Rig Rundown: The War on Drugs [2022]

For nearly two decades and across five albums, The War on Drugs’ founder and frontman Adam Granduciel has narrated our complex modern lives while his band has scored our dreams.

The captivating moods of their music, much like us, morph from dense melancholy to saturated, swirling madness and everywhere in between. Granduciel often layers his Springsteen-meets-Young proletariat prose atop a post-rock soundscape, but the heartbeat of their impressive, expansive live shows is their gear and how it is implemented.

“I could play the whole tour with two or maybe three guitars—a White Falcon, Strat, and maybe a Jazzmaster—but I bring all these out just for fun,” he says with a laugh as he considers his trove of axes.

So, let’s have some fun already! Before a full evening of The War on Drugs’ jams in support of 2021’s I Don’t Live Here Anymore, PG was invited to Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium. We covered Granduciel’s growing guitar collection, got the skinny on how Jerry Garcia’s monstrous setup played into the bandleader’s theatre rig, and we took in a cockpit view of his stompbox squadron full of tone ticklers, sizzlers, and wigglers. In addition, bassist David Hartley showed off a trio of Ps, an armada of Ampegs, and demo’d a fuzz that has ended his quest for razing tones.

00:00 - D’Addario XPND Pedalboard
00:15 - Adam Granduciel Intro
01:34 - Fender American Vintage ’57 Strat reissue
02:44 - 1969 Gibson SG
04:29 - 1963 Fender Jazzmaster
06:38 - 1966 Fender Jazzmaster
07:59 - Fender American Vintage ’65 Jazzmaster
08:57 - Gibson Hummingbird
11:19 - Adam Granduciel's Amp Wall
17:12 - Adam Granduciel's Pedalboard
37:38 - David Hartley Intro
38:28 - 2002 Fender Precision Bass
41:46 - 1983 Fender Fullerton ’62 Reissue Precision Bass
43:39 - Fender Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass
45:04 - Ampeg Heritage 50th Anniversary SVT amps
47:45 - David Hartley's Pedalboard

#rigrundown #thewarondrugs #adamgranduciel

[DominikGuerriero]

if the drugs they're fighting are guitar pedals, They've definitely lost.

[thestuffmikedoes]

This is the best example of a Rig Rundown that a I absolutely love to watch, but an actual rig that I would never want to deal with.

[porchestra]

I’m a drummer who plays guitar when no one else is watching and this channel has been a great way in knowing how some of my favourite bands get their distinctive tones.

[willrobertsmith]

We had access to too much money, too much equipment and little by little we went insane.

[Steaminlidz]

Holy. The first War On Drugs one is one of my most rewatched Rig Rundowns ever…

[BenCDaugherty]

He has all that and THEN shows us a kemper hiding behind the rig. The cherry on top

[stealthisname]

The two flavors of fuzz housed in the JHS Bun Runner are the "Astro Mess Fuzz" [designed by the Switchfoot guitarist] and a modified germanium "Tonebender" circuit

[Dunkaroos]

Adam is endlessly talented and I respect that he uses fender equipment

[rome]

This is one of my favorite Rig Rundown episodes. And I don't even really like War on Drugs as much as most people do. It helps that Chris is my favorite Rig Rundown interviewer.

[nickhutchinson]

Adam basically is a touring guitar shop, love it

[Marcel-ulsd]

I’d like to see a rig rundown with this guy and Nigel Tufnel together. Epic! 😁

[UncleRicoOSU]

Thank god for this band. Adam is a mad scientist.

[golfcoursemanager]

That pedalboard looks like the helm of the Starship Enterprise.

[joshphillips]

Yup, v1 is a classic. Can't wait to see this one

[AnodyneHipsterInfluencer]

I dig all the gear. In my mind that's what a rock show is _supposed_ to be. A bunch of tube amps, racks full of outboard gear, big pedalboards, Rhodes, B3's, synths, electric pianos, specialized drum kits and a trio of background singers.

[houdinibrains]

This guy has decided to try and get pretty much every guitar pedal. How does he sleep at night? Why does he torture himself? He has spent so much time thinking about this and applying it. Wow he’s a champ!

[Lupoexperience]

Chris is a great interviewer, although I also really enjoy listening to John Bohlinger do these rig rundowns. Love War on Drugs and Adam's sound, which reminds me of that pushed back in the mix feel reminiscent of the E Street band. Great one!

[Brian_Boru]

What an interesting musician. So good to hear these background details.

[mortenbrandanger]

This all goes to Europe :) Love this guy. Looks totally out of control, but some of the best sound and lights I'v ever seen on any concert. Also he manages to use all that stuff without ever sounding over the top effect wise. Awesome!!!

[DanBettridge]

There are some great little awkward silences in this 😅