thing in the ’70s—the heavier the guitar,
the longer the sustain—but I just can’t do
that. But also, the Bobkat and Silvertone
have this amazing vibrato bar that’s super
sensitive—you can dive bomb on it and it
will stay in tune. The neck is not the most
hospitable—it leaves a little something to
be desired—but they’re really solid guitars.
I like the tone, and it’s really balanced—
and I really love that vibrato bar.
Do you have any special tricks you have
to use to keep it in tune?
It works pretty well. I tune down a whole-step and use a little heavier strings, and that
keeps it in tune a little bit better. On “Year
of the Tiger,” I actually do a super-metal
tuning—down to a low F#, super sludgy
and slimy—with .012-gauge strings and a
.054 on the bottom.
What’s going on with those robotic chord
stabs in “Neutered Fruit”?
I really mostly played the Bobkat with that
Death by Audio Interstellar Overdriver
Deluxe through the Princeton.
