Will Swan has celebrated and elevated radical guitar music through the course of nine frenetic, volatile Dance Gavin Dance albums, a pair of releases with his psychedelic post-hardcore side project Sianvar, and the creation of his Blue Swan Records label. The common thread is his hue of beautiful dysfunction and his ethos of pushing the instrument (and its sounds) forward.
Make no mistake, Swan can play the guitar. His style is equal parts violence and grace, with pit stops at all points between. He terrorizes the frets as well as he tenderly dances on them—and the results can be chaotic or calming. But what most excites him about guitar is making it not sound like a guitar.
"I really like those tones that take the guitar far away from its normal sounds," Swan explains. "I like to layer those with typical guitar tones, and to mix cool sounds with interesting-playing parts. I need both of those elements to enjoy the experience."
"I'm self-taught, so I don't know music theory, so when I'm writing I don't know what things are going to sound like. I'm just messing around and seeing what catches my ear. It's similar to the way I explore pedals. I don't quite know what's going to happen, but if I come across something that I enjoy, I'll use it and don't question it."
The afternoon of Dance Gavin Dance's headlining show at Nashville's Marathon Music Works, Swan detailed his signature Kiesels (and the other Kiesel he's been preferring), explains how the Friedman Small Box is (phenomenally) filling the void of his favored vintage Rockerverb, and breaks down why his pedals help him embrace the textures and tones of other instruments.
[Brought to you by D'Addario XPND Pedalboard: https://www.daddario.com/XPNDRR]
Signature Swan
"I like jumping around to different types of guitars," admits Dance Gavin Dance guitarist Will Swan. Over the years, he's taken the stage with 6-strings from Fender, Gibson, Kauer, and Halo.
"I was opposed to signing to any particular company because I'd be tied down to that and wouldn't be able to play something else if I got the feeling to," he adds. However, after meeting Kiesel's VP Jeff Kiesel and touring their factory, Swan was comfortable with the SoCal custom shop knowing his wandering tastes would always be served.
"I just realized they do so many things so well. I can go to Kiesel and play all the varieties I want and not have to compromise on tone or anything, since they're so flexible on what they offer," he says. He worked alongside Jeff to design his signature model based on their LP-style CS6 (or California Singlecut). Highlights include a mahogany body decked out with a 4A flamed-maple top, a 5-piece mahogany neck paired with an ebony fretboard, and a set of Kiesel's Beryllium humbuckers. He landed on those because they're lower output and more classic-sounding. This is the first iteration of his namesake guitar. He puts D'Addario XLs (.010–.042) on all his 6-strings, and is typically tuned to standard. He attacks the strings with Dunlop Nylon 1.0 mm picks.
Swan Song
You won't see Will's name or signature emblazoned anywhere on the instrument, but the dead giveaway it's his is the swan silhouette inlay at the 12th fret.
Fresh Cut
Here's Will's latest signature. Kiesel provided it for him before DGD's current headlining tour with Polyphia.
A Name Doesn’t Mean a Thing
"The shameless self-promoter in me says I should use the signature, but I just go for tone and feel," admits Swan. So while he tours with a pair of his signature Kiesel WS6 models, he says this is his current crush: a custom Delos model with Kiesel Lithium single-coils. (Fun fact: Only Jeff Kiesel is able to pull off this splashy purple flame finish.) Swan has used the Delos extensively on the last two Dance Gavin Dance releases (2018's Artificial Selection and 2020's Afterburner).
Small Box, Big Rock
"For all my stuff, I swear by my Orange Rockerverb 100," said Swan in an interview with PG in 2016. "It constantly just kills every other amp." And while that may still hold true for the guitarist, he has retired his beloved Rockerverb from the road. In its place now sits a Friedman Small Box 50W blaster.
"This amp does both extremes I need: heavy drive and crystal cleans." So he loves the amp's versatility, and while it does harken back to vintage Marshall mojo (with its EL34s), Friedman's interpretation gives such yesteryear sounds a modern platform.
Cab-Panion
The Small Box feeds a Friedman 2x12 Vintage Cabinet that is loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
"I love synth pedals," declares Swan. "I'm always looking for a good synth pedal. When I found the SY-300, it blew my mind." He's twisted his guitar signal on the past four DGD records with that big blue Boss box. The two note repeaters in this drawer are the Strymon El Capistan and MXR Carbon Copy.
Pitch Me, Synth Me
Another of Swan's favorite and heavily used pedals is the Eventide PitchFactor. He's warped notes with that modulation machine since 2015's Instant Gratification and continues to explore new wormholes and unearth inspiration from its many functions. Continuing the theme from the previous photo, he's working with three more synth-y pedals from Electro-Harmonix: a C9 Organ Machine, a Mono Synth ("it makes cool fart sounds"), and a Synth9. The remaining sound swirler is the EarthQuaker Devices Grand Orbiter phaser.
Weird, Wild Stuff
The final drawer keeps the madness moving with a DigiTech Whammy and a Death By Audio Rooms reverberator. And since the Whammy is stowed in the rack, he abstains from the foot-controlled, pitch-shifting function and only uses the octave for the bridge of fan favorite "We Own the Night."
Ground Control to Major Swan
Giving order to his rack full of pedals is the Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI controller. Sneaking into the shot is an Ernie Ball VP Jr volume pedal that Will uses only for killing his signal for tuning.
