Rig Rundowns

Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPGThe Austin-based guitarist sticks with a tried-and-true combo of American guitars and British amps.If you’ve been on the path of this spring’s Rhett Schull/Zach Person tour, you’ve been treated to one of the coolest rock ’n’ roll double bills criss-crossing North America this year. Person, who is based in Austin, put out his second full-length record, Let’s Get Loud, in March 2024, and it was packed with alt-, blues-, and psychedelic-rock anthems built around his take-no-prisoners playing.This year, Person is road-doggin’ it around the United States as a two-piece unit with just a drummer, and PG’s Chris Kies caught up with him before he and Shull played the Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tennessee, to see what goods Person is bringing for this spring’s shows.0:00 - D’Addario0:15 - Zach Person Playing Intro0:54 - Chris Kies Intro2:41 - Custom Shop ’63 Reissue SG Les Paul Custom8:54 - ’67 Gibson SG Special15:17 - “

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/my-morning-jacketSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe legendary Louisville rockers brought tons of vintage tone tools on the road this year.My Morning Jacket’s Is, their 10th album, released on March 21, and as we reported in our feature on the band in our May print issue, it showcased a band exercising their classic strengths as well as newfound vision and curiosity. Helmed by superstar producer Brendan O’Brien, Is finds MMJ at their anthemic, psychedelic best.We caught up with Carl Broemel for a Rig Rundown back in 2015, but on this year’s tour, PG’s John Bohlinger checked in with all three axemen—Jim James, Broemel, and bassist Tom Blankenship—to hear about their road rigs. In Broemel’s estimation, they’re lazy—they just like to bring everything.Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/my-morning-jacketSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/Giv

Stillwater Strong Relief: https://www.stillwaterstrong.org/Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/rhett-shullRhett Shull’s a busy guy. Between being one of the most prolific YouTubers in the guitar sphere, working as a trusted hired gun, and creating his own original music, including last year’s EP The Early Days, he’s an avid cyclist. Just a week before we met up with Rhett at Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tennessee, for this Rig Rundown, he was slated to ride a 100-mile race in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Those plans were dashed when 70-mile-an-hour winds stoked a wildfire near town and burned just over 26,000 acres. But the show must go on: The next night, Shull played a gig in town, a special release for people reeling from a brutal natural disaster.Shull’s a certified gear aficionado and tone wizard, so PG’s Chris Kies headed to Eastside Bowl to have him walk us through his current live rig. Check out the Rundown here, and stay tuned; Shull’s got more music coming later this year. Shop Rhe

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/vundabarVisit Grimey's: https://www.grimeys.com/A pair of Fender amps and a custom-built Baranik helped the Boston band’s guitarist come back from a broken arm.When Brandon Hagen broke his arm a few years ago, his life changed in an instant. He’d been fronting Boston indie rock outfit Vundabar since 2013, and suddenly, he was unable to do the things he’d built his life around. Recovery came, in part, in the form of a custom guitar prototype built by Mike Baranik of Baranik Guitars. Hagen deconstructed and rehabilitated his relationship to the 6-string on that instrument, an experience that led to Vundabar’s sixth LP, Surgery and Pleasure, released on March 7.On tour supporting the record, the band appeared at Grimey’s in Nashville for a performance on March 11, and PG’s Chris Kies caught up with Hagen to hear about his journey and learn what tools the guitarist has brought on the road. As Hagen tells it, his setup is less about expertise and rece

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/shovels-and-ropeSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeTeamwork makes the dream work for the Charleston, South Carolina, twosome, who trade off multi-instrumental duties throughout their sets.Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst have been making music as Shovels & Rope since 2008. The husband-and-wife duo from South Carolina specialize in rootsy, bluesy rock, Americana, and alt-country, but they don’t confine themselves to traditional two-piece arrangements. They switch off on vocal, guitar, percussion, and synth duty throughout their shows, orchestrating a full-band ruckus with all available limbs.Their seventh full-length, Something Is Working Up Above My Head, released in September last year, and while touring in support of it, they stopped at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in late February. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Trent before the gig to see what tools he and Hearst use to maintain their musical juggling act.Shop Sh

