Bush had an unbelievable debut with 1994’s Sixteen Stone that eventually surpassed 6x platinum status. The post-grunge juggernaut continued making moody, mercurial, and sometimes menacing music has continuing mutating while keeping them modern with a total of nine full-length releases with 2022’s The Art of Survival as their most recent chapter.
The band’s headlining Ryman tour stop was furthering their support for the October 2022 release where the camp invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage to catalog their compact setups. Guitarist Chris Traynor starts the chat covering his instruments that run the gamut from import steals to one-off custom baritones with and without frets. The baton gets passed to Gavin Rossdale tech Trace Davis who covers the frontman’s arsenal of Strats, SGs, and Jazzmasters before breaking down Rossdale’s core patches living within his Fractal Audio FM9.
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Blacktop Bargain
Longtime Bush guitarist Chris Traynor is no sticker snob. He’ll play anything if it serves the song or sounds good—bias be damned. Case in point, is this 2010s Fender Blacktop Baritone Telecaster that he scooped off Reverb for just $400. He tunes it B to B and lows its rumbly character. Traynor is a big glass of water and so he also appreciates the extended scale length (27") and bigger strings make the instrument not feel like a toy.
Dealing in D
This 2017 Gibson Custom Shop 1968 Les Paul Custom Reissue that does the heavy lifting for any Bush songs in D. Traynor notes in the Rundown that if he could duplicate this beauty he wouldn’t need to tour with many other guitars to cover the band’s deep catalog and growing tuning list. He supercharged its sounds with a new set of Fishman Fluence Javier Reyes pickups. He made the move during COVID when the band was doing livestreams and playing in front of massive light walls that were making his traditional humbuckers nosier than normal. This one takes a custom set of Ernie Ball strings (.010–.054).
Standard Paul
Bush’s earliest work typically was written in standard tuning so this 2014 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard sees the spotlight for those jams. It too shares the Fishman Fluence Javier Reyes pickups and Traynor remarks that he really loves voice 3 that brings his beefy Paul into a chimey, single-coil land.
Mimicking Micawber
Traynor enjoyed his experience with the Blacktop Baritone he commissioned the Fender Custom Shop to build him an extended-range copy of Keith Richards iconic 1950s butterscotch blonde Tele. The single-coil-looking bridge pickup is a stacked humbucker but he claims it still retains a single-coil charm. He tunes it C to C for “Heavy Is the Ocean” off 2022’s The Art of Survival.
Set It And Forget It
“Steve Fryette of VHT told me once that ‘if you got something you love, don’t mess with,’ so haven’t touched this guitar since getting it. He bought the above 1990s USA Gibson SG from a neighbor in the hopes his daughter would connect with it, but the magnetism never took. Traynor gave it a go and loved it. He doesn’t question things when lightning strikes.
The Sizzler
Yet again proving that he lets his ears lead the way, Traynor rocks this Squier Vintage Modified Baritone Jazzmaster onstage every night with Bush.
To Fret, or Not to Fret
For the song “More Than Machines” off The Art of Survival Traynor recorded overdubs with a fretless guitar. To bring that single to the stage, he created this Frankenstein with various Fender parts—plus a Lollar Imperial humbucker—including a 3-fret baritone neck that helps him ballpark the pitch as he goes down the neck into murky, undefined territory. Like his Blacktop Baritone, it’s tuned B to B.
The Same Is Sublime
Same big rock tone, every single night, regardless of the venue,” states Traynor. Consistency keeps Chris calm knowing that every performance will sound the same thanks to the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx III. He has one core sound that’s actually available to download and one other for “The Kingdom” that incorporates a pitch-shifter. He prefers to let the guitars change the mood rather than building a complex choreography inside the Axe-Fx III. A Matrix Amplification GT1000FX powers the Fractal and he runs his signal through a pair of arctic Mesa/Boogie 4x12s.
Heavy Chevy
This American Professional II Stratocaster HSS looks as fast as a fastback 1970 Camaro. Gavin Rossdale tech Trace Davis comments that this stock Strat has an oddly dense, weighty alder body that gives the silverburst a heavy and husky tone. All of Gavin’s guitars take Ernie Ball Beefy Slinks (.011–.054).
Custom Cat
Recent years has seen Rossdale gravitate towards single-humbucker, “super-strat” guitars for their no-frills firepower. This custom Shabat Lynx intensified its roar when they removed a P.A.F.-style ’bucker for a hotter handwound Undertow humbucker from Piedmont Pickups that carries a toasty 16.8k rating.
The Dark Knight
When it’s time to lower down to drop-C tuning for songs from The Kingdom or The Art of Survival, Rossdale brandishes this sleek Gibson Custom SG that’s entirely stock aside for upgraded ground wiring handled by tech Trace Davis.
Sweet Sixteen
For classic cuts “Glycerine” and “Comedown” off 1994 mega-hit Sixteen Stone, Rossdale will perform with this Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster. It’s been enhanced with a set of Lollar P-90 Jazzmaster pickups.
