![Adrian Belew/BEAT Tour Rig Rundown [2024]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=53638946&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
The Twang Bar King summons a court of world-class players for this fall’s BEAT Tour, including Steve Vai and fellow King Crimson alumnus Tony Levin, plus Tool drummer Danny Carey. Their mission: Playing the music of Crimson’s classic troika of ’80s albums: Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. And, of course, Adrian brings his period-correct rig back out on the road, with some improvements and additions.
Adrian Belew is one of the most inventive guitarists of the past half-century—an incandescent player and songwriter who has a vast menagerie of tones and sounds at his command. You’ve heard him with King Crimson, Talking Heads, David Bowie, and Frank Zappa, among others, and with his pop band the Bears and on his solo recordings and tours.
This fall, Adrian is following dates with the Talking Heads-fueled Remain in Light tour, which he co-led with Heads keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison, with the BEAT Tour—a run drawing on his recordings with King Crimson in the ’80s: the albums Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair. Of course, this is just a small—but extremely potent and influential—portion of his 30-year collaboration with Crimson founder Robert Fripp, who has given BEAT his blessing. But putting this repertoire in the hands of Belew, fellow Crimson alum and super-bassist Tony Levin, the incendiary Steve Vai (playing the guitar role of Fripp), and the Earth-shaking drummer Danny Carey from Tool promises magical performances. It’s also one of the year’s most-anticipated tours.
As I write this, Belew, Levin, Vai, and Carey are rehearsing on the West Coast, and by the time this video posts, they will have played their first BEAT dates. So, word is likely to have spread that Belew has brought some crucial pieces of gear he played with ’80s Crimson back into play. But here, you’ll get a close up look and listen as Premier Guitar joins Adrian—with tech Blair White of Nashville’s Eastside Music Supply—at his mid-Tennessee home for a pre-tour Rig Rundown. Dig in!Brought to you by D’Addario.
Fly Guy
The guitarist’s own Adrian Belew Signature Parker Fly is back on the music highway. The hard-to-find model sports exceptional—and some unconventional—appointments, like a 13-pin out for MIDI/synth capability. It has a DiMarzio humbucker, a Sustainiac humbucker, some Line 6 Variax components, Parker’s flat-spring vibrato system, Sperzel tuners, and a solid poplar body and basswood neck under its carbon/glass/epoxy exoskeleton.
Harmony, Man!
Adrian’s DigiTech Harmony Man is set at a fifth up during the opening of this Rig Rundown—one of his favorite settings with the pitch-shifting device.
Mind the Mastermind
Belew uses an RJM Mastermind MIDI controller as part of his rig’s cerebellum.
The Board, Part 1
A Boss GKC-AD converter lets Adrian use his Parker Fly with conventional stompboxes. Its neighbors include an Empress Compressor MkII, a Fractal Axe-Fx Ultra (Adrian has several hundred programs that he wrote into this Fractal that are not transferable to newer models), a Big Joe lithium battery power box, and volume and expression pedals. That’s all part of his self-proclaimed “modern rig.”
Sir Roland of Synth
Yes, Adrian has taken the Roland GR-300 Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer that he acquired for King Crimson in 1981 out of mothballs, so he can recreate every sound fans for this much-anticipated tour want to hear. It was used for “Industry,” “The Sheltering Sky,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” and other classics. “I could not do it right without this,” he says. The GR’s companions are a volume pedal, TC Electronic PolyTune, another Big Joe power box, and a custom glitching device.
Twang Me Back Home
Also on tour is Adrian’s famed Twang Bar King guitar (which debuted on the heels of his 1983 Twang Bar King album), which requires a 21-pin plug to make its sonic sorcery. In the video, Adrian shows how it functions as both a conventional guitar and the GR-300’s controller. This guitar had to be refreshed, since it was semi-retired, and is now back in full service. It started life as a Mustang, and now it’s a one-of-a-kind show pony, with a Kahler and Lace Sensor pickups. In this video, Adrian uses the Twang Bar King guitar to demonstrate some tunings for specific Crimson songs.
Racked Up
The signal to the rack gear flows from Adrian’s guitar to an always-on JAM Pedals Dinosaur Compressor, to a late-1970s V4 op-amp Big Muff, an MXR Ten Band EQ, a Strymon Deco V2, an Eventide H9, a Source Audio Artifakt lo-fi pedal (fuzz, reverb, modulation, rig mod, etc.), a Source Audio Nemesis Delay, and a Lichtlaerm Audio The Key and Gate noise gate. Adrian and Blair spent days running through various Big Muff pedals from different eras, and the ’70s V-4 is the only model that allowed Adrian to recreate his feedback acrobatics!
Echo, Echo, Echo ...
It’s not on the floor, because Adrian manipulates it with his hands, but also on this journey is his original Electro-Harmonix Echoflanger! He likes to use it set to between-setting spots, for maximum weirdness.
