" title="A StingRay and a Fishman Fluence humbucker is all he needs for a tour.
You most certainly know Ryan “Fluff” Bruce, if you’ve watched any of the videos dealing with triple rectifiers, 5150s, the cheapest guitars imaginable, or absurd gear listings on eBay and Reverb. Over 400K subscribers and nearly 100 million views have been amassed by the mastermind behind the channel. His charm is a mix of quality, inviting guitar-related content with high-brow information and effective, well- timed low-brow comedy. Also, some high-brow goofs. Bruce often leaves his Pacific Northwest video sanctuary to continue playing guitar in a band His current endeavor is called Dragged Under.
The quintet is a Negroni of rock, stirring in equal parts upbeat pop-punk and melodic metalcore. There are often sinister instruments, such as acoustic guitars, and even orchestral overtones. They were formed from the ashes of Rest, Repose, with vocalist Anthony Cappocchi and guitarist Josh Wildhorn. The lineup for The World Is In Your Way was filled by bassist Hans Hessburg and drummer Kalen Anderson. Since that release, guitarist Sean Rosario has replaced Wildhorn and helped bring their brand-new batches of jams together for a June 2022, release.
Ahead of Dragged Under’s show at the End in Nashville on September 1, Pg’s Perry Bean jumped onstage to talk shop. The development of his signature Fishman Fluence humbucker, his transition from the Line 6 Helix to Axe-Fx III, and his leadership of Axe-Fx III were all shown in “Fluff”.
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It is hard for Bruce to narrow his collection to a few key axes because he has so many instruments. He is a pragmatic player that looks at all the requirements of a touring tone pony. Mr. Sparkle (Simpsons season eight reference) is his “No. 1 A,” not only for its sonics, but its sensibility. There is a Fishman Fluence pickup in the bridge and a Fishman Fluence single width pickup in the neck on it. The roasted maple neck of the StingRay ensures no movement when faced with extreme climate changes. Even if something changes, it has a very accessible truss rod adjustment at the end of the fretboard. The Music Man bridge is very stable because it rests on a piece of wood. It is in the 8-pound range, so it is not a boat anchor, allowing for optimal movement onstage without requiring an on-call Chiropractor.
Bruce has a tone print on his Fishman Fluence pickups. There are three settings for his humbucker. A boosted active ceramic sound that has a high-frequency tilt for a darker tone is what position one starts with. Lamb of God guitarist Willie Adler uses his signature Fluence pickup in position two, and it offers an articulate passive rhythm tone. The high-end sting is maintained by position three, which is muscular and slightly overwound single-coil.
Bruce says that this one-pickup, one-knob mosh machine is a nod to the simple, sawtoothed G&L Rampage favored by the Alice in Chains ripper. The only pickup is Fishman Fluence. He mentioned in the Rundown that this StingRay has a larger neck profile than the previous StingRay. The guitars we have seen so far stay in drop C# and use the same strings as the Ernie Ball strings.
The StingRay was built for a band that dissolved. It was on the shelves of Music Man for a while. With no need for the extra humbucker, he had them remove the neck unit. It is similar to a ’70s Buick Riviera with its gold finish. The ride has a lone Fishman Fluence Classic humbucker and cruises in drop D.
For a long time, the Fluff and his bandmates depended on Line 6 Helix. After releasing their second album, the band realized they have more tonal requirements and needed more digital power. The Axe-Fx III is the one they graduated to. Bruce uses a Marshall JVM setting to create colors. The Axe-Fx III is powered by the Matrix Amplification GT1000X-1U. The Sennheiser IEM G4 unit is used to setup a wireless setup.
The FC-12 Foot Controller has a Fluff handle.
There is a stereo Mesa/Boogie Horizontal Rectifier 2×12 that has a pair of Vintage 30s.