NICK HAUSER
HAILS FROM: Naarm/Melbourne, VIC
PLAYS IN: Outright
SOUNDS LIKE: Powerful, no-holds-barred hardcore
LATEST DROP: Keep You Warm (LP out now independently)
What’s your current go-to guitar?
It’s a 2014 Gibson RD Artist reissue. I fell in love with RDs a few years ago when their wacky shape caught my eye. I love the way they sound, play and sit – and the fact that they’re a bit of an oddball model that you don’t see very often. This particular one looks killer, too. It’s white with gold hardware, block inlays and a fancy Artist headstock detail.
How did you initially fall in love with the instrument?
My late father was a guitarist, and from as early as I remember, I would go and see his band play and strum away on his guitars. I started playing on his MIJ Stratocaster and Telecaster, but then my own first guitar was a three-quarter-sized Cort electric that I got when I was eight. I still have it, along with Dad’s Strat and Tele that I learned to play on.
What inspires you as a player?
I love guitarists who think outside the box, particularly in the punk-rock and hardcore genres. That doesn’t mean they have to be a shredder by any means, as there’s beauty in simplicity – but even a different chord voicing or melodic idea can really take a song to the next level and make it more interesting. An example is Stephen Egerton from Descendents and All. He’s the only guitarist in the band, but the sound is never left empty due to his inventiveness and ability to rethink a simple idea. I think of myself as a solid, interesting rhythm guitarist who can play a bit of lead if required.
Are you much of a gear nerd?
Very much so! I’ve been buying, selling and collecting in some way, shape or form for almost 20 years. I love my Gibson RDs, my Soldano SLO100, Marshall JCM800 and Klon KTR overdrive. My most important pedal, however, is the trusty Boss TU-3!
Do you have any ‘white whales’?
I’ve been lucky enough to own a whole bunch of awesome pieces of gear in my time, but in keeping with my love of weird Gibsons, I would love to own a Gibson Moderne one day.
What would your signature model look like?
This is a tough one to narrow down! Probably an RD-esque body with binding, 25.5-inch scale, set neck, bound rosewood fretboard with block inlays, Seymour Duncan JB bridge humbucker, Lollar Jazzmaster neck pickup, and a Mastery bridge and vibrato for versatility and dive-bombs!
If you could jam with any guitarist, dead or alive...
Eddie Van Halen. I would butcher ‘Panama’ and if he didn’t laugh me out of the room, I’d ask him to teach me how to use a Floyd Rose.
