Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Rig Rundown: Gilad Hekselman

Rig Rundown - Gilad Hekselman

The jazz-trio chameleon uses handcrafted guitars and a self-restricted pedal playground to cover bass, keys, and a disintegrating computer.

After releasing Trio Grande with saxophonist Will Vinson and drummer Antonio SƔnchez(via Whirlwind Recordings), Gilad Hekselman virtually invited PG's Chris Kies into his NYC-based jam space.


In this episode, the jazz-guitar vanguard shows his main instrumentsā€”including a custom Italian semi-hollowbody, a rare '70s Gibson acoustic/electric, and a bizarre-looking hollowbodyā€”and explains how a mini tube head from Greece supplanted his favorite Fender combo, and runs through his cramped, ever-changing, self-limiting pedalboard that mimics everything from other instruments to a malfunctioning computer.

[Brought to you by D'Addario XS Strings: https://www.daddario.com/XSRR]

MoffaĀ Lorraine Prima

Moffa Lorraine Prima semi-hollowbody guitar

While touring Italy, a guitar-playing fan greeted Gilad with an opportunity to play a custom creation from nearby luthier Nico Moffa. Gilad told the fan it was a wonderful guitar and the word got back to the builder. Nico and Gilad had conversations about instruments (Moffa originally designed and constructed violins), and the result of those chats is the above Lorraine Prima.

He employs a signature Strum-N-Comfort SharkTooth 1.5 mm pick (modified from the standard option with a sharper edge and smaller profile like a Jazz III) and Gilad typically goes with Thomastik Jazz Bebop strings (.013ā€“.053) on the Moffa or other jazzboxes.

1974 Gibson Howard Roberts Custom

1974 Gibson Howard Roberts Custom archtop

"This is what I learned to play jazz on," says Gilad about the above 1974 Gibson Howard Roberts Custom. "And while it's not my main guitar anymore, whenever I pick it up, it's home."

Hekselman describes this one's voice as being much airier, more midrange-y, and has a sharper, drastic decay to its notes like an upright bass.

Victor Baker Model 15

Victor Baker Model 15 hollowbody archtop

Before the Moffa, Gilad's most-trusted ally was this Victor Baker Model 15. He toured the world several times over with this hollowbody. It was his second Baker and the NYC-based luthier had this to say about No. 2's evolution:

"For this guitar he was looking for more acoustic qualities, sort of in between his first guitar and the Howard Roberts guitar that he used for years. We bumped up one body size and deepened the body depth a bit. This put more air in the interior. The guitar still has a center block, but is scaled down compared to what I normally use. This helps with feedback. The larger sound holes give the guitar a more open sound as well."

Oh, and about that robotic-looking wiring on its topā€”it's just a standard RMC PBGS11-6 Saddle MIDI pickup that was "tested out" on the guitar's exterior because both Victor and Gilad didn't want to put any more holes in the instrument for this trial. Clearly, he liked how it sounded and it's still there today.

Moollon T Classic

korean telecaster

Hollowbodies and semi-hollows are a big part of what Gilad uses on his various gigs, but when something calls for a solidbody sting, he often picks up this Moollon T Classic. Hekselman really appreciates the bell-like chime a T-style single-coil can provide.

Collings OM1 T

Collings acoustic guitar

When then pandemic hit and playing electric guitar became a larger nuisance for quarantining neighbors in his building, Gilad found himself without a proper acoustic. He acquired this Collings OM1 T and has bonded with it over the last year appreciating its piano-like qualitiesā€”a strong low register and a shimmery top-end.

Pure Tone AmpsĀ OMiKRON

Lots of jazz cats prefer the stratospheric high headroom solid-state amps provide, but Gilad still prefers a tube amp. (However, in the Rundown, he does say that he used his grab-and-go Quilter for Trio Grande and travels with it in case the backline is inadequate.)

As of late, he's been plugging into this Pure Tone Amps OMiKRON built in Greece. This is a smaller, stripped-down version of Pure Tone's Offset that chases the sound of '50s Bassmans and early Marshalls.

