Unknown Mortal Orchestra

<p>“Gear is meant to be destroyed in the line of duty,” laughs Ruban Nielson. “I realize I prefer to see my equipment all dinged up rather than sitting perfect in my basement—that’s a dorky thing to do.”</p><p>That doesn’t mean Nielson doesn’t care about his sound. He noted in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/unknown-mortal-orchestra-ruban-nielson" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2015 interview with&nbsp;<em>PG</em></a>&nbsp;that he spends countless hours in his basement tinkering on breadboard circuits and swapping out components, trying to maximize a pedal for his needs. “I like the idea that instead of buying your sound, you’re building your sound,” he said.</p><p>Over the course of 14 years, five albums, and thousands of touring miles, Nielsen has been custom-fabricating his guitar voice. But as we all know, the quest is never-ending, like trying to catch the horizon. After all, isn’t it the journey, not the destination, that matters?</p><p>“I used to be too much of a savage to care about a clean boost or headroom,” says Nielson. “‘Just give me a distortion pedal already!’ But now I’m exploring the intricacies, subtleties, and nuances of guitar.”</p><p>Ahead of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s headlining performance at Nashville’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.brooklynbowl.com/nashville" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Brooklyn Bowl</a>, Ruban Nielson welcomed&nbsp;<em>PG</em>’s Chris Kies onstage to explore his current sonic lab. Nielson covers his two space-age guitars (and what inspired them), explains how he convinced Benson to put a Monarch inside a vintage solid-state Yamaha, and details the pedals—including a few of his own designs—that extract a kaleidoscope of moods.</p><p><em>Brought to you by&nbsp;</em><a href="https://ddar.io/wykyk-rr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>D'Addario</em></a><em>.</em></p>