Paul Gilbert

Disposable gloves and a makita drill are among the touring essentials for mr Big’s stringsman…

- David Mead

What was your first gig and how did it go?

“I played Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent at my sixth grade talent show. The girls were very excited and they all ran up to me and said, ‘Do you know any Bee Gees?’ I didn’t know any Bee Gees.”

What’s on your rider?

“The most unusual thing is fresh ginger – I make ginger tea with lemon and honey – then Marshall amps, preferably the ones with the least knobs. For my clinics, I allow cell phone cameras, but I ask that people use them where I don’t see them. I like to see faces.”

Describe your current stage rig…

“An assortment of Ibanez FRM and PGM guitars and vintage-style Marshalls. My pedal board changes for every tour, but today it has – in order of signal path – a Boss CS-3 compressor, a Boss DD-3 digital delay, an MXR Phase 90 (script with LED), a Catalinbread Sabbra Cadabra distortion, a Catalinbread Karma Suture germanium overdrive, a TC Electronic MojoMojo overdrive, a Catalinbread Callisto chorus and a TC Electric Alter Ego vintage echo. This is all powered by a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus. I also use DiMarzio Cables, Ernie Ball strings and Tortex picks (‘The Wedge’ 50mm). Oh yeah, and a custom Makita drill with four guitar picks mounted on the end of a wooden dowel rod as the bit.”

What’s your best tip for getting a good live sound?