Nashville guitarist Jack Ruch has made a name for himself on YouTube and Instagram, where he shares lessons and instructional videos that help guitarists take their playing to the next level. But he can be found performing all the time on stages around Music City, too, and back in March, he appeared at 3rd and Lindsley. That’s where PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with him for this Rig Rundown, which covers Ruch’s tasteful, tone-ful live rig. We’ve summarized the highlights below, but tune in to the video for all the details and sound samples.
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Three Amigos
Ruch depends on this trio out on the road. The 1963 Gibson ES-335 is his favorite, and his main instrument. It features original nylon saddles, which he says help mellow the brightness of the neck pickup (where he spends most of his playing time).
To its left is a Danocaster T-Style, built by Dan Strain in West Nashville specifically to look like Robben Ford’s Telecaster. It’s used for “Tele things,” and features ThroBak pickups, providing a neutral, versatile sound. Again, the neck pickup is Ruch’s home turf.
On the right is Ruch’s Historic Makeovers Les Paul, which he acquired earlier this year at Historic Makeovers, just north of Orlando, Florida. This LP was modified with a Brazilian rosewood fretboard and a reshaped neck. Ruch ordered it online without playing it, and so far, he couldn’t be happier with the decision.
All of Ruch’s guitars have D’Addario NYXL strings (.010–.046).
Dynamic Duo
Ruch runs a classic combination of a Fender Princeton Reverb (circa 1966, Ruch believes) and a boutique clone of a Fender tweed Deluxe, built by Lazy J in England. The Princeton has an old 10" Eminence speaker, and the Lazy J has a Celestion Blue. Both are set for clean rhythm tones.
Jack Ruch’s Pedalboard
Ruch’s tidy board was assembled by the gurus at Nashville’s XAct Tone Solutions. It includes a TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Noir, Analog Man King of Tone, Vemuram Budi-G, Analog Man Boss TR-2, Strymon Brigadier, and Catalinbread Topanga.
![Rig Rundown: All Them Witches [2026]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=65403822&width=1245&height=700&quality=70&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C0)
