In the midst of working on her first album, the 17-year-old guitar star takes PG through her rig.
Guitarist Grace Bowers is a 17-year old California transplant tearing it up in Nashville. Currently working on her first album with producer John Osborne of the Brothers Osborne, Bowers invited John Bohlinger and the PG team to walk through her studio and live rig.
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Mostly Stock Special
Bowersā number one is her mostly stock 1961 Gibson SG Special. The P90s and the skinny neck are a perfect fit for her style. The tuners were changed at some point, and the whammy is no longer attached, but the rest of the axe is original. This guitar and all others are strung with DāAddario .010s.
Osbourne's ES
For PAF humbucker tone on the album, Grace plays John Osborneās all-stock 1960 Gibson ES-335.
With a Little Help From Her Friends
The one acoustic on the album is this 1968 Gibson 12-string acoustic, on loan from a friend.
It's Not a Phase, Mom!
Bowersā pedal setup includes a Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, Grindstone Audio Solutions Night Shade Overdrive, EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job, MXR Phase 90, MXR Phase 95, and Boss DD-2. Bowers powers them with a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power ISO-5.
Shop Grace Bowers' Rig
Gibson SG Special - Vintage Cherry
Gibson ES-335 Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitar
Gibson Acoustic J-45 12-string Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb 1x12" Combo Amp
Dunlop CBJ95 Cry Baby Junior Wah Pedal
MXR Phase 90
Boss DD-3T
EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job V2
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power ISO-5
D'Addario NYXL1046 NYXL Nickel Wound Electric Guitar Strings - .010-.046 Regular Light
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- Grace Bowers Debut Album Release Date: August 9 - Premier Guitar āŗ
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On our season two finale, the country legend details his lead-guitar tricks on one of his biggest hits.
Get out the Kleenex, hankies, or whatever you use to wipe away your tears: Itās the last episode of this season of Shred With Shifty, a media event more consequential and profound than the finales of White Lotus and Severance combined. But thereāll be some tears of joy, too, because on this season two closer, Chris Shiflett talks with one of country musicās greatest players: Vince Gill.
Gillās illustrious solo career speaks for itself, and heās played with everyone from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton. He even replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles after Freyās death in 2017. His singing prowess is matched by his grace and precision on the fretboard, skills which are on display on the melodic solo for āOne More Last Chance.ā He used the same blackguard 1953 FenderĀ Telecaster that you see in this interview to record the lead, although he might not play the solo the exact way he did back in 1992.
Tune in to learn how Gill dialed his clean tone with a tip from Roy Nichols, why he loves early blackguard Telecasters and doesnāt love shredders, and why you never want to be the best player during a studio session.
If youāre able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
$149
Marshall 1959 Super Lead
The very definition of classic, vintage Marshall sound in a highly affordable package.
Thereās only one relevant question about Marshallās new 1959 Super Lead overdrive/distortion pedal: Does it sound like an actual vintage Super Lead head? The answer is, simply and surprisingly, yes. The significant difference I heard within the voice of this stomp, which I ran through a Carr Vincent and a StewMac Valve Factory 18 kit amp for contrast, is that itās a lot quieter than my 1972 Super Lead.
The Super Lead, which bore Marshallās 1959 model number, debuted in 1965 and was the amp that defined the plexi sound. That sound is here in spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts. Like the Super Lead, the pedal is easy to use. The originalās 3-band EQ is replaced by a single, rangeful tone control. The normal dial and the volume, which together mimic the character created by jumping the first and second channels of a plexi head, offer smooth, rich, buttery op-amp driven gain and loudness. And the high-treble dial functions much like the presence control on the original amp.
The pedal is sturdy and handsome, too. A heavy-duty metal enclosure evokes the classic black-with-gold-plate plexi look and a vintage-grille-cloth motif. Switches and knobs (the latter with rubber sides for slip-free turning) are ultra solid, andārefreshinglyāthereās a 9V battery option in addition to a barrel-pin connection. Whether with single-coils or humbuckers, getting beefy, sustained, historic tones took moments. I especially delighted in approximating my favorite Super Lead head setting by flooring the high treble, normal, and tone dials, and turning back the tone pots on my Flying V, evoking Disraeli Gears-era Clapton tone. That alone, to me, makes the 1959 Super Lead stomp a bargain at $149.The Miku was introduced about 10 years ago and is based on the vocal stylings of Hatsune Miku, a virtual pop icon. But it does much more than artificial vowels and high-pitched words.
Itās tempting to think of this pedal as a joke. Donāt.
It all started a few years ago through a trade with a friend. I just wanted to help him outāhe really wanted to get a fuzz pedal but didnāt have enough cash, so he offered up the Korg Miku. I had no idea then, but it turned out to be the best trade Iāve ever made.
Hereās the truth: the Korg Miku is not your typical guitar pedal. It wonāt boost your mids, sculpt your gain, or serve up that warm, buttery overdrive youāve always worshipped. Nope. This little box does something entirely different: It sings! Yes, sings in a Japanese kawaii accent thatās based on the signature voice of virtual pop icon Hatsune Miku.
At first glance, itās tempting to dismiss this pedal as just a gimmickāa joke, a collectorās oddity, the kind of thing you buy for fun and then forget next to your Hello Kitty Strat. But hereās the twist: Some take it seriously and Iām one of those people.
