Why Guthrie Govan Went Digital | The Aristocrats Rig Rundown Trailer

The flashy, fluent, and musical shredmeister details his experiment with a fully-digital rig in a live rock band.

[docdaytona]

A wizard is never all analog or digital; he plays precisely what he needs to.

[anubisrocker]

The fact Guthrie played the bagpipes in Dune with his guitar is absolutely mind-blowing for me...that was one of my favorite scenes in the movie, mainly because of the epic score

[viniciusmarcilio]

01:17 It’s rare to see Guthrie speaking proudly about himself.
He seems really proud to be working with Hans Zimmer on these film scores :)
Hans Zimmer couldn’t have chosen a better musician to work with.

[varium]

I’ve seen people with huge set ups do nothing, and then there’s Guthrie whom will blow your mind with that pedalboard and couple of guitars. The Aristocrats show was worth every penny.

[samaitcheson]

So So SO glad Guthrie is back on social media. He's the only guitarist, other than Robert Fripp, who made me want to practice. Guthrie, you are guitar!

[Nobody]

Guthrie can play thru literally ANYTHING and sound amazing.

[tshandy]

A truly fantastic guitarist. A technical master whose virtuoso skills don't drown out the simple beauty of music.

[peevee]

Guthrie Govan is a musician which has a marvelous intellect, well spoken and when he touches the guitar; the angels sings.

[garethsigrist]

The timing of this Rundown couldn’t be better, just the other day I’d just been Googling what rig Guthrie had been running on this latest run of Aristocrats shows after spotting there was no traditional guitar cab behind him.

Guthrie could play anything and make it sound incredible but the dichotomy of his modern fully digital and compact setup on one side of the stage and Bryan’s utterly old school mega stack of doom is pretty cool!

[Place_to_keep_videos]

I played a modeler straight to PA with a symphony in Puerto Rico
... and what Guthrie says about the sound guys and stage volume is bang on. You just have to remember to use the high and low cuts otherwise you're going to get a lot of foul looks from the sound police. The hardest part of the gig was knowing full well that what I was hearing through my in ears was NOT what the audience was hearing. That was a little alienating, but if you're a "pro", you'll ride it out and concentrate on playing the right notes with the right picking dynamics. That's what really matters.

[seanrosedotcom]

I've been building tube amps since the 80s so I am old school. But I have to admit, I absolutely love my Headrush. I think we can have both.

[josevillarreal]

Just got back from Vai Academy and went to 3 of Guthrie’s masterclasses! He is the man! Such a good dude and shared everything about his tone, technique, approach to improvising, etc. His jam with Steve was the highlight of this years Vai Academy imo. Definitely considering getting an FM9 now. Thanks for sharing this.

[Project_]

Time to step up the game for Rig Rundowns when modelers are involved.
For example, an AxeFx can be (and often is) the whole artist's rig, similarly to this case.
Even though it is contained in a single unit, conceptually it is still a signal out of a guitar and into a rig made of pedals, amps, cabs, microphones, just like a real one.

Artist : "I'm using an AxeFx (or any other modeler)"
PG:
Q1 "what amps/models are you using, what for?"
Q2 "Are you trying to reproduce the rigs/tones used on X album or do you have a different approach?"
Q3 "Stock IR cabs, Third party, custom made by yourself, what cabs and speakers?"
Q4 "For rhythm/lead/clean work, do you switch patches/amps or keep the same one but turn on/off pedals, boosters etc, or do you use mainly your guitar volume to control saturation?"

Pretty much the same as a physical rig.

Considering how much time Guthrie spent toying with this unit during lockdown, his unique and varied experience, the way he plays, and how articulate he is when explaining what he does, this could have been a goldmine of information (and also huge advertisement for Fractal Audio :D ).

[shaneharrington]

THAT WAS HIM doing the bagpipes thing on Dune?!?!? Amazing! Loved that piece.

[fleshbhones]

I wouldn't have predicted Guthrie working with Hans Zimmer as an outcome, but it just feels correct. They do amazing work together!

[jmar]

Guthrie’s own Gandalf comment is hilarious considering he IS the grand wizard of the fretboard. Dude can sound like and play anything he wants. Truly one of the most amazing musicians of modern time.

[edwardkania]

I used to be opposed to digital modelers until someone reframed my thinking on them. They’re not supposed to sound like a live rig; they’re supposed to sound like a mic’d up rig through your monitors. That being said, digital is so versatile and simple, it really makes sense for any situation where you’re playing through a decent sound system.

[petertrotman]

No matter how many times you hear it, it never gets old. It's the player 1st. then the gear.
So many guitarist think they sound great by letting you know what vintage pedals they got but you have to be able to play, then play well to know the sound you want in your head.
You watch everyone switch to digital now that Guthrie's done it. 😆

[cbsaulren]

My admiration for this wonderful human being is always growing. I love listening to him open his world of perception to us through his eloquently crafted words and compositions. What lucky souls we are to live concurrently with such a marvel!

[platetechfonics]

Glad to hear him say how HAPPY he his with his current rig. At the end of the day that’s what this is about right?