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Phat Machine
The Phat Machine
The Phat Machine is designed to deliver the tone and responsiveness of a vintage germanium fuzz with improved temperature stability with no weird powering issues. Loaded with both a germanium and a silicon transistor, the Phat Machine offers the warmth and cleanup of a germanium fuzz but with the bite of a silicon pedal. It utilizes classic Volume and Fuzz control knobs, as well as a four-position Thickness control to dial-in any guitar and amp combo. Also included is a Bias trim pot and a Kill switch that allows battery lovers to shut off the battery without pulling the input cord.
Silk Worm Deluxe Overdrive
The Silk Worm Deluxe -- along with its standard Volume/Gain/Tone controls -- has a Bottom trim pot to dial in "just the right amount of thud with no mud at all: it’s felt more than heard." It also offers a Studio/Stage diode switch that allows you to select three levels of compression.
Both pedals offer the following features:
- 9-volt operation via standard DC external supply or internal battery compartment
- True bypass switching with LED indicator
- Pedalboard-friendly top mount jacks
- Rugged, tour-ready construction and super durable powder coated finish
- Made in the USA
Static Effectors’ Street Series pedals carry a street price of $149 each. They are available at select retailers and can also be purchased directly from the Static Effectors online store at www.staticeffectors.com.
Galloup’s Plek tech Adam Winarski preps a Yamaha acoustic for the machine.
Presently, many certified guitar-repair specialists possess the expertise required to deliver an instrument that both sounds and plays wonderfully. The standards set by manufacturers and distributors have significantly risen, safeguarded by rigorous quality protocols to guarantee the best possible acoustic experience for customers. Additionally, lutherie training has raised the bar for critical processes, and one of the most tricky is fretwork.
Traditional fretwork once involved manual labor, with technicians utilizing sandbags or similar supports to steady the neck as they straightened it with a truss rod during the filing process. A notable advancement in this field came in the mid 1970s when Don Teeter, an author and repair expert, imposed a new method: fixing the guitar body to the bench and using blocks to maintain the neck in a playing position. This refinement was one of many in the continued quest to produce superior instruments by standardized methods.
An example of the Plek’s readings from an acoustic guitar.
Photo courtesy of Galloup Guitars
In the late 1970s, another pivotal innovation was introduced by Dan Erlewine. He created an advanced fret jig with a specialized body-holding system and neck supports, adding another layer of precision to the repair process. During my collaboration with Dan in 1985, we developed a rotating neck jig that counterbalanced the forces of gravity, keeping the instrument in its playing orientation while adjusting the neck supports. This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry. By 1986, our approach had evolved into a freestanding workstation coupled with a sophisticated hold-down mechanism and enhanced neck supports, culminating in increased accuracy, efficiency, and consistency. Over the decades, the Erlewine/Galloup rotating neck jig has become a benchmark in numerous shops, enhancing fretwork performance.
"This step represented a significant leap in establishing control and standardization of fretwork procedures in our industry."
By the 1990s, automated and computerized technologies permeated the guitar manufacturing and repair sectors. Initially applied by import companies in the mass production of guitars, the technology, although expediting processes, did not immediately achieve high execution standards. However, the tech dramatically improved over time, with computer-driven systems eventually transforming the industry. Contemporary automated production utilizing such advancements meets exceedingly high standards of precision. Some bespoke guitar manufacturers, such as Steve Andersen, were pioneers in adopting these methods, but it was companies like Taylor that established them in the modern era.
Inevitably, the progression of technology extended beyond the mere production of parts. Around 1995, German engineer Gerd Anke envisioned the integration of computer-assisted technology into enhancing instrument playability, giving rise to Plek technology, which uses computers to precisely measure and analyze the various components of a guitar, like neck relief, fret height, nut and bridge specs, and more. Nashville guitar-repair tech Joe Glaser was among the first to recognize the machine’s value, followed by San Francisco luthier Gary Brawer. When Heritage Guitar Inc. invested in a Plek machine, the guitar industry could no longer disregard the significance of this innovation.
“The machine’s scanning data confirmed that there was one nature of an ideal fret plane, done by hand or machine, and unsurprisingly, it conformed exactly to what physics predicts, not personal mojo.”
In the spring of 2022, Galloup Guitars obtained its first Plek machine. Promptly, our technician Adam Winarski paved the way for the Plek’s integration in our shop. Now, it’s a rarity for an instrument to leave our shop without having undergone Plek analysis and machining. Impressed by the results of our integration, we created “Intro to Plek” as a course for all students enrolled at the Galloup School of Lutherie, offering our students a practical introduction to this technology. We furthered this educational initiative with a comprehensive one-week intensive “Plek Certification Training Course” for both students and the public. This advanced Plek course serves those seeking to boost their knowledge base and employability in this high-precision field.
Plek is rapidly becoming an industry standard for major manufacturers and smaller shops alike. However, this does not mean that those without access to this technology cannot execute proficient fretwork. Personally, I continue to use my Erlewine/Galloup neck jig—not only out of nostalgia, but also because it remains an excellent method for delivering accurate and reliable guitars. Still, it’s undeniable that the process of fretting, fret dressing, and analytics of fretted instruments has undergone significant transformation, resulting in better sounding—and playing—guitars. And ultimately, that’s what it’s all about.