A blues-rock guitar hero and American music treasure shows us some of the gemstones in his 6-string strongbox, shares an amp with some history, and displays the onboard filter and select stomps he uses to goose his rich tone.
Tinsley Ellis broke onto the national blues scene with his early ’80s band, the Heartfixers. By late in the decade, when the Atlanta-based guitarist and singer began releasing albums under his own name, he also became a fixture in the genre’s international club and festival circuit. Over the years he's earned a reputation for full-throttle live shows and well-crafted albums that hinge on his powerful singing and on his playing, which is based in tradition but packed with signature moves like deft finger slides, the use of open, ringing strings in single-note solos, and bends borrowed from B.B. King but laden with his own emotionalism and rock 'n' roll energy.
Ellis has been a seemingly tireless road warrior—at least until Covid. But even the pandemic couldn't slow his songwriting, and he penned more than 200 new titles while in lockdown. You can hear 10 of those tunes, including 6-string bonfires like “Slow Train To Hell,” on his new album Devil May Care—the 20th in his catalog. Back on the road this year, Ellis stopped at Nashville’s 3rd & Lindsley on March 3, where he showed Premier Guitar his rig and told stories of close encounters with B.B. King and other greats after soundcheck and, that night, delivered a sermon on the power and glory of blues. His current run continues until the end of May, and Ellis has just been nominated in the 2022 Blues Music Awards for Blue-Rock Entertainer of the Year.
Brought to you byD’Addario XPND Pedalboard.
Meet the Fleet
Tinsley Ellis favors classic tone flavors, and he gets them through classic guitars. At the 3rd & Lindsley gig, he relied on his 1959 Fender Stratocaster, his mid-’60s Gibson ES-345, a 1930s National resonator, and an ’80s Gibson Moderne. He also travels with a Les Paul and another Strat when the mood or need arises.
A Fine ’59
Here's a close-up of that 1959 Strat. It's been one of his companions for decades. When asked if he’s concerned about traveling with such a superb vintage instrument, he replies: “I own ’em to play ’em.” And indeed he does, eliciting a wide variety of classic single-coil tones from its barking pickups as he dances over its rosewood neck. One snag: the middle single-coil is a replacement, because the original was swiped years ago when he brought the guitar in for a repair. Ouch!
Tinsley's No. 1
Dig that Varitone switch—which means this 1967 Gibson is an ES-345. It's Ellis' main axe and sounds killer through his double Fender amp setup and under his hands. “I bought this guitar in the ’70s, because I wanted to sound like B.B. King,“ he says. He loves the way the Varitone works as a filter, giving him that B.B. King Live at the Regal tone on demand, and even taking him into Peter Green turf. You can see every road mile on the ES’s beautifully weathered face. This guitar and the Strat are featured throughout the Devil May Care album, along with a Les Paul and several other carefully curated axes.
A Unmodded Moderne
Although Gibson designed the Moderne in 1957, along with the Flying V and Explorer, it was not produced—save for a few prototypes—until 1982. Even then, few were made over just two years, although the guitar returned to Gibson's catalog in 2012. Ellis keeps his stock Moderne tuned in open D, primarily, for playing slide, and the guitar seems to have an affinity for Elmore James’ material.
Where's Pokey?
Note the Moderne's very un-Gibson-like “Gumby” headstock!
Take a Shine to This!
This is a 1932 National resonator, with its chrome body decorated by an oasis motif on the front and back. Ellis keeps this little doggie, a recent acquisition, mostly tuned in open G, and when he plays Muddy Waters' “Can't Be Satisfied,” laying his bronze slide on its strings, it's impossible to not be carried back to the days this guitar—and the blues genre—were young.
Silver Beaches
Here's the backside of Ellis' National.
A Super Super Reverb and Its Deluxe Sidekick
Ellis is a die-hard Fender amp fan and runs his vintage Super Reverb and reissue Deluxe in parallel to achiever his widescreen tone. This Super Reverb is a little more super than meets the eye. Ellis purchased the 40-watt wonder from Thom Doucette, who played harmonica with the Allman Brothers on the classic 1971 album At Fillmore East. Doucette owned two Supers, he and told Ellis he either played this one or its sibling—he no longer remembered exactly which he'd used—on the nights the album was recorded. Oh, and one more thing: This amp was also used by Stevie Ray Vaughan whenever he sat in with Ellis, who told us he hasn't changed the settings—volume at 6, treble just past 8, mid at 6, bass at 3, and reverb just past 2—since the first time SRV plugged into it. “When I heard Stevie play though that amp, I thought, ‘Aha, that's how it's supposed to be set!'”
