The godfathers of thrash metal show off their signatures axes, explain why they bow at the alter of Marshall, and King and Holt talk about their different preferences for Kahler and Floyd Rose bridges.
Premier Guitar's Chris Kies is on location in Chicago, IL, at the Aragon Ballroom, where he catches up with Slayer's Kerry King and Tom Araya along with temporary guitarist Gary Holt who talk each talk about their own signature guitars and explain why Slayer only uses Marshall heads. Plus, King explains his unique cabinet configuration.
Kerry King's Rig
Guitars
Slayer was playing what King described as an “old-school” set on this tour focusing on material from early albums like Show No Mercy, Hell Awaits, and the two metal must-haves South of Heaven and Reign in Blood. His main guitar is his signature 2nd generation B.C. Rich Kerry King V loaded with his signature EMG KFK 85 in the bridge and a Sustainiac in the neck (which he uses on the intro to “Dead Skin Mask”) along with a Kahler 2315 tre. This guitar is also loaded with a switchable preamp, but according to King, he doesn’t use it that much because he prefers the boost/10-band EQ built into his signature Marshall head. Other signature B.C. Rich guitars he had with him included a Warlock (currently reserved as a backup), a 25th Anniversary V-Tribe, and two more V's—one with an orange flame tribal and another with red and black tribal artwork—which feature King's standard accoutrements like EMG 81/85 pickups, a maple body with a neck-through design, and Grover Mini Rotomatic tuners.
For strings KFK relies on Jim Dunlop strings—.009–.042 for D#, .010–.046 for C#, and .010–.056 for B—and .88 Tortex Triangle picks with custom graphics.
Amps
A trio of his signature Marshall heads that are based on “The Beast,” his original JCM800 head, powers King’s backline. All three are on all the time and are routed through six Marshall Mode Four cabs. King has a very specific reason for how and why he only uses six Marshall Mode cabs because paired with his signature heads King believes "that because those cabs have more wood in them they create a sound that feels heavier, that's feels tuned lower, and is just fuller."
King goes direct to FOH.
Effects
King keeps things pretty simple with his pedalboard. He starts with a Dunlop Zakk Wylde wah because it’s “nastier” than other wahs, and then the signal goes through an MXR Flanger, and an MXR ZW44 Berzerker Overdrive. The other Dunlop Cry Baby wah isn’t currently being used.
Tom Araya's Rig
Basses
Amps
Gary Holt's Rig
Guitars
Amps
Effects