Blues-rock virtuoso and legendary collector Joe Bonamassa joins Axe Lords for an episode that dives deep into the wild, weird, and sometimes downright wicked world of vintage guitars. Buckle up as Joe tries to convince Tom to stop weighing his instruments, expounds on the mythology of double-white PAFs, explains why taking a Flying V into a motel room is “sick and wrong,” and reveals that having a stage persona (and a good suit) is the true path to spiritual liberation.
Mike Hickey, Joe’s longtime guitar tech, also drops into the conversation. Shenanigans ensue.
This episode originally aired in January 2025 as part of Season 1 of Axe Lords.
Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East, NYC. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge.
Follow Axe Lords @axelordspod for news, updates, and cool stuff.
MGK—formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly—released his seventh studio record, Lost Americana, last August. When he took it out on tour, he hired two firebreathing fretboard masters, Justin Lyons and Sophie Lloyd, to knock his audiences dead. Ahead of their gig at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, PG’s Chris Kies met up with Lyons and Lloyd to get the lowdown on how they bring MGK’s music to life. Scope some of the highlights below.
This PRS Mark Tremonti is one of Lyons’ current favorites, despite the black finish—typically, he’d never take a black guitar, but this one’s so good that it gets a pass.
Bow Down
Just before Christmas, Reverend sent over this Sensei model, along with a Roundhouse. Lyons, who’s in talks with the company to build a signature model, can’t put the Sensei down.
Justin Lyons’ Tone Master Rig
For their amp-free, in-ear monitor stage setup, Lyons loves the Fender Tone Master Pro unit, which lets him emulate his treasured Mesa/Boogie amps. Tack a TS-style boost in front and he’s in tone heaven. He also digs Mark Lettieri’s patch pack.
Kiesel Engine
Lloyd was Kiesel’s first female signature artist, and she brought a stable of them out with MGK. Lloyd’s models feature black limba bodies and walnut necks, with Kiesel Lithium pickups in the bridge position. Her signatures are unique because they include a Sustaniac in the neck position, which makes the guitar “ring out forever” and offers different octave options. Lloyd uses the kill switch on her guitars during the show for “big ending” moments. She runs her Kiesels with Ernie Ball Paradigm strings (.010–.046).
Sophie Lloyd’s Kemper Rig
<p>Back home, Lloyd likes playing through a Neural Quad Cortex, but on this tour, she’s running a Kemper Profiler like the rest of the band. She was skeptical at first that it could replicate that magic of her favorite Diezel amp, but it does the job—and then some.</p><p>The rack backstage carries the Profiler brains, plus the Radial JX42 and Shure AD4Q units that handle Lloyd’s and Lyon’s signals.</p>
The velvet-voiced, smooth-slide-playing solo artist details his journey from sideman to frontman, shares the his approach to designing a fresh Strat model, explains how a forced reset reshaped his career path, of course, he and host John Bohlinger share a few jams.
Ever wondered how Billy Corgan achieves that massive "chainsaw" fuzz tone that defined an era of alternative rock? In this edition of "Blueprints", PG contributor Tom Butwin dives deep into the gear that makes it possible, featuring the Reverend Billy Corgan Z-One with its unique Bass Contour control, the Electro-Harmonix Op-Amp Big Muff Pi for that essential seventies-style grind, and the Gosh Amplification Problem Solver to provide a classic Marshall-style foundation.
This is it — the granddaddy of Pedalboard series. The MONO Pedalboard Large is a pro-sized and -featured pedal solution that won't weigh you down in size or cost. The Pedalboard Large is cut from a single piece of anodized aluminum for superior strength, light weight, and an elegant textured surface. Cutouts along the surface hide pedal jumpers and power cables for a streamlined, professional look. Rubber feet on the bottom absorb shock and prevent the Pedalboard Large from sliding across hard surfaces as you stomp
Dave and Tom were so excited about this episode with Mr Big and Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert that they almost fainted right before taping, leaving a very unamused Cindy to host it alone. It takes a lot to fluster an Axe Lord, but the prospect of talking to Paul Gilbert about designing his Fireman guitars, getting a guided tour through his collection of vintage Ibanez treasures, and finding out how to properly rig a power drill for speed picking is almost more than any fan of highly technical guitar wizardry could stand.
Gilbert, who is promoting his rifftastic new concept album WROC - based on the George Washington-penned tome Washington’s Rules of Civility, is also the first, but hopefully not the last, Axe Lords guest to introduce cosplay to the show. To whit, he appears sporting a revolutionary war-styled Tricorn hat, the perfect accessory for schooling us not just in arcane bits of American history but also in the finer points of high-stakes shred protocol.
Axe Lords is presented in partnership with Premier Guitar. Hosted by Dave Hill, Cindy Hulej and Tom Beaujour. Produced by Studio Kairos. Executive Producer is Kirsten Cluthe. Edited by Justin Thomas (Revoice Media). Engineered by Patrick Samaha. Recorded at Kensaltown East. Artwork by Mark Dowd. Theme music by Valley Lodge.
Follow @axelordspod for updates, news, and cool stuff.