Rocky Mountain Way
While this sunburst Jazzmaster rides backup to the previous black model, it’s worth sharing because the neck on this one is taken from a ’66 Fender Jazzmaster Rossdale acquired years ago that actually once belonged to Joe Walsh and was said to be used on rhythm parts for Hotel California.
Gavin Rossdale’s Rack
The longer the band has been around and continued to tour the world, Rossdale has reduced his sonic footprint. His condensed setup currently includes a Shure AD4D-US Axient Digital Two-Channel Wireless unit, a pair of Matrix GT1000FX Power Amps, an Interstellar Audio Machines Octonaut Hyperdrive that chases down the Klon Centaur, a MXR M135 Smart Gate Noise Gate keeps things silent, a Trace Davis-implemented Analog Man Beano Boost for any extra oomph on solos, he hits the strings with Steve Clayton Acetal Rounded Triangle .80 mm picks, and a Fractal Audio Systems FM9 Amp Modeler that builds out Bush’s set with 4-5 key scenes that range from mild to wild.
Rig Rundown: Idles
For much of the 2010s, the bashers from Bristol played on anything and plugged into everything. Low-budget imports and solid-state combos were what they had and they made that work. They toiled around the U.K. sharpening their sneering tongue, quickening their sting, and focusing their vision. Doing so meant playing small rooms as much as possible. So the need and access for big, potent, top-shelf gear was unnecessary. That volatile energy, sensible setups, and Sten-gun attack anchored both 2017’s Brutalism and 2018’s Joy as an Act of Resistance.
The popularity in those releases opened doors to new tools and the time to explore fresh tones and approaches. When writing Ultra Mono, Bowen and Kiernan looked for sounds rather than riffs.
“The noise-making had to be thought of from the start,” Bowen told PG in 2020. “We basically created a sound palette first, and once we created a sound, that sound informed the riffs.”
And the most obnoxious sounds on Ultra Mono were intentional.
“When we were writing this album, we’d go to random guitar shops and ask them for the weirdest pedals they had,” adds Kiernan. “It may sound useless, but it still might touch you somehow. Every now and then, a pedal that does something really weird will kick you into gear.”
Using hip-hop beats as a North Star and often performing on their instruments as drummers, the duo unlocked a combination of heartless sounds for Ultra Mono that elevated Talbot’s heartfelt (and challenging) lyrics.
For the just-released Crawler, they continued exploring obtuse sounds. Some continued to be unusual to the masses and others were atypical for Idles. “Car Crash” is a disjointed, cold-war-siren-sounding, brooding banger. Considering its brash, bizarrely brilliant predecessor, it’s right in line. However, one track no one saw coming was “The Beachland Ballroom”—a bring-you-to-your knees soul song. The incessant brave exploration advances their brutal power, supports their menacing energy, and paints with broad colors to complement Talbot’s biting commentary and tales of personal troubles.
Touring ahead of 2021’s Crawler (now available), Idles’ Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan invited PG to Nashville’s Cannery Ballroom for an extended gear chat before their sold-out show. Just ahead of soundcheck, Kiernan clarified his seemingly callous treatment of his Fenders, while Bowen establishes that his acrylic Electrical Guitar Company EG 500 is heavy to dance about onstage, but its “angry piano” sound makes it worth it. They explain why they need a collective of five pedalboards and 50+ stomps to cover guitar, bass, baritone, synth, inhuman sounds, and whatever they mean when they say “genk.” (In a 2020 interview with PG, Bowen described the term like this: “’Mr. Motivator’ is a good example: Lee makes this ‘genk’ noise that sounds like a hammer in a metal factory, and he plays that along with the drums, and that part really only occupies a frequency range around 1.2k to 2.3k—which is a large bandwidth, but it’s where the transients of the drums and the cymbals sit. That part really pops in that space.” Also, Bowen and Kiernan created a YouTube show called Genks during the pandemic, which focuses on effects. Even if you’re a minimalist, it’s worth a watch for the laughs.)
Big thanks to Idles tech Gavin Maxwell.
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“It’s Not Carelessness, I Just Do What I Want with It”
To the outside observer, stacking your Fenders on the floor, using gaff tape as strap locks, and carrying on with broken knobs and missing switches may seem like a fool’s errand for Idles guitarist Lee Kiernan, but it’s all part of his master plan.
“Playing it however I want, or smashing it against an amp, or rubbing a microphone on it, is all a part of using the tool,” Kiernan explains. “It’s made of wood so when it breaks, you just glue it back together.”
Above you see Kiernan’s trifecta of trouble. A quick glance and you notice the shell-pink Mustang and yellow Strat have been severely simplified. (“Less parts mean less things to go wrong,” says Kiernan). Both of their stock wiring setups and pickups were removed. He had Bristol (UK) tech Steve Hawkers drop in custom-wound single-coils (“all bass and all treble”) and solder them straight to the output jack. (Kiernan admits that it was Steve’s first pickup wind.) The only control on either is a volume knob. (As Kiernan demonstrates in the Rig Rundown, the Mustang’s volume knob is hanging by a thread and used in conjunction with strong neck bends producing a howling-train-in-the-distance sound.) The Strat still has its tremolo arm because Kiernan loves ’80s hair metal and can indulge in a dive bomb or two.