Basic Burners
Ellis keeps his pedalboard simple. There’s a Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner and a BBE Soul Vibe rotary speaker emulator—way easier to carry than the Leslie heard on Devil May Care—followed by a Nobles ODR-1 Natural Overdrive and a Real McCoy Custom Wah.
- Song Premiere: Tinsley Ellis' “Sound of a Broken Man” - Premier Guitar ›
- DIY: How to Set Up a Fender Stratocaster - Premier Guitar ›
- The Mysterious Gibson Moderne - Premier Guitar ›
- Blues Guitarist Tinsley Ellis’ Acoustic Debut, Naked Truth ›
- Blues Guitarist Tinsley Ellis’ Acoustic Debut, Naked Truth ›
Hand-crafted in Petaluma, California, this amp features upgrades while maintaining the original's legendary tone.
The Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo Head’s arrival in 1992 was a watershed moment for alternative rock and metal that changed everything; heavy music would never sound the same again, and the Dual Rectifier’s crushing, harmonically rich tone became the most sought-after guitar sound of the era. With a feel as empowering as its sound, the Rectifiers provided an ease of playing that supported and elevated proficiency and was inspirational, rewarding, and addictive.
Its sound and impact on the generation that used it to define what rock music would become were as sweeping as they have been lasting. And it remains arguably the most modeled in today’s digital amp landscape. Now, the 90s Dual Rectifier is back with a vengeance, built in Petaluma, California, by the same artisans who made the originals the most desirable high-gain guitar amplifier of all time.
For more information, please visit mesaboogie.com.
MESA/Boogie 90s Dual Rectifier full demo & tutorial ft. Doug West & Tommy Waugh - YouTube
Mesa/Boogie '90s Dual Rectifier 100-watt Tube Head - Black Diamond Faceplate
2 Channel HeadJohn Bohlinger gets the run-around from Keeley with their new, deep-and-watery chorus and Leslie-like modulator.
Rotary speaker cabinets impart a one-of-a-kind type of chorus effect. This pedal faithfully recreates the swirling textures and vintage warmth of those rotary cabinets. Tucked inside Keeley's laser cut aluminum case is a brand new set of circuit boards delivering the finest tone we've ever achieved.
KEY FEATURES:
- Sculpt your rotary tones with our finest sounds to date
- Updated circuits for maximum fidelity
- Simple and intuitive controls for live and studio use
- New LED speed indicator - Become one with the sound
- True Stereo for perfect integration in modern rigs
- True or Buffered Bypass - Switchable on the fly
Featuring Bluetooth input, XLR inputs, and advanced amplifier platform, the KC12 is designed to offer exceptional sound quality and versatility for a wide range of applications.
The KC12 is a first-of-its-kind, 3-way, 3000-watt active loudspeaker system encompassing the visual aesthetic of a column loudspeaker while surpassing the acoustic performance of conventional designs. Simple and easy to deploy, the elegant KC12, available in black and white, is ideal for a wide range of customers and applications from solo entertainers, musicians and bands, mobile entertainers and DJs to corporate AV, event production, and static installations.
Column-style portable loudspeaker systems are most often put into service due to their unobtrusive form factor. However, typical designs lack clarity and definition, particularly when pushed to high output levels, forcing the user into a form-over-function compromise. Solving this common dilemma, the KC12 cleverly utilizes a 3-way design featuring QSC’s patented LEAF™ waveguide (first introduced in L Class Active Line Array Loudspeakers) combined with a true 1-inch compression driver, two 4-inch midrange drivers, and a high output 12-inch subwoofer, while still maintaining the desired, elegant appearance of a “column” system. The KC12 produces an outstanding full-range horizontal coverage of 145 degrees and 35 degrees of audience-directed vertical coverage with clean and natural sound at all output levels.
The system features three inputs: a Bluetooth ® input combined with a 3.5 mm TRS stereo input, as well as two combo XLR inputs (Mic/Line/Hi-Z and Mic/Line/+48 V), with independent, assignableFactory Presets for each XLR input, making it ideal for small events where two microphones are needed for different uses. The rear panel incorporates a multi-function digital display, offering control and selection of several loudspeaker functions, including Global Parametric EQ, Subwoofer level, Presets and Scenes, Bluetooth configuration, Delay (maximum of 200 ms), or Reverb. Bluetooth functionality also provides True Wireless Stereo (TWS), which ensures low latency pairing between the music source and both left and right loudspeakers simultaneously.
