AC/DC Tech Shows Off Angus Young's Guitars and Amps
Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies recently spent some quality time with AC/DC techs Trace Foster and Greg Howard at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena.
The goal? To get an in-depth rundown on the gear guitarist Angus Young is using on AC/DC's current tour. And they did a damn fine job.
As we learn in the clip, Young will use this 1967 Gibson SG for the entire show—assuming things go smoothly. All of the guitar's volume and tone pots have been changed several times because Young sweats so much, which leads to a great deal of corrosion. Its pickups have been swapped out with custom-wound, wax-potted Seymour Duncan humbuckers. Young uses Ernie Ball Slinky strings (.009-.042) and Fender Extra Heavy picks.
Also shown in the video is Young's backup guitar, a 1970 Gibson SG Custom, the same ax he used on the Back in Black tour in the early Eighties. And we see yet another SG—a Gibson Brian Ray model that was customized to Angus' specs. Ray, one of Paul McCartney's guitarists, recently gave the guitar to Young.
There's also plenty of amp talk, and you also get to see Stevie Young's gear.
Anyway, enjoy this PG Rig Rundown!
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
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