The untouched American Professional II Tele gets stage time when the band performs songs off their brand-new album Crawler. Upon receiving the guitar, Kiernan was doing as guitarists do—plugged it in and started hearing what it had to say. He slid it into the neck position with the tone rolled all the way off and singer Joe Talbot heard his noodling and wondered what it was for. Kiernan said it was him just testing out the guitar, but the process led to Crawler’s “When the Lights Come On.”
“This guitar, within seconds of its life, ended up helping write a song,” recalls Kiernan. “It’s staying as it is. I’m not gonna change it.”
All the guitars use Ernie Ball Not Even Slinkys (.012–.056) and he assaults the strings with Dunlop Tortex Standard 1.14 mm purple picks.
Loud and Proud
When the band was playing smaller rooms and had no money, they opted for whatever shabby amps they could plug into (including Peavey Pacer and Marshall Valvestate combos). Solid-state or tube, it didn’t matter as long as it made racket. Now that they’re selling out large clubs and theaters, the boys from Bristol crave as much volume and headroom as possible.
Kiernan’s first flirt with a tube Marshall was when he encountered a late-1980s, 2-channel JCM800 2x12 combo he adored. While recording Ultra Mono, he used several amps, including a 2003 Marshall 100-watt Super Lead plexi reissue and a 2000s 100-watt Marshall JCM800 2203. So it made sense for the fall 2021 U.S. run that Kiernan requested the above 100-watt Marshall JCM800s. The one on the left is a 2013 Model 2203, while its counterpart on the right is a 1989 Lead Series Model 2210 (with master volume and reverb). (Kiernan mentions in the Rundown that in Europe they use the SLP and 1897x models.) Both Marshalls hit their own Hiwatt 2x12s that are loaded with Fane Ascension F70 creamback speakers.
Double the Fun
The time spent mentioning everything Kiernan does with these pedals is better served watching the Rundown, listening to Idles’ music, or attending one of their shows. But in doing our due diligence, here are the stomps that corrupt, challenge, and ravage his tone.
Starting with the top row on the right-side board, we have a Strymon Flint, Drolo Twin Peaks (tremolo), Drolo Stamme[n] (micro looper/glitch delay/tape machine/sustainer/reverb), Death By Audio Micro Dream (delay), and a Death By Audio Space Bender prototype (modulation). The bottom row is home to a DigiTech Whammy, Electro-Harmonix Synth9, Intensive Care Audio Vena Cava Filter (distortion with an auto-filter and ring modulation), Moog MF Ring, and a Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner. A GigRig ABY-BABY controls the amp offering phase control and isolation. The small black box labeled “in/out” was built by tech Gavin Maxwell so Kiernan could quickly test out a pedal without having to rip his setup apart.
The left-side board starts with a Mission Engineering EP-1 expression pedal, a Boss PS-6 Harmonist, an EarthQuaker Devices Data Corrupter, a Death By Audio Interstellar Overdriver Deluxe, and a Death By Audio Evil Filter. The top row starts with a quartet of EarthQuaker stomps—Organizer (polyphonic organ emulator), Arrows (preamp boost), Gray Channel (overdrive), and Tone Job (EQ/boost)—a Moog MF Chorus, and Death By Audio Reverberation Machine. A Jam Pedals TubeDreamer is sandwiched in between everything.
Smells Like Home
Mark Bowen’s longtime main cruiser was this 1972 Fender Stratocaster he affectionately calls “Stinky.” This well-loved Strat belonged to Bowen’s dad and was gifted to him years ago. In a 2020 interview with PG, Bowen had this to say about his foul-smelling friend: “Stinky’s action is horribly high and it’s a terrible guitar to play, but I just love it because it feels like a real punk-rock guitar. That guitar lives for me, in a way, so that it makes its way onto everything.”
Besides the action, another thing making this Strat a struggle to commandeer is the Ernie Ball Mammoth Slinkys (.012–.062) he puts on his guitars. He bludgeons his instruments with Dunlop Tortex Standard 1.14 mm (purple) picks.
The Angry Piano
While Bowen still tours with “Stinky,” his preferred weapon of choice right now is this Electrical Guitar Company EG 500. Speaking with PG last year, he had this to say about the acrylic beauty: “It’s so much louder than other guitars, and there’s this resonance to it that really fits in with my ethos and songwriting. It sounds like an angry piano. That guitar is capable of really horrible caustic sounds, but immediately switches over to making these weighty, thuddy doom-metal sounds.”
Stealth Bomber
For anything low, rumbly, and absolutely nasty, Bowen picks up this Electrical Guitar Company Standard baritone (borrowed from Mogwai’s Dominic Aitchison). He says the EG 500 pickups are hot, but the humbuckers made for their Standards are “terrifying.”
