VOLBEAT

Those following Volbeat closely might spot some familiar choices in frontman/guitarist Michael Poulsen and lead guitarist Rob Caggiano’s rigs. This tour sees Poulsen favouring his Gibson SG GT and Caggiano sporting a Jackson prototype in vivid purple, a colour choice rolled over from his ESP days, running into a Fryette Sig:X. But as shows have got bigger, so has the demands on their gear, and rigs have grown more complex. Poulsen’s tech Tue Bayer says that Poulsen’s beloved Marshall JCM800, a cornerstone of his sound, is “a fiddly old lady”, and so has persuaded a reluctant Poulsen that a Kemper Profiler will be more consistent. Caggiano, meanwhile, is using a custom switching and rack system built by his tech Jerry Carillo that incorporates some Neve 1073 mic preamp secret sauce and brings some studio fidelity to a live show that’s gotten so big that Carillo now does all Caggiano’s switching. All four sat in and explained how it works.

ROB CAGGIANO

1 JACKSON ROB CAGGIANO SIGNATURE PROTOTYPE

: “Way back in the day, before ESP, I was playing this quirky guitar called the Outcaster, which was made by Jackson for literally one year, in the early to mid-90s. They wereI guess. I was using the Tone Zone for many years. In the neck, I am not totally sure. [“I think it’s an Air Norton” – Jerry Carillo, Rob’s tech]. I don’t really use the neck pickup live. I just use it in the studio. I’ll mess with the tone knob in the studio and I’ll mess with the pickup selector but not live. I don’t know what the neck pickup is because I told Larry to send me something new to try out. But it’s working really good in this guitar, whatever it is.”