Tinsley Ellis broke onto the national blues scene with his early ’80s band, the Heartfixers. By late in the decade, when the Atlanta-based guitarist and singer began releasing albums under his own name, he also became a fixture in the genre’s international club and festival circuit. Over the years he's earned a reputation for full-throttle live shows and well-crafted albums that hinge on his powerful singing and on his playing, which is based in tradition but packed with signature moves like deft finger slides, the use of open, ringing strings in single-note solos, and bends borrowed from B.B. King but laden with his own emotionalism and rock 'n' roll energy.
Ellis has been a seemingly tireless road warrior—at least until Covid. But even the pandemic couldn't slow his songwriting, and he penned more than 200 new titles while in lockdown. You can hear 10 of those tunes, including 6-string bonfires like “Slow Train To Hell,” on his new album Devil May Care—the 20th in his catalog. Back on the road this year, Ellis stopped at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley on March 3, where he showed Premier Guitar his rig and told stories of close encounters with B.B. King and other greats after soundcheck and, that night, delivered a sermon on the power and glory of blues. His current run continues until the end of May, and Ellis has just been nominated in the 2022 Blues Music Awards for Blue-Rock Entertainer of the Year.
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Meet the Fleet
Tinsley Ellis favors classic tone flavors, and he gets them through classic guitars. At the 3rd & Lindsley gig, he relied on his 1959 Fender Stratocaster, his mid-’60s Gibson ES-345, a 1930s National resonator, and an ’80s Gibson Moderne. He also travels with a Les Paul and another Strat when the mood or need arises.
A Fine ’59
Here's a close-up of that 1959 Strat. It's been one of his companions for decades. When asked if he’s concerned about traveling with such a superb vintage instrument, he replies: “I own ’em to play ’em.” And indeed he does, eliciting a wide variety of classic single-coil tones from its barking pickups as he dances over its rosewood neck. One snag: the middle single-coil is a replacement, because the original was swiped years ago when he brought the guitar in for a repair. Ouch!
Tinsley's No. 1
Dig that Varitone switch—which means this 1967 Gibson is an ES-345. It's Ellis' main axe and sounds killer through his double Fender amp setup and under his hands. “I bought this guitar in the ’70s, because I wanted to sound like B.B. King,“ he says. He loves the way the Varitone works as a filter, giving him that B.B. King Live at the Regal tone on demand, and even taking him into Peter Green turf. You can see every road mile on the ES’s beautifully weathered face. This guitar and the Strat are featured throughout the Devil May Care album, along with a Les Paul and several other carefully curated axes.
A Unmodded Moderne
Although Gibson designed the Moderne in 1957, along with the Flying V and Explorer, it was not produced—save for a few prototypes—until 1982. Even then, few were made over just two years, although the guitar returned to Gibson's catalog in 2012. Ellis keeps his stock Moderne tuned in open D, primarily, for playing slide, and the guitar seems to have an affinity for Elmore James’ material.
Where's Pokey?
Note the Moderne's very un-Gibson-like “Gumby” headstock!
Take a Shine to This!
This is a 1932 National resonator, with its chrome body decorated by an oasis motif on the front and back. Ellis keeps this little doggie, a recent acquisition, mostly tuned in open G, and when he plays Muddy Waters' “Can't Be Satisfied,” laying his bronze slide on its strings, it's impossible to not be carried back to the days this guitar—and the blues genre—were young.
Silver Beaches
Here's the backside of Ellis' National.
A Super Super Reverb and Its Deluxe Sidekick
Ellis is a die-hard Fender amp fan and runs his vintage Super Reverb and reissue Deluxe in parallel to achiever his widescreen tone. This Super Reverb is a little more super than meets the eye. Ellis purchased the 40-watt wonder from Thom Doucette, who played harmonica with the Allman Brothers on the classic 1971 album At Fillmore East. Doucette owned two Supers, he and told Ellis he either played this one or its sibling—he no longer remembered exactly which he'd used—on the nights the album was recorded. Oh, and one more thing: This amp was also used by Stevie Ray Vaughan whenever he sat in with Ellis, who told us he hasn't changed the settings—volume at 6, treble just past 8, mid at 6, bass at 3, and reverb just past 2—since the first time SRV plugged into it. “When I heard Stevie play though that amp, I thought, ‘Aha, that's how it's supposed to be set!'”
Basic Burners
Ellis keeps his pedalboard simple. There’s a Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner and a BBE Soul Vibe rotary speaker emulator—way easier to carry than the Leslie heard on Devil May Care—followed by a Nobles ODR-1 Natural Overdrive and a Real McCoy Custom Wah.