More Bass, Baby!
For Ultra Mono, Bowen used a transatlantic amp combination of Hiwatts and Fenders. As the band has progressed from that album, Bowen has drifted his sound deeper and lower into the bass and synth territory. Putting together Crawler, he enlisted an Orange AD200B MKIII, which now travels with him on the road. Still keeping things somewhat in the guitar spectrum, he pairs the bass head with a Hiwatt Custom 100 DR103 reissue. (If you zoom in, you can see the Hiwatt has the bass knob goosed.) It’s worth noting, up until the Nashville date, Bowen had already blown out six Hiwatts, but he claims to never be without one: “There’s just this weight, this thunk that’s there, they’re bright, and the headroom is unmatched.”
Ironically, the Hiwatt runs into a MAXWATT B115HN 1x15 bass cab while the AD200B crushes an Orange PPC212 guitar cab.
Bowen's Central Command
To accomplish all the fantastic and outrageous tones captured on Idles’ last two records, Bowen brings a whole cast of characters to accomplish that feat. His main board (stationed out front onstage by his microphone) features his “most standard” pedals: Death By Audio Reverberation Machine and Echo Dream 2, Adventure Audio Dream Reaper, a pair of Moogs (MF Delay and MF Ring), Death By Audio Waveformer Destroyer, Electro-Harmonix POG2, 4ms Pedals Mini Swash Full (fuzz/distortion/noise synth/self-oscillation/LFO craziness), a duo of Red Panda pedals (Particle and Raster), and a JHS Haunting Mids. A Boss TU-3W Waza Craft Chromatic Tuner keeps his guitars in check and a GigRig G3 organizes all the changes.
Mooger-Fooger Mark Bowen
Near his amps, Bowen has another batch of tone morphers. Up top he’s got a 4-pack of Moog Moogerfooger monsters—MF-107 FreqBox, MF-102 Ring Modulator, MF-108M Cluster Flux, and a CP-251 Control Processor—and another no-name glitch/synth device. Below those we have an Electro-Harmonix 95000 Stereo Looper, a Strymon TimeLine, an Electro-Harmonix POG2, and an Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim (reverb/delay and reverse). Lastly, he has a Nord Electro 6D at his disposal. Everything is powered by GigRig Timelord power supplies, while two Strymon Iridiums handle cab emulations.
Final Destination
The last part of Bowen’s setup is this board under his keyboard/Moogerfooger workstation. Here, he has another GigRig G3 switcher, another Electro-Harmonix 95000 Stereo Looper, a GigRig Three2One (to help balance levels between instruments), and three Mission Engineering EP-1 expression pedals (controlling some of the effects in the previous photo).
GIBSON Lukas Nelson '56 Les Paul Junior
The Les Paul Junior has always been a fave of the punk rock set (or at least it was until vintage specimens became too valuable for thrashing). But as Lukas Nelson's signature take on the super-streamlined Junior demonstrates, punk isn't the only language this beautifully basic slab of mahogany speaks. Responsive pots and a P-90 with a penchant for detail means there is much nuance to extract from this light, comfortable, and delightfully old-school 6-string.
$1,599 street, gibson.com
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Gibson Lukas Nelson Signature Les Paul Junior - First Look
MXR Tremolo
When you think of MXR modulation you probably think of the Phase 45, 90, and 100. But apart from the company's underrated M159, tremolo never seemed like a point of focus for MXR. With the release of their 6-mode digital stereo trem', simply called the Tremolo, MXR seems determined to make up for lost time. A very nice take on the M159 voice is a highlight, but bias, optical, square wave, and harmonic tremolo modes mean this wee wobble machine covers a lot of ground—from vintage to weird—in a compact unit that, at just $159, offers considerable value too.
$159 street, jimdunlop.com
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MXR M305 Tremolo First Look
ELECTRO-HARMONIX 1440 Stereo Looper
Looping can feel like magic. And magic is always more fun when it's easy to perform. EHX's 1440 (the name corresponds to the maximum possible length, in seconds, of a loop) isn't the most streamlined looper in EHX's expansive looper family, but it certainly strikes an appealing balance between ease of use and performance potential. Most features are just a click, touch, or twist away. But you can go deep with the 1440—altering pitch, tempo (right down to specific BPMs), and even reversing loops to create seemingly infinite variations on basic themes that can be stacked into sound collages and complex but cohesive compositions on the fly.
$221 street, ehx.com
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Electro-Harmonix 1440 Stereo Looper Demo - First Look
WREN AND CUFF Caprid Blue-Violet Special
Few pedal builders chase Big Muff authenticity as obsessively as Matt Holl, owner of Wren And Cuff. In the shape of the Blue-Violet Special, the fruit of Holl's labors might have hit a new high-water mark. It's smooth, scooped just-so in the midrange, and walks the tightrope between hot and sweet like only a great Ram's Head clone can. Big Muff clones really don't come much prettier, spot-on authentic, or more smokin' than this one.