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/phantogramSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeAlong with contemporaries like MGMT and Passion Pit, Greenwich, New York, duo Phantogram’s experiments crosspollinating hip-hop, indie, and punk rock helped cement and elevate a new era of electronic-influenced alt-rock and indie music. At the start of the 2010s, you’d be hard-pressed to find a college radio station or dorm-room playlist that didn’t include a Phantogram hit.Sixteen years after the release of their debut record, band leaders Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, who started Phantogram in a town of just a few thousand people, are touring behind their latest full-length, 2024’s Memory of a Day. The tour included a sold-out stop at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium—a different sort of barn than the kind they used to perform in back in Greenwich—where PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Carter and Barthel. Courtesy of some help from their tech, the duo showed us how they’re pulli

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/marty-friedmanSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe Japan-based shredder brings his current roadshow to life with the help of his tech, Alan Sosa.Marty Friedman, the ex-Megadeth guitarist and celebrated mixologist of heavy metal and Japanese music, released his latest solo record, Drama, in April 2024. Last month, PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Friedman before his show at the Basement in Nashville to see what key pieces of gear he brought out on the Drama tour. Friedman and his trusted tech, Alan Sosa, who handles all effects switching manually during the show, showed us the goods.0:00 - Wolf Van Halen & D'Addario0:15 - Marty Friedman Playing Intro0:55 - John Bohlinger Intro1:07 - Jackson Pro Series Signature Marty Friedman MF-14:22 - EMG MF Marty Friedman Signature Pickups6:25 - Marty's D'Addario NYXL 10-46 Strings7:10 - Jackson USA Marty Friedman MF-18:41 - ENGL Marty Friedman Inferno Signature 100W Amp10:27 - G

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/paul-moakSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeGrammy-nominated session guitarist, producer, mixer, and engineer Paul Moak stays busy on multiple fronts. Over the years he’s written, played, produced and more for TV sessions (Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill) and artists including Third Day, Leeland, and the Blind Boys of Alabama. But most recently he’s worked with Heart and Ann Wilson and Tripsitter. PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Moak at his Nashville studio known affectionately as the Smoakstack.0:00 - XPND Pedalboard0:15 - Paul Moak Playing Intro0:40 - John Bohlinger Intro1:26 - 1963 Fender Stratocaster4:47 - 1959 Gibson Les Paul Jr7:49 - 1976 Fender Telecaster11:53 - Paul Moak's D'Addario NYXL Strings & InTuneGP Picks13:20 - 1970 Gibson Les Paul Custom16:25 - 1963 Fender Jaguar20:25 - 1982 Gibson Anniversary Series Firebird24:16 - Hammertone OC-12 12-String Octave Guitar27:44 - Jerry Jones Neptune Baritone30:52

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/the-jesus-lizard-2025Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWhen the Jesus Lizard released their seventh studio record, Rack, last September, it ended a 26-year hiatus between recordings, and lovers of raucous, steely rock music around the world rejoiced. As guitarist Duane Denison told PG’s Nick Millevoi in our feature story, the key to the album’s vitality—and reviving the band’s brutal sound—was simple: “Practice loud.” Ahead of a hotly anticipated U.K. tour celebrating the record, the band gathered at SIR’s rehearsal space in Nashville to do exactly that. PG’s Chris Kies stopped by to see what Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims were stuffing into their suitcases for the trip across the pond.Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/the-jesus-lizard-2025Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/GiveawaysPGDon't Miss a Rundown: http://bit.ly/RIgRundownENL

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/mj-lendermanSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe fast-rising indie-rock outfit shows how they bring their varied 4-piece string section to life on their recent tour.Last year’s Manning Fireworks was a breakout moment for Asheville, North Carolina’s MJ Lenderman, which is both the name of the band and the actual name of singer and guitarist Jake Lenderman, who also plays in the band Wednesday. The record topped plenty of year-end lists and drew favorable comparisons to the likes of Neil Young, Dinosaur Jr., and other stars of the pre- and post-’90s indie-rock boom.On tour behind the record, the band stopped in at Birmingham, Alabama, joint Saturn on February 1. PG’s Chris Kies met up with Lenderman, guitarist Jon Samuels, pedal-steel player Xandy Chelmis, and bassist Landon George before the show to get the dirt on their dirt.Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/mj-lendermanSubscribe to PG's Cha

