Gear Check: Dijon's Touring Band | Fretboard Journal

The Fretboard Journal doesn't typically do live gear videos, but when our longtime contributor, Ryan Richter, joined Dijon's touring band, we couldn't pass up the opportunity. Here was a rare chance to shed light on the brilliant guitarists behind one of the most innovative artists performing today.
Dijon's touring guitarists:
Ryan Richter: lap steel, guitar, bass ( / misterrichter )
Jack Karaszewski: guitar, bass, modular effects ( / flan_egg )
Mike Gordon: guitars, keyboards, samples ( / mk.gee_ )
Recorded at Seattle's the Crocodile on May 22, 2022 before Dijon's sold-out concert.
Camera/Editing: Peter Hilgendorf / Lake & Pine. www.lakeandpin...
Dijon's 'Absolutely' (film): • Dijon - Absolutely (Film)
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Fretboard Journal #50: www.fretboardj...
#dijon

[@RivKoob]

Everyone praising Mike (rightfully so, bro is a PIONEER of sound and guitar, a modern great), but can we all just appreciate Ryan ? He’s incredibly loving and supportive. A true humble soul who clearly loves to uplift those around him. He’s just a refreshing soul. Someone we all need in our lives. Especially within a band dynamic, he’s the real glue of the band.

[@prestonlister187]

Heard him play for Ryan Beatty back in March and he’s incredible

[@Dr.Phil_]

Fuck I need more footage of Mike , he’s truly a god walking the earth

[@TS-he4dn]

yes

[@GoAndLive]

Absolutely!!!

[@bonefish3264]

there is very very little of this dude on the internet hes mysterious af

[@GoAndLive]

@@bonefish3264 so true. Wish we could see more if him. Hoping he tours soon!!

[@towhee89]

He needs to release some more of his music. True talent

[@joogonetime9328]

Mike is insane

[@alexanderlanyon]

Yo Ryan is literally the nicest dude, so humble, bigging up everyone, what a vibe.

[@beardpapa34]

Thanks for the shoutout at 9:46! Glad you guys are putting it to good use! #guitarfocusedhelicopterpilot

[@CrowCourtBand]

Coolest guitar I have ever seen, props to you!!

[@plantcham]

IVE BEEN DYING TO KNOW AND HERE WE ARE

[@BroadcastsFromPoorFarm]

Would love to hear a Jack Karaszewski solo project. That stuff is right up my alley.

[@eficer04]

check out his work with Henry Kwapis (the band’s drummer) as Dessert, their song thunderbird is quite a banger, but it’s pretty old. I also hope he puts some solo shit out soon tho that modular setup too cold.

[@eficer04]

and his production on john keek’s “foreverlong”

[@kosmo_komputer]

can you imagine if Mike did guitar pedal demos

[@alxmackenzie]

would be a waste:D

[@alexpettigrew3468]

This might be the most talented group of musicians that’s been around in a loooooong time

[@kayfromfaraway]

look at mike man, so inspirational

[@morallita]

Bruh mk.gee got the sweetest voice I have ever heard

[@starbelly2000]

Here for Mk.gee

[@antwilliams5523]

they are all so cool! but holy moly there is something about Mike

[@petey5022]

i love that this is on the internet they have such crazy sounds

[@thisisanunofficialaccount387]

It’s so crazy to look back on this video and watch Mike play “You Got It”!!!!

[@sione_etc]

i start tearing up whenever mike starts playing something

[@norbylive]

Saw them live, was a spiritual experience

[@gurleyco]

The end made me smile :)

[@VinnieDaidoneGuitar]

Jack and Mike's rigs just blew my mind I think. Didnt know guitar could sound like that.. Using a Tascam 4 track as a preamp...brilliant.

[@cjbcarr1]

these guys are on one. dijon is incredible.

[@holmesy321]

Thanks FJ, Ryan and the rest of the guys for taking the time out to do this. True creatives. And Mike G's style is so so cool...

[@MiniMrMufel]

Geniuses at their craft. Beautiful stuff

[@MyNameisRJay]

wow super unexpected to see Dijon here. Grateful for this!!!

[@wasthatmikeb]

The guitars sounded so cool live I love this

[@MicahManaitai]

been dying for this thank you so much

[@james.00]

This just makes me appreciate Absolutely even more

[@ccwaggoner]

I love this video so much.

[@michaelshearer3559]

What a dynamic band.

[@TLGuitars]

So good. That show and those dudes are amazing.

[@KordTaylor]

Oh man soooo many fans will be on this video. Thank you very much! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@heathband]

love this deep dive. great band, great tones.ryan rules

[@mottleblonde]

At 13:50 kind of sounds like he plays a little bit of “you got it”

[@ster47]

the coolest live music experience

[@KordTaylor]

The Ranger! So THATS the growls thing that he uses. Thanks. 👏🏻

[@4gave1]

That tone is ferocious

[@theelectricferntree]

creating a new world, a new future

[@KordTaylor]

Great video. Thank you. 👏🏻

[@isaiahbennett4096]

These guys are geniuses..

[@JoshuaMalilay]

thank you for this omg

[@kamhash1]

YES!

[@NoahSties]

this video made my month

[@plantcham]

THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!!!

[@daniliotaloma]

This video really a gold mine

[@justinbatayeh2688]

Holy shit I am so happy!!!!! Finally we know!!!!

[@eficer04]

Yeah man

[@edgarcsquirrel]

so sick

[@ttruiett]

my holy grail

[@NicholasPalance]

Curious: what is that cool red guitar Mike is playing at 19:14 in the Dijon - Absolutely (film) video ???