$324 street, wrenandcuff.com
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Wren and Cuff Blue Caprid Demo - First Look
BOSSGT-1000CORE
This compact unit packs 140 unique effects and amp sims into a compact user- and pedalboard-friendly device, making it the ultimate Boss pedal collection. There are plenty of presets ready to go, but when you want to dig deeper, it's easy to tweak settings and create, shuffle, and manipulate the complex signal chains of your dreams. The GT-1000CORE can be run into a traditional guitar amp or full-range flat-response rig, making it great for gig and studio usage.
$699 street, boss.info
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Boss GT-1000CORE Demo (From Heavy to Heavenly?!) - First Look
EVENTIDE Blackhole
It seems anyone who has worked with Eventide's powerful H9 or Space Reverb knows, loves, and uses the Blackhole mode on those units a ton. It's often as huge sounding as the name suggests, but it's also unusually organic for a digital reverb of such expansive aspirations. In dedicated pedal form, the Blackhole—if you'll forgive the astronomical backwardness—shines just as brightly. Blackhole is more than just another shimmery enormo-verb. It can sound dirty, mangled, and twisted just as easily as it can sound pristine. And in this more streamlined package, it is easier than ever to source those sounds.
$279 street, eventideaudio.com
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Eventide Blackhole First Look
DUNLOP Cry Baby Junior
You have to be really finicky and probably unhealthily obsessive about pedalboard space to find a gripe with the Cry Baby Junior. The jacks are crown-mounted. It's just 8" long. But it also speaks in three, switchable distinct wah voices—the peaky GCB95, a midrange-y vintage mode, and a low-frequency setting that give this little wah a huge filtering vocabulary.
$129 street, jimdunlop.com
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Dunlop CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior Wah Demo - First Look
RPS EFFECTS Arcade Machine
If mangled, schizophrenic Game Boy tones sounds like your cup o' tonal tea, this slightly simplified take on the famous Schumann Electronics PLL will surely bring a smile to your face. The analog monophonic square-wave harmonizer lets you add up to five pitches to your core sound, while a noise-gate control, vibrato circuit, and expression-pedal input exponentially increase the possible mutation permutations.
$265 street, rpseffects.com
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CARR Super Bee
This small combo takes on hefty Super Reverb tone using two 6BM8 output tubes, rather than 6L6s, to generate an eardrum-friendly 10 watts, delivered via one 12" Eminence-made speaker (a 10" option is available). An attenuator takes the Carr down to a quiet 2 watts, while a 3-way switch selects EQ voicings, providing easy access to sparkling cleans, deep overdrive, and meaty twang. Point-to-point wiring and high-end components seal the deal, while the solid pine cabinet's retro-inspired speaker cutout adds mid-century flair.
$2,490 street, carramplifiers.com
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Carr Super Bee Demo - First Look
ORIGIN EFFECTS Magma57
Putting your ear right up next to an old Magnatone warbling away in vibrato mode can leave you thinking "there's no way anyone will ever replicate this in a pedal." That may still be true. But few builders have gotten as close to 99.9 percent of the way there the way Origin has in the Magma57. Like every Origin pedal, the Magma57 could probably survive a nuclear detonation at ground zero. But it's the sound of the Magma57—both its ultra-rich, deep-end vibrato and thick, luxurious drive—that is the main attraction.
$459 street, origineffects.com
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Origin Effects Magma57 Demo - First Look
DUNLOP Volume (X)8
Shrinkage has very clearly been on the minds of Dunlop's designers the last few years. But like their Cry Baby Junior, the Volume (X)8 is more than a matter of miniaturization. It also doubles as an expression pedal and has a wide, sweet sweep that makes volume swells feel a lot more nuanced and accurate.
$119, jimdunlop.com
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EPIPHONE Prophecy SG
Epiphone outfitted the SG with upmarket alterations for their Prophecy line, from Fishman Fluence pickups that offer three voices via push-pull pots on a streamlined 2-knob control array to upgraded hardware that includes Grover locking Rotomatic tuners, a black Graph Tech NuBone nut, and a LockTone tune-o-matic-style bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Despite accoutrements galore and an aesthetic that leans toward the heavy side of rock, the Prophecy SG is an affordable model with a variety of tones and musical flexibility on tap.
$899 street,epiphone.com
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Epiphone Prophecy SG Demo - First Look
UNIVERSAL AUDIO UAFX Golden Reverberator
The effects available in UA's Apollo system represent a digital gold standard for many engineers. So to have access to those very same effects in a convenient and affordable pedal that can operate entirely outside of the Universal Audio environment is no small development. The UAFX Golden Reverberator doesn't feature scads of models—the model ships with three Fender-style "spring" reverbs, three EMT plate emulations, and an additional three Lexicon 224-style room and hall verbs. But if the available reverbs seem slight, the realism, depth, and sonic possibilities are most certainly not.
