When Chris Shiflett left No Use for a Name and joined the Foo Fighters in 1999, he almost had no gear. The band was rehearsing to support their third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and leader Dave Grohl was doing an inventory check on their newest member.
“Dave asked me how many guitars I had, and I said, ‘Well, I have two, but one has a broken headstock,’” recalls Shiflett. “Dave chuckled and said, ‘We gotta get you a few more guitars.’”
The duo ventured down to Sunset Boulevard hitting all the guitar shops and Grohl gifted Shifty a pair of Gibsons (that we’ll meet later). (This story is even more proof that Grohl is one of the coolest rock stars ever.)
“I had been going to some of those Sunset stores since I was a teenager, and they’re never nice to you because they know you’re not buying anything. So, when I went in there with Dave Grohl and his AmEx card, it was a real moment for me. Here I am joining my dream band, and he’s like, get whatever you want … and he really meant it!”
Shiflett’s gear germination didn’t stop there. “When I joined the band, I didn’t have any pedals. And now my bandmates constantly make fun of me for the size of my pedalboard—it’s ridiculously big and there are a lot of pedals on it—but my view has always been, ‘as long as I don’t have to carry it around, bring them all [laughs].’”
But they all serve a purpose and allow Chris to stand out in a three-guitar band. “I do love that my role in Foos over the years has become the color guy with all these pedals.”
His growth as an artist doesn’t stop there. Shiflett’s put out punk albums in Jackson United and for nearly 25 years, he sparked endless good times in the best punk-rock cover band (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes). In 2010, he shifted his creative outlet to busting out alt-country twangers and Bakersfield barroom bruisers as Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants, and then, later, solo. Since 2013, he’s been hosting a podcast (Walking The Floor with Chris Shiflett) that’s featured conversations with Wolfgang Van Halen, Mike Campbell, Greta Van Fleet, Billy Strings, and recent Rig Rundown subject Marcus King. Where does the dude find the time?!
Following Foo Fighters' recent Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert at L.A.’s Kia Forum to honor their dearly departed drummer, Shiflett carved out some precious time and invited PG’s Chris Kies to the Foo’s HQ, Studio 606. The laidback conversation covered his essential live guitars (including a not-so-golden ’57 Les Paul and a few gracious gifts from Grohl), some custom Friedmans, and a pair of unusual AC30 stacks that only he and Sir Paul have … and all his pedals that sting, sparkle, shimmer, and sizzle.
Brought to you by D’Addario XS Coated Strings.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
This 1957 Gibson Les Paul started out its long life as a goldtop. Shiflett believes that the rest of the instrument is true to the day it left Kalamazoo. He says in the Rundown that he bargained with himself to sell about 20 guitars on a Reverb shop with the idea of parlaying that scratch for one or two “magic guitars.” They tallied up his credit and started dusting off their most-valuable coffers. He was drawn to this one for its sound and character as a player-grade holy grail Les Paul—with its stripped finish and broken headstock. He originally thought it’d be a studio piece, but fellow Foo Pat Smear told him he had to bust it out for tours … which he now has for years. This one stays in standard tuning and takes D’Addario NYXLs (.010–.046).
Pawsome Picks
Shiflett uses lighter-gauged Dunlop Tortex picks that feature the band’s logo on one side and his husky Lucky on the other.
Meet the Cleaver
Ten years ago, Shiflett was honored with a MIM Fender Telecaster Deluxe signature. A few years later, Chris revisited the Tele Deluxe design with Fender’s Masterbilt team and devised this devilish T. They dubbed it “Cleaver, because it positively slashes through the mix,” he says. Specs include a 2-piece alder body, quartersawn maple neck, 21 medium jumbo frets on a rosewood ’board, a large ’70s-style headstock, Schaller tuners, and the Hattori Hanzō-sharp blade of this beauty is a custom pair of Lindy Fralin P-90 Soapbar pickups that are noiseless and slightly overwound.
Ace Gift from Grohl
This Les Paul Custom (Shiflett thinks it’s from 1989–1991) was one of the guitars Grohl bought him back in 1999. It’s seen a lot of pickup combinations, but it currently has a Seymour Duncan JB (bridge) and a ’59 (neck). Shiflett’s a big Kiss fan, so he threw on the Ace Frehley sticker. He’s put a lot of miles on this stallion, and he says that it gallops and grooves best while in drop-D for songs like “Monkey Wrench” and “Everlong.”
