Guitars Govan's main axe is a prototype Charvel with a basswood body and a maple top. It's outfitted with pickups made by Michael Frank-Braun. The neck is made of roasted birdseye maple with a pair of graphite truss rods that make it "hilariously stable." For the Steven Wilson show, Govan also brings along a Fender Select Jazzmaster HH (the strap boasting his original McDonalds name tag), and a Vigier Excal ...

Guitars Jónsi’s main guitar was handcrafted by former tech Dan Johnson with a single Seymour Duncan ’59 pickup and built-in treble boost circuit. The guitar is called “Bird,” due to the bird inlays. The bird on the body (below the neck) was carved by Jónsi himself. He plays with a cello bow, bowing both in front of and behind the bridge, and is not particular about his rosin, which Ragnarsson says darkens t ...

Guitars Jónsi’s main guitar was handcrafted by former tech Dan Johnson with a single Seymour Duncan ’59 pickup and built-in treble boost circuit. The guitar is called “Bird,” due to the bird inlays. The bird on the body (below the neck) was carved by Jónsi himself. He plays with a cello bow, bowing both in front of and behind the bridge, and is not particular about his rosin, which Ragnarsson says darkens t ...

Billie Joe Armstrong's Guitars Armstrong brings a mixed bag of new and old guitars on tour with him. The mass majority of them are Gibson Les Paul Jr models, but the most iconic guitar dating back to the band's early-90's, 924-Gilman-Street gigs is the super-strat coined Blue. The stickered axe is a Fernandes Stratocaster copy that he got for his birthday when he was 11. Among the things BJA has changed on ...

Guitars Steve Howe’s main guitar for the current Yes tour—on which the band is playing The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One albums in their entirety—is his No. 2 1964 Gibson ES-175 (which he only uses in the U.S.). For “Parallels” off of Going for the One, he uses a mid-’80s Fender Stratocaster modified to use just one volume and tone knob (the original volume-pot position is vacant). And ...

Guitars Nicholaus Arson's main guitar is a vintage Fender Telecaster Custom with a hot bridge pickup (he never uses neck pickups—there's not even a switch). While both guys have different rigs around the world, this is the guitar he travels with. His U.S. touring rig is rounded out with a newer custom Tele and a custom "Arsonette" with a Lace Sensor that's designed to be a cross between a Tele and a Firebir ...

Guitars Derrico brings about 10 axes on tour with Pink, sometimes traveling with a backup boat of 10 more. A majority of them are Gibson Les Pauls, along with a Fender Strat, Valley Arts Brent Mason, and a duo of Maton acoustics. His main LP (used for about 80 percent of the show) is 2006 Les Paul Standard that is totally stock—outside of a few repairs to the headstock and a piezo pickup. His Fender Custom ...

Guitars Tosin uses a prototype of his Ibanez signature model with DiMarzio Ionizers. The guitar has a wenge/bubinga neck and coil-tapping. Both Tosin and Javier tune their 8-strings standard, but drop the low string to E and use DR .009 –.074 strings. Both also use Planet Waves Black Ice picks. He also has a Rick Toone-built "experiment" with an aluminum neck, fanned frets, Tortex fretboard, and Lace Alumit ...

Guitars Dave Knudson's main guitar is a goldtop PRS McCarty with low action for his tapping parts. He also takes advantage of the coil tapping for more "noisy grit." He also uses a stock PRS Custom 24, a Fender Jaguar Baritone for "Secret Country" tuned standard with a low-B string. He uses an Ibanez acoustic for "Listing." Frontman Jake Snider's go-to is a new custom Ibanez Roadcore Classic with a Seymour ...

[youtube]RDsxc0xDPW0[/youtube] Guitars Dustie plays modified PRS Custom 22s built to be lighter weight with obeah wood, and loaded with his signature DiMarzio pickups and a Floyd Rose. Paul plays PRS Custom 24s with Bareknuckle Blackhawk pickups. Both guys tune to C# standard and used custom gauge D'Addario strings: .011, .014, .021 (wound), .032, .044, .056. They use Line 6 Relay G50 digital wireless units ...