Tom Butwin puts StewMac's new GuitarTek cleaning line to the test with the worst possible candidate: a neglected guitar from Facebook Marketplace. After finding the perfect subject, he brings it back to the studio to see what GuitarTek can actually do. Less than eight minutes later and after a round of total care cleaner, high-gloss polish, and fretboard conditioner, the results are hard to argue with.
Steve Vai and Joe Satriani rallied the SatchVai Band for an American spring tour this year, and ahead of their gig at PNC Pavilion near Cincinnati, their techs Michael Arms and Doug MacArthur showed PG’s John Bohlinger the tools of the titans. Tune into the full Rig Rundown for all the key details.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Gold Rush
This is Satriani’s signature Ibanez JS1GD, which is his main electric for this tour. It’s mostly stock, save for the fret wire, which has been swapped for Jescar nickel silver. He uses D’Addario strings (.009-.042) and has a DiMarzio Satchur8 pickup in the bridge position, paired with a Sustainiac in the neck.
Galaxies
This Ibanez signature was treated to a mindblowing custom paint job by Colorado-based artist Bon Villain. Stare at it long enough, and you might see some faces emerge from the depths…
Firebreathers
<p>Satriani plays through a set of 3rd Power DRGN 100 100-watt heads, which sound like hot-rodded Marshalls. The mono rig runs through two cabinets.</p>
Joe Satriani’s Pedalboard
<p>Satriani’s board includes a Vox Big Bad Wah, Voodoo Lab Proctavia, Radial SGI RX and Shotgun, TC Electronic Sub ‘N’ Up, MXR EVH Flanger, Tech 21 Midi Moose switcher, a 3rd Power footswitcher to control the amp, and two Fractal expression pedals which control chorus and delay provided by a <a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/tag/fender?utm_source=website&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=Smartlinks">Fender</a> Tone Master Pro backstage.</p>
Reimagined Evo
This instrument, nicknamed Revo, is intended to be a replica of Vai’s iconic Ibanez Jem “Evo” electric. When Vai decided to retire Evo from the road, Ibanez built him this twin to bring on tour, which they also relic’ed. MacArthur explains that Revo’s current neck was previously installed on Vai’s longtime number-one, Flo.
Vai-dra
Built by Ibanez and inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road, this three-headed beast comprises 7-string, 12-string, and 4-string bass guitars, among other features, all on one monstrous, steam-punk dream of a body.
Steve Vai’s Rack Rig
<p>Vai plays through a pair of Synergy SYN2 tube preamp modules. One of them is set dirty to mimic his Carvin Legacy amp, and another is prepped for clean tones based on a Fender Bassman. Each of them hits the Fractal Axe-Fx III, which splits into stereo signals going to the Fryette LXII power amp. The final stop is a 3rd Power 4x12 cabinet, loaded with Vintage 30s and adorned with art by Michael Mesker.</p>
Steve Vai’s Pedalboard
Vai’s slime-green board hosts a Fractal EV1 volume pedal and FC-12 Foot Controller, Lehle Little Lehle, RJM Mastermind LT, MXR Phase 90, Xotic EP Booster, Ibanez Jemini Distortion, DigiTech Whammy DT, and a Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q wah.
John Bohlinger gets his hands on the Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Seymour Duncan 50th Anniversary Telecaster, a faithful recreation of the personal guitar Seymour Duncan has played for over 50 years. The design traces back to the iconic guitar Seymour originally built for Jeff Beck, but features custom elements to Seymour's exact specifications. It's got a Gibson Tune-o-matic bridge, aged nitro finish, and a pair of exclusive hand-wound pickups that aren't available anywhere else.
Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition
50th Anniversary Telecaster®
Celebrate fifty years of tone innovation with the Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Seymour Duncan 50th Anniversary Telecaster. This faithful recreation of Seymour’s personal “TeleGib” features a unique pre-production variation of the JB/Jazz pickup set custom wound to Seymour’s specifications, authentic contours, and vintage-correct finish, offering players and collectors a limited chance to experience an important piece of guitar history.
