Tones to Love, Love, Love

My Morning Jacket frontman/guitarist Jim James on dialing in some of the nastiest fuzz tones of his career — and what to expect from his new signature Gibson ES-335

- By Amit Sharma

KENTUCKY ROCKERS MY Morning Jacket are certainly well-versed in the art of vintage guitar tones. Fusing elements of country and psychedelic alongside their Southern rock roots, there’s always been a glaringly human quality to their noises — an unabashed celebration of all things raw and lo-fi. For their new self-titled album, singer/ guitarist Jim James and his bandmates took that concept even further, dialing in fuzz tones that cough and spit harder than ever. But besides the new music, there’s a signature Gibson ES-335 on the way — which the frontman describes as an instrument for players who put ease and comfort high up in their list of requirements and cites as being far more versatile than it might initially appear. Below, we get the full story behind the new model — and the new recordings.

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