Kenny Greenberg-Rig Rundown

[WeFixFlats]

Nashville session guitarist goes through his entire setup, from guitars(there's a McCarty Trem), amps and pedals.
Very informative and he's a real gear geek. It's an hour long but worth your time to check it out.

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/23791-rig-rundown-kenny-greenberg

 

[László]

As a certified gear geek I really enjoyed watching that video! Yeah, it was long, but it was kinda fun to see how another guy in the trenches thinks about his rig, though I have to say there's an awful lot of "Oh, you have one of those? I need one too, then!" going on in Nashville. But in my experience, it's always been that way.

As is my nature, I have a few comments...

I loved the fact that the dude puts his spare pedals and gear in a cardboard box, and shleps it around to sessions along with his uber-fancy amp head rack with the pedal drawer, his guitars (some of which are very valuable), and his custom built pedalboard. I got a chuckle out of that. I mean...he's gotta know he can get an Access-type bag for that stuff, right?! The dude has everything so organized, but in the middle of a big session he's going to rummage around looking for stuff in a cardboard box...I think he does it for the "I don't really give a damn" effect.

The ear protection product that he mentions for in-ears and headphones is such a great idea, and so small and easy to use, I can't believe I've never heard of that one before. That's on my shopping list now.

I've played Sampson-era Matchless HC30 amps, and later ones, and I can't tell the difference. Can you? I'm not sure Mark Sampson had magic hands any more than the other folks at Matchless...so I think there's a little bit of "mine's older and therefore better than what you can get now" mythology involved that so many of us fall into when it comes to this stuff. I had a Sampson-era Hot Cat 30 when he was with Bad Cat. It sounded just like the new ones do, too.

I was surprised to see a new Magnatone in his rack. I've always wondered if those were good amps. Haven't seen one locally to play through.

An old Superlead? That was cool. Got that with the HXDA in my studio, and the Tweed-ish thing is covered with the DG30. Makes perfect sense to me to have amps that do those things. I did like his road case with the drawer.

I agree with him that a buffer makes all the difference with a pedalboard, but the Boss buffers are simply not very good buffers, though obviously he is getting plenty of work and could probably care less. It just surprised me that he is so into the "special" amp thing for the small differences, but hasn't gotten into the differences between today's buffers.

Finally...standing by the cab when playing to get that effect in the pickups...I agree, and Carlos Santana has talked about it, too. The iPad remote for my DAW has made that possible now, and it seems to make me play better. And it's really because pickups are microphonic, and they do pick up something of what's coming out of those speakers.

 

[bodia]

As a certified gear geek I really enjoyed watching that video! Yeah, it was long, but it was kinda fun to see how another guy in the trenches thinks about his rig, though I have to say there's an awful lot of "Oh, you have one of those? I need one too, then!" going on in Nashville. But in my experience, it's always been that way.

As is my nature, I have a few comments...

I loved the fact that the dude puts his spare pedals and gear in a cardboard box, and shleps it around to sessions along with his uber-fancy amp head rack with the pedal drawer, his guitars (some of which are very valuable), and his custom built pedalboard. I got a chuckle out of that. I mean...he's gotta know he can get an Access-type bag for that stuff, right?! The dude has everything so organized, but in the middle of a big session he's going to rummage around looking for stuff in a cardboard box...I think he does it for the "I don't really give a damn" effect.

The ear protection product that he mentions for in-ears and headphones is such a great idea, and so small and easy to use, I can't believe I've never heard of that one before. That's on my shopping list now.

I've played Sampson-era Matchless HC30 amps, and later ones, and I can't tell the difference. Can you? I'm not sure Mark Sampson had magic hands any more than the other folks at Matchless...so I think there's a little bit of "mine's older and therefore better than what you can get now" mythology involved that so many of us fall into when it comes to this stuff. I had a Sampson-era Hot Cat 30 when he was with Bad Cat. It sounded just like the new ones do, too.

I was surprised to see a new Magnatone in his rack. I've always wondered if those were good amps. Haven't seen one locally to play through.

