The retro rocker opens up about retrofitting reissues, returning to the JTM45s, and finding the piece of gear that changed his life.
Facing a mandatory shelter-in-place ordinance to limit the spread of COVID-19, PG enacted a hybrid approach to filming and producing Rig Rundowns. This is the 17th video in that format, and we stand behind the final product.
Nick Perri has always appeared out of place. He first flew against modern trends and embraced loud-and-proud ’70s rock—even looking the part—with the creation of his band Silvertide. The band sprang to life in the early 2000s, and when most teens his age were listening to Limp Bizkit or Eminem, Perri was bowing to the guitar heroes of his parents’ generation—Page, Hendrix, Gilmour. While the Philly-based teens of Silvertide only released an EP (2002’s American Excess) and one LP (2004’s Show and Tell), they earned major rock-radio airtime with “Blue Jeans” and were handpicked to open for legends Aerosmith, Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, and Mötley Crüe.
Continuing to carry the arena-rock-filling, full-stack-screaming, guitar-hero torch in the face of the garage-rock revolution of the mid 2000s, Perri found work backing Perry Farrell, Matt Sorum (drummer for Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver), collaborating with his pop-star sister Christina Perri, and filling in as lead guitarist for Shinedown. Additional pursuits included producing a Transformers compilation, putting music to TV commercials, and writing the score for Gibson’s The Process series. No matter the project or musical context, he was always loyal to the guitar. And now, with his solo debut 20 years in the making, Nick Perri is being loyal to himself.
Nick Perri & the Underground Thieves reconnects the lead guitarist/vocalist with Silvertide bassist Brian Weaver. Other Philly friends in the group include singers/songwriters Anthony and Michael Montesano, keyboardist Justin DiFebbo, and drummer Zil Fessler. The group’s debut LP, Sun Via, has some obvious nods to Are YouExperienced and Zeppelin II, but some surprising stunners include the sparse, psychedelic spaghetti western “Let You Know,” and the somber, synthy swirl of “Fall.” All 10 tracks honor Nick’s growth as a musician, vision as an artist, and the instrument that still inspires him today.
Before releasing the brand-new album, Sun Via (out now), Perri virtually welcomed PG’s Chris Kies into his Philly-based jam space. The positive retro rocker explains overhauling holy-grail reissues, returning to the altar of Jim Marshall and the JTM45, and reducing his pedalboard to expand his creativity.
Special thanks to Derek Brad for additional video footage.
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The pickups are designed to deliver the complex tone and responsive feel of a '59 Les Paul.
Salinas, CA (February 28, 2017) -- Tyson Tone Lab is proud to announce a new set of era-correct PAF humbuckers that are based on a particularly nice sounding pair of original 1959 PAFs.
They are specifically designed to deliver the complex tone and responsive feel of the best examples of the pickups Gibson installed in its Les Pauls back in 1959 - qualities that caused the guitar-playing universe to salivate upon hearing even a single note played by the likes of Peter Green, Eric Clapton, and Billy Gibbons.
Vintage PAFs were actually not hand-wound, but made on mechanic auto traverse coil-winding machines. Tyson Tone Lab takes the exact same approach with vintage winding machines, but having the right tools is not enough to create pickups with a tone that is able to win over true tone aficionados.
“I have repaired a number of original Gibson PAF pickups and have a set from 1959 that I have tested the Precious and Grace pickups against throughout the development,” says Bobby Tyson, founder and owner of Tyson Tone Lab, as he continues. “The goal for the Precious and Grace pickups were not as much to make them era-correct or otherwise as close to the originals just for the sake of doing so because I am able to from a technical point of view.
I designed and built these particular pickups to achieve a vintage PAF’s unique tone, dynamics and ability to cut through a band mix without cranking up an amp’s volume to the point of alienating everyone in the venue. The original set I have is capable of doing exactly that, and I am very pleased with the result of our new PAFs that are based on them, as I feel confident that they have this same ability.”
Recreating the iconic ’59 Les Paul tone with its dry, woody, and dynamic characteristics, the bridge pickup (Precious) offers a muscular midrange that retains the hollow tone that is a hallmark of the PAF. The neck pickup (Grace) is the perfect complement to Precious - warm tone with the familiar separation and clarity of an original PAF. Precious and Grace are medium-high output pickups featuring era-correct 42 AWG Plain Enamel magnet wire, as well as sand cast Alnico IV bar magnets that are custom charged and matched for each position. The average resistance in each pickup, 7.5K DCR for Grace and 8.1K DCR for Precious, matches the vintage set they were derived from.
All Tyson Tone pickups are in the field doing what they do best—making music—which is why they are used by world-class musicians both on tour, and in the studio. A perfect case in point is Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, who has placed a set of Tyson Tone Lab PAF pickups in his vintage 1958 Gibson Les Paul.
In summary, Tyson Tone Lab’s the real goal in developing the Precious and Grace PAF pickup set was to put the same sweet and savage tones that inspired the great music of the 1960’s and 1970’s in the hands of guitarists of today and inspire musicians to keep playing real music.
Price: $148 - $325
Watch the company's video demo:
For more information:
Tyson Tone Lab