When you’re one of the most recorded guitarists in Nashville, you make sure you can cover all the bases. Watch this in-depth look at the amazing vintage guitars, rare amps, and massive pedalboard that inspires one of Nashville’s first-call session players.
Tom Bukovac has recorded over 600 albums with artists as diverse as Steven Tyler, Carrie Underwood, Don Henley, Willie Nelson, Blake Shelton, Stevie Nicks, and Sheryl Crow. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with “Buk” in his natural habitat, Blackbird Studios, where he was just finishing day one of a two-day tracking session for the new Gary Allan album.
Because one never really knows what’s going to be needed on a session, Bukovac usually brings a lot of options. One favorite is this 1961 Gibson SG Les Paul in a custom factory black finish. It’s estimated there were only three of these made. This SG, like all of his electrics, stays strung up with D’Addario NYXL .010s.
Bukovac is known as a 335 whisperer. His current favorite is this 1958 Gibson ES-335.
Bukovac’s 1965 Gibson non-reverse Firebird I features a very rare Ember Red finish that came straight from the factory.
For some Bigsby goodness, Bukovac plays a 1961 Gretsch 6120.
Bukovac reaches for this 1938 Martin OOO-18 strung with D’Addario .012s when he needs some acoustic vibes.
Buk typically carries four different amp heads on sessions. Each head can be switched to feed a Bogner 2x12 cab loaded with a pair of older Celestion 65 speakers. On the top of the amp stack sits this ’68 100-watt Marshall Super Bass.
Next up is Bukovac’s rare 1968 Sunn Coliseum PA head. It’s the same model that was used by Leslie West on “Mississippi Queen.”
This 1990 Matchless HC-30 is one of Bukovac’s most prized amps. It was one of the first four Matchless amps that were made on founder Rick Perrotta’s kitchen table.
Last but not least is Bukovac’s 1962 Fender Bassman.
For a combo amp, Bukovac uses this 1960 Gretsch 6161. (This is the amp you hear throughout the Rundown.) Originally the 6161 came with two oval 6" by 9" speakers and a tweeter, but the previous owner switched it to a single 12".
Barry O’ Neal at XAct Tone Solutions built this and several of Bukovac’s other pedalboards. Essentially, the board is divided into two sections: gain and effects. The gain section includes a Vertex Boost, (connect to a Dunlop expression pedal), a rehoused Nobels ODR-1, an Analog Man King of Tone, an old ProCo Rat, a Greer Lightspeed and a Spontaneous Audio Son of Kong. On the other side of the board, there is a Boss GE-7, an Ibanez PQ-9, an EarthQuaker Devices Dispatch Master, a Line 6 M9 with a JHV-3 mod, a Strymon Brigadier, a Strymon Lex, an Eventide H9, an Electro-Harmonix POG 2, a Boss VB-2, a Boss TR-2 with a Robert Keeley mod, and a TC Electronic Polytune. Bukovac also carries a few drawers of extra pedals that he subs in if it fits the songs, such as a Collision Audio Devices Black Hole Symmetry, a 1973 EHX “Ram’s Head” Big Muff, and more.
The last piece in Bukovac’s signal path is this Ebo Custom E-Verb built by local musician and amp builder Eric Borash.
Greg Voros and all the guys at Gruhns
Nick Drushel and all the guys at Glasers
Eric Borash at Ebo Customs
Barry O’ Neal at XActone
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D'Addario American Stage Cables:https://www.daddario.com/AmericanStageRR
Metallica's M72 World Tour will be extended into a third year with 21 North American shows spanning April, May, and June 2025.
The M72 World Tour’s 2025 itinerary will continue the hallowed No Repeat Weekend tradition, with each night of the two-show stands featuring entirely different setlists and support lineups. These will include the band’s first Nashville shows in five years on May 1 and 3 at Nissan Stadium, as well as Metallica’s return to Tampa after 15 years on June 6 and 8 at Raymond James Stadium. M72 has also confirmed its much anticipated Bay Area hometown play, to take place June 20 and 22 with the band’s debut performances at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
In a new twist, M72 2025 will feature several single shows bringing the tour’s full production, with its massive in-the-round stage, to venues including two college football stadiums: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York on April 19, and Metallica's first ever visit to Blacksburg, Virginia, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies. The May 7 show at Lane Stadium will mark the culmination of 20+ years of “Enter Sandman” playing as the Hokies take the field.
In addition to playing football stadiums across the nation, the M72 World Tour’s 2025 itinerary will also include two festival headlines—the first being the opening night of the run April 12 at Sick New World at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. May 9 and 11 will then mark a festival/No Repeat Weekend combo as Metallica plays two headline sets at Sonic Temple at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Support on M72’s 2025 North American run will come from Pantera, Limp Bizkit, Suicidal Tendencies and Ice Nine Kills. See below for specifics.
Additionally, M72 2025 will see Metallica’s long-awaited return to Australia and New Zealand.
M72’s 2025 North American leg is produced by Live Nation and presented by new sponsor inKind. inKind rewards diners with special offers and credit back when they use the app to pay at 2,000+ top-rated restaurants nationwide. The company provides innovative financing to participating restaurants in a way that enables new levels of sustainability and success. Metallica fans can learn more at inkind.com.
Citi is the official card of the M72 tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, September 24 at 10am local time until Thursday, September 26 at 10pm local time through the Citi Entertainment program.