The Airline Professional Vibrato was Valco's top-of-the line Res-O-Glas model.
In 1961, the Valco Company began to revamp their factory in Chicago and invested in a new fiberglass technology for building guitars. The company highlighted how fiberglass guitars would be more durable and resistant to changes in climate. Additionally, it would be much cheaper compared to using wood. By 1962, a large portion of the factory was dedicated to building 6-strings using fiberglass, and there were about 10 different models dubbed Res-O-Glas guitars.
Sure, those knobs and the pickup selector will get in the way of your strums, but they don’t make this hip-looking Airline any less cool.
Valco made different Res-O-Glas guitar models using the brands National, Supro, and Airline. The Airline-branded guitars were sold through Montgomery Ward department store catalogs, and the most expensive model was the Airline Professional Vibrato. This 3-pickup guitar was an interesting departure from the traditional Airline offerings. It featured an angular, oddly shaped body identical to the red Airline guitar that would later be made popular by Jack White. The Professional only came in white, featured a genuine Bigsby vibrato, and sold for a whopping price tag of $249!
Whenever I’m presented with someone who is obsessed with wood quality, I think about the pine, Formica, and fiberglass electric guitars made by Danelectro and Valco as examples of guitar building that totally ignored the traditional process.
The guitar featured fine Kluson tuners, a bound neck with celluloid inlays, nickel-silver frets, and the always exquisite-sounding single-coil Valco pickups (that look like humbuckers) that were made in-house and have a great, aggressive tone, even with fiberglass. The controls for this model include a row of knobs above each pickup for bass and treble. The idea was that you could have each pickup preset to your tastes. There was also a master volume control and a 3-way blade pickup selector switch.
The guitar featured fine Kluson tuners, a bound neck with celluloid inlays, and nickel-silver frets.
This excellent guitar initially appeared in the 1965 catalog, but was gone by 1967, which makes it an extremely rare and desirable instrument. It’s a shame more people haven’t had the chance to play this model, because it offers such a unique experience. The guitar is super light but still well-balanced. The tonal sin of many Valco guitars is that the electronics were often over-done and blanketed in all sorts of capacitors, and this Airline Professional is no exception. The upper row of knobs is also right in the way of your strumming motion, so that’s a bit of a problem. But even with these quirks, the guitar sounds amazing. And all Res-O-Glas instruments are alive and full of vibration!
![Rig Rundown: God Is an Astronaut [2021]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/rig-rundown-god-is-an-astronaut-2021.jpg?id=25890371&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
“A lot of the earlier material—The End of the Beginning through All Is Violent, All Is Bright—definitely suits this guitar,” suggests God Is an Astronaut founder Torsten Kinsella when introducing his Fender Deluxe Strat HSS. It has the stock Twin Head Vintage humbucker still complimenting the pair of Vintage Noiseless Strat pickups. The bridge is blocked to help intonation since the band uses several tunings.
If you recall our 2016 Rundown, Torsten Kinsella was exclusively using a 1968 Gibson ES-345. This Stephen Stern-built, red-sparkle Gretsch Custom Shop Penguin has replaced the 345 and typically lives in drop-A tuning. It features TV Jones Filter’Tron pickups and to keep tension up, he employs a custom set of Optima 24K Gold Strings (.060-.044.-.032-.020-.014-.011). For lighter-tuned guitars, he will swap out the .060 for a slimmer .056 or .058.
Here’s Torsten Kinsella’s second custom-built Gretsch Penguin that has a set of TV Jones Classics (bridge and neck) and a TV Jones Magna’Tron in the middle. The only thing he’s changed on this green machine is putting in the wooden bridge that’s more harmonious to his ears.
Torsten Kinsella’s 1961 National Glenwood is a studio tool that never sees the road because it’s a vintage piece and was once owned by The Who’s John Entwistle. Kinsella had his tech put in a truss rod to make the guitar more playable and Curtis Novak re-wound the bridge pickup.
Here is Torsten Kinsella’s Fender American Original ’60s Jazzmaster that’s been upgraded with a Staytrem tremolo (constricting the arm movement so its intentional) and Staytrem bridge with Mustang-style saddles.
Torsten Kinsella’s stomp stations deserve their own zip code. As he states in the Rundown, the Axe-Fx II was crucial when flying around the globe and wanting a consistent sound, but with COVID-19 shutting down touring for over a year now, the band rekindled their love for amps and pedals. And coming out on the other side of the transformation, Kinsella asserts that the traditional gear setup better captures their full sound and dynamic range.
