Irishman Kryz Reid details additions to his Star Wars family of guitars and why he went from vintage to digital, while Stephan Jenkins’ tech explains why price tags don't matter.
Before the band's co-headlining slot alongside Jimmy Eat World at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater, lead guitarist Kryz Reid took some time with PG's Perry Bean to update us not only on the additions to his guitar arsenal (yes, he still names them after Star Wars characters, although he has avoided using Jar Jar Binks), but also explains why he stored away his vintage Marshalls and Custom Shop Fender heads in order to embrace the 21st-century power of a Kemper. In addition, we get a peek at lead singer/guitarist Stephan Jenkins' lineup of electrics and acoustics thanks to tech Danny Nolan.
This is Kryz Reid’s No. 1 Gibson Les Paul. It’s named “The Emperor,” and is a custom ’59 made with aged wood and outfitted with relic’d hardware.
This Gibson SG (that’s actually Stephan’s guitar) is only in the touring vault because “Blinded” is in the set within a melody of jams and requires an odd tuning (F–A–C–F–A–E).
Another one the modern side, Kryz Reid plays a 2011 Fano JM6 named “Fett.” Based on a Jazzmaster, the guitar has Lindy Fralin P-90s in the neck and bridge positions and a Bigsby vibrato.
This is Kryz Reid’s Fano TC6 that’s named after Maul.
In our 2014 episode with Kryz Reid, he was traveling with a stock 1966 Fender Telecaster Custom, but this Fender Custom Shop Tele has taken over the touring duties and name of “TK-421.”
This is Kryz Reid’s 2009 Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul named “Tarkin” that is tuned a half-step up.
Here is the newest addition to Kryz Reid’s guitar family—a 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional II that comes with pull pots, but he wanted the guitar to be as black as possible (to match its dark name, “Vader”) so all the pots and pickguard were exchanged for something a tad eviler.
One of the newest guitars brought in by Kryz Reid is this Gibson Custom Shop R8 Les Paul that he’s dubbed “BB-8.” All of his guitars use D’Addario strings—this one and all other standard-tuned instruments take .010s. Guitars that are tuned down a whole step take .011s, and anything tuned lower than that uses .012s so Reid has a consistent feel under his fingertips.
This Gibson Custom Shop R0 Les Paul is nicknamed “Tydirium.” Reid keeps it tuned to open D (D–A–D–F#–A–D). It has a weight-relief body with a ’60s profile neck. Kryz shyly admits that it came specially loaded with a set of the same humbuckers put in Jimmy Page’s Custom No. 2.
For stage volume, feedback, and the ultimate, last-ditch backup, Kryz Reid has the Fender Tone-Master ready to rock. The custom finish was done by TokiDoki creator and Italian artist Simone Legno.
In our 2014 Rig Rundown, Kryz Reid was all tube, all day (using a ’93 Custom Shop Fender Tone-Master with a 1965 Marshall Plexi), but since then, and at the behest of the band’s FOH, he and Stephan made the move to the Kemper Profiler. Kryz admits in the video he was a big-time skeptic, but after working with “Dr. Kemper” aka Michael Britt to profile all his tube amps into the Kemper, he was onboard for the ease of touring.
And everything is under Kryz Reid’s control via his feet thanks to this RJM Mastermind GT and a trifecta of Mission Engineering EP-1 pedals.
This Gibson ES-335 used to be Stephan Jenkins’ longtime No. 1 before the Iceman came into the picture.
A second Gibson Explorer that is set to DADGAD for the song “Wounded.”
Here’s an old Gibson Explorer that Stephan Jenkins’ hasn’t toured with since 2002/03.
Paul Stanley’s John Hancock on the guitar’s back plate.
Stephan Jenkins' 1981 Ibanez Iceman
Before you laugh, you gotta watch the opening part of the video where Stephan Jenkins’ tech Danny Nolan explains why and how this became Perkins main ride. Yes, you read that right, a 1981 bolt-on neck Ibanez Iceman is Stephan Jenkins favorite touring guitar. About 10 days before the Nashville date, one of Danny Nolan’s buddies called him up and said that he just got an old Ibanez Iceman signed by Paul Stanley and wondered if he or Stephan would want it. Well, after inspecting it, it was determined it was obviously an import guitar from the early ’80s with a single owner. Danny bought the guitar for less than a new Squier and was walking back to the bus when Stephan spotted the black beast. He grabbed it, took it on the bus, and at soundcheck the next day, Stephan plugged it and blew the FOH guy away. It’s been Stephan’s go-to ever since because it sounds like Dokken—loud and raunchy!