An old Superlead? That was cool. Got that with the HXDA in my studio, and the Tweed-ish thing is covered with the DG30. Makes perfect sense to me to have amps that do those things. I did like his road case with the drawer.

I agree with him that a buffer makes all the difference with a pedalboard, but the Boss buffers are simply not very good buffers, though obviously he is getting plenty of work and could probably care less. It just surprised me that he is so into the "special" amp thing for the small differences, but hasn't gotten into the differences between today's buffers.

Finally...standing by the cab when playing to get that effect in the pickups...I agree, and Carlos Santana has talked about it, too. The iPad remote for my DAW has made that possible now, and it seems to make me play better. And it's really because pickups are microphonic, and they do pick up something of what's coming out of those speakers.

Just a side note on the Magnatones; I saw Billy Gibbons a couple of weeks ago and he was using them exclusively in his set up. Sure sounded good live in a small theater. Although, I'm sure the Reverend Billy G had more to do with that than his gear!

 

[WeFixFlats]

Here's some of the gear Kenny talks about:

The Rev '33' http://rev33.com/

High Isolation Headphones http://gk-music.com/ultraphones.htm

JRocket Tim Pierce Pedal http://rockettpedals.com/product/tim-pierce-overdrive-poweramp/
JRocket Animal http://rockettpedals.com/product/animal-overdrive/
JRocket BlueNote http://rockettpedals.com/product/blue-note-overdrive/
JRocket Spring Reverb Boing' http://rockettpedals.com/product/boing-spring-reverb/

Magnatone Varsity http://magnatoneusa.com/products/studio-collection/varsity/

Boss DD-500 http://www.boss.info/products/dd-500/

 

[Goldtop]

WeFixFlats,

Thanks for posting this. Very cool.

One note about Billy Gibbons. I saw him on his solo tour in Lubbock in December, and I was fortunate enough to talk with some of the crew. At that show he also had the Magnatone combos onstage (two stacks of two). But they were strictly there for show. He ran his signal through the same rig he's used for years with ZZ, ie: Marshall rack units/rack EQ/a handful of pedals in a drawer/iso box/PA. Similar to what bodia said, this show was at a small theater, and the sound was great. Loud, clear, powerful. I'm glad to hear some info about the Magnatones. I haven't had a chance to check them out in person.

Goldtop

 

[David Eaton]

One of the highlights of the PRS Experiences that I have been to was the year that Kenny and Ashley Cleveland were there. I had been a fan of Ashley's since her 1991 CD big town. I love, love, love Kenny's playing. Always the right note. Always the right place.

During Kenny's clinic Paul said to Ashley "we're all looking forward to your set tonight." To which she replied, "You're sweet, but nobody here knows who I am." I made sure to go to her after the clinic, disabuse her of that notion and chat for a few minutes. I mentioned that I had wanted to see them live for 17 years, and this would be my first chance. I was not disappointed. I'm not a picture and autograph kind of guy, but the pics with her and Kenny, and the signed CD cover are very valued possessions. They both signed the pics a couple months later when I caught them at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville.

The best part was the next day at BWI. We were on the same flight to Nashville. I wandered over and said, "I just wanted to tell you again how great last night's set was." To which Kenny replied, "toss your stuff down and hang with us until the plane leaves." Chatted with them, MIchael Rhodes, and Reese Wynans. Reese mentioned that he had a niece at Murray State where I taught. She had been one of my students. Small world. Great memories. Great rig rundown. Great players and people.

 

[prsrocker1988]

Kenny is one of my biggest modern day heroes in guitar...

I was coming to post this but luckily it's already been posted.

Kenny is a nice guy and a killer player with tone to the bone. My kind of rock n' roll player.

 

[prsrocker1988]

As a certified gear geek I really enjoyed watching that video! Yeah, it was long, but it was kinda fun to see how another guy in the trenches thinks about his rig, though I have to say there's an awful lot of "Oh, you have one of those? I need one too, then!" going on in Nashville. But in my experience, it's always been that way.

