Tommy Shaw, Styx

BACKSTAGE PASS Jimmy Johnson/Tommy shaw, sTyx JIMMY JOHNSON/ TOMMY SHAW, STYX Top Canadian guitar tech Jimmy Johnson gives Matt Frost a behind-the-scenes look at Tommy Shaw’s onstage rig immy Johnson secured his fi rst professional teching job back in 1974 when an Jold drumming high- school buddy successfully auditioned for an up-and-coming band on the eve of their fi rst ever US tour. Jimmy’s buddy was Neil Peart and the band, of course, was Rush, and for nearly 25 years Johnson worked pretty much full-time as Alex Lifeson’s guitar technician. Other artists to dutifully rely upon Jimmy’s teching prowess over the years have included Metallica, Todd Rundgren, Damn Yankees, Peter Frampton, Glass Tiger, Tesla, Tom Cochrane, Collective Soul and Th e Cars. Johnson fi rst hooked up with Styx in the late ’90s, after Rush announced they were taking a sabbatical, and he’s been Tommy Shaw’s personal guitar technician ever since. And on top of all of Jimmy’s on-the-road responsibilities with Styx, he also Jimmy with Tommy Shaw manages to fi nd the time to manage his own business, mates so we’re all looking forward Jimmy and Tommy are currently using the Vibramate install kit,” Gorgomyte, which manufactures to a good run. Touring as much as taking out a total of 14 electrics enthuses Johnson. “I recommend one of the industry’s most we do and also running my and acoustics in the USA, although people go to www.vibramate.com respected fret and fi ngerboard Gorgomyte business pretty much as Johnson explains, “We’re to learn more about what really is cleaning products (also called keeps me running at full tilt, which constantly evolving and trying an amazing innovation.” Gorgomyte). is how I like it.” new things.” Shaw’s main axe has Tommy’s other on-the-road axes “Styx always keeps me busy as long been his 1998 Gibson 1959 include: a Vox Virage, made out of every year we fulfi l a quota of Historic Les Paul Reissue, and Hawaiian koa wood; a Bill Nash 100-plus shows!” says Jimmy ON THE RACK Johnson’s recently modifi ed it by Telemaster 12-string; a Bill Nash Johnson. “And we’re actually slated When Styx do hit the shores of the fi tting a Bigsby B7, while he has Stratocaster; a PRS CE24; a Fender to do some shows in the UK this UK come June, you can expect to also added Bigsby B5s to a couple Custom Shop Relic Telecaster; a summer with Journey and see the kind of guitar rack that’ll of Gibson ES-335s. Fender Custom Shop Relic Foreigner. Both groups are old make you go green with envy. “All of these Bigsbys are adapted Baritone Jazzmaster; a Gibson 74 www.guitarbuyermag.com GB114.074-076.backstage.indd 74 17/01/2011 16:17 BACKSTAGE PASS Jimmy Johnson/Tommy shaw, sTyx Tommy warming up pre-gig Got gear? better than a Marshall 4x12, if eﬀ ects, so it wasn’t long before I I TAKE CARE OF HIS EFFECTS...A PLAYER that’s possible, so we loaded up said to him, ‘I can do that for you on them.” – you want to be Tommy Shaw!’ LIKE TOMMY ONLY WANTS TO BE AT HIS And so the next thing you know he didn’t go anywhere near his MICROPHONE POSITION WHEN HE’S SINGING SOUND CONTROL pedalboard. I do all his switching When Jimmy joined the Styx crew for him and in my rack I have a full-time around a decade ago, one drawer with all the pedals in there Custom Shop ES-356; a1966 they sounded good, of course, but of the fi rst things he did was to free and he leaves everything up to me. Fender electric 12-string; a Taylor I’d used Palmers in the past with up some of Tommy’s onstage I might decide we could use a little GA8 12-string; and a Taylor GS8 Rush and I said to them, ‘We can responsibilities. bit of delay on this solo, so I punch six-string. Another recent Jimmy pick up a lot of space and the “Th e one thing that I really it in for him and he might look Johnson guitar mod has been consistency of your tone will changed was taking care of his over his shoulder and give me a giving Tommy Shaw’s Gibson Les remain day after day after day, and eﬀ ects patches,” explains Jimmy. wink … and that’s always a good Paul Axcess “the full www. there’ll be no worries about “He was doing that originally, but a thing! He leaves all of that up to fl oydupgrades.com titanium blowing speakers!’ Th ey listened player like Tommy only wants to me and it’s nice to have that kind treatment”, as Jimmy notes. and said, ‘If you think they’re that be at his microphone position of trust from the master!” “Nothing can prepare you for the good, let’s get them!’ And as soon when he’s singing – otherwise he’s Styx’s other guitar tech is Greg sound and sustain improvement as I plugged them in they loved somewhere else! He would have to Mandelke and he handles all the those parts will give you.” them, and they almost sound keep dashing back to switch his instruments and switching for SPACE SAVER In terms of amplifi cation, Tommy Shaw has been plugging into a pair of Marshall TSL-100s for a number of years now. Th ey’re both fi tted with Groove Tubes EL-34 tubes with a six grade and Jimmy has also modded them with Mercury Magnetics transformers and chokes which “really do greatly improve the overall tone, defi nition and clarity”. Two pieces of gear that Jimmy Johnson resolutely swears by are the Palmer PDI-03 passive speaker simulators that he introduced to the rig some time ago. “We’re always looking to pick up more space in the truck so we can get other things out here, and before we got the Palmers I was using these isolation boxes,” explains Jimmy. “I had two for Jimmy Young and two for Tommy and they took up a good six feet of space … each of them had a Marshall 4x12 in them. I mean, Jimmy with the band’s guitars www.guitarbuyermag.com 75 GB114.074-076.backstage.indd 75 17/01/2011 16:17 BACKSTAGE PASS Jimmy Johnson/Tommy shaw, Styx Turn it up to 11! James Young, Ricky Phillips and wireless to a whole new level of a Keeley Katana clean boost pedal; Alex Lifeson or Peter Frampton or Chuck Panozzo. performance and ease of use. I a Dunlop Uni-Vibe pedal; and two Tommy Shaw – they’re really “During a live show it can get network Tommy’s four receivers Lake Butler MIDI Mitigator comfortable with that! I’m kind of hairy on stage left!” laughs with James Young’s Shures as well controllers, which are cleverly extremely happy when the Johnson. “When we’re in full as the monitor engineer’s utilised to give Tommy an onstage soldering iron’s out and there’s hot swing there’s a lot of button hand-held microphones. This digital display of each upcoming cable everywhere and I’m gonna pushing, footswitch tapping, allows a one-button scanning of song in the set. come up with something really tuning and the occasional repair the wireless environment and cool rather than ‘Oh, this is on the fly. After working in tight assignment of all radios in our something I’ve got to do instead of quarters for more than 1,000 frequency range. Since going TECH RELATIONS bringing out a guitar and playing shows now, Greg and I have with this system we have yet to Jimmy Johnson is not a musician it myself!’” developed a routine that surely see a drop-out, which in itself is himself and has never had any When it comes to music biz has to be entertaining in its own very impressive, and they sound other career ambition besides analogies, Jimmy Johnson leaves us right. I can’t imagine doing this as close to a cable as anything becoming one of the best techs in with a veritable gem when he sums with anyone else beside me.” I’ve tested.” the business. up the onstage relationship Shaw’s current ‘stage left’ touring “From my experience, a lot of between musician and technician. pedalboard consists of: a Dunlop musicians that are at that level in “Just because a man can take the SHURE FOR SHAW DCR-2SR remote wah with two their career like having a guy over car around the track at 200mph, it Another recent Styx rig innovation VCA controllers; a Keeley- on the side of the stage that isn’t a doesn’t mean he can rebuild the that Jimmy Johnson has modified Ibanez TS9 Tube frustrated musician in that ‘I transmission in the pit lane! And introduced is a change to the Screamer pedal; a DigiTech Bad wanted to be out there but I didn’t the crewmember who can do that band’s wireless set-up. Monkey overdrive pedal; a Boss make it so I’ll settle for this!’” he can’t take that same car around “I’m now using the Shure UHF-R BF-3 flanger pedal; a Boss CE-5 explains. “But I didn’t settle for Silverstone and not end up dead.

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