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Rig Rundown: Halestorm’s

Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger
[2021]
John Bohlinger August 18 2021

Rig Rundown: Halestorm’s Lzzy H…

Rig Rundown Halestorm

www.youtube.com

Take a cruise through the Gibson- and Marshall-

heavy world of this Grammy-winning, hard-
rocking duo.

Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger of the Grammy-

winning rock band Halestorm recently took a
break from rehearsals for their 2021 tour to talk
rigs with Premier Guitar's John Bohlinger.

Shortly before this interview, Hale had become

the first woman to be named a brand
ambassador by Gibson. With several signature
models under her name, and Hottinger's
apparent obsession with SGs, it's not surprising
this rundown features some primo Gibsons.

[Brought to you by D'Addario XPND Pedalboard:

https://ddar.io/xpnd.rr ]

Lzzy’s No. 1

The Halestorm frontwoman's top dog is her Lzzy

Hale Explorer in alpine white with gold hardware,
featuring '57 Classic humbuckers, a mahogany
body/neck, a rosewood bound fretboard, three
control knobs (independent volumes and a
master tone), and a 3-way pickup switch.

Black Dog

A study in contrast to her No. 1, this Lzzy Hale Dark

Explorer in black and gold has '57 Classic
humbuckers, an ebony finish, block inlays, and a
solid mahogany body.

Head's Up

And here's the distinctive Explorer headstock.

Up on the Low-Down

When Lzzy wants to go low and rumbly, she plays

her Custom Baritone Gibson Explorer gold top. It's
got a 28" scale neck and her preferred two-tone-
one-volume control setup.

Lzzy Bird

For something truly different, Hale plays her

custom Explorer with a Firebird headstock,
decked in black and red, with gold hardware and
a pair of humbuckers from the 1970s.

Rock x 2

This EDS-1275 is literally the heaviest guitar in the

Halestorm arsenal, with a standard top and
baritone bottom, in SG white. It's strung with Ernie
Ball paradigms (.10–.52) on top and the
company's Not Even Slinky .12s for the bari half.
The pickups are her preferred '57 classics.

Anyone for Chess?

If amplification were a match game, Hale would

be ready. She tours with two custom Marshall
custom JCM800s—one white, one black.

White On

Here's one of her 4x12 cabinets—geared up in a

finish to match the head that drives it.

Lzzy's Pedalstorm

The signal runs from Hale's guitars into a Jerry

Cantrell JC95 Dunlop Cry Baby wah. Then it hits a
Boss TU-3, an EHX POG2, an MXR/CAE Boost/Line
Driver, a vintage Klon Centaur, and a Way Huge
Aqua-Puss Analog Delay Pedal. The power supply
is a Strymon Zuma.

You Want SGs?

Joe Hottinger's got SGs—a fat roadcase full when

he tours. He bought this 2003 SG Standard new
when he joined the band that year. The pickups
were changed to Burstbuckers when the originals
died while on tour in Europe.

The Green Monster

This is a great shade of green, allowing the

character on the wood in this kornia-body SG to
emerge. It's a 2001 Gibson Custom Shop creature
with custom '57 Classic humbuckers.

Double ... or Something

Not to be outshined, Joe's EDS-1275 is in super-

shiny Brunswick blue sparkle. The pickups on the
6-string side are a Burstbucker 1 and 2 set. On the
12-string side, they're a 2 and 3 set. Burstbuckers
1s are low output, 2s are medium output, and 3s
are overwound and hot.

Give It Up for Lester

This white silverburst '61 reissue has a Maestro

tailpiece and its design comes from the era when
it was called the Les Paul SG. It is stock and was
built in 2010.

It's Not Easy Being Green

But it rocks—at least on this 2020 Custom Shop

'61/'59 Fat Neck SG Limited Edition with three
humbuckers, just like Jimi's famed white "Dick
Cavett" model.

Single-Coils Going Steady

When it's time for that P-90 sound, Hottinger

reaches for his 2011 50th Anniversary Pete
Townshend alpine white SG. Windmilling lessons
not included!

Bari or Bust

This limited edition 2013 Gibson SG Baritone has a

27"-scale neck, a Richlite fretboard, 496R and
500T humbuckers, and push-pull volume pots.

Chet's Mix

Yes, this is also a Gibson—a 1999 Custom Shop

Chet Atkins SST. It has a solid top and a
mahogany body, and a bridge transducer with
an active preamp. Strings: Ernie Ball Acoustic
Paradigm .12 sets. His electric guitars have
Paradigm .10–.52 sets, mostly, and the company's
Not Even Slinky .12s are on the baritone.

Amps? You Betcha

Marshall
2222

Marshalle
DAAA

Boque
r

These two 2020 Marshall SV20H Studio Vintage

plexi-style heads are just the tip of the iceberg of
Joe's amplification setup.

Blasting from the Past

Marshall

Marshall

These two Marshall Super Leads are also in the

game. The red one is from 1971 and the purple
head is from 1973. Note the jumped inputs.

Big, Bad Bogner

Marshall
2222

Marshalle
DAAA

Boque
r

This Bogner 4x12—one of two in Joe's rig—features

Beyma Liberty 8-ohm speakers, which are super
versatile, sonically.

Clean Stomp Space

Hottinger keeps a neat pedalboard, running

cable into an Xotic XW1 wah to a Xotic XVP 250K
High Impedance Volume Pedal. From there, it's a
Tru-Fi Octavia Fuzz, Bogner La Grange, overdrive,
Tru-Fi Colordriver 18V, Keely 30 ms Automatic
Double Tracker, Electro-Harmonix POG2,
Earthquaker Devices Afterneath, and Strymon
TimeLine. It's all juiced by a Strymon Zuma power
box.

More from Premier Guitar:

Gibson Announces the Grand Opening of the

Gibson Garage ... ›

Rig Rundown: Nick Raskulinecz - Premier

Guitar ›

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale and Joe Hottinger: The

"Woo" Factor ... ›

Gibson Unveils the Lzzy Hale Signature

Explorerbird - Premier Guitar ›

More links we like:

Halestorm | Spotify ›

HALESTORM (@halestormrocks) • Instagram photos

and videos ›

Halestorm | Facebook ›
HALESTORM ! " # $

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