The Original JC-120
Yes, that’s right: Adrian is using the early-’70s Roland JC-120 amp he played with Bowie, King Crimson, and Talking Heads for the BEAT Tour. Despite its many road miles, the amp looks pristine.
Shop Adrian Belew's Rig
DiMarzio Humbucker
Sperzel Tuners
Boss GKC-AD Converter
Empress Compressor MkII
Big Muff
MXR Ten Band EQ
Strymon Deco V2
Eventide H9
Source Audio Artifakt lo-fi pedal
Source Audio Nemesis Delay
Roland JC-120
- Bass Legend Tony Levin—The Premier Guitar Interview ›
- Rig Rundown: King Crimson's Robert Fripp ›
- Rig Rundown: Adrian Belew ›
“Earthwood Bell Bronze strings are a giant leap forward in tone, playability, and durability. They’re great in any musical setting but really shine when played solo. There’s an orchestral quality to them.” -John Mayer
Product Features:
- Developed in collaboration with John Mayer
- Big, bold sound
- Inspired by alloys used for bells and cymbals
- Increased resonance with improved projection and sustain
- Patent-pending alloy unique to Ernie Ball stringsHow is Bell Bronze different?
- Richer and fuller sound than 80/20 and Phosphor Bronze without sounding dark
- Similar top end to 80/20 Bronze with richer low end than Phosphor Bronze
Milkman’s Jerry Garcia-style JG-40 combo.
Entire books about the Grateful Dead’s gear have been written, so we can’t cover it all here. Garcia tinkered with all facets of his sound from about 1971 until 1978, when his signal path reached stability. By then, his On-Board Effects Loop—an innovation he developed to control how much signal reached his effects—was dialed in, his backline firm, and his choice of effects pedals solidified. Even then, adjustments were made, especially when MIDI arrived or when technology like in-ear monitoring was used. Here are some basics.
Scarlet Fire’s recreation of Garcia’s Wolf, originally built by Doug Irwin.
It starts with guitars. For players wanting to get their Jerry on, there’s a wide range of Garcia-esque instruments—with just as wide a range of prices—out there. Recreations of the Doug Irwin guitars and the Fender Alligator Strat abound. China-built models from companies likePhred Instruments can go for as little as $700 or so. Luthier Thomas Lieber apprenticed with Irwin long ago, and his Lieber Guitars will deliver a copy of a variety of Garcia models. Leo Elliott’sScarlet Fire Guitars out of Dallas, Texas, takes things in another direction. Elliott builds Doug Irwin replicas that start at $20,000 and go up from there, with a current wait time of about 18 months for an instrument. He’s outfitted many of the top Garcia guitarists today, including Tom Hamilton Jr. and Jeff Mattson. Elliott says, “I’m a self-taught luthier; I didn’t really build my first guitar until 2010. I understood a little bit about woodworking before I got started, but I learned by reading books and through trial and error. I started building replicas of Doug Irwin’s Wolf guitar right away, which is sort of like building a car and starting with a Ferrari. I didn’t know any better. Then, eventually I got to know Doug Irwin and collaborated with him. So, I got to hold Garcia’s Tiger guitar and get to know it really well, and by 2015, I had built replicas of that guitar. There’s one guy who helps me around the shop, but otherwise, I am building these guitars on my own. I’m collaborating with Doug Irwin on a new series of Tiger guitars, which will retail for 50 grand each.” That’s one way to get your Jerry going.
The JBL-inspired Milkman K-120.
Garcia’s choice of amplifiers is another matter. He preferred Fender Twin Reverbs loaded with JBL Alnico speakers, which were popular amongst many rock bands in the 1970s. The details get complicated; Garcia’s amps were heavily modified, and the Fender Twin served as a preamp that ran to a McIntosh MC-3500 power amp.
It’s hard to find vintage JBL speakers today—at least ones in good shape. San Francisco’s Milkman Sound, founded by Tim Marcus, has created a faithful reproduction of those classic JBLsthey call the K-120. They’re coupling those speakers with a Garcia-style recreation of his Fender Twin that Marcus named the JG-40. “I think 75 percent of Jerry’s tone is in the JBL speakers,” Milkman’s founder says. “But when you start to analyze the other 25 percent, you kind of have to start withDon Rich. [Editor’s Note: Rich was the guitar player in Buck Owens’ band, pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound.] That’s Jerry’s tone, too, but the difference is Garcia’s midrange was a bit throatier. It sounds clean, but really, it’s not clean at the same time. Especially his tone in the late ’70s. There is something about running that Fender Twin Reverb through the McIntosh that would just completely blow out the tone in a really interesting way.”
