<\/p>\n Before we began however, an apology for the lack of aesthetic appeal that their trusty profiling amps had\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it\u2019s Fractal or Kemper, the one thing they do not have going for them is they are not sexy-looking,\u201d Ben chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cWe could bring a bunch of cool-looking and unique collectable amps on tour with us, but that really would just be for the sake of the people who knew what they were!\u201d<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n But, as we discovered, there was plenty to appease our gear-lust within their set-up.<\/p>\n Firstly, a series of \u201870s Fender Mustangs, the guitar most associated with Gibbard;<\/p>\n \u201cI got a Mustang in a trade, and I just really liked that the neck was so easy to move around on; it was very similar to the Fender Bullet I played when the band started, so I found my hands moving around the neck in a similar fashion as I did in some of the older material and that re-inspired me to play more guitar,\u201d explained Ben.<\/p>\n \n Fender Mustangs are a Ben Gibbard hallmark (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n \u201cI have a fleet of \u201970s, maple-necked Mustangs where I\u2019ve taken out the pickup-switchers and I\u2019ve removed the tone knob, and I\u2019ve just wired them in the middle position.<\/p>\n \u201cI have one capo\u2019d into position, but it\u2019s all standard tuning; there\u2019s one song called You Moved Away<\/a> where the low E is tuned up to an F, just because there\u2019s a hard chord voicing. I\u2019m 42 years old; I\u2019ve only just realised you can change the tuning to make it easier to play stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n Back then, guitarist Dave Depper was particularly keen on the Fano Alt De Facto PX6.<\/p>\n \n The Fano Alt De Facto PX6 (Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the sort of non-reverse Firebird guitar that I\u2019ve been playing. I also have this lovely Novo Serus J that Denis Fano himself built for me, and I put Lollar Firebird pickups in it to match the PX6s.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the last tour, I had six different electric guitars out, and then all the pedals would respond differently to them, and I kind of got in over my head with all that stuff, so I just wanted a very consistent thing to build off of,\u201d Depper told us.<\/p>\n \u201cThat guitar is the perfect one for me, because in the neck position, those Firebird pickups can do a very convincing bell-like Strat kind of sound. Also, the middle position, you get that lovely out-of-phase thing. But the bridge pickup breaks up just like a Gibson with the humbucker. It\u2019s like a Swiss army knife of a guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Depper is still playing the Novo Serus J (Image credit: Dana Jacobs\/FilmMagic\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Then of course, there\u2019s a particularly sexy Rickenbacker 330, handled by Dave and tuned to open F specifically for the Thank You for Today single, Gold Rush<\/a>;<\/p>\n \u201cThat song was the first single, and there were a ton of promotional appearances and stuff, and it just seemed easier to have a guitar dedicated to playing that song. It responds really well to slide.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Fender](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BYu9BcBuXbnNT9axdTRW3F.png\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Guitar\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MWgDSPSvkm9AVwf2aDPowM.png\")
\n<\/p>\n![\"Death](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/MuinzftE9zPbnGDY2NcUNV.png\")
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