Rig Rundown - A Perfect Circle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 พ.ค. 2017
- Article & photos: bit.ly/APerfectCircleRR
Never miss a Rig Rundown: bit.ly/PG-RRnewsletter
Before APC’s gig at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, bassist Matt McJunkins and guitarists James Iha and Billy Howerdel spend some time with PG’s Chris Kies cataloging the guitars, basses, amps, and digital gear they require to pull off material from all three of their studio albums and beyond.
As part of the Smashing Pumpkins from the start, James Iha originally was a Fender guy in the Gish-era of the band, but slowly made his way to humbuckers and Gibsons. Here is a 1984 Gibson Les Paul Custom he’s had since the mid-’90s. The only thing he’s done to the guitar was swap in Tom Anderson H3 (bridge) and H1 (neck) humbuckers to match the sound Billy achieved on APC’s recordings. Following suit even further, Iha tunes this LP to C# and uses a custom set of Ernie Ball Slinkys (.056-.044-.032-.020P-.017-.012) that Billy came up with. He prefers to play with Jim Dunlop Tortex .73 mm picks.
Back for his second Rig Rundown is bassist Matt McJunkins (check out our Eagles of Death Metal episode where Matt shows off some different gear. Link: www.premierguitar.com/article...) who is still favoring Fender P basses. During his time in EODM, he rolled with a 2010 Fender American Deluxe Precision bass, but he recent upgraded to a new go-to-a 2017 Fender American Elite P. He rocks Ernie Ball Power Slinkys .055-.110 and Jim Dunlop Tortex .88 mm picks.
This is Billy Howerdel’s main squeeze-a 1960 Gibson Les Paul Classic Reissue that is actually two guitars he put together from his days as Trent Reznor’s tech for Nine Inch Nails. The guitar has been upgraded with Tom Anderson H3 (bridge) and H1 (neck) humbuckers, is tuned to C#, and has a custom set of Ernie Ball Slinkys (.056-.044-.032-.020P-.017-.012). All of his guitars, including this beast, has an added cap so when he rolls off the volume he doesn’t lose any of the guitar’s tone.
To continue learning about the band's gear, visit: bit.ly/APerfectCircleRR - เพลง
James Iha naturally gravitates towards bald headed men named Billy.
Chloe LMAO! Best comment in a while!
Chloe Bald Billies
LOLS
corgan wasnt always bald! dont hate on us bald dudes!
FacePalm True
"Hey James do you know your last name?"
"uh it's on my iPhone notes"
SilveR lmao
SilveR lol
Watch Howard stern recently pumpkins interview James was on Mars that day 2
Lol 😂😂
Lol 👍😂😂
I'd like to see James and J Mascis have a conversation. It would be the slowest conversation ever.
Not so fast!
And Stephan Mcbean
Haha I had to look him up but good call.
cameronyears Yeah I remember seeing his Rig Rundown recently so he was fresh in my head
add a sloth in the background, just for the kicks. or in the foreground.
Somebody woke James up too early. He wasn't ready for this
he does what billy tells him. smart man. cash those checks
He is like this in every interview I have seen him in.
Two decades of Corgan's abuse will do this to a person. D'arcy went off-the-rails, Jimmy was off-and-on the smack-train, and James picks up a guitar and straight-up dissociates, lol.
seriously, Billy Howerdel is possibly the most under appreciated guitarist of my generation.
Jared Poole I agree. He is unbelievable good.
Agreed! Can't agree enough. Although, I will say he is way more respected amongst his peers than the general public.
Indeed!!
totally. hes not a "shredder" and hell never grace the cover of a guitar magazine, but he is a soundsmith and one of my favorite songwriters
Jared Poole couldn't agree more
MJK needs a wig rundown
Underrated
A wig wundown!
Maynard to James...
Maynard: So, what instrument do you play??
James: I think I play guitar... but I am not sure.
Maynard: You'r hired
fun fact, james iha wasnt even in Billy and Maynards top ten guitar players to replace Troy....
where can I check that bit of useless trivia?
A1 fromday1 LOL
Lol 😂👍
Hahaha.