Additionally, the KC12 can be deployed with or without its lower column pole, making the system ideally suited for utilization on a floor, riser or raised stage. The system is backed by a 6-year Extended Warranty (with product registration).
“The KC12 exquisitely resolves the form-over-function compromise that has frustrated users of this category of products since they made their market introduction over 20 years ago,” states David Fuller, VP of Product Development, QSC Audio. “With the benefit of time, experience, extensive customer research, and cutting-edge innovation, our talented design team has truly created something very different from the status quo – not simply a differentiated product, but an overall better solution for the customer.”
The feature set and performance characteristics of the KC12 are complemented by a new, advanced amplifier platform, first incorporated into the L Class LS118 subwoofer released this past October. Fuller adds, “Among the platform’s key attributes are layers of real-time telemetry and protection to ensure uninterrupted performance day after day, which is a foundational QSC brand attribute.”
“Just like our first K Series reset the bar for powered loudspeakers, elevating customers’ expectations for performance, quality, reliability, usability, and professional appearance, the K Column offers a compelling, new approach to a familiar category and is destined to redefine the whole notion of what a ‘column’ is for users of portable PA products,” states Ray van Straten, VPBrand, Marketing & amp; Training, QSC Audio. “The product is simply stunning in its sleek and elegant appearance, but with the marketing tagline, ‘Just Listen’, we’re confident that once again, QSC sound quality will ultimately be the reason customers will quickly embrace the K Column as the next ‘New Standard’ in its category.”
The QSC KC12 K Column carries a MAP price of $1,999.
For more information, please visit qsc.com.
This pedal is designed to offer both unique distortion qualities and a tonal palette of sonic possibilities.
At the heart of the Harvezi Hazze pedal is a waveshaper designed around a unijunction transistor - a relic from the early days of the semiconductor industry unearthed from the e-waste bins of flea markets in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Eastern European country's largest city.
The unijunction transistor offers unique properties allowing one simple component to replace a number of very complex devices. Therefore. depending on the operating mode, users can access a distortion, a limiter, a waveshaper and a generator - with smooth transitions among each of these.
The name "Harvezi Hazze" translates from Georgian as "a fault on the transmission line" or "signal jamming", and both the semantic and phonetic nature of these translations imply what users can expect: an impediment to the input signal, which can range from pleasant harmonic distortions to complete obliteration. The signal chain of Harvezi Hazze consists of an optical compressor with fixed parameters; a dual-mode distorting amplifier with either softer or harsher clipping; a waveshaper built around a unijunction transistor; and a tone stack section designed to tame these sonic building blocks.
Signal flow and controls
Following the input, the signal goes to the Compressor, Distorting Amplifier, Waveshaper, and then to the Tone Stack and output stages. Harvezi Hazze features six control knobs, a three-way switch and a footswitch.
- Gain Control: This controls the output amplitude of the signal in the distorting amplifier section. Depending on the position of the switch, the distortion introduced by this section is soft (with the switch in the left position) or more aggressive with an abundance of high harmonics (with the switch in the middle position).
- Spoil and Spread: This knob controls the operation of the unijunction transistor (waveshaper section). Spoil sets the point on the amplitude axis at which the wave will fold, and Spread sets the amplitude of the folding. The higher the Spread value, the more severe the distortion will be, while Spoil will change the timbre and response threshold. By adjusting Spoil, users can achieve various gating and cutoff effects; at low Spread values, distortion sounds are mixed into the clean sound.
- Tone: This knob adjusts the brightness of the sound. With higher values, higher harmonics become present in the signal.
- Three-way switch. This feature regulates either the distortion mode in the amplifier section (left and center positions), or turns on the total feedback mode (right position) when the values of all knobs begin to influence each other. In this position, effects occur such as resonance at certain frequencies and self-oscillation.
- Level knob: This controls the output volume of the signal.
- Footswitch: This routes the signal through the effect circuitry or from input to output directly (true bypass).
The array of switches on the side of the unit provides even further tonal options; the lower position of the switch enables the specific function:
- Tone Stack: Routes the signal through the tone stack section (Tone knob).
- Bass Boost: Enhances bass frequencies.
- Tone Mode: Changes the behavior of the Tone knob (tilt or lowpass).
- Notch Freq: Changes the central frequency of the filter.
- High Cut: Attenuates high frequencies.
- Compressor: Routes the signal through the compressor.
Harvezi Hazze is priced at €290. To learn more, please visit https://somasynths.com/harvezi-hazze/.