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/dweezil-zappa-2025Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe shredder and son of legendary artist Frank Zappa gives a tour of his up-to-date gear, including a complex stereo switching system, four racks of pedals, and some of his father’s favorite guitars.Dweezil Zappa was always going to end up being an incredible guitarist. His dad, Frank Zappa, is celebrated as one of the most talented and creative guitarists in history, and by age 12, Dweezil was recording music produced by Eddie Van Halen. (Little surprise that he’s covering Van Halen’s 1981 stunner “Push Comes to Shove” lately.) He’s been a bona fide guitar star ever since, releasing seven original solo records, six tribute records, two LPs with his brother Ahmet Zappa, and guesting on recordings across the music universe.Ahead of his gig at Memphis’ Minglewood Hall on his 2024 Rox(postroph)y tour, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe (') and

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/oniSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeOni’s guitar duo cover 16 strings between them with a pair of Neural Quad Cortexes and some choice patches. Jared Dines had been writing for Canadian metalcore outfit Oni—fronted by Jake Oni—for a few years before Jake invited Dines to join him onstage. Dines had just two days to learn the entire set before rehearsals began. But Eric Palmer can one-up him. He was teching for the band when Jake conscripted him—with just one day to pick up the set before a performance. Palmer rose to the occasion, and he and Dines have formed Oni’s two-guitar tornado for the past year. Ahead of their gig at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in December, Dines and Palmer walked PG’s Chris Kies through their spartan, one-guitar rigs—no backups, no mercy.Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/oniSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeWin Guitar Gear: https://bit.ly/Givea

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/la-lomSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe Los Angeles League of Musicians—LA LOM for short—brought the vintage vibe with them on the road last year.It wasn’t long ago that LA LOM—guitarist Zac Sokolow, bassist Jake Faulkner, and percussionist Nicholas Baker—were cutting their teeth together as the house band at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, playing poolside for guests. Now, with eight EPs and a full-length record (2024’s The Los Angeles League of Musicians) since 2021, they’re a full-blown sensation, celebrating and interpreting the instrumental traditions of cumbia and Peruvian chicha. The trio played Nashville’s The Basement back in December, where PG’s John Bohlinger caught up with Sokolow and Faulkner to see what road rigs they use to bring their psychedelic cumbia dream to life. Shop LA LOM's Gear:Origin Effects Bassrig Super Vintage - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/KjLRjzMXR Ten Band EQ - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/chat-pileSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeThe fast-rising Okies use solid-state amp heads, baritone guitars, and a bit of Peavey magic to bring their nightmare-rock to life.Oklahoma City sludge rockers Chat Pile have had a busy few years. Their 2022 LP, God’s Country, broke them internationally, and their critically acclaimed 2024 follow-up, Cool World, solidified them as one of the most exciting heavy bands of the moment. We spoke with bassist Stin and guitarist Luther Manhole about the record for our November 2024 issue.Now, we bring you the band’s first official Rig Rundown, filmed ahead of their show at The End in Nashville last fall. Tune in to see how Stin and Luther conjure the band’s brutal soundstorms on the road.Thumbnail Photo by Bayley Hanes.Shop Chat Pile's Gear:Ernie Ball Mammoth Slinky Strings - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/APK1OaQuilter Tone Block 202 - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Vx4vkjTC Electronic Polytune

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/whores-2024 Visit Eastside Music Supply: https://eastsidemusicsupply.com/Since forming in 2010, Atlanta noise rockers Whores had only released one LP, 2016’s Gold.—until this year. Eight long years later, their new full-length, WAR., dropped in April, and Whores celebrated by tearing across the country and blasting audiences with their maelstrom of massive, sledge-hammering rock ’n’ roll.The day after their gig at Cobra Nashville, Whores frontman Christian Lembach, dressed in his Nashville best, met up with PG’s Chris Kies at Eastside Music Supply to run through his brutal road rig.Shop Whores' Gear:D'Addario NYXL Strings (.013-.056) - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NYXL1356W--daddario-nyxl1356w-medium-with-wound-3rd-nickel-wound-electric-strings-013-056Marshall JCM800 - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Gm36zVCelestion G12T-75 Speakers - https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/G12T-758--celestion-g12t-75-12-inch-75-watt-replacement-guitar-speak

