Gales’ No. 1 is this Sonnet Raw Dawg II signature model by Magneto Guitars. This S-style axe features a hard-rock maple neck, East Indian rosewood fretboard with an 11" radius, medium C-shape neck, 22 narrow jumbo frets, and Lollar Blackface pickups.
His backup is this Xotic XS-1 loaded with Fishman Fluence Single Width pickups and a Super-Vee BladeRunner whammy bar. Both guitars are strung with Dunlop strings (.010-.046) and tuned to Eb.
The bluesman runs his 100-watt Two-Rock Eric Gales signature amp into two Pure Sixty-Four 2x12 ported cabinets loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s.
Gales’ signal hits the Boss TU-2 tuner and then a DigiTech Whammy 5, a Mojo Hand FX Colossus Fuzz, a Custom Audio Electronics wah (bling'd-out by Dunlop), an E.W.S. Eric Gales Brute Drive, an MXR Bass Envelope Filter, and a Tech 21 Boost D.L.A. And though the MXR EVH Flanger is still on his board, Gales says he’s currently not using it.
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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.
PG’s Chris Kies caught up with guitarist and vocalist James Guile at the Blue Room to find out how he builds the band’s bombastic guitar attack.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Devilish Dunable
Guile has been known to use Telecasters and Gretsches in the past, but this time out he’s sticking with this Dunable Cyclops DE, courtesy of Gwarsenio Hall—aka Jordan Olds of metal-themed comedy talk show Two Minutes to Late Night. Guile digs the Dunable’s 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 Guile’s Pedalboard
The Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and Hiwatt Filter Fuzz MkII run to the Orange, while everything else—a DigiTech Whammy, Pro Co Lil’ RAT, and Death by Audio Echo Dream 2—runs 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.