Fender '65 Twin Reverb

His second favorite amp (and current cabinet) is a Fender '65 Twin Reverb.

Gilad Hekselman's Pedalboard

Gilad plays guitar in a lot of jazz-trio configurations. Depending on the musical context and artistic personnel, he'll sometimes cover bass duties, explore keyboard textures, and paints outside the normal jazz-guitar lines. To do so, he uses a healthy stock of pedals. And to make matters interesting (and economic), he restricts his pedal playground to the size of this board (cut out by his father-in-law) so he can travel with his wares.

Two key pedals in his setup are the Boss OC-3 Super Octave and the Electro-Harmonix Freeze. The OC-3 is always in poly mode and helps him fake a bass line on the lower strings while the higher strings still retain their core guitar tonality. The Freeze's hold function allows him organ-like sustain. (It's been modified so it has a hardwired expression-like pedalā€”the black pad below the Freezeā€”allowing him piano-style control over the effect without the "clicking" noise when he engages it and he won't lose his balance using the latch function that originally required him to stand directly on the pedal.)

Other stomps he currently has on the tight board includes a EHX Pitch Fork (allowing him to go up a fifth or make crazy computer sounds), Chase Bliss Mood (with an Mooer Expline Mini Expression pedal), EarthQuaker Devices Warden, Valeton Coral Mod (favorite settings: ring mod & auto wah), Donner Deluxe Looper, Mooer A7 Ambiance Reverb, and Jam Pedals TubeDreamer.

A slight amendment to his rule is if it fits in the bag, it can travel and sit on the floor. So the add-on stomps are an EQD Avalanche Run and Mooer Audio Graphic G 5-Band EQ. The ones that used to be in the game, but are currently on the sidelines (upper right) are the Moollon Equalizer and Old World Audio 1960 Optical Compressor. And a CIOKS DC10 (under the Donner Deluxe Looper) powers all his pedals.

X's Billy Zoom & John Doe Rig Rundown
- YouTube

John Doe and Billy Zoom keep things spare and powerful, with two basses and a single guitarā€“and 47 years of shared musical historyā€“between them, as founding members of this historic American band.

Read MoreShow less

A dual-channel tube preamp and overdrive pedal inspired by the Top Boost channel of vintage VOX amps.

Read MoreShow less

The compact offspring of the Roland SDE-3000 rack unit is simple, flexible, and capable of a few cool new tricks of its own.

Tonalities bridge analog and digital characteristics. Cool polyrhythmic textures and easy-to-access, more-common echo subdivisions. Useful panning and stereo-routing options.

Interactivity among controls can yield some chaos and difficult-to-duplicate sounds.

$219

Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay
boss.info

4.5
4
4
4

Though my affection for analog echo dwarfs my sentiments for digital delay, I donā€™t get doctrinaire about it. If the sound works, Iā€™ll use it. Boss digital delays have been instructive in this way to me before: I used a Boss DD-5 in a A/B amp rig with an Echoplex for a long time, blending the slur and stretch of the reverse echo with the hazy, wobbly tape delay. It was delicious, deep, and complex. And the DD-5 still lives here just in case I get the urge to revisit that place.

Read MoreShow less

Reader: T. Moody

Hometown: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Guitar: The Green Snake


Reader T. Moody turned this Yamaha Pacifica body into a reptilian rocker.

With a few clicks on Reverb, a reptile-inspired shred machine was born.

With this guitar, I wanted to create a shadowbox-type vibe by adding something you could see inside. I have always loved the Yamaha Pacifica guitars because of the open pickup cavity and the light weight, so I purchased this body off Reverb (I think I am addicted to that website). I also wanted a color that was vivid and bold. The seller had already painted it neon yellow, so when I read in the description, ā€œYou can see this body from space,ā€ I immediately clicked the Buy It Now button. I also purchased the neck and pickups off of Reverb.

Read MoreShow less