After releasing Trio Grande with saxophonist Will Vinson and drummer Antonio Sánchez(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 instruments—including a custom Italian semi-hollowbody, a rare '70s Gibson acoustic/electric, and a bizarre-looking hollowbody—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]
Moffa Lorraine Prima
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 (.013–.053) on the Moffa or other jazzboxes.
1974 Gibson Howard Roberts Custom
"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 top—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
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
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 qualities—a strong low register and a shimmery top-end.
Pure Tone Amps 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 pedal—the black pad below the Freeze—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.
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Guitarist Brandon Seabrook, architect of fretboard chaos, and his trusty HMT Tele.
It’s a heady, thrilling idea—but no one who’s followed his zigzagging career will be surprised at the gumption. As he’s cycled through various projects (including the acclaimed power trio Seabrook Power Plant), he’s become a resident chaos architect within the Brooklyn avant-garde scene—exploring everything from jazz-fusion to brutal prog to other untamed strains of heavy rock, typically wielding his trusted 1928 tenor banjo and a modified “heavy metal Telecaster” acoustic-electric from 1989.
But Object of Unknown Function, his first solo album since 2014’s Sylphid Vitalizers, became his own real-life choose-your-own-adventure—a process of rejuvenation by playing with new toys. Along with his usual gear, Seabrook’s main compositional tools this time were a 6-string 1920 William O. Schmick Lyric guitar banjo and a 1998 Jerry Jones Neptune electric 12-string—both of which became vibrant “new relationships,” even if, at first, he felt like he was “stepping out on his guitar.”
“My other guitar [his Telecaster] is the only thing I’ve been playing for the past 25 to 27 years,” he says, laughing. “I was so afraid to try something else: ‘I can’t play another guitar because it’s like an extension of my arm. I know the topography of this neck so well. It’s my sound.’"
Brandon Seabrook's Gear
Seabrook’s 1989 Fender HMT Thinline Telecaster has seen enough wear to rival Willie Nelson’s Trigger.
Photo by Scott Friedlander
Instruments
- 1928 Bacon & Day Silver Bell tenor banjo
- 1920 William O. Schmick Lyric guitar banjo
- 1989 Fender HMT Thinline Telecaster with Sheptone Pickups
- 1998 Jerry Jones Neptune 12-string electric
Amps
- 1962 Magnatone Custom 450
- 1971 Traynor YGM-3
Pedals
- Arion SAD-1 Stereo Delay
- Jam Pedals Dyna-ssoR compressor
- Jam Pedals Rattler distortion
Strings and Picks
- D’Addario XL Nickel Wound 10's
- Dunlop Tortex .88 mm
Accessories
- TASCAM PORTA 3 4-track cassette recorder
But Seabrook fell in love “right away” with the Jerry Jones, and new ideas started flooding out. “The 12-string is such a magic sound, and the Jerry Jones holds the intonation so well that you can detune some of the double-strings to make different intervals, kind of like a built-in harmonizer,” he says. “When you play chords on that and they ring; it’s some sort of majestic, angelic sound—or it can be.” Photo by Scott Friedlander
Seabrook found the 6-string banjo at Brooklyn shop RetroFret Vintage Guitars, intending to shop for a mandolin. He was struck by William Schmick’s construction (“It uses slightly heavier strings, and the neck is wide”) and, more crucially, the surprising intensity it harnesses: “It just sounded so metal to me or something,” he recalls. “So deep and rich and ominous, but beautiful.” These discoveries came at a pivotal time: “I don’t know what happened last year, but I felt the need to get some new instruments. And that opened up a new sound world.”
He eventually linked up with two key collaborators, producer David Breskin (John Zorn, Bill Frisell) and engineer Ben Greenberg (who plays guitar in noise-rock band Uniform), at the small Brooklyn studio Circular Ruin. That setting was ideal for the physical experience he hoped to capture: “I used contact mics on the guitar, and [sometimes on my body], to have a subtle sound design. It’s in there—you can kinda hear it [on the album] sometimes.”
One reason for that impact: This is, by and large, the most intimate record of Seabrook’s career—a downshift from the wall-to-wall wildness that has defined so much of his work. That said, make no mistake. Almost no one else could create the pogoing guitar madness of “Perverted by Perseverance,” which sounds like ’80s King Crimson being subjected to water torture. (“I actually was revisiting the ’80s King Crimson stuff while I was making this album,” he says. “I just came back to it after years of not hearing it. That’s straight-up Telecaster prepared with some alligator clips, and then I use my radio tape recorder on the pickups.”)
Object sometimes leans into a more traditional “solo” vibe, like on the dissonant, highly improvised banjo piece “Unbalanced Love Portfolio”; at other points, it piles instruments into towering overdub soundscapes, like on “Gondola Freak,” a heart-accelerating swirl of harmonized 12-strings.
Object of Unknown Functionis the guitarist’s first solo record since 2014’s Sylphid Vitalizers.
“I’ve been playing a lot of solo things over the past 10 years, and that’s on banjo and guitar,” Seabrook says. “I was kinda hesitant to make an album of that stuff, although some pieces are totally stripped-down to just me. But I thought I could make a more compelling studio listening experience now that I have a little more of a palette that these instruments are offering. The solo album I did 10 years ago had lots of layers, but I wanted to be a bit more vulnerable on this record and have some songs stripped-down and some full.”
The resulting project is a “blender” of all the things Seabrook loves, thrown together in a way that sparks his imagination. “I’m just trying to sound like the influences I have, whether it’s ’80s King Crimson or Eugene Chadbourne or Van Halen or Joni Mitchell—all these things I hear certain fragments of, and maybe it’s only for a measure or a section,” he says. “I guess I am conscious of messing with form. I love the juxtaposition of certain things.”
Seabrook is a long-time mainstay of the Brooklyn jazz and avant-garde scene, where, in addition to leading his own ensembles, he’s worked with a wide range of artists that includes Nels Cline, Anthony Braxton, Mike Watt, and Mostly Other People Do the Killing.
Photo by Luke Marantz
“I used to be even more of a hailstorm on the audience psyche,” he continues. “I just recorded a new album with this quartet of synthesizer, violin, bass, and guitar, and I want to bring more lyricism and less feeling of intentional surprise. I’m getting there slowly. A lot of the music I listen to is really lyrical, like folk music or soft rock. I try to put elements of that in here. I guess I do want to make weird twists and turns, but I do put a lot of thought into how to weave them and make them coherent.”
It’s not like Seabrook has suddenly recorded an Eagles album, but these more refined moments signal a desire to keep challenging himself—and his audience. “I think it’s getting older and being more vulnerable, more confident in your choices,” he says. “When I was younger, I never wanted one second of space. Now I just want to be more connected to the things I truly love. It’s a journey. I never want to think somebody wants to hear a certain thing from me.”
YouTube It
Video Caption: In this mind-melting performance of “brutalovechamp,” captured May 20th, 2023 at Brooklyn’s Public Records, Seabrook is joined by the epic proportions octet, including everything from cello to recorder.