Just like their records, the Australian rockers’ road gear is eclectic and adventurous, ready to cover ground from metal to microtonal Turkish psychedelia.
You could throw a dart at a board of all the world’s music genres, and chances are fair that you’d hit a sound that Melbourne band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard have explored. King Gizz started life as a bluesy garage-rock outfit, but over the past 14 years, they’ve leapt into metal, jazz, folk, electronic, and even microtonal music. They’ve spread their adventures over 26 LPs—five of them released in 2022 alone.
On tour this summer in support of their latest, Flight b741, the band stopped at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, where Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with guitarists Joey Walker and Stu Mackenzie for a look at how they navigate the Gizzverse onstage. Here’s a preview of some of the goods, but tune into the full Rundown to catch all the details—including Mackenzie’s famed Flying Microtonal Banana, the namesake of their 2017 album.
Brought to you by D’Addario.Turkish Delight
Walker’s Godin Richmond Dorchester has been subjected to a few changes. When King Gizzard entered their “microtonal phase,” influenced by Mackenzie’s travels to Turkey, the guitar was modified by a luthier friend with a fret arrangement (identical to Mackenzie’s Flying Banana) that permits microtonal intervals, like a Turkish bağlama. Walker explains that it’s like adding extra frets between the traditional 12 notes, so there are quarter-tone intervals rather than just semitone steps. It took some learning to figure out how to play, but at this point it feels like muscle memory for Walker.
The Jammer
This H-S-S Novo Idris does the heavy lifting for Joey Walker playing deep into King Gizzard's expansive, extended sets.
Samurai Sword
Mackenzie admits that he’s not picky with his guitars: He likes unpredictable gear, and he’s prone to impulse-buying weirdo axes. He picked up this Yamaha SG-2 in 2013, and it sounds like no other guitar he’s played. The weird, noisy pickups cause interesting microphonic glitches, and while it’s a bit of a pain to keep in proper playing order, Mackenzie knows his way around the guitar and trusts it. The SG-2 is strung with .011s and handles standard-tuning numbers.
Stu Mackenzie's Pedalboard and Amp
While Mackenzie’s guitar selections are rather offbeat, his pedalboard and amp setup are fairly straight-laced; in fact, 70 percent of the set is played with no effects on at all. His signal runs first into a Boss TU-3 tuner and DD-3T delay, then to a Devi Ever Aenima, a Jam Pedals Boomster, a Fender Tread-Light Wah, and a Dunlop Volume (X) Mini. His vocals run into a custom multi-effect pedal by EarthQuaker Devices, which features both overdrive and a gated echo, preventing ambient noise from triggering the effect. A VVco Pedals Time Box helps Mackenzie keep the set from running over.
From the board, his signal runs to a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, an amp he can pick up virtually anywhere in the world. He runs it fairly clean, but adjusts it between every song for varied gain-staging. A Mesa Boogie PowerHouse Attenuator keeps the stage volume in check.
Hefty Hitters
Joey Walker's Pedalboard
The guitarist's stomp station is surprisingly sparse for the melody and mite that swirls in a King Gizz performance. He has five key signal sizzlers: an Electro-Harmonix Flat Iron (fuzz), Wampler Faux Analog Echo (delay), Strymon Sunset (overdrive), Dunlop Cry Baby (wah), and Wampler Mini Ego (compressor). He uses a Death By Audio Echo Master for his vocals, a Boss LS-2 Line Selector & Radial Engineering HotShot to handle amp & mic switches, and the Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner keeps his instruments in check.
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's Gear ›
- Microtonal Madmen: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Stu Mackenzie and Joey Walker ›
- King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s Psych-Rock Album Flight b741 ›
The exquisite BilT Brothers collaborative guitar: a Frank Brothers Ultra Light in BilT eggplant sparkleburst with Arcane 3x3 Gold Foil Humbuckers and loaded with a Caroline Custom Cannonball Distortion.
It was like any other random day at work: We had customers coming in, items shipping out, services on the bench. I was simultaneously working on a pedalboard for a customer and making plans with some vendors. I was on the phone with Brandon Darner of BilT Guitars when DHL dropped off our latest Frank Brothers guitar. Now, I’m never shy about talking up builds from any of our vendors. Spec’ing guitars for our shop, seeing their execution exceed my expectations, and then getting it into the hands of its new owner is one of my absolute favorite parts of my job. So, naturally I mentioned that we just got a new Frank Brothers in. Brandon told me how much he loved their stuff—sort of a “game recognizing game” kind of thing.
After we unboxed the guitar, I called Tim Frank to let him know how we continue to be impressed with their work and how much we loved the new arrival. I also mentioned Brandon had some very nice things to say about their work. Tim’s response was something like, “Oh wow! That’s really cool. Their stuff is amazing and we have a lot of respect for those guys.” At first, I thought he was just being polite, but I’ve gotten to know him pretty well. I knew that the compliment and sentiment was genuine and past the point of his wonderful Canadian pleasantness. One thing led to another, and I started a group text. Very quickly, they became friends. In fact, Brandon even ordered a Frank Brothers shortly after the introduction.
The Frank Brothers and BilT team, left to right: Tim Frank, Tim Thelen (BilT), Nick Frank, and Brandon Darner (BilT).
My last call of the day was to Philippe Herndon from Caroline Guitar Company. As we talked, he was glowing about the pedal building community and how friendly and collaborative it is, and obvious questions popped into my head: “Why aren’t guitar companies like that?” “Why can’t we do a collab guitar?”
Long story extremely short, with tons of excitement, I got Brandon and Tim on the phone and proposed the idea of doing a guitar together. Without hesitation, the response from both was “Hell yeah, let’s do it!” and it was time for us to spec it. We decided on a Frank Brothers Ultra Light. BilT would apply their world-class fit/finish as well as their signature effects treatment. I picked my favorite finish in the BilT repertoire called eggplant sparkleburst, selected Arcane 3x3 Gold Foil Humbuckers, and tapped Philippe on the shoulder to ask if he had any Custom Cannonball Distortions—the first pedal I bought from Caroline in 2013—that he could provide for the build, to which he happily obliged.
A year or so later, the BilT Brothers was born. Of course, it is exceptional beyond words and is a true testament to the results of these incredible companies working together to produce something truly remarkable. We decided, with custom shirts and all, to proudly debut our creation at Fretboard Summit in Chicago. The reaction from everyone exceeded our expectations and showed me that the level of mutual respect and admiration in this business can lead to phenomenal results.
This project has opened a lot of doors that I’m not sure anyone knew existed. For me, the most exciting part of all of this is the fact that, like the smaller pedal companies, there is an actual community here filled with like-minded, pure enthusiasts who also happen to be master craftsmen—and who truly geek out over each other’s work.
Never was this more evident than at the Wood Wire Volts show this January, where not only did the BilT and Frank Brothers crews travel and stay together, they were also often in deep chats with fellow luminaries Sacha Dunable (Dunable Guitars) and Carlos Lopez (Castedosa Guitars), discussing the trade, the work, and ideas for the future. If the vibe is any indicator, we can safely assume that while the BilT Brothers was, by all accounts, the first ever collab guitar of its kind, it will not be the last.
This entire experience is reminiscent of the DIY community ethos that I’ve clung to and has inspired me for most of my life. There is a cliché about the journey being greater than the destination, and while the destination in this case is one of the finest guitars I’ve ever laid my hands on, I’d have to say it holds true