James Iha's most important piece of gear: Iphone.
holy crap james gives me anxiety waiting for him to finish a sentence lol
you and me both. he didnt look to comfortable in the interview.
James was always pretty terrible in interviews. Just a shy dude. He was the same way while talking between songs back then as well
Brandon Parker scott weiland was like that too.
Brandon Parker ...just don't go for the friggin damn cursed Ativan🤘
Me too..😂🖒
i dont think i've seen any other Rig Rundown where someone was as thorough and demonstrative as Billy Howerdel
He was a tech...
I think it's safe to say, no one's ever gonna nail Billys tone perfectly. So unique and cool.
billy looks like a vampire version of Maynard lol
James Iha. Bursting with personality.
Please do one of these with Adam Jones.
Technoir he's said before he hates talking about gear. but that maybe only with fans
Dunlop did one with his guitar tech a while ago and he doesn't really change his rig at all
Fractal Audio Systems has a forum and there is a famous user named Yek that made PDF guides to the AMP and DRIVE blocks of the Fractal units. Get the AMP PDF, because it has a photo of Jones' Diesel amp. The above mentioned Dunlop video has a shot of the Marshall amp settings, since he uses multiple amps. You can use 2 amps and cabs on the Axe FX2.
forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/yeks-guides-the-master-list.127513/
Most of his gear, despite his early efforts, is pretty public now, but I definitely agree it would be most interesting to hear him talk about it personally. There's the Ernie Ball rig rundown with his late guitar tech, but there's also one with Adam from around '94 where he talks about his guitar. That's where the infamous "It's a '94" joke stems from.
"Greyburst", classic. There's no way in fuck he isn't being 180% coy with that... you know, Howerdel having babysat Adam's Silverbursts through half the '90s. I think it may have come up in conversation once or thrice.
I’ve watched this more than once. Billy Howerdel is the man.
It’s amazing that Billy Howerdel loves playing as much as building the machines that make his sounds. It’s also amazing how good he is at both of those tasks. He’s the kind of player that rig rundown was made for. No one can explain the rig as well as the person responsible for maintaining it, but that’s usually not the same person who plays through it, and as a long-term guitar tech, BH gives you the kind of descriptions that you really want to hear...and then plays the parts you already know.
Dude knows his string gauges by heart.
Thanks Chris! Appriciate it
@@billyhowerdel123 hey billy, you’re such a great inspiration for me. I love the fact that you produced entire albums by your own self, and that you understand music theory so well, like the chord progressions and melodies on different apc, ashes divide projects are etherial! Wish you the best man!
Amen! I can never get too much information and inspiration from the guitarists that I love to listen to. And their techs for sure
Why should it be a surprise someone knows their instrument! “… knows his string gauge.”?
I’d fucking hope some. And hopefully knows the fucking chords he’s playing.
"I'm not a snob" hahaha.. James is awesome.
James just seems like that next door neighbor you talk to while watering you plants lol. hes just so chill and laid back lol
My neighbors are complete tools. Can’t relate to your comment.
0:20 The arpeggio on the verse for the hollow is basically magic. Its created by using a mini-black hole to mix moonlight into liquid electricity.
4 diff guitars in an out. wild. billy is a musical genius.
Anything2bCool 48:48 .....it's...it's beautiful 😥
woah
Damn . Those r kick ass pedal names
So James gives him nothing but Billy flooded him with everything.
Funkbaz billy used to be a guitar tech if i remember. So it makes sense he's more knowledgeable about it
James Markham yup. I think he might have tech'ed for Tool and maybe NIN. Don't quote me on both, but pretty sure about Tool.
Billy Rouse I'm pretty sure about Tool because I think that's how he met Maynard
Steven Cox that is correct. in an interview he said that he showed Maynard his music and he (Maynard) offered his vocals if he ever made a band. Good thing he did!
Billy Rouse He was Tool's tech. The first concert Tool did for aenima around 96 he specifically asked the crowd to say hi to Billy because it was his last day as guitar tech. The concert is on youtube Tool 1996 Glass house remastered.