I play in a punk band called Cakrux, and lately Iāve been working with a member of a Japanese idol-style girl groupāyeah, itās exactly the kind of wild mashup youād ever imagine. Somewhere in the middle of that chaos, the Miku found its way into my setup, and weirdly enough, it stuck. Itās quirky, beautiful, occasionally maddening, and somehow ⦠just right. After plenty of time spent in rehearsals, studio takes, and more sonic experiments than I care to admit, Iāve come to appreciate this pedal in unexpected ways. So here are a few things you probably didnāt know about this delightfully strange little box.
Itās Not Organicāand Thatās OK
Most guitar pedals are chasing something real. Wah pedals mimic the human voiceāor even a trumpet. Tube Screamers? Theyāre built to recreate the warm push of an overdriven tube amp. Cab sims aim to replicate the tone of real-world speaker setups. But the Miku? It breaks the mold. Instead of emulating reality, it channels the voice of a fictional pop icon. Hatsune Miku isnāt a personāsheās a vocaloid, a fully digital creation made of samples and synthesis. The Miku doesnāt try to sound organic, it tries to sound like her. In that sense, it might be the only pedal trying to reproduce something that never existed in the physical world. And honestly, thereās something oddly poetic about that.
A World-Class Buffer
Hereās a fun fact: I once saw a big-name Indonesian session guitaristāyou know, the kind who plays in sold-out arenasāwith a Miku pedal on his board. I was like, āNo way this guyās busting out vocaloid lines mid-solo.ā Plot twist: He only uses it for the buffer. Yep, the man swears by it and says itās the best-sounding buffer heās ever plugged into. I laughed ⦠until I tried it. And honestly? Heās not wrong. Even if you never hear Miku sing a note, this pedal still deserves a spot on your board. Just for the tone mojo alone. Wild, right?
āThe Miku is one of those pedals that really shouldnāt work for your music, but somehow, it just does.ā
Impossible to Tame
Most pedals are built to make your life easier. The Miku? Not so much. This thing demands patienceāand maybe a little spiritual surrender. First off, the tracking can be finicky, especially if youāre using low-output pickups. Latency becomes really noticeable and your picking dynamics suddenly matter a lot more. Then thereās the golden rule I learned the hard way. Neverāeverāput anything before the Miku. No fuzz, no wah, no compressor, not even a buffer! It gets confused instantly and says āWhat is going on here?ā And donāt even think about punching in while recording. The vocal results are so unpredictable, youāll never get the same sound twice. Mess up halfway? Youāre starting from scratch. Same setup, same take, same chaotic energy. Itās like trying to recreate a fever dream. Good luck with that.
Full Range = Full Power
Sure, itās made for guitar, but the Miku really comes to life when you run it through a keyboard amp, bass cab, or even a full-range speaker. Why? Because her voice covers way more frequency range than a regular guitar speaker can handle. Plug it into a PA system or a bass rig, and everything sounds clearer, richer, way more expressive. Itās like letting Hatsune Miku out of her cage.
The Miku is one of those pedals that really shouldn't work for your music, but somehow, it just does. Is it the best pedal out there? Nah. Is it practical? Not by a long shot. But every time I plug it in, I canāt help but smile. Itās unpredictable, a little wild, and it feels like youāre jamming in the middle of a bizarre Isekai anime scene. And honestly, thatās what makes it fun.
This thing used to go for less than $100. Now? Itās fetching many times that. Is it worth the price? Thatās up to you. But for me, the Korg Miku isnāt just another pedalāitās a strange, delightful journey Iām glad I didnāt skip. No regrets here.
Two guitars, two amps, and two people is all it takes to bring the noise.
The day before they played the coveted Blue Room at Third Man Records in Nashville, the Washington, D.C.-based garage-punk duo Teen Mortgage released their debut record, Devil Ultrasonic Dream. Not a bad couple of days for a young band.
PGās Chris Kies caught up with guitarist and vocalist James Guile at the Blue Room to find out how he builds the bandās bombastic guitar attack.
Brought to you by DāAddario.
Devilish Dunable
Guile has been known to use Telecasters and Gretsches in the past, but this time out heās sticking with this Dunable Cyclops DE, courtesy of Gwarsenio Hallāaka Jordan Olds of metal-themed comedy talk show Two Minutes to Late Night. Guile digs the Dunableās lightness on his shoulders, and its balance of high and low frequencies.
Storm Warning
What does Guile like about this Squier Cyclone? Simple: its color. This one is also nice and easy on the back, and Guile picked it up from Atomic Music in Beltsville, Maryland.
Crushing It
Guile also scooped this Music Man 410-HD from Atomic, which he got just for this tour for a pretty sweet deal. It runs alongside an Orange Crush Bass 100 to rumble out the low end.
James Guileās Pedalboard
The Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and Hiwatt Filter Fuzz MkII run to the Orange, while everything elseāa DigiTech Whammy, Pro Co Lilā RAT, and Death by Audio Echo Dream 2āruns to the Music Man. A TC Helicon Mic Mechanic is on board for vocal assistance, and a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, Morley ABY, and Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 3 Plus keep the ship afloat.