Starting with the left-side Pedaltrain Classic PRO pedalboard you have a couple Strymons (Mobius and BigSky), a custom Moose Electronics HM23 distortion (based on the classic HM-2 circuit), Chase Bliss Mood, Secret Audio Red Secret DI, Red Panda Particle, ChiralityAudio Splinter Drive, a pair of Boss pedals (MT-2 Metal Zone and DD-500 Digital Delay), two large-box black-Russian Electro-Harmonix Big Muffs, Friedman BE-OD Deluxe Overdrive Limited (clockworks design was exclusive to Thomann), Recovery Effects Bad Comrade, Meris Hedra (“special weapon for Ghost Tapes #10”), Boss DS-1 Distortion (with Keeley mod), Dr. Scientist The Elements, and a Chase Bliss Brothers. Bottom center rests a Meris Preset Switch that allows Torsten to quickly access up to four different sounds on the Hedra. And off both boards in the middle sits a Moose Electronics Nomad (inspired by the Foxx Tone Machine).
The right-side Pedaltrain Classic board starts with two utilitarian (but vital) Empress boxes—Buffer+ and Compressor—followed by a DigiTech Whammy (set to chords), and two more EHX Big Muffs. And keeping everything in check is a TC Electronic PolyTune3 and harnessing dynamics is the Ernie Ball VPJR Tuner.
Torsten Kinsella now uses an Orange AD30 and matching 2x12 cab.
And on top of the AD30 sits a pair of Two Notes tools—a Torpedo C.A.B. M Speaker Simulator/DI and a Torpedo Captor Loadbox/Attenuator/DI. Also there is a LNDR Line Driver MIDI Range Extender and a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon.
Like Torsten, Jamie Dean rocked a single guitar (1985 Yamaha SA800) into an Axe-Fx II in our last Rundown. Above you see he’s gone offset with a Fender American Vintage ’65 Jazzmaster reissue. He’s subbed in a Mastery bridge and a Staytrem tremolo, while the rest of the guitar is original.
Seen here is a Fender American Professional I Jazzmaster that has been modded with Curtis Novak JM-Fat (bridge) & JM-V pickups and locking tuners.
Jamie Dean spends most time on six strings, but above is a 1980s Fender Bullet Bass (with a capo on the 13th fret) for “All Is Violent, All Is Bright” and “Fireflies and Empty Skies.”
An impressive Pedaltrain Terra 42 board in his own right, Jamie Dean has plenty of colors to paint with thanks to a lineup of pedals that includes a Strymon BigSky, Moose Electronics Elk Head (based on a ’70s Violet Ram’s Head Big Muff with additional mids control), Boss MT-2 Metal Zone (instantaneous feedback), Stomp Under Foot Pumpkin Pi, Recovery Effects Bad Comrade, Empress Buffer+, Strymon TimeLine, Ernie Ball VPJR Tuner, three EHX Big Muffs, Friedman BE-OD Deluxe, Meris Hedra, Empress Compressor, Boss DS-1 Distortion (with Keeley mod), Red Panda Particle, and a ChiralityAudio Splinter Drive. He also has a Meris Preset Switch (for the Hedra) and a TC Electronic PolyTune3.
Throughout the Rundown, we were hearing Jamie use a 2000s Orange AD30 into a 2x12 cab that was mic’d with a SM57.
Mainly for monitoring purposes, Jamie Dean also uses pair of Two Notes tone tools—a Torpedo C.A.B. M Speaker Simulator/DI and a Torpedo Captor Loadbox/Attenuator/DI.
Back in 2016, Niels Kinsella visited Nashville with a Fender American Vintage ’63 P Bass, but now he’s aiming for an upper-range low-end tone, so he landed on a short-scale Fender Justin Meldal-Johnsen Mustang Bass that is completely stock. He goes with custom set of Optima Unique Chrome Strings (.115–.080–.060–.045) and is typically tuned D-A-D-G.
Niels Kinsella’s signal flow out of the bass hits the Boss TU-3W Waza Craft Chromatic Tuner, then hitting the Noble Preamp, Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal, ChiralityAudio Black Swan Bass Distortion/Fuzz, and the Darkglass Electronics Microtubes X Ultra preamp. Everything calls a Pedaltrain Classic JR home.
Five years ago, he used the Noble Preamp as a DI that went out to FOH, but now Niels Kinsella is going big and bad with the Ampeg Heritage Series SVT-CL 300-watt tube head pumping into a matching Ampeg Heritage Series SVT-410HLF.
Even. More. Pedals.
Are you serious??
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