Back in April, southern-rock staples Gov’t Mule rocked the Pinnacle in downtown Nashville, and before the festivities, PG’s Chris Kies hung out with bassist Kevin Scott to take a closer look at the low-ender’s rumbling rig. Later, Kies also sat down with bandleader Warren Haynes for an extended yarn session; that interview forms part two of this special Rig Rundown. Check out the highlights of Scott’s gear below, and queue up the video for all the details!
This is Scott’s signature Aluminati Guitar Co. Helios bass. Scott puts Avedissian Pickups, built in Atlanta, in all of his basses, including this one. It has a P-bass-style neck pickup in a T-Bird housing, and a T-Bird Soapbar in the bridge. He uses Dunlop strings, including nickel, flatwounds, and hybrid sets.
Slammer From ’62
This Korea-made Moollon P bass, modeled after a 1962 Fender, has an ebony fretboard and era-correct appointments, down to the amount of zinc in the metal, according to Scott.
Double-Headed Beast
<p>Scott runs through an Ampeg SVT-VR head and matching cab, with a Jad Freer Audio Sisma head on hand in case he wants more control over his EQ that the SVT offers. An Osiris PHILter pedal lives on the amp setup and helps fine-tune the sound.</p>
Kevin Scott’s Pedalboard
<p>Scott’s board packs a D’Addario Chromatic Pedal Tuner, Radial DI, <a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/tag/boss?utm_source=website&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=Smartlinks">Boss</a> OC-2, Electro-Harmonix Frequency Analyzer, Way Huge Pork Loin, MXR Sub Octave Bass Fuzz, MXR Ten Band EQ, and MXR Reverb. Off board, there’s an East Sound Research Carl Martin Match Box and an Ernie Ball VP JR.</p>
Tom Butwin digs into the MG-50Li, a new modeler/profiler from NUX that packs an impressive amount of capability into one floor unit. The MG-50Li runs NUX's TS-AC4K technology, which models the physical components of an amp circuit rather than just its output. Crank the treble and it affects gain and output the way a real amp would. The Deep Imaging gray box system lets you capture profiles of your own pedals and amplifiers up to six layers deep. Hardware-wise, it covers a lot of ground: built-in XLR DI outs, dual effects loops, USB-C recording interface, and a 5-inch LCD with five tactile knobs that make dialing in tones straightforward. Plus, the MG-50Li has a built-in lithium-ion battery good for six hours of playing time, ready for you to just show up, plug in, and play.
NUX
NUX MG-50Li Modeler & Profiler
Best of both worlds: Modeler & Profiler. The MG-50Li combines two core technologies: NUX TS/AC-4K white-box physical modeling technology & NUX DEEP IMAGE multi-layer profiling technology.
– NUX DEEP IMAGE multi-layer profiling technology contains black-box pre-amp models with white-box power amp and EQ sections. It's a "Gray-Box".
– DEEP IMAGE profiling also allows users to capture any amps & pedals. You can capture 6 layers, and merge them into 1 DEEP IMAGE file, in order to replicate real parameter changes.
– NUX Cyber IR engine delivers stereo cabinet emulations with adjustable Microphone, Position, and Distance parameters. You can use 2 different IRs for Left and Right.
– 2 effect chains with up to 2 amps & 4 cabs (Cyber IR).
– Combines up to 14 simultaneous effects blocks with ultra-flexible routing options.
– Exceptional sound quality with 24-bit AD/DA, 32-bit floating-point processing, and 48 kHz sampling rate.
– 5-inch high-definition color LCD display.
– NUX Audio App control (Mobile, Win/Mac).
– Dual Send/Return loops let you route your favorite pedals.
– Built-in USB audio interface enables straightforward sound customization, patch management, and computer-based recording.
– Built-in rechargeable battery offers convenience for practice and performance.