If anyone can "kill time" it's James Iha
I relate so hard to all of James's answers, "I have it written down in my phone somewhere" 😂
Billy Howerdel literally writes every piece for every instrument, atleast on the new album. That takes so much skill to write 5 different pieces that mesh together the way APC songs do.
Next time I can’t fall asleep, I’ll watch James being interviewed
"i've got it in an iPhone note," .... I love James!
I'm so glad he asked about the Verse arpeggio in The Hollow.
I love how reluctant James is about the interview. It's not because he doesn't want to do the interview. He's just been out on the road for awhile and is super frazzled by the weird sleeping hours and spastic events that come along with touring and is just totally out of it.
Man, so good to see Matt in Rig Rundown! He is a Paris Bataclan Survivor, and he is doing, what he loves doing, and what brings joy to people! Rock n Roll!
"Survivor" of a staged, hoax, event and presenting it as real is about as low as it gets. We all serve the puppet masters for their Monopoly money, but some are more enthusiastic about it than most.
@@UnderSprayedWhiteSkies You know there's actual porn sites on the Internet, right? You don't need to rub your meat on TH-cam 😂
I'll never stop being amazed that a simple treble bleed mod can make a musician so happy and attached to an instrument or a pickup, when that's something anybody can do in one minute on any guitar and any pickup.
Chris - "Do you wipe your butt from front to back or from back to front?"
James - "Umm...I have an iPhone note on that...."
Matt seems like such an awesome guy, no wonder he is in roughly 54 bands.
He also spends time down at the DMV.
Every James Iha interview "I don't remember" 😂 love him
Billy Howerdel is Effing Amazing
I forgot James was in this band, love his work with the Pumpkins
"Don't know the picks..I think the are yellow, don't know the strings...some kind of mixed set."
...followed by Billy who reels off the gauge of each string on his regular and open tunings
The difference between a regular guy that's good at guitar and a guitar technician turned songwriter.
James Iha: "Can you please ask someone else. I'm just here to play guitar."
James Iha not giving away any secrets.
I will never forget a Smashing Pumpkins gig in Seattle where I started a Iha chant that came up after every song. Billy got more and more annoyed and pissed off. It was the greatest thing ever. James being the coolest dude ever. He and kept giving Billy the "I don't know" look. Billy was such a drama queen back in the day. James just seemed to have the most subtle fun with it. Like that look you give your friend when you are pissing off your mom and she turns away. It was priceless.
Love it. The guy was a genius '91-'95 but he was always a super size dickhead.
Billy looks like a blue man that forgot the paint
Jeremy Rutledge Yeah, true.
That Gibson tone is unmistakable.
Billy is my biggest inspiration when it comes to mad lead tones for sure. Love that dude.
Guy's a sonic genius, without a doubt. Literally changed my life, lol.
Love James attitude ! Not a nerd. Great guitarist!
This is genuinely one of my top 5 favorite things on the internet.
HOLY SHIT! Billy is awesome for this....BEST RIG RUN DOWN IN HISTORY!!!!!
Already one of my favorite guitarists, but extra points for the Black Queen t shirt 🙌
this is a dream come true
Yeah, cause it put me to sleep.
I could literally listen to Billy talk about his music and life all day.
I am so in love with "The Noose".
one of the greatest songs ever. period.
same
I saw them play it last week. I bursted out in tears during the end when Billy plays that extended solo. Its not just an amazing song, it also means so much to me on a personal level.
I always love James' guitar tone. It coincided well with Billy's during the Smashing Pumpkins era - especially when he initiated feedback.
42:28 when he forgets how to play "The Outsider" lmao
this is my favorite rig rundown. I love how Billy goes through the songs while explaining everything he uses.
25:15 I love how the interviewer inconspicuously slips away the drumstick that was used as a projectile into his back pocket. Probably took home his own little souvenir from every member of the band
Your my hero James
The Noose demo was 🔥🔥🔥. Billy laying it down with care.
I relate a lot with James. I use what guitars I like. Not what is trendy. And I use cab sims and LOVE dialing in on them. Been that way a long long time and people stop when they hear me play
How can Billy have such a deep normal voice and an angelic one while singing? That's just amazing.
