Chris Shiflett has revealed that he is taking a Charvel-style custom Superstrat on tour with the Foo Fighters after being inspired by his podcast conversations with Richie Sambora.
Speaking with Premier Guitar, in a video segment documenting his live rig, Shiflett joked that this kind of electric guitar was “highly illegal” for a Foo Fighters tour, and that having a Floyd Rose-equipped instrument onstage had even led to him augmenting his solo to Breakout with a few divebombs.
“I always wanted to put together a Superstrat or whatever, so I did that,” he says. “I brought it out on tour. I mean, that is like so illegal in the Foo Fighters but I’ve slipped it in just a little bit without asking!”
Shiflett was asked if any of his guests had inspired him while doing his Shred With Shifty podcast. Sambora, whom Shiflett has interviewed twice, was definitely one. The former Bon Jovi lead guitarist was playing a Charvel with a reverse headstock, a signature model whose name escaped Shiflett but must surely be the MusicRadar-approved Henrik Danhage Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1.
This got Shiflett thinking. He sourced a neck online. The guitar would be inspired by the ‘80s, by Eddie Van Halen, with a zebra-coil Seymour Duncan JB humbucker at the bridge and a Floyd Rose and not much else to get in the way. And he reached out to Eric Chaz at the Van Nuys, California, institution Ernie’s Guitars to put the S-style together.
One cool detail highlighted in the video is Shiflett’s name on the headstock. The relic’d shell pink finish is sweet too. As yet it is still a pinch-hitter for the Foos live show, but Shiflett says its remit has been extended.
“I really brought it out because there’s a section in the show where Dave introduces everybody, and everybody does a little something, and I sorta worked that in to do a little homage to some of my favourite players,” he says. “ I’ll do a little taste of Randy Rhoads, a little bit of Eruption, and a little bit of Thunderstruck, AC/DC, and so I wanted to bring that guitar with me so I could do some tremolo bar dives and stuff.
“But then after getting it out here, I don’t want to throw it on for just that and then take it of, so I put it one for the song just ahead of that – we usually do Breakout. And then I started doing some divebombs in Breakout just to see if anyone in the band noticed.”
In case you are wondering how much attention the Foo Fighters pay to Shiflett’s solos, well, not that much. No one noticed. Shiflett had to tell Pat Smear to look out for them. As for the S-style, it is a nice stunt guitar alternative to his usual complement of Fender Telecasters.
“It’s a super fun guitar,” says Shiflett. “It plays really good.” And as he reveals in the video above, he plays it with everything on, boost, flanger, whatever’s on the pedalboard…
Head this way if you want to know why Chris Shiflett takes a Quad Cortex on tour with him for his solo dates.
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