The Cheapest Way to a Signature Guitar is…
getting a custom truss rod cover made and slapping it on the headstock, as seen here.
C’s Flying V
This 2002 Gibson Flying V was the first axe Shiflett ordered fresh from a guitar company. He got it just before touring in support of 2002’s One by One (the first Foo’s album he contributed to). In the Rundown, he shared his thoughts on the body shape: “As impractical as they are to play sitting down, god, they’re amazing to play standing up!” The V currently has a set of Fralin Pure P.A.F. humbuckers that are “really musical and clear.”
Dave Does It Again
This prized Gibson Explorer was the first guitar he was gifted from Grohl, ahead of his first tour in the Foo Fighters. It’s all stock except for a Seymour Duncan JB subbed into the bridge position.
Can’t You Hear Me Rocking?
When you play in an arena-filling, three-guitar rock band, you need to bring it. Shiflett toggles between the custom, two-channel Friedman Brown Eye 100W head and the Vox AC30 head. For the heavier, distorted songs, he goes with the Friedman, while the Vox is used for softer songs like “Aurora.” Both 4x12 stacks have a backup head. Shiflett claims in the Rundown that his Vox rep stated that only he and Sir Paul have AC30 4x12 stacks. Now that’s some splendid company to share!
Friedman Firepower
Here’s a closeup of the settings Shiflett’s dialed in for the Brown Eye.
Vox’s Vocals
And here’s the recipe for Shiflett’s AC30 jangle and chime.
Chris Shiflett’s Pedalboard
His current pedal playground is home to all sorts of tone toys. Starting in the top left he has an Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, a JHS Muffuletta, a pair of MXRs (Flanger and EVH Phase 90), an EHX Holy Grail reverb, a Strymon Deco, and a Klon KTR. The next row starts with a Boss CE-2W Waza Craft Chorus, a couple of Strymon TimeLines (one for each amp), and down below is a trio of Xotics—an EP Booster, SP Compressor, and an XW-1. Utilitarian boxes include a Lehle Little Dual amp switcher, Palmer PLI-05 Dual Channel Line Isolation Box, Boss FS-5L footswitch (to toggle between clean and dirty on the Friedman), and a TC Electronic PolyTune that keeps all his guitars singing on key.
Over the past decade and through four albums, Foxing has shown a lot of musical personalities. They’ve embraced the quirky, eclectic folk of Neutral Milk Hotel. Guitarist Eric Hudson has shown off some deft fretwork wrapped around complex rhythms similar to Tiny Moving Parts’ Dylan Mattheisen. They’ve dabbled in complicated, ambiguous instrumentation that echoes Radiohead. Most recently, the band has flexed a cinematic, post-rock cohesion that connects plot points via varied emotions and energy rather than analogous storytelling. And during the Rundown, Hudson hints at heavier, darker moments to come as they’ve been writing in tunings reserved for Behemoth and Melvins. All of these experimentations and transformations have allowed Foxing to carry on without needing a roadmap to their rock. And we’re just along for the ride.
The St. Louis indie rockers formed in the early 2010s out of the demise of Hunter Gatherer. Originally, the band was a trio with singer/guitarist Conor Murphy, bassist Josh Coll, and drummer Jon Hellwig. Prior to recording their 2013 debut, The Albatross, they expanded to a quintet with the addition of guitarists Eric Hudson and Ricky Sampson. However, Coll left ahead of Foxing’s third album, Nearer My God, and prior to recording their 2021 release, Draw Down the Moon (co-produced by Rig Rundown alumnus Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra). And then Sampson departed the band. Murphy, Hellwig, and Hudson are the core members and tour with a rotating cast of contributors.
Ahead of Foxing’s July 5 headlining show at Nashville’s Basement East, Chris Kies hopped onstage and talked gear with Hudson, who touched on his love of “clanky” Strats, illustrated how his dual pedalboards can project him from pastoral to delirium, and explained why it always pays off to have good friends and to hang out at the merch booth.
Brought to you by D’Addario XPND Pedalboard.