So refreshing having a professional guitar player that plays a proper guitar, through proper Marshall amplification, dimed. Making it clear that all tones come from dialing the volume in and out. Damn skippy. There's nothing more satisfying as a guitar player than being able to keep turning the knob & getting more & more; there's still more. Dialing in and out, creating depth & perception ....
Don't worry about that spot, billy
"it's not like you killed someone..."
😁
Have a deeper appreciation and respect for APC, members showing their own gear means they're not too famous for the fans...
I am always amazed at these insanely complex guitar rack setups as seen in this video used by Billy Howerdel. Thankfully a Keeley Compressor Plus, a Boss RV-500, an old Tube Screamer, and a Soldano Hot Rod 25 can make me very happy whenever it is time to play in my home studio. Billy has an incredible capacity to understand both the guitar setup aspect of sound, and the electronic signal chain pathway; he is truly a very gifted player , musician, and sound engineer. Thank you for sharing this video!
Billy's guitar probably played March of the Pigs AND Judith. Mind blowing history.
glad I got to see APC watched billy swap a guitar 3 times while trying to play by and down before they handed him one that actually played it was strange hearing everything making sounds including Maynard without Billy's guitar playing
I love that he admits that he's not a snob about his gear. I love it.
Thank you! APC is one of my all-time favorite bands.
How to spot a '90s guitarist: Refers to C# as a "super low tuning". Ha ha.
nice bro
lol it IS super low lol. all these kids with their drop A bullshit don't know how to write heavy songs in standard.
@@andrewgarcia3136 Settle down, Boomer.
@@andrewgarcia3136 80's players think drop D is low. Most of us use Eb.
@@andrewgarcia3136 lol, c# standard isn’t that low. Double drop A is.
So James Iha basically has no idea about anything that's going on.
You never really know unless you ask him. I think he is well-vexed with guitar playing with all his experience and countless performances. It's also very challenging to be placed on-the-spot with tech stuff imo
You meant well versed, right? I wasn't trying to get at him, just seemed odd he didn't know about much of the gear when for a lot of players it's second nature.
maybe he is like, you know, focused on the important things, like, playing the instrument and composing songs on the instrument??
Do you live in a parallel universe where it's impossible to write good songs AND know what gauge of strings you use?
He clearly doesn't need that knowledge to be a talented and successful musician does he??
Never do you get this much time with Iha, never!
They all seem so humble and chilled
Matt is hilarious and super witty! I must get one of his guitar picks!
Thank God Chris did this RR... questions to the point...without useless "yeah" "right" stuff :-)
furlag2 I agree. Chris always does a fantastic job with these rundowns. 🤘🏻
This one was fantastic and a great interview. Really enjoyed this.
This was great! never thought I'd see a rig rundown of this band.
Yeah, thumbs up for the Revstar :)
47:13 The outsider demo is just so perfect.... i need to cover this song like that... i will try to imitate exactly what he does !!
These videos are so interesting and informative, please never stop!
I love James Iha and I’ve seen him play over many years... I’ve always enjoyed his POV and how he unites some organic qualities with his live performances. Makes me feel more passionate as a musician and performer to have fun!
I enjoyed the video! Keep it up!
nice learning more about the tuning, strings gauge and effects, thanks! so many les paul in this band. been an apc fan since first album and still do.
This is legitimately one of the best rig rundowns you guys have done, bravo! Great questions, and both James and Billy were so cool and accommodating--just awesome!!
this is pure gold
When I think of APC, of which I’m not very familiar with, I think of MJK being the driving force behind the band for some reason but I get the feeling Howerdel is the man just from this video. As a Tool fan, I haven’t ever heard any APC songs but after this, I’m diving in...
Billy is the driving force behind APC without a doubt. If I remember correctly he was on tour with Tool as a tech. He had made demos and formed the band, written the initial songs, and originally wanted a female singer. Maynard ended up hearing it and wanted to be a part of the band. I guess if Maynard wants to be your singer, you just go with it.
I would love Billy to make a second Ashes Divide Album....