Verizon will offer an exclusive presale for the M72 tour in the U.S through Verizon Access, just for being a customer. Verizon Access Presale tickets for select shows will begin Tuesday, September 24 at 10am local time until Thursday, September 26 at 10pm local time.
* Citi and Verizon presales will not be available for Sick New World, Sonic Temple or the Toronto dates. Verizon presale will not be available for the Nashville, Blacksburg or Landover shows.
As always, a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold will go to local charities via the band’s All Within My Hands foundation. Established in 2017 as a way to give back to communities that have supported Metallica over the years, All Within My Hands has raised over $15 million – providing $8.2 million in grants to career and technical education programs including the ground-breaking Metallica Scholars Initiative, now in its sixth year, over $3.6 million to combat food insecurity, more than $3.5 million to disaster relief efforts.
For more information, please visit metallica.com.
Metallica M72 North America 2025 Tour Dates
April 12 Las Vegas, NV Sick New World @ Las Vegas Festival Grounds
April 19 Syracuse, NY JMA Wireless Dome *
April 24 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre *
April 26 Toronto, ON Rogers Centre +
May 1 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium *
May 3 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium +
May 7 Blacksburg, VA Lane Stadium *
May 9 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 11 Columbus, OH Sonic Temple @ Historic Crew Stadium
May 23 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field +
May 25 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field *
May 28 Landover, MD Northwest Stadium *
May 31 Charlotte, NC Bank of America Stadium *
June 3 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium *
June 6 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium +
June 8 Tampa, FL Raymond James Stadium *
June 14 Houston, TX NRG Stadium *
June 20 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium +
June 22 Santa Clara, CA Levi's Stadium *
June 27 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High +
June 29 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High *
* Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies support
+ Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills supp
Beetronics FX Tuna Fuzz pedal offers vintage-style fuzz in a quirky tuna can enclosure.
With a single "Stinker" knob for volume control and adjustable fuzz gain from your guitar's volume knob, this pedal is both unique and versatile.
"The unique tuna can format embodies the creative spirit that has always been the heart of Beetronics, but don’t let the unusual package fool you: the Tuna Fuzz is a serious pedal with great tone. It offers a preset level of vintage-style fuzz in a super simple single-knob format. Its “Stinker” knob controls the amount of volume boost. You can control the amount of fuzz with your guitar’s volume knob, and the Tuna Fuzz cleans up amazingly well when you roll back the volume on your guitar. To top it off, Beetronics has added a cool Tunabee design on the PCB, visible through the plastic back cover."
The Tuna Fuzz draws inspiration from Beetronics founder Filipe's early days of tinkering, when limitedfunds led him to repurpose tuna cans as pedal enclosures. Filipe even shared his ingenuity by teachingclasses in Brazil, showing kids how to build pedals using these unconventional housings. Although Filipe eventually stopped making pedals with tuna cans, the early units were a hit on social media whenever photos were posted.
Tuna Fuzz features include:
- Single knob control – “Stinker” – for controlling output volume
- Preset fuzz gain, adjustable from your guitar’s volume knob
- 9-volt DC operation using standard external power supply – no battery compartment
- True bypass switching
One of the goals of this project was to offer an affordable price so that everyone could own a Beetronicspedal. For that reason, the pedal will be sold exclusively on beetronicsfx.com for a sweet $99.99.
For more information, please visit beetronicsfx.com.
What are Sadler’s favorite Oasis jams? And if he ever shares a bill with Oasis and they ask him onstage, what song does he want to join in on?
Once the news of the Oasis reunion got out, Sadler Vaden hit YouTube hard on the tour bus, driving his bandmates crazy. The Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit guitarist has been a Noel Gallagher mega-fan since he was a teenager, so he joined us to wax poetic about Oasis’ hooks, Noel’s guitar sound, and the band’s symphonic melodies. What are Sadler’s favorite Oasis jams? And if he ever shares a bill with Oasis and they ask him onstage, what song does he want to join in on?
Check out the Epiphone Noel Gallagher Riviera Dark Wine Red at epiphone.com
EBS introduces the Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit, featuring dual anchor screws for secure fastening and reliable audio signal.
EBS is proud to announce its adjustable flat patch cable kit. It's solder-free and leverages a unique design that solves common problems with connection reliability thanks to its dual anchor screws and its flat cable design. These two anchor screws are specially designed to create a secure fastening in the exterior coating of the rectangular flat cable. This helps prevent slipping and provides a reliable audio signal and a neat pedal board and also provide unparalleled grounding.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable is designed to be easy to assemble. Use the included Allen Key to tighten the screws and the cutter to cut the cable in desired lengths to ensure consistent quality and easy assembling.
The EBS Solder-Free Flat Patch Cable Kit comes in two sizes. Either 10 connector housings with 2,5 m (8.2 ft) cable or 6 connectors housings with 1,5 m (4.92 ft) cable. Tools included.
Use the EBS Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit to make cables to wire your entire pedalboard or to create custom-length cables to use in combination with any of the EBS soldered Flat Patch Cables.
Estimated Price:
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: $ 59,99
MAP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: $ 79,99
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 6 pcs: 44,95 €
MSRP Solder-free Flat Patch Cable Kit 10 pcs: 64,95 €
For more information, please visit ebssweden.com.