$399 street, uaaudio.com
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BOSS Waza Craft TB-2w Tone Bender
A Tone Bender-style circuit is a simple thing. That doesn't mean it's easy to build a good one—particularly when you involve exacting folks like Boss president Yoshi Ikegami and Sola Sound chief Ant Macari. Their decision to partner on a version of one of the greatest fuzzes ever was no mere branding exercise. The TB-2w sounds fantastic and feels thrilling to play. Unfortunately, short supply of the transistors Ikegami and Macari found worthy of the Waza Tone Bender meant they only built 3,000. But even if you can only borrow one from some other lucky so-and-so for a day, it's a kick in the pants.
$349 street, boss.info
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Boss Waza Craft TB-2W Tone Bender Demo | First Look
DAWNER PRINCE Pulse
Digging deep into the minutiae of David Gilmour's tone recipes, Dawner Prince set their sights on the sound of Gilmour's custom-built Doppola rotary speaker when they built the Pulse. But regardless of how you feel about Gilmour's mid-'90s tones, the Pulse is delectably deep in any musical applications where organic, dimensional rotary-style tones are a fit.
$339 street, dawnerprince.com
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RADIAL PZ-PRO
The lure of a utilitarian piece of gear that is well designed, not overthought, and just simply works is always an attraction in my book. Radial's flagship acoustic guitar workhorse is a dual-channel preamp that offers a handful of pro-level features that are nearly guaranteed to make your gigging life easier. It's built for the road and offers an immense EQ section that allows you to fine-tune nearly any troublesome frequency out of the mix. Bonus: The effects loop and built-in boost make it a snap to integrate into your existing board.
$499 street, radialeng.com
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GUILD F-240E
Just about any good jumbo-body acoustic can be an extraordinary playing experience. But when you can buy a jumbo of the quality of the F-240E for less than $400—well, that merits considering the jumbo experience on a much more permanent basis. The F-240E isn't perfect: the midrange can be a bit brash and strong. But the Guild is still a powerful flattop that you feel as much as play.
$399 street, guildguitars.com
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SQUIER Contemporary Jaguar HH-ST
If the most elemental form of a guitar is its body and neck, the HH-ST Jaguar is a fine distillate of Jaguar essence. Those who savor old-school synchronized floating tremolo, single-coils, and bass-cut switches may feel out of their element here. But if you just want to feel the compact comfort of a Jaguar body and 24" scale, and are curious about the possibilities of humbuckers and coil splitting, this is a sweet deal.
$449 street, fender.com
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SUPRO Delta King 8
Drawing inspiration from their low-watt 1950s combos, Supro deliver the fierce Delta King 8. With just 1 watt of all-tube class A power, this tiny beast is great for low-volume home recording, whether you're miking its 8" speaker or plugging the line-level output direct into your interface. While it might be too quiet for gigs on its own, you can use it to cure your backline blues by plugging it right into the input of a house amp and hearing it roar.
$449 street, suprousa.com
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Supro Delta King 8 Review Demo
MESA/BOOGIE Rectifier Badlander 50
This modestly powered addition to Mesa/Boogie's reimagined Rectifier series is both versatile and simple to use—despite what the 12 knobs and six switches might have you think. With features such as built-in CabClone impulse response, Variac setting, switchable output power, and a bias switch for swapping its EL34s for 6L6s, the Badlander 50 combines flexible functionality with a wide range of tones that span from black-panel-style vintage to hefty chunk.
$1,999 street (head or rackmount) $2,199 (1x12 combo), mesaboogie.com
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Mesa Boogie Badlander 50 Head Demo - First Look
FENDER '68 Custom Pro Reverb
Like the other models in Fender's '68 Custom series, the Pro Reverb has been revamped and reimagined to meet the needs of contemporary guitarists. This time around, the Pro Reverb features a single channel—with tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo plus an added midrange control—and just one lightweight 12" Celestion Neo Creamback speaker. Weighing in at a svelte 35 pounds, it's much easier to schlep than an original. And 40 watts of clear cleans and creamy cranked tones make this amp an ideal pedal platform.
$1,299 street, fender.com
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Fender '68 Custom Pro Reverb Demo - First Look
ACLAMWindmiller
In general, Pete Townshend got his aggressive early-to-mid-'60s tones with a very loud amp and craploads of attitude. But he also had a secret weapon—the preamp from a Grampian reverb unit that, like Jimmy Page's Echoplex, sprinkled a just-right peppering of extra oomph on top of those wide-open amp tones. Aclam's Windmiller re-creates that airy, wide-spectrum drive in a fashion that makes many expensive overdrives sound comparatively thin. It may not be as versatile as those units, but the meat of the matter here is tasty stuff indeed.