James Iha is amazing i love this guy
Definally one rig rundown ive been waiting for yearssss!! Billy is one of my fav guitar players for sure
137 Les Pauls!?! WTF! And I just want 1! SMH ...
SubCulture MEDIA Welp, just form a band that's as popular as Smashing Pumpkins were, and Gibson will just send them to you.
you mean Nine Inch Nails
: ) Right. When I was younger we had a fairly popular band in Portland, got some radio play and played with some big names ... no one ever gave me a guitar! I have had Les Pauls, mind you ... just not now ... wife and kids take all that extra dough to spend a couple Gs on a gibby.
I find it interesting that Billy is using a Fractal Axe Fx, a Digitech rack mounted multi-effect unit and actual tube amps, this reminded me of much we guitarist like to complicate our own lives. BTW, he seems to be a very accommodating and nice guy, he went out of his way to answer as many questions as possible while other player don't even know anything about their rigs beyond their guitar and amp (if they even bother to show up for the Rundown).
I'm pretty sure James was just being polite and tactfully saying no.
I didn't mean James wasn't nice, he seemed sincere but simply an introverted guy.
There guitarists that pretty much confirm the rockstar stereotype: a person who only knows how to play and party. Others, as I mentioned do not even take the interview and just send their technician instead. I think that no matter how famous you are, you should know as much as possible about your rig (however this could the perspective of a musician who doesn't have roadies). On the other hand you have guys like Frampton who knows his rig almost inside out.
Overall this was one of the best rundowns I've seen and it surprised who many time Matt swore and it wasn't edited.
The trick is making this all look easy. It absolutely is not.
billy also has those gibson combos!
I. Love. This. I love seeing behind the scenes just how much goes into music!! It’s fascinating. And Billy’s sound is so amazing. They all are! Brilliant band.
Chris is so good at vibing with these guys , great job on all your rig run downs .
Cheers BC
Iha is the man.
I love how he basically shits on the guy in the most polite manner possible. Dude it’s his sound. He worked literal years to get his tone, he’s for sure not going to spill years of tech’ ing and experimentation and raiding pawn shops for guitars in a 10 minute rig rundown video lol
Tone isn't sacred lol
James just needs to stand there and hes funny LOL!
I half expected him to say "Maynard asked me to tell a few jokes" lol
then I realized has anyone even seen Maynard smile let alone laugh lol
One of the best rig rundowns ever...
Billy please release a signature gibson in cinnaburst! I'll buy it!
So James, you play in A Perfect Circle, but what other bands do you play with?
Uuuh, I can't remember. It's in my iPhone notes.
Ice Kold Killa LOL LOL
Wow, I was at that show. Traveled there from Chicago. My first APC show!!! Incredible performance!
Idk what it is, but billy just has a really cool look live, I love seeing him play.
their Hollywood bowl show was amazing.
Eduardo Boquin: It was!
It’s 2024. They will be there again. Thinking I might go.
* Looks forward to seeing pedalboards. *
"I use Axe-Fx"
t(-_-t)
Modelers have won, its the future. Once the prices start coming down "real" hardware doesn't stand a chance.
As much as I love pedalboards, Axe-Fx and modelers are the future and are easy as fuck to deal with on the road without all the wires and bullshit.
Touring is super-INEFFICIENT; if Lady Gaga makes $500 million... their profit margin is like $2 million! The rest is all overhead, from hotels to just the cost of flying gear!
I use no more than 3 stomp boxes and go direct. It's AMAZING. I never use amps, and guitarists call that blasphemy... until they hear me start playing.
I go direct a lot live also. People never believe it. It sounds great if you know what you're doing, and causes me a lot less headache.
Empire Goodness Me too. Being a bassist, having a DI box is just the way to go if you want a tight tone. If I'm playing a small gig, I can easily just throw one of my basses, my tuner and my sansamp pedal in my gigbag, and I'm ready to show up at the gig by bike haha! No need to carry around that much gear. It looks cool, but it's a pain in the ass to manage.
I love Billy! So genuine and such a gear head!!
OMG I so appreciate the dude asking all the questions. You asked everything I wanted to know!