Rig Rundown - Gang of Four's Andy Gill

Andy Gill, founding member of Gang of Four, talked gear with PG’s John Bohlinger while in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge. Gill is known for his hard hitting, jagged guitar riffs that helped to shape post-punk in late-’70s England. Not one to remain locked in the past, Gill’s rig and approach to live and recorded guitar has evolved into something decidedly modern.

Andy Gill has been through a lot of guitars over his long career. His No. 1 for the past several decades is this ’80s Fender Strat Ultra that has been modified with a kill switch.

This Reverend Double Agent also serves time during a Gang of Four set. It has an angry P-90 in the neck with a humbucker in the bridge. All of Gill’s guitars are strung up with Ernie Ball 2222 (.09–.046) Hybrid Slinky strings.

[markbrooks]

The marvellous Andy Gill explains the secrets of his sound. This video was a complete surprise to find here. Rest in Peace Andy - thank you for all the great records you either played on or produced over the years. A revolutionary musician gone.

[keithburgess]

He died yesterday...this just came up in my feed...he was planning a tour and reviewing a new album from his hospital bed sadly he never made it...he had everything figured out but his body gave in I feel a sadness and a loss for his family friends and fans...may his music and memories live on, ..god bless...

[jaykay]

The guitar on entertainment may be my favorite guitar work on any single album. It’s so raw and unnaturally natural

[nicholsonfile]

I love it when older artists experiment with new (to them) technology. I would never be comfortable using a laptop on stage.
We were lucky to be alive at the same time at Andy Gill.

[xbob]

I was in on Go4 from their start. Saw them open for Buzzcocks in Chicago ('79?). They were a sonic revolution for me. The way GIll used his guitar was very different to me. He primarily used single notes or a couple of notes, not full on chords for everything. The way he used feedback and other sounds from amps and effects opened my eyes to a whole new way of playing guitar. I've followed them ever since. I think it's pretty cool the way he's embraced technology to continue to create sounds. Thanks for going out and talking to guitar players who were never mainstream but, truly have a place in pushing guitar playing through barriers to lay new ground for the rest of us to explore.

[OldSethOnetooth]

Gang Of Four are one of those bands who never made it big but their success was how influential they were not only in post punk but hardcore punk (and anything guitar related which followed) with the bands who didn't want to follow a uniform template. For anyone watching this unfamiliar with GOF I'd recommend doing a search for their John Peel Sessions on here. I'd say the same thing for Wire.

[ericboreen]

For those of you who are in a rush this morning: The guitars have pickups. The strat needs a re-fret, and there is a Reverend of unknown identity. He allegedly owns a 335. Instead of a pedal board there are various computer plugins for sound shaping, and there are Peavy amps with a gain control.

[DrRussPhd]

Saw these guys back in the early 1980's in a small club in NJ . . my ears buzzed for days . .great show . . Sara Lee was with them at the time.

[Rushscored]

Saw gang of four support the rezillos in 1978.was amazed by gills playing and his sound. Rezillos were great by the way.

[arielista]

That is a Strat Ultra, has dually red sensors in the bridge, gold middle, and blue neck. I should know I proudly own one.

[carloscasillero]

original player original band! he obviously doesn't really care that much about the equipment he uses. it's refreshing!

[andrewelk]

I was at that show. Never would have guessed his effects were coming out of a laptop, sounded really great.

[theWARMJET]

super underrated but trully original and influential player and band

[CayleBrekka]

"It does sound HUGE upfront" ... "oh, good" lol. Andy's such an iconic guitarist and so humble. RIP Andy.

[ch.s.]

coming back to this after hearing this legend died - rip andy

[cuggyboysmith]

RIP Andy. That's my mate's Drum kit in the background

[andrewludlam]

I saw G.O.4 at the Shepherds Bush Empire when they reformed with original line up in early 2000's. All good except Andy Gill's guitar sound. He was using a Strat and a Fender Tweed ( looked like a Deluxe ) . No bite, no punch, no metal string percussion attack. Back in the day I saw them a few times in London. At the Electric Ballroom Andy played Strat through an H&H transistor amp. The sound was like being hacked to pieces with a giant sword. The attack was so brutal. It was fantastic. Andy Gill might well be a respected the choice of tube amp ( especially Tweed with valve rectifier that 'sags' ) has fucked up his guitar sound on their earliest, best work. For new projects, absolutely anything goes.

[epicmeade]

It;s kind of funny to notice that if you freeze frame on Gill's amp settings, he's got the 'Pre' and the 'Post', and the 'Master volume', all set at ten. I'm not saying this to make fun of him. As an old school Punk Rocker, I kind of love that approach (Big fan of Lemmy as well).

[josephcallahan]

I was lucky enough to see Gang of Four three times: in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Windsor. The stack he had in A2 was amazing for Anthrax, which sounded better than the album! Peace.

[veerchasm]

Go4 are awesome. Really the forerunner to a lot of indie and alternative rock