the drum kit,” explains O’Connell. “I don’t think it should exist on its own in a song. It needs to back something up—you’re either following the vocals or you’re following the drums. You can do without guitar in songs, but you can’t do without vocals or drums.” For “Roman Holiday,” he runs this Martin J12-15 Jumbo 12-String into a Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb, with a bit of extra spring splash from a reverb by Moose Electronics—which he unconventionally places first in the effects chain, ahead of his overdrives—and gain from the MXR Micro Amp that mimics the sparkly crash of hi-hats for rhythm accompaniment.
Double Trouble
O’Connell’s core tone comes through the Fender ’68 Custom Twin Reverb. It’s always on, and he’s always plugged into the vintage channel with the bright switch engaged for primo piercing. He kicks on the ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb for added oomph during louder bits.
Carlos O'Connell's Pedalboard
Carlos’ first pedal was the Moose Electronics reverb (The Heart Doctor). When he eventually got a distortion, he put it after the reverb. He didn’t think about it. Any other drives he got thereafter went behind the reverb. “I had no idea it was ‘wrong’ until I took my pedalboard into the studio, and they told me I had to rearrange them because the reverb was too dirty, but I like how it sounds like a snare in a huge room,” admits O’Connell. And the rest of his pedal pals follow the same mantra—anything wrong is right, and anything grotesque is gorgeous.
Dirty devils include a Ceriatone Centura, a Fairfield Circuitry The Barbershop Millennium Overdrive, and an MXR Micro Amp. Tone-twisting modulators include a Moog Minifooger MF Flange, a Boss TR-2 Tremolo, a Strymon Lex, a Moose Electronics Cosmo Tremorlo, and an Electro-Harmonix POG. A Boss GE-7 Equalizer helps shape his sound. Utility boxes in his setup are the Radial BigShot ABY True Bypass Switcher (toggling in and out the ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb), a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Mini, a Dunlop Volume (X) DVP4, and an Electro-Harmonix Hum Debugger. A TheGigRig QuarterMaster QMX handles all the switching.
Holiday Hollowbody
While taking a break from Fontaines D.C., guitarist Conor Curley enjoyed some downtime in Berlin. Luckily, he encountered this 1960s Framus 03000 Studio that he took home for roughly $250. The archtop already had the Schaller pickup installed at the end of the fretboard, and he was amazed how well it meshed with distortion: “It just sounded so chubby and big.” He strings the Studio—which gets used on “How Cold Love Is”—with flatwounds.
Key Weapon
Curley’s two favorite guitarists are Johnny Marr and the Birthday Party’s Rowland S. Howard. Both played Jaguars, so Curley’s gravitation to the offset was obvious. Since becoming friendly with this Fender Johnny Marr Jag, he’s appreciated the versatility of its series and parallel switching. To honor Howard, he swapped out the standard white pickguard for a tortoiseshell one that matches Rowland’s beloved 1966 Jag. Besides the Framus, all of Curley’s electrics take Ernie Ball Burly Slinkys (.011–.052).
Some Neck, Somewhere
Ahead of recording their sophomore album, A Hero’s Death, Curley decided to splurge his cut of the record’s advance on a vintage guitar. At Dublin’s Some Neck Guitars, he purchased his first Fender Coronado—his attempt to channel the haunting hollowbody tones of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Black Angels. Since then, he’s acquired a few more Coronados, and his main touring one is this late-’60s Fender Coronado II Wildwood model he found in Stoke-on-Trent. His goal, one day, is to have a room full of Coronados. Godspeed, Curley!
Clint Eastman
At one point, Curley was diving deep into Elliott Smith’s electric playing. Smith typically played a Gibson ES-330, but Curley didn’t want to dip into his Coronado money to get an ES, so he opted for this similar Eastman T64/v that shares a lot of the 330’s ingredients, including a 16" thinline hollowbody construction with laminated maple, 24.75" scale length, and dog-ear P-90s (Lollar).
Twin for the Win
Curley plugs all his instruments into this Fender ’68 Custom Twin Reverb because “they don’t flavor anything. They let your guitars sound like your guitars, and they let the pedals do what they need to do.”
Experimentation Station
Curley has a robust appetite for pedals. This small platter is his rotating appetizer board that is currently testing out a Boss BF-3 Flanger, an EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life Pedal, and a Fairfield Circuitry Hors d’Oeuvre? active feedback loop.
Conor Curley's Pedalboard
“There were definitely a lot more shoegazey elements that we were trying to get to, and, obviously, if you start talking about Kevin Shields or even Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins, the stuff they did, to me, is almost unreachable, but if you try, you might end up with something new anyway,” Curley confessed to PG last year. And to achieve the range of the more ethereal and atmospheric sounds heard on Skinty Fia as well as the more brutish garage bangers in their earlier work requires a buffet of boxes. Curley employs three delays: Death By Audio Echo Dream 2, Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay, and the Industrialectric Echo Degrader. The latter “is so unpredictable, it’s almost like it doesn’t sound the same every time you use it.” He has a pair of reverbs (DigiTech HardWire RV-7 Stereo Reverb and a Boss RV-6 Reverb) and a couple Strymons (Sunset Dual Overdrive and Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker). The remaining three devices are a ThorpyFX Chain Home Tremolo, an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, and a MXR Six Band EQ. A Dunlop Volume (X) DVP4 handles dynamics, and a TC Electronic PolyTune 3 Noir Mini keeps his guitars in check.
Shop Fontaines D.C.'s Rig
Shop Scott's RigFender Mustang
Fender Rory Gallagher Stratocaster
Fender American Professional Stratocaster
Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster
Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar
Ernie Ball Burly Slinkys
Fender '68 Custom Twin Reverb
Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
EarthQuaker Devices Sunn O))) Life Pedal
Boss BF-3 Flanger
Boss RV-6 Reverb
EHX Micro POG
TC Electronic PolyTune3
MXR Six Band EQ
Strymon Deco
Strymon Sunset
Dunlop Volume (X) DVP4
EHX POG
Strymon Lex
Radial Bigshot ABY
Boss TR-2 Tremolo
Boss GE-7 Equalizer
MXR Micro Amp
EHX Hum Debugger