$310 street, aclamguitars.com
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GAMECHANGER AUDIO Light Pedal
Spring reverbs are exciting effects—particularly when liberated from an amplifier and built into a more malleable (and easily abused) means of interface. (Ask anyone who has ever given a standalone Fender Reverb tank a mighty boot). Gamechanger makes much of a Fender's lively, excitable, and temperamental personality available in a really beautiful and creatively crafted stompbox. But they've added much more voicing potential by enabling control of multiple transducers and operation in multiple modes that yield trashy-to-luxurious sounds.
$349 street, gamechangeraudio.com
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Gamechanger Audio Light Pedal Optical Spring Reverb Demo - First Look
ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN Dustin Kensrue StingRay
This guitar ships in D standard, but its exquisite build and clever pickup and switching complement make it widely appealing. There's a neck single-coil and a bridge humbucker, a concentric volume/tone control, and a mode button that routes to a mono output or taps each pickup individually and sends the signals to a stereo out for two amps or two channels on your modeler.
$2,799 street, music-man.com
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PRS Studio
Add PRS' high quality to an HSS-inspired configuration using the company's Narrowfield pickups … and the results sing. The Narrowfields deliver a tone between a full-sized humbucker, a P-90, and a trad single-coil—with hum cancelling performance. A push-pull coil-split for the bridge humbucker and a 5-way blade switch allows seven distinct pickup settings. It's expensive, but PRS fans and newcomers will appreciate the impressive substance and versatility.
$4,000 street, prsguitars.com
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PRS Studio Demo - First Look
SPUN LOUD The Litigator
Sometimes a pedal sounds discernably more visceral from note one. When you look inside the Litigator, you can guess at why. There isn't much too it. And there's not much to suck tone away. Just about 30 clearly choice and carefully assembled components make up the circuit. That solid simplicity sums as an overdrive that's cracklingly alive, dynamic, and responsive. And while it can be sensitive, it shines especially bright when used in more immodest contexts.
$145 street, spunloud.com
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FRIEDMAN Small Box
Dave Friedman's Marshall-in-a-box is a transistorized spin on his own popular interpretation of a modified plexi: the 50-watt, all-tube Small Box head and combo. This overdrive's six familiar dials provide a very satisfying and fast track to plexi-style crunch and lead tones.
$199 street, friedmanamplification.com
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Friedman Small Box Distortion - First Look
BOSS Waza Craft HM-2w Heavy Metal
The definitive "Nordic metal pedal" gets an update. Packed with distortion power, the HM-2w recreates the original's chainsaw grind and, somehow, adds muscle and headroom for extended modern metal hijinks. Its distinctive tone is domineering, but if you're on board, the HM-2w delivers a breed of proto-metal grit that's in a league of its own.
$179 street, boss.info
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WAMPLERRatsbane
The most inexpensive RAT is still a source of surprisingly multitudinous distortion and overdrive shades. Brian Wampler's take on the RAT is predictably more expansive, with vintage-y, higher gain, fuzzier, and more compressed variations on the RAT voice. Factor in the small size and this becomes a rodent any ratcatcher can love.
$149 street, wamplerpedals.com
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SOLIDGOLD FX Imperial MkII
Jen's Jumbo Fuzz from the early '70s is not just one of the coolest looking pedals ever. It's also one the most interesting-sounding Big Muff variations. The Imperial replicates much of the original's mega-massive and smooth-to-suddenly-spitty characteristics. There's also an added a contour control that regulates the mids. The Imperial MkII doesn't sustain as much as most true Muffs, and the controls can interact in unexpected ways. But this is a big fuzz with a wild and unique personality.
$199 street, solidgoldfx.com
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PIGTRONIX Constellator
This mighty mite of an analog delay has warm sounds that equal much pricier pedals. And the mod and feel controls take tones into infinity and beyond. Though its colors and the warm degradation in repeat trails sound at times like analog tape that's been stretched, clarity and definition abound in every note.
$179 street, pigtronix.com
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EVENTIDE UltraTap
With its menu-less interface, five onboard presets, and easy-to-use editor software, the Eventide UltraTap delay is a fantastic middle ground for those who like traditional-stompbox functionality but crave some of the powerful sonics of more complex pedals like the company's famous H9. Reviewer Shawn Hammond loved that it can go from Andy Summers-esque sounds to "chopped, stuttering LFO textures, cathedral-esque valleys that seem to extend for miles, disorienting trippiness that Jonny Greenwood might have used for OK Computer, and even great small-room sounds that inspire tough Brit-rock riffing."
$279 street, eventideaudio.com
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UNIVERSAL AUDIO Starlight Echo Station
Convincingly conjures tape and bucket-brigade delays in all their anarchic glory. The Echoplex and Memory Man simulations are killer, and digital and garden-hose delays are welcome extras. Starlight has a "Goldilocks" interface: lots of tonal options without excessive complexity. Perfect for those who cherish the weird, warped aspects of pre-digital delays.
