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The Year in Gear 2018
November 20, 2018
Step inside Premier Guitar’s magical, miraculous time machine and revisit the gear that stood head and shoulders above the rest as Premier Gear Award winners in 2018.
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Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx III Review
November 20, 2018
Vast libraries of IRs and amp and effect models, as well as improvements in interface, memory, and connectivity, make the III tough to beat.
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Rig Rundown: Nine Inch Nails
November 7, 2018
Robin Finck and Alessandro Cortini create the perfect drug for NIN fans with a bevy of heavy-hitting custom guitars and basses and a high-tech hybrid setup that marries digital with analog.
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Rig Rundown: U2's The Edge
July 18, 2018
Strats, Explorers, Les Pauls, AC30s, and a healthy amount of delay help form some of the most iconic tones ever recorded. Famed tech Dallas Schoo walks us through the ins and outs of The Edge’s expansive setup.
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Feeling the Vertigo, Feeding the Vibe: Underøath’s Timothy McTague and James Smith
May 31, 2018
Swearing off solos and flash, the guitarists focus on songcraft, soundscapes, and soul, and strip down with digital modeling for Erase Me, their band’s first studio album in eight years.
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Rig Rundown: Propagandhi
March 21, 2018
Politically charged prog-punkers Chris Hannah, Todd Kowalski, and Sulynn Hago of Propagandhi take PG through their road rigs.
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Fractal Audio Systems Presents the X-Load LB-2 Reactive Load Box
March 2, 2018
The LB-2 provides both balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" line-level jacks plus a speaker thru for connecting an external speaker cabinet while using the DI outputs.
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Fractal Audio Launches the Axe-Fx III
January 31, 2018
The unit features a totally new user interface featuring a color display with five corresponding push knobs.
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Rig Rundown: Devin Townsend
January 17, 2018
In one of our funnest-ever RR shoots, the original Strapping Young Lad waxes giddy and witty explaining his signature axe, pickups, and all-digital setup.
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Rig Rundown: Periphery [2017]
December 27, 2017
Behind-the-scenes details on the three-headed guitar monster's updated signature axes (and pickups), and their unusual reliance on a blend of 20th- and 21st-century amp technology.
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Rig Rundown: Animals as Leaders [2017]
December 20, 2017
Investigate how progressive rockers Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes weave emotive jams with 16 strings, both tube heads and digital amp modelers, and a stockpile of stomps.
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Gear of the Year 2017
November 7, 2017
Another year, another dazzling parade of pedals, guitars, amps, modelers, and accessories that made our noggins spin.
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Rig Rundown: A Perfect Circle
May 10, 2017
James Iha and Matt McJunkins cover their 21st-century setups while lead guitarist Billy Howerdel shows off the range of sounds he needs to pull off the band’s expressive discography.
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Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher Channels Pain and Gain
April 28, 2017
With hearts plagued by sorrow, new amps that go to 11, and a new ESP Sparrowhawk signature model, the 6-string riff-master and his bandmates made the powerful—at times elegiac—new album, Emperor of Sand.
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Rig Rundown: Jimmy Eat World
March 8, 2017
Jim Adkins and Tom Linton tossed their traditional setup to the side and packed up some P-90-loaded axes for their latest tour.
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Rig Rundown: Meshuggah [2016]
December 21, 2016
The Swedish metal masters eschew cabs for a mix of high-powered amps, some digital modeling, and 8-string axes.
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Fractal Audio Systems AX8 Review
December 19, 2016
The sounds of Axe-Fx are now available in a compact pedalboard format.
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Rig Rundown: God Is an Astronaut
September 28, 2016
The instrumental post-rock group shows how they mix tried-and-true instruments with modeling technology for an expansive soundscape set for orbit.
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Divide and Conquer: Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce and Cameron Liddell
June 3, 2016
To channel their metalcore angst, the guitarists divvy up 6-string duties onstage and in the studio.
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Deftones: A Little Darkness
March 10, 2016
Stephen Carpenter and Chino Moreno discuss filling different guitar frequencies, tone modeling, and keeping the inspiration alive for more than two decades.
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