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/alan-parsons-live-projectSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeJeff Kollman is a lifelong gigging guitarist whose resume stretches from Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes to Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats. Since 2017, he’s been performing with famed engineer, producer, and songwriter Alan Parsons, who worked on Abbey Road, Dark Side of the Moon, and a host of other records that you’ve probably owned for decades. It should come as no surprise, then, that as a member of the Alan Parsons Project, Kollman’s gig is to sound great. And he does so with a quick-and-easy rig. After getting into Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium from a sweaty gig from the night before in Georgia, the band got set up and PG’s John Bohlinger rolled in to catch up with Kollman about his simple road setup.Shop Jeff Kollman's Gear:Gibson SG SG Faded Special - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/XmmjqXXotic EP Booster - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/0ZLNRPXotic SP Compressor - https:

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/rob-mcnelleySubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeRob McNelley spends a lot of time at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville. When he says, “I live here,” he’s only half kidding. McNelley has recorded with country superstars like Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, and more, and he’s performed with Wynonna Judd, Delbert McClinton, Bob Seger, and Lee Ann Womack—and that’s on top of his own solo releases. He’s probably listened to his rig with headphones more than without.McNelley ditches the headphones when PG’s John Bohlinger pays him a visit at Sound Stage for this Rig Rundown. Check out McNelley’s choice gear below.Shop Rob McNelley's Gear:1953 Gibson Les Paul goldtop - https://tidd.ly/49mBVvN1955 Fender Telecaster - https://tidd.ly/4ikCkmj1963 Fender Stratocaster - https://tidd.ly/4fUmIVaMule Resophonic Guitars Mulecaster - https://tidd.ly/41cUUXxGibson Rick Nie

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/the-fearless-flyersSubscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeBack in March 2022, we caught up with Cory Wong in the middle of an international tour to film a Rig Rundown. This time around, we found Wong with his Fearless Flyers pals sticking in one spot, at Cory Wong’s Syncopated Summer Camp. The four-day, four-night summit, held in Nashville, brought together ace players like Ariel Posen, Larry Carlton, and Theo Katzman to offer clinics on all things rhythm. Aside from the camp, Wong and his fellow guitar Flyer, Mark Lettieri, both had new releases to celebrate: Lettieri’s recent solo record, Can I Tell You Something?, dropped in July, and Wong’s Live in London and Starship Syncopation came out in May and July, respectively—plus, the Flyers’ new EP was released in February. Both Lettieri and Wong toured us through the guitar gear they brought along for the camp. Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/the

IDLES 2021 Rig Rundown: https://youtu.be/ZyofmA3bJk4Subscribe to PG's Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribePGYouTubeBetween 2016 and 2024, Bristol outfit IDLES have gone from being snarling, post-punk underdogs to being snarling, post-punk champions. Their debut LP, Brutalism, was an immediate hit, and since then they’ve turned out a string of full-length records that have expanded their creative vocabulary while increasing their popularity. It’s all come to a head this year with Tangk, their Grammy-nominated fifth album, which dropped in February.Along the way, IDLES’ sound has mutated into experimental offshoots and outgrowths, so it’s little surprise that the rigs of guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan, along with bassist Adam Devonshire, have done the same. While they still tour with some of the gear they showed off on our 2021 Rig Rundown, each player has fun new trinkets that contribute to their run of shows this year. But even with all the new toys, they keep an element of danger in the mix, and certain v

Full Rig Info: https://www.premierguitar.com/videos/rig-rundown/sturgill-simpsonYou might think alt-country veteran Sturgill Simpson would need no introduction by this point in his career, but this year, he set out to reintroduce himself to the world—as Johnny Blue Skies. That’s the moniker he created for his new record, Passage du Desir, which was released in July on High Top Mountain. Simpson promised that the album was the first step in a new phase of his creative life; the next was the subsequent tour. Simpson, looking his Waylon Jennings best, met up with Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger before his headlining gig at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Sporting a new-to-him Gibson ES-335 and an army-camo jacket, he told Bohlinger he’s not trying to be a star guitarist: “I’m trying to be a much less educated version of Bob Weir,” he grins. The star turn is for the Estonian guitarist Laur Joamets, who handles plenty of leads along with pedal steel. The guitar duo took us through their Blue Skies-era gear, featuri