Total Guitar managed to pin down the mighty MASTODON on their recent UK tour to talk through Bill and Brent’s live rigs. Head on over to Total Guitar‘s website to check out a gallery of Bill Kelliher’s custom-made guitars, Brent Hinds’ hair dryer and which pedal they use to call Hulk Hogan.

About his 2007 Gibson Les Paul Custom, Bill says:

“This is a Les Paul Custom 2007. It’s kind of a reissue. I don’t know if they started making these because Brent and I play a Silverburst so much, or why they came back, but I usually play old 79s and 82s, but this one is a really good guitar as well.

“It needs a little playing-in, but it sounds good, it’s got the original pickups in it. It’s just a big, heavy lump of wood. It’s in D-standard – standard tuning, but tuned down to D.

“Silverburst is just a cool colour. I don’t know what it is about it. When I was a kid I liked going to the motor races and there was a Corvette that was the pace car and it was this colour. I use this for the first half of the set, ‘Dry Bone Valley’, ‘Black Tongue’, ‘Crystal Skull’, ‘Capillarian Crest’, ‘Colony Of Birchmen’.”

About his Custom Electrical Guitar Company Plexi-V, Brent says:

“This is a custom-made Plexi-V with an aluminium neck. Kevin Burkett from the Electrical Guitar Company in Florida built it.

“He custom-made me these because he was the only guy I could find that would work with Plexi [acrylic]. They both use Lace pickups. By the way, Lace are making me my own pickups called Dirty Behinds!

“I have one that’s just to warm up with. I used to use it live, but it’s too old and it’s seen too much sweat, so it’s being retired. It’s on it’s way out!”

Click here to check out the full gallery and read more about Bill and Brent’s live rigs on the Total Guitar website.

You can learn how to play ‘Curl Of Teh Burl’ in this month’s magazine too – click here for more info.

Point your mouse in this direction to pick up a copy of MASTODON’s latest album ‘The Hunter’.