Here he goes again on his own.
Adrian Vandenberg is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in Whitesnake during their successful late 1980s period, and also with the band Vandenberg, which he started in 1981. Vandenberg invited PG’s John Bohlinger to his soundcheck before his recent Nashville show to take us through his rig. Special thanks to guitar tech Willem van Roekel for giving us the extra details.
Hot-Rodded Heritage
Vandenberg bought this 1980 Gibson Les Paul Heritage brand new. It’s been his number-one for 44 years. All original black plastics, like the truss rod cover, pickup rings, and more, were replaced by Adrian himself in the ’80’s to give it a unique look compared to other LPs. The day of this rundown, van Roekel replaced the original bridge pickup, which had grown microphonic over the years, with a new Burstbucker. Vandenberg’s strings are Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky (.009-.046), and his picks are Herco Flex 75s.
Proto-Peavey
This Peavey Vandenberg is a prototype of his signature model. It is completely stock, loaded with Seymour Duncan JB Model pickups. The trem was not being used so van Roekel blocked it with a stack of quarters and dimes, which Vandenberg feels helps it get great sustain. The red diamond inlays are not really visible on a stage, so they will likely be changed.
Vandenberg also plays a stock Taylor acoustic, which runs into Vandenberg’s Neural Quad Cortex using their J45 impulse response and some chorus and delay to make it sound like a proper guitar. The acoustic runs Ernie Ball Everlast Coated strings (.010-.050).
Cortex, Cabs, and Chorus
Vandenberg runs his Quad Cortex for all electrics and the acoustic, approaching it as you would a normal rig. The Cortex provides effects like chorus, delays, and a boost for leads. The amp section includes two primary profiles: “Signature Soldano” and “Modded Marshall.” All of the presets include a bit of chorus, and the “Modded Marshall” profile has a short delay on it at all times. His signal is then sent to a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 100 Stereo which feeds four 4x12 Peavey 6505 cabinets. The signals are split across Vandenberg’s cab stacks: The “Signature Soldano” goes to the first top and second bottom cabinets, and the “Modded Marshall” goes to the second top and first bottom cabinets.
Just in case something goes wrong, Vandenberg tours with a backup Quad Cortex and Seymour Duncan PowerStage that van Roekel can swap in a hurry if needed.
Shop Adrian Vandenberg's Rig
Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s Electric Guitar
Gibson Accessories '60s Burstbucker Humbucking Pickup
Peavey Vandenberg Signature Series Electric Guitar
Taylor T5z Custom Koa Hollowbody Electric Guitar
Seymour Duncan TB-6
Neural DSP Quad Cortex
Seymour Duncan PowerStage 100 Stereo
Peavey 6505 II 4 x 12-inch Slanted Cabinet
Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky (.009-.046)
Ernie Ball Everlast Coated strings (.010-.050)
Herco HE211P Flex 75 1.01mm Silver Nylon Guitar Picks
These software updates, focused on assignability, access, control, search, and cloud connectivity, vastly improve the Quad Cortex user experience.
Assignability and Workflow
CorOS 2.0.0 will allow you to leverage the Quad Cortex’s power in an even more direct and frictionless manner. The new software update is all about making workflow transparent and facilitating creativity. The highly anticipated Hybrid Mode allows users to combine modes together to assign a separate mode to each row of footswitches. Additionally, you can remove modes you don't use, to toggle between 3, 2, or even just a single action mode.
Global functionality now includes bypass of Cabs, IR Loaders, or Neural Captures of cabs on any rows, plus a global EQ has been added to Output 1/2 and Output 3/4 and is available via the I/O Settings screen. A gain-reduction meter has also been added to the parameter editor of Compressor devices. Furthermore, you can now configure which outputs the Master VolumeKnob controls via the Device Options screen.
Improved Directory
The bulk of CorOS 2.0.0 comes in a completely redesigned Directory (file manager), that provides a greatly improved user experience when it comes to managing, organizing, and locating Presets, Captures, or IRs.
You can search, filter, and categorize items to make it quicker and easier to find what you’re looking for. For instance, Presets, Neural Captures, and IRs are now broken into separate categories in the Directory, and each category can easily be collapsed or expanded on the left-hand side.
Furthermore, banks have been removed from Neural Captures and replaced with a more robust sorting & filtering system, as well as the brand-new Search. And the number of Captures you can store in the My Captures folder has been doubled to 2048. Sorting options have been added to the Directory as well. Neural Captures can be sorted by Name, Date added, Author, Preferred instrument, Capture type, and Gain. And the new software update has removed the Starring system completely; instead, items can now just be downloaded.
Enhanced Control
The software update also enables Device Versioning, which allows users to select an updated or existing version of a virtual device they want to use. If an update for an existing device is available, a green icon will display in the top-right corner of its icon on The Grid. (You can always switch back to the legacy version of a device via the contextual menu in the parameter editor.)An IR Loader block has been added, giving you a better way of loading and controlling ImpulseResponses. It is still possible to load IRs into Cab blocks as before. Four different types of theIR block are available: Single (M), Single (ST), Double (M), and Double (ST).
Other new features include a Scene change button added to the Tap Tempo screen, allowing you to configure the tempo of each Scene without having to exit the Tap Tempo screen. It is now possible to control whether the bypass state of blocks in Scenes is saved when changing its bypass state in Stomp Mode, Hybrid Stomp Mode, via MIDI, or via the touchscreen.
In the Cloud
You can create up to 5 backups in Cortex Cloud, with the ability to edit, update, or delete each one. Cloud functionality has a ton of applications; for instance, you can now specify a preferred instrument for your Preset or Neural Capture. This metadata can be used when searching/sorting on Quad Cortex and on Cortex Cloud/Mobile.
For more information, please visit neuraldsp.com.
Hosts Rhett Shull and Zach Broyles run down their top gear of the year. Plus, dueling Les Pauls and the eternal question: to refret or not to refret.
A Boss RE-202 Space Echo … on a vocal mix? A hot pink overdrive, treble boost, and echo in one pedal named SusMaryOsep—a word Filipino mothers shout at troublesome children? An Artificial Blonde—with hat’s off to Madison Cunningham—that’s a slightly pitched vibrato? Line 6’s Catalyst modeling amp—sexy or not? Amp plugins from Neural DSP and Line 6? Tone King’s royal-sounding Imperial MkII and Soldano’s SLO-30? Metallica in a box (Caroline Guitar Company’s Crom)? A Pigtronix Star Eater fuzz that looks like a wild berry Pop Tart? And have you seen the new Empress Para EQ and Origin Effects’ M-EQ Driver? Hosts Rhett Shull and Zach Broyles run down their top gear of the year. Plus, dueling Les Pauls and the eternal question: to refret or not to refret. And is a bone nut really better than nylon? And what’s a Dutchburst, anyway? Tired of questions? Well, Rhett and Zach also talk post-Thanksgiving turkey. And Zack tells about his 6-string family reunion with his first guitar and flashes the new Mythos Pedals Hephaestus, named for the Greek god of blacksmithing. What else? (Sorry, that’s another question!) Rhett opens up a box of spankin’ new pickups from Stew-Mac, and they discuss the online screeds and screeches trailing their conversation about tone woods with Paull Reed Smith in the previous episode. And yes, they do dip a rig, submitted for dissection by “Dipped in Tone” listener Kenny, whose ’90s rock setup—with stitched-rose guitar straps—sparks yet another argument about the merits of the Tube Screamer and the virtues of the Phase 90 and Phase 45 versus the Small Stone.