The “Clanky-Caster”
“I love Strats because of the clankiness of their attack, and I think that’s why I’ve always played them my whole life,” concedes Foxing guitarist Eric Hudson. His longtime companion is a 2014 Fender American Professional Stratocaster. It’s gotten a facelift with a custom pickguard (painted by a friend) and upgraded with Fender’s Gen 3 Noiseless Stratocaster single-coils. During one show, he thought he was losing signal from the amp, but realized his pinky was anchored around the master volume and he was slowly turning himself down. He’s since secured the volume on 10 with gaff tape. All his guitars take D’Addario NYXLs (.010 –.046). The band explores several tunings including standard, open E (with a capo in various positions), and DADGAD, and Hudson alludes to the forthcoming material featuring some lower and dropped tunings.
Temper, Temper
Frustration boiled over during one gig and Hudson let his Strat hit the deck. It split the instrument in half, but luckily Tritone Guitars’ repair ace Dave Anderson gave it the requisite TLC to reclaim No. 1 status.
Durability Is the Best Ability
“I don’t have any techs, so I love gear that doesn’t break and this one has never let me down,” states Hudson. After the band’s gear was stolen in 2015, Hudson treated himself (out of necessity) to this Fender ’72 Telecaster Deluxe reissue—a model he always wanted. This one sees the spotlight for any open-E songs (both minor and major) and “Medic,” which requires tapping with a capo on the 5th fret.
By the Light of the Moon
Moon Guitars’ founder Kyle Wolfe and one of Hudson’s close friends worked together to create this instrument for the Foxing fretmaster. It’s based on the company’s Blood Moon S-style platform. The cherry sunburst and black pickguard approximates the look of the Strat Hudson had stolen when the band’s trailer was raided seven years ago. He uses this one on songs with big, heavy chords and that require an extra bit of spice.
Beak-areful
The Blood Moon model’s headstock has a very raptor-like silhouette, perfect for deterring any stage divers.
Baffling Bassman
Hudson’s main amp for years has been this 1968 Fender Bassman that he picked up the same day he bought the ’72 Deluxe reissue for $700. And like the Tele, it’s a staunch sidekick that’s never let him down.
He hints during the Rundown that his silver-panel beast may have the guts of a black-panel Bassman, because it’s from the transition-era of Fender amps, where early silver-panel amps left Fullerton only cosmetically different from their predecessors. He indicates that he was told this could be true because of the black lines enclosing the name Bassman on the amp’s face.
Casting Tones
Here we have Hudson’s Mills Custom Foundry. He brought the 3-channel head out on the road to test it against the Bassman. He’s been toggling between the Fender and Mills every few nights to see how the Foundry meshes with his Bassman-tailored tone platform. The three channels cover everything from tame, glassy cleans to raucous ’90s alternative rock to gobs of gain for modern metal.
Stack It Up!
You can see that both heads run through an Orange PPC212 cabinet that is loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s.
Mutation Station
Hudson’s main pedalboard can be broken down into a few key food groups: time-based (Boss DD-7 Digital Delay, MXR Carbon Copy, TC Electronic Trinity, and Line 6 DL4), drive (Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, Klon KTR, and Electronic Audio Experiments Longsword), and weirdos (Strymon Mobius and Electro-Harmonix POG). (It’s worth noting the KTR was given to him after a show by a Klon employee who loves Foxing.) Since he’s taped his Strat’s volume knob, he has an Ernie Ball 6180 VP JR for controlling dynamics, a Walrus Audio Phoenix powers the pedals, and a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir Mini keeps his guitars in check.
More Madness
Hudson’s secondary board is the land of experimentation. Here, he’ll audition pedals before making any substitutions or additions to mission control. Currently, he has a DigiTech Whammy DT in a trial phase to see if the drop-tuning function will allow him to employ lower tunings for new songs on his beloved, fissured Strat. So far, he’s enjoyed the user experience and feels any perceived slight glitches or tracking latency gives his sound additional character. The nondescript white box is a King of Gear Feral Glitch that was made to replicate Jonny Greenwood’s solo at the end of “There there.” (“The Boney King of Nowhere”) from Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief. Next, he has a Hologram Electronics Microcosm that digests your signal and colorfully regurgitates it using a variety of granular sampling, delay, and looping techniques. Up top are two more standard-fare effects: a Walrus Audio Deep Six V1 compressor and an Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain delay. This stomp station is energized by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power MONDO.