Ernie Ball
ARTICLES
Rig Rundown: Tori Ruffin
January 20, 2021
Morris Day and the Time’s lead axeman gets funky with Prince-influenced Schecters, JCM900s, and stomps that range from simple to sophisticated.
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Rig Rundown: Be Well’s Mike Schleibaum
January 6, 2021
Darkest Hour's cofounding guitarist details his brand-new signature ESP V and offers up sound secrets gleaned from producer/singer Brian McTernan.
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The Year in Gear 2020
December 17, 2020
It may be the understatement of the century, but this year was weird. Even so, the killer gear kept coming. Here are the goods that stood out as extra-great amongst our annual haul of Premier Guitar reviews.
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Rig Rundown: Thelma and the Sleaze
December 16, 2020
Punk-rock riffin’, patriarchy-smashin’, struttin’ shredder LG introduces us to her custom axes—a "Fancy" SG & skateboard Tele—and fave signal agitators.
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Rig Rundown: Strike Anywhere
November 18, 2020
Matt Smith’s setup might appear frail, but his disheveled ’82 SG and a half-powered JCM800 ignites a powder keg of melodic hardcore.
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Rig Rundown: Spirit Adrift
November 11, 2020
Nate Garrett's mystical brand of metal mixes morose modulation with nods to EVH and James Hetfield.
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Rig Rundown: Charlie Parra Del Riego
October 28, 2020
Capcom and Kramer both wanted a piece of this South American shredder and mash-up master. Travel below the equator to see his studio setup.
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Idles—to the Max, on Ultra Mono!
September 21, 2020
Guitarists Lee Kiernan and Mark Bowen shove the envelope on the band’s new album, stomping in sonic mud puddles and mashing electronic music and hip-hop as they abandon their comfort zone.
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Rig Rundown: Caspian's Phil Jamieson
September 2, 2020
The self-proclaimed “midrange mattress” makes a post-rock bed with an “Excalibur” Jazzmaster and some up-the-sleeve Strymon settings.
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Rig Rundown: All Souls' Antonio Aguilar
August 12, 2020
Strats with presto-chango pickguards power folk and flamenco flourishes mingled with kerranging rock and Melvins-esque metal.
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Rig Rundown: Chicano Batman's Carlos Arévalo
July 22, 2020
Primo Jags and ace Ernie Ball axes help the funkateer channel Eddie Hazel grooves through a prism of Tropicália rhythms.
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Rig Rundown: Butch Walker
July 15, 2020
The big-hit producer (Taylor Swift, Green Day, Weezer) and guitarist opens his RubyRed Productions to catalog his custom creations from the West and Far East. Plus, he reveals how Keith Urban forever changed his guitar-playing world.
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Rig Rundown: The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die’s Chris Teti
July 1, 2020
The guitarist/producer reveals how an EHX Pitch Fork downsized his touring guitar boat, and admits the difficulties of cherry-picking stomps for the band's spiraling, atmospheric odysseys.
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Rig Rundown Best-Ofs: Most Iconic Basses
June 26, 2020
Verdine, Flea, Sheehan, Josephine and six other legends show us their favorite earth-rumblers!
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Rig Rundown: Jim Ward
June 24, 2020
The former At the Drive-In renegade talks about using a Jazzmaster for his “humble workhorse” rhythm role, growing as singer-songwriter within Sparta, and making "solos" with three digital delays.
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Rig Rundown: Mt. Joy's Sam Cooper
June 17, 2020
“Astrovan” took him from lawyer to soulful indie-pop headliner on the back of his rewired, ragged ’69 Jag and a bed of shimmering ’verbs and reversed delays.
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Five Guitar-Tool Sets You Should Check Out
June 15, 2020
Whether for maintenance, repair, or setups, you're bound to get stuck between a rock and a hard place without the proper implements on hand.
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Rig Rundown: Emily Wolfe
May 27, 2020
How “Hot for Teacher,” a homemade mic, and a B.B. King-inspired signature axe factor into a repertoire that mixes Queens of the Stone Age sizzle with modern pop hooks.
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Rig Rundown Best-Ofs: Most Iconic Guitars
May 22, 2020
From Angus’ SG to Tom’s “Arm the Homeless” axe—the most recognizable 6-strings from our catalog of nearly 500 Rundowns.
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Ernie Ball Music Man Announces 2020 Line of John Petrucci Signature Models
May 6, 2020
Each model is filled with DiMarzio pickups and is available in brand-new finishes.
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