Stephan Jenkins' 1954 Gibson LG-3
During a visit to the tone heaven that is Chicago Music Exchange, Stephan Jenkins nabbed this 1954 Gibson LG-3 and now uses it for most of the acoustic numbers. And to bring its voice to life onstage, tech Danny Nolan put in a Fishman Matrix pickup system.
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Luthier Creston Lea tells us about his favorite dirt pedal—an Athens, Georgia-made stomp that lets his guitar be a hero.
Let’s face it: Nobody can tell what overdrive pedal you’re using. Whether you’re in a carpeted suburban basement accompanying the hired clown at your nephew’s fifth birthday party or standing on the spot-lit monitor at Wembley, not one person knows whether the pedal at your feet cost $17 or $700, has true bypass, or has an internal DIP switch. Nobody leaning against the barn-dance corncrib or staunching a nosebleed up in the stadium’s cheap seats is thinking, “Heavens yes!! THAT is the sound of a silicone diode!”
So, why buy another overdrive pedal? Or six more? Are they different? (I’m asking myself.) Of course they’re different. (I’m telling myself.) A Turbo Rat is not aKlon. ATube Screamer is not a DS-1. Or is it? I can’t keep track. Why? Because it’s fun to see what the talented manufacturers of the world have to offer. And because any reader who picks up a guitar magazine for any reason other than to swat a fly is curious about what’s new and what other players are using to good effect. You can blow your savings on a guitar—I’d be happy to build you one—or an amp (or vacation or college or discount merlot or a regrettable whole-back tattoo), or you can spend $100 to $300 to satisfy your curiosity. Will anybody in the audience notice? Unlikely. Will you feel better for five minutes or the rest of your life? Maybe. Seems worth rolling the dice from time to time. Nobody gets hurt. And sometimes you’ll find a pedal that pulls something good out of your playing simply by responding to the way you play … which makes you play in new ways, etc., etc., in an infinite loop of delight. Or at least infinite till the next pedal comes along. It feels good. In a troubled and imperfect world, is it so wrong to feel good?
I bought my first overdrive pedal, a well-usedMXR Distortion+, for $25 in 1991. Surely, I could have stopped there. But many others have come and gone in the years since. Have I bought a pedal, sold it, bought it again, sold it again? More than once.
I’ve mostly, finally outgrown the desire for new pedals, but I’m not immune to the occasional itch. Sometimes a trusted brand introduces something I just haveto hear for myself. That’s particularly true in the case of smaller-scale builders whose ears I’ve learned to trust. I’m going to like everythingChris Benson of Benson Amps or Brian Mena of Menatone ever makes, for example, so why not hear it all? Sometimes it’s alluring copywriting that makes me reach for my wallet. Sometimes they just look cool.
Maybe in my case, I just can’t resist a name like Supa Cobra. Sometimes, I’d like very much for my guitar to sound exactly like a supa cobra. When Greer Amps first introduced their Supa Cobra six years ago—described as delivering “chewy medium gain overdrive to awesome crunchy grind!”—I was immediately intrigued.
Oh, how I love the Supa Cobra—a woefully underappreciated pedal now only available from Greer by special request. I’m sure there are smart players who have discovered the joys of its lower-gain settings, but for me it’s perfect for punching through sonic mud and letting my guitar be heard. It lets my guitar be a hero.
I like it best with its 3-way clipping switch set to the middle position, which, according to Greer, bypasses the other modes’ clipping diodes and lets the op amp’s natural drive come through. I can’t say I know exactly what that means, but I know it’s loud and clear and compressed in just the right way to let sustained notes really sing out in a natural, power amp-y manner.
