JIMMY EAT WORLD

For the tonally-adventurous punks, heavy-gauge strings and the super-practical Fractal Axe-Fx IIIs are heaven

- Jonathan Horsley

There has never been a pre-show vibe more calm. Jimmy Eat World’s latest album, Surviving, was released last night; another sold-out beckon tonight, and it’s just, well - it’s just so quiet. All is well; serene. Maybe that is due to the gear decisions Jim Adkins and Tom Linton made some time ago, having had the Fractal Axe-Fx units recommended to them by Kenny Andrews of Failure. Now, they place all their faith – and their tone – in their Fractal Axe-Fx III units. It makes life easy. They wheel in a case, use MIDI switching systems from RJM to access their tones, and off they go. There’s definitely something to be said for trusty, reliable old gear; no meltdowns to be found here. Elsewhere, Adkins uses his signature Telecasters and a Maton acoustic, while Linton uses a Gibson SG as his number one and a couple of genuine curios, such as a Gibson Challenger and a truly weird electric that we’d love to identify for you, but one that even Linton has no idea what it is.

JIM’S RIG

FENDER ARTIST SERIES JIM ADKINS JA-90 TELECASTER THINLINE