Out on the road, the post-hardcore supergroup’s gunslinger works in pairs, with two guitars, two pedalboards, and a Twin.
Formed during the pandemic, L.S. Dunes is the answer to every early-2000s emo kid’s prayers. Spearheaded by Circa Survive and Saosin frontman Anthony Green, the band was announced to the world in 2022, and their debut record, Past Lives, arrived in November of that year. Along with members of Coheed and Cambria and Thursday, My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero joined the supergroup, and they’re not wasting any time: Following an EP in November 2023, their second full-length record is due out January 31.
Even though L.S. Dunes covers some similar ground to each member’s previous projects, it’s certainly its own beast, and Iero notes that his rig with the band is totally different from his setup with My Chemical Romance. Ahead of Dunes’ performance at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, PG’s Chris Kies met up with Iero to see which “favorite kids” get brought out on tour.
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Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Ray
Iero loves this Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay RS for its stellar trem system and rock-solid tuning. He can reef on the whammy bar as hard as he wants, and it stays on pitch. (He even thought he broke it one night after hearing a loud “pop,” but his tech couldn’t find any issues.) It’s always in standard tuning, with Ernie Ball Burly Slinky strings.
FrankenFender
This Fender “Jazzmaster” was a special order made by Dennis Galuszka in Fender’s custom shop. Frank’s friend (and occasional PG contributor) Mike Adams (the “Obi-Wan of offsets”) scooped up a ’60s Jazzmaster from the corner of a flooded-out basement somewhere, and after some fix-ups, nicknamed it “Pancake” for its flat, playable neck. Iero was obsessed with it, and asked his friend if he’d loan “Pancake” to Galuszka to scan and recreate the neck. The first result of that collaboration goes on tour with My Chemical Romance, while this second one comes out with L.S. Dunes. It’s got a 25.5′′ scale length—Iero calls it his “Jag and a half”—and comes out for the last three songs of the set. It rocks blacked-out goldfoil pickups in the neck and middle positions, and a P-90 in the bridge. There’s a built-in killswitch on the upper bout, too.
Twin for the Win
Iero’s perfect pedal platform is the Fender Twin Reverb, which he runs into a Marshall 4x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
Frank Iero's Pedalboards
Iero’s main board, which stays at his feet, is controlled by a Carl Martin Octa-Switch II system. It’s got a Jackson Audio 1484 Twin Twelve Pedal, Boss TR-2, EHX POG, Amplified Nation Bigger Bloom, Temple Devices Reel Dealuxe, EHX Holy Grail Nano, Boss DM-2W, Boss CH-1, EHX Synth9, Boss GE-7, SNK Pedals VHD, Fulltone Fat-Boost, and EQD Ghost Echo. All those toys are kept in line by his Ernie Ball volume pedal and a TC Electronic PolyTune 3.
Iero’s second, always-on board stays safe behind his amp. It has a 29 Pedals OAMP, Bowman Audio Endeavors Bowman Overdrive, and 29 Pedals EUNA, which form the basis of his tone.
- Rig Rundown: My Chemical Romance's Frank Iero ›
- The Big 5: Coheed and Cambria's Travis Stever ›
- Rig Rundown: Coheed and Cambria [2022] ›
Godin unlocked a lot doors for players when they first introduced their popular Multiac. They continue striving to improve their design with slight tweaks and this year was no different as they brought a pair dazzlers that have new, comfier neck shapes (designed to lure the electric player to the nylon-based instrument) and dreamy finishes like the Opalburst (with a maple fretboard) & Oceanburst (with a richlite fretboard). They also are packed with updated custom-voiced LR Baggs electronics. Both models have hollowed silver leaf maple bodies & necks, a solid cedar top with figured flame leap top (that's sunken into the body).
Fishman introduced a new set of Greg Koch signatures, the Gristle-Tone ST Strat-style trio, at NAMM 2025, as part of its Fluence series. They are remarkably hi-fi sounding, with exceptional definition, clarity, and punch. And while they come stock in Koch’s latest Reverend Signature model, the Gristle ST, you can get ’em from Fishman for your S-style axe at $269 (street) per set. PS: You gotta watch the demo video!
Naw, this ain’t a DI. It’s Radial’s NAMM-fresh Highline passive line isolator, which comes in mono ($179 street) and stereo ($249), and uses premium Jensen transformers to preserve your signal’s pure sound. The Highline takes 1/4" cable (with XLR outs) for connecting amp simulators or pedals to your amps or a DAW. It’s compact and pedalboard friendly, and the Mono version sums stereo sources down to mono. The Stereo can take four 1/4 ” inputs and deliver a stereo signal, but it can also sum stereo sources down to mono. And it fits snugly under a pedalboard.
Ren Ferguson is a master luthier and has worked with several companies throughout his impressive career, but his current venture is building custom instruments under his own name (with some help from family). He's putting all the knowledge and expertise he's absorbed over the decades he's worked constructing workhorse guitars that not only sound stellar, but look the part, too. He showed us his slope-shouldered dread that was a clydesdale of an acoustic that looked regal and sounded powerful.