The Supa Cobra’s greatest feature may be the body control that dials in low-end presence without adding any murk. At higher body settings, the notes push on my chest in a way that I find thrilling. I like it around 60 percent with the gain knob turned nearly full up. Perhaps excessive, but life is short. When it’s time to sound big, it’s the biggest-sounding pedal I’ve found. Lots of overtones, but not at the expense of clarity. It’s quick to jump into harmonic feedback at the gain-y settings I like best, but in a beautifully controlled way.
As a matter of fact, I think people do notice what overdrive pedal I’m using. Not that they know it’s a Supa Cobra, but it makes my guitar leap out in a way that so many other pedals have not. To borrow a word from Greer’s Lightspeed Organic Overdrive (also fantastic), it sounds organic. Or, very much unlike a wasp in a tuna can. I think it sounds like music. Loud music.A dual-channel tube preamp and overdrive pedal inspired by the Top Boost channel of vintage VOX amps.
ROY is designed to deliver sweet, ringing cleans and the "shattered" upper-mid breakup tones without sounding harsh or brittle. It is built around a 12AX7 tube that operates internally at 260VDC, providing natural tube compression and a slightly "spongy" amp-like response.
ROY features two identical channels, each with separate gain and volume controls. This design allows you to switch from clean to overdrive with the press of a footswitch while maintaining control over the volume level. It's like having two separate preamps dialed in for clean and overdrive tones.
Much like the old amplifier, ROY includes a classic dual-band tone stack. This unique EQ features interactive Treble and Bass controls that inversely affect the Mids. Both channels share the EQ section.
Another notable feature of this circuit is the Tone Cut control: a master treble roll-off after the EQ. You can shape your tone using the EQ and then adjust the Tone Cut to reduce harshness in the top end while keeping your core sound.
ROY works well with other pedals and can serve as a clean tube platform at the end of your signal chain. It’s a simple and effective way to add a vintage British voice to any amp or direct rig setup.
ROY offers external channel switching and the option to turn the pedal on/off via a 3.5mm jack. The preamp comes with a wall-mount power supply and a country-specific plug.
Street price is 299 USD. It is available at select retailers and can also be purchased directly from the Tubesteader online store at www.tubesteader.com.
With a few clicks on Reverb, a reptile-inspired shred machine was born.
With this guitar, I wanted to create a shadowbox-type vibe by adding something you could see inside. I have always loved the Yamaha Pacifica guitars because of the open pickup cavity and the light weight, so I purchased this body off Reverb (I think I am addicted to that website). I also wanted a color that was vivid and bold. The seller had already painted it neon yellow, so when I read in the description, “You can see this body from space,” I immediately clicked the Buy It Now button. I also purchased the neck and pickups off of Reverb.
I have always loved the reverse headstock, simply because nothing says 1987 (the best year in the history of the world) like a reverse headstock. The pickups are both Seymour Duncan—an SH-1N in the neck position and TB-4 in the bridge, both in a very cool lime green color. Right when these pickups got listed, the Buy It Now button once again lit up like the Fourth of July. I am a loyal disciple of Sperzel locking tuners and think Bob Sperzel was a pure genius, so I knew those were going on this project even before I started on it. I also knew that I wanted a Vega-Trem; those units are absolutely amazing.
When the body arrived, I thought it would be cool to do some kind of burst around the yellow so I went with a neon green. It turned out better than I imagined. Next up was the shaping and cutting of the pickguard. I had this crocodile-type, faux-leather material that I glued on the pickguard and then shaped to my liking. I wanted just a single volume control and no tone knob, because, like King Edward (Van Halen) once said, “Your volume is your tone.”
T. Moody
I then shaped and glued the faux-leather material in the cavity. The tuning knobs, volume knob, pickguard, screws, and selector switch were also painted in the lemon-lime paint scheme. I put everything together, installed the pickups, strung it up, set it up, plugged it in, and I was blown away. I think this is the best-playing and -sounding guitar I have ever tried.
The only thing missing was the center piece and strap. The latter was easy because DiMarzio makes their ClipLock in neon green. The center piece was more difficult because originally, I was thinking that some kind of gator-style decoration would be cool. In the end, I went with a green snake, because crocodiles ain’t too flexible—and they’re way too big to fit in a pickup cavity!
The Green Snake’s back is just as striking as the front.
This hollowbody has been with Jack since the '90s purring and howling onstage for hundreds of shows.