Garcia colored his tone with off-the-shelf effects. This was, after all, long before the days of boutique pedals. By 1978 and beyond, you’d hear him playing through an MXR Distortion+, an MXR Analog Delay, and an MXR Phase 100. He often used auto wahs, preferring the Musitronics Mu-Tron envelope filter as well as a Mu-Tron Octave Divider and a Mu-Tron combination volume and wah pedal.
When I asked Jeff Mattson, Bella Rayne, and Tom Hamilton Jr. exactly how orthodox they are about using the kind of gear that Garcia did, I got three different answers.
Mattson tells me that because Dark Star Orchestra is doing something very specific, he really has to tailor his sound as carefully to Garcia’s as he can. “Some folks get too hung up on small things, like what kind of cable to use and things like that, and I don’t go that far. But it’s important for Dark Star Orchestra to get Jerry’s sound right because we are covering different eras and different shows. In 2022, for example, we went to Europe and recreated shows from the Dead’s famous Europe ’72 tour, so you have to pay close attention to what kind of gear they were using to do that right.”
Hamilton works differently. He’s always preferred a higher-gain signal than Garcia ever did, landing in more of a British or heavy metal tone. (Randy Rhoads was a big influence.) “I’ve always approached it like, ‘What’s the new information we can put into this thing?’” he says. “Not just recreate but pushing in a forward direction. And anytime I’ve played with the guys who played with Garcia back in the day, they always said to me, ‘You’re here because you’re here. Don’t try and do what we did back in 1978 or do it because Garcia did it that way.’ They’ve always encouraged me to be myself.”
Bella Rayne is just wrapping her head around what it really means to try to sound like Garcia. “Besides Jerry, I’m influenced by guitarists like Dickey Betts and Derek Trucks, so my tone tends to be a bit heavier and bluesy,” she explains. “I’m generally running a Stratocaster through a Fender Twin Reverb. But recently, I was doing a show, and a buddy of mine set up a Jerry rig for me, and that was so cool: JBL speakers, McIntosh head, the whole setup. I had never played through one. I didn’t know what the hype was all about. I plugged in, and it was just amazing; there was such a snap, and I was really commanding the band. I can see myself keeping my current rig but adding a Dead-rig to experiment. But honestly, anything is fine; I am not picky. I just want to play the best that I can.”
“The distinctive pickup configurations of these five guitars deliver a versatile tonal platform, whether you’re exploring subtle textures or pushing the envelope. The deep dive into our Narrowfield technology is obvious with this launch. With both the S2 models made in our Maryland factory and the SE models made in Indonesia, our goal has been to create guitars that will inspire you and spark creativity, all at an exceptional value,” said PRS Guitars COO, Jack Higginbotham.
S2 Special Semi-Hollow
The PRS S2 Special Semi-Hollow features a pair of 58/15 LT humbuckers in the bass and treble positions and a PRS Narrowfield in the middle. A 5-way blade switch and two mini-toggles allow players to tap the humbuckers, creating twelve distinct pickup combinations for sonic exploration. The carved maple top and mahogany back encompass a semi-hollow body that adds a natural airiness and depth to the guitar’s tone while enhancing sustain.
S2 Studio
The PRS S2 Studio delivers a wide range of sonic possibilities through its distinctive single-single-hum configuration. Featuring two proprietary PRS Narrowfield pickups in the bass and middle positions and a 58/15 LT humbucker in the treble position, the S2 Studio offers a palette of sounds from single-coil clarity to vocal humbucker tones. This model also has a 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control.
SE Special Semi-Hollow
The PRS SE Special Semi-Hollow is designed with the versatility of a hum/“single”/hum setup, bringing PRS’s Narrowfield DD pickup design to the SE Series in a classic maple-top guitar. The semi-hollow construction also enhances sustain and resonance, while the f-hole adds a classic aesthetic. The coil-tap switching system unlocks a wide range of tones through a pair of 58/15 LT “S” pickups in the bass and treble positions and a PRS Narrowfield DD “S” in the middle.
SE Studio
The PRS SE Studio’s “single”/”single”/hum pickup configuration provides a wide range of tonal options. This combination of PRS Narrowfield DD “S” bass and middle pickups with a PRS 58/15 LT “S” treble humbucker offers humbucking warmth, single-coil sparkle, and everything in between. The 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control further enhance its versatility.
SE Studio Standard
The only bolt-on neck in this release group, the PRS SE Studio Standard brings the tone, playability, and versatility of the Studio model to the SE Series and into an all-mahogany design with a vintage-style pickguard aesthetic. At the heart of the SE Studio Standard is its versatile trio of pickups: an 58/15 LT “S” humbucker in the treble position with two Narrowfield DD “S” pickups in the middle and bass positions. The 5-way blade switch and push/pull tone control allow for an array of pickup configurations.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025. Stay tuned to see new gear and 40th Anniversary limited-edition guitars throughout the year.