For sure, but I think it's a good thing. It's true, you look at a lot of the session Nashville boards and they all have common themes. Most of it stemmed from Tom Bukovac. He made the Nobels ODR-1 come to fame, and he started the whole Gibson or humbucking guitar with a Marshall in country thing, more rock leaning which I think is great as I'm not a Brent Mason type, more like Tom Bukovac or Kenny Greenberg. I love modern country, guitar-wise. Very much into classic rock guitar playing and that's what it sounds like to me.

If it hadn't been for my Nashville friends I wouldn't have heard about the Nobels ODR-1 or the Ibanez Mostortion, both are very important parts of my sound now.

 

[László]

For sure, but I think it's a good thing. It's true, you look at a lot of the session Nashville boards and they all have common themes. Most of it stemmed from Tom Bukovac. He made the Nobels ODR-1 come to fame, and he started the whole Gibson or humbucking guitar with a Marshall in country thing, more rock leaning which I think is great as I'm not a Brent Mason type, more like Tom Bukovac or Kenny Greenberg. I love modern country, guitar-wise. Very much into classic rock guitar playing and that's what it sounds like to me.

If it hadn't been for my Nashville friends I wouldn't have heard about the Nobels ODR-1 or the Ibanez Mostortion, both are very important parts of my sound now.

Like you, I really dig the sounds coming out of Nashville, too. I remember heading down there for some work maybe 12-13 years ago after not being there a while, and all of a sudden, it wasn't just guys with Telecasters and Twins - there were guys with AC30s and all kinds of guitars.

Part of it I think was the influx of all kinds of session work, not just traditional country music, that was starting to blossom in Nashville. Heck, I was there producing a rock project. Whenever you have musicians of different genres getting together, there's going to be cross-pollination of influences, and that means they'll look at each others' gear and say, "hmm...that sure sounds good!"

At the same time, I do get a chuckle when every guy has an M9 on the board. Not an M13, not an M5, not another brand...all the same model of thing. I see more variation on LA session players' boards. And of course in my neck of the woods, it's all over the place, because no one rolls into a session loaded up with a rack of amps, etc. Here, there's no cartage fee, so it's "what should I bring?"

 

[prsrocker1988]

Like you, I really dig the sounds coming out of Nashville, too. I remember heading down there for some work maybe 12-13 years ago after not being there a while, and all of a sudden, it wasn't just guys with Telecasters and Twins - there were guys with AC30s and all kinds of guitars.

Part of it I think was the influx of all kinds of session work, not just traditional country music, that was starting to blossom in Nashville. Heck, I was there producing a rock project. Whenever you have musicians of different genres getting together, there's going to be cross-pollination of influences, and that means they'll look at each others' gear and say, "hmm...that sure sounds good!"

At the same time, I do get a chuckle when every guy has an M9 on the board. Not an M13, not an M5, not another brand...all the same model of thing. I see more variation on LA session players' boards. And of course in my neck of the woods, it's all over the place, because no one rolls into a session loaded up with a rack of amps, etc. Here, there's no cartage fee, so it's "what should I bring?"

Very true. I'm probably more a fan of the Nashville session scene and music in general than LA. For one I'm just not into that technical virtuoso thing guys like Lukather/Landau, etc do and that's just not my sound or my style. I'm more into playing old rock n' roll styles that aren't so theory-intensive. More raw and even sloppy at times. More like Angus Young or Jimmy Page. So I love guys like Kenny who play in that style and not that jazz/fusion/rock stuff. Music artist wise I'm more into Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett than Ed Sheeran or Adele.

The M9 thing comes from needing to be able to produce any sound at the switch of a button. Swiss army knife. I think the M13 is great if you aren't going to use other pedals and want a big effects box. The M5 is great though live for one effect or on smaller session boards. I think if you have a lot of other pedals, the M13 is too big and too much. I still like analog stomp boxes but the M series Line 6 and Strymon boxes really let you make any sound at the drop of a hat. It is funny though that everyone uses that pedal now in Nashville.