$399 street, uaudio.com
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J. ROCKETT AUDIO Clockwork
In addition to being pretty fastidious, J. Rockett has a creative streak and an ear for what makes up the heart of a classic circuit. The Clockwork is among the pedals that come closest to nailing the sound and spirit of the original EHX Deluxe Memory Man, which is no mean feat by itself. But that J. Rockett sense of craft means the Clockwork is one of the sturdiest takes on the DMM you'll ever behold. That's sweet consolation for the many DMM owners too terrified to take their OG treasure on the road.
$399 street, rockettpedals.com
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J. Rockett Audio Designs Clockwork Echo Demo - First Look
MOJO HAND FX Mister-O
Maestro's PS-1 from 1971 was among the earliest dedicated phasers. It was also one of the prettiest sounding. And as far as digital homages go, you'd be hard pressed to beat Mojo Hand's Mister-O (soon to be known as Mr. O). In general, it's a lot clearer and more adept a preserving a guitar's voice than most phasers. And while the trade-off is a little less of the chewiness that some phaser weirdos crave, a lot of guitarists will love how deep the Mister-O can sound without obscuring playing nuances.
$149 street, mojohandfx.com
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EASTMAN Romeo LA
With a sleek, curvy, offset body style and a glammy metallic blue finish, the Romeo LA is a hip-looking, unique semi-hollow that screams for attention. Its laminate spruce top, mahogany back and sides, maple neck, and 12" radius ebony fretboard make this a resonant and easy-to-play guitar, while Seymour Duncan Phat Cat P-90s—housed in stylish gold foil–style radiator covers—and a Göldo Les Trem make it feel like a hot rod.
$1,749 street, eastmanguitars.com
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FISHMAN Fluence Greg Koch Gristle-Tone P-90
Instant access to vintage, rocking P-90 sounds, contemporary, high-gain rock textures, or immaculate country and pop tones. Batteries last about 115 hours. Vintage purists may miss some of the wild-and-wooly attitude that comes with the noise in an old-school P-90. But for guitarists who value maximum possibilities, Gristle-Tones are a load of fun and full of potential.
$169 (single), $289 (pair) street, fishman.com
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TC ELECTRONIC MojoMojo Paul Gilbert
The original MojoMojo overdrive was, and remains, one of the real steals in the stompbox universe. Its flexible EQ and voice switch made it a killer alternative to more legendary and expensive overdrives. Paul Gilbert's signature version is every bit as appealing—not least for its enhanced low-mid output that gives this newest incarnation a silkier, fuller tonality. It's also wired for higher gain and, impressively, manages to sound both hotter and more open than the original.
$79 street, tcelectronic.com
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SOLIDGOLDFX EM-III
The warm, analog-like digital delay of the EM-III is enough to impress, but SolidGoldFX add heaps of functionality beyond typical delay controls. This well-designed pedal makes it easy to choose up to three virtual delay heads, add a lower octave, or get weird with glitch and warp settings—all deep, fun features that make this compact unit a heavy-hitter.
$209 street, solidgoldfx.com
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SolidGoldFX EM-III Multi-Head Octave Echo Demo - First Look
CHARVEL Pro-Mod San Dimas PJ IV
With a slim C-profile neck, DiMarzio DP123 and DP122 pickups, a 3-band active treble/mid/bass boost/cut tone control array equipped with a push/pull switch for passive operation, as well as pickup balance and master volume controls, the Pro-Mod San Dimas is "one of the most well-built and versatile examples I have played in a very long time," declares reviewer Victor Brodén.
$949 street, charvel.com
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NEURAL DSP Quad Cortex
The digital-floor-modeler space has become pretty crowded over the last few years, but Neural's new powerhouse is a compact contender that can stand up to any challenger. The richness of the amp models is inspiring and accurate, and the capture feature helps add possibilities to your customized rigs. Trading and storing presets has never been easier, either, thanks to a well-designed mobile app. Plus, the rotary knobs/footswitches are a potential game changer for those who lust after more tactile controls.
$1,849 street, neuraldsp.com
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Neural Quad Cortex Demo - First Look
EPIPHONE Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard
Outfitted with splittable humbuckers and a Floyd Rose with bridge-saddle transducers, Epiphone's more affordable version of the Rush legend's signature guitar dishes out a plethora of tones with style and comfort. The mahogany body is topped with highly figured maple, while around back there's an ergonomic belly carve. Reviewer Joe Charupakorn said humbucker-and-piezo mode "generated a massive 3-D experience," while humbuckers alone were "beefy and powerful, with plenty of clarity," and single-coil sounds had impressive bite without sacrificing volume.
$899 street, epiphone.com
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Epiphone Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess Standard Demo - First Look
ENGL Ironball E606SE Special Edition
With two channels, built-in effects—full-featured delay, reverb, and noise gate—eight available IR cab simulations, XLR output, headphone jack, effects loop, and footswitch options ranging from single-footswitch to full MIDI control, the Ironball SE is one of the most impressively outfitted high-gain mini heads on the market. It's no surprise that it serves up a great variety of heavy, saturated tones, but its powerful EQ also enables it to simultaneously offer clean sounds that stand apart from many of its competitors.
$1,450 street, engl-amps.com
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