[@caliel3417]

what baritone range mod is mike talking about? or is it just the crafted in japan jaguar

[@fridaystarsign]

Been waiting for this video for so so long

[@DY-vn2df]

amazing

[@theclassicrx]

Incredible…

[@yy-pt2lh]

mk.gee. just mk.gee

[@brownstonerecordings611]

oh shit, so lit!

[@wojothebard]

shalom. this was incredible. fanks boys.

[@cloudmalcolm]

anyone know what kind of chord voicings mike tends to gravitate to?

[@carricktim7]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rquXXpR7fNukh68

[@joeboonmusic4004]

A lot of gospel influenced voicing tbh. Passing tones and chords linked chromatic with little passing diminished chords. You can also hear a lot of Blake Mills’ influence on his playing. Both monster musicians.

[@dep6898]

the best!!!!!

[@joshuakern1017]

Anyone got ID’s on the rest of that modular rig?

[@martinmedrano6304]

how can I get that cheap Casio tone Mikes using ?

[@amart23]

I don’t want to be a party pooper, but a lot of the guitar processing sound is VERY derivative of minus the bear. I love it but similar in many ways

[@ryandeag8560]

What RaingerFX pedal is Mike using? great vid, great band

[@fretboardjournal]

Reverb-X

[@red240red2]

Those are volumes knob swells when mike g is playing right to get that fading in sound too?

[@blakestevenson7261]

Anyone know what “cheap Casio” Mike is using? Thanks!!

[@hyllamusic]

looks like something from the cz series, i think specifically the casio cz-5000

[@daytongreen7831]

@@hyllamusicthat’s not it😭

[@merdaccade]

@@daytongreen7831 casio wk-245

[@gelailoh]

wowowowowow

[@PyroKP]

What Casio keyboard is that? I NEED that sound

[@don.alanis]

What Casio is Mike playing?

[@tomverberne6905]

Can anyone ID the modular pedal modules? Thanks!

[@melancholyark5131]

please 🥺🙏🏾

[@jonahward4997]

the tape emulator (1st one) is a strymon magneto.

[@melancholyark5131]

@@jonahward4997 omg bro thank you ❤️

[@melancholyark5131]

@@jonahward4997 now to see if I can afford it🥲

[@tomverberne6905]

@@melancholyark5131 2 other ones are Strymon Starlab and mutable beads

[@bigboy-ph1wo]

what lap steel tuning is ryan using?

[@vvasheq9475]

does anyone know about the modded bariton jaguar? it seems that a bariton jaguar suppose to have a different bridge if it is baritone. or is it really just thicker strings

[@Peppershaker]

looks to me like a normal jag tuned down, also the strings sound floppier than a normal bari if that makes sense. probably like 12s or 13s

[@christdolphin69]

i still have no idea what he's using the portastudio 424 for. monitoring? a mixer? 1 channel? what? hes using 1 channel to run his guitar through for preamp saturation without any tape?

[@joeboonmusic4004]

Sounds like the Roland jazz chorus is for monitoring and he's running his guitar through the portastudio for a little bit of natural saturation before it gets sent to front of house... Think of it like a cool little preamp before it hits the speakers.

[@charlieanderson5247]

What is that distortion pedal Mike is using? I can’t find it on reverb

[@bstancic743]

Anybody know what model the Casio that Mike is playing is?

[@restingbassface23]

Where can I find this “sweet thing” song that Mike sampled in his demo?

[@LordTheeProducer]

It’s old everywhere Dijon sweet thing, mk gee added his spin to it here

[@restingbassface23]

@@LordTheeProducer I found it eventually but im hoping to hear the live version that’s been “MkGeeified”.

[@streamlight1]

does anybody know how Mike has modded his guitar to be Baritone? I’d imagine he’s done more than just tune it down and put thicker strings on as otherwise it would go out of tune all the time and the strings would have too much slack (I would guess) - so does anyone know how he’s done it ?

[@odrylarsen_]

im currently trying to research this, but i guess he just uses some higher guages such as like 15 or 16's as i know he is tuned to A# which is pretty low, i guess the only problem that could happes is the bridge buzz on jaguar, but otherwise it should be fine.

[@odrylarsen_]

i need to check photos, but as i can see he uses mustang bridge, not the classic jag one

[@thunderstein5041]

i thought when he said "baritone modification", he meant that his jaguar has baritone scale length which would mean the neck is longer, but it's seems to be just a regular ass Jaguar with some beefy strings. Dude is nuts and i love it.

[@stoogel]

It looks like the regular Jag neck which has the shorter 24" scale length. I'm trying to figure out if that third string is wound, like he has a 11-65 7-string set but did away with the high string so it's 15-65. You would possibly need to widen the slots in the nut and replace the Jag bridge. There would definitely be enough string tension though. He seems to play with a light touch except when slamming the high strings for noise effects.

[@Blaaaze33]

What mixer, tape recorder is mk.gee using

[@aptmix]

the mf magggeeee

[@ReagoLand]

Didn’t know Tom Segura can play lapsteel

[@Rahnjahn]

What’s the mixer mike uses??

[@boimesa8190]

Does Jack Play any other bands?

[@jimderino]

Any idea 8:41 what modules hes using?

[@marcushandel22]

Strymon magneto, strymon starlab, and a mutable instruments beads. I can’t figure out which one is in the middle sadly:(

[@joris8170]

​@@marcushandel22 Panharmonium by Rossum! It's what resynthesises the guitar. I absolutely love this rack and am set on builing it myself this summer! Just need like 2k :,)

[@cameronfreeman6280]

Thank you!@@joris8170

[@franky-97]

Song name at 12:20 ?

[@daytongreen7831]

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THAT CASIO!?!?

[@vermilion7843]

casio wk-245

[@daytongreen7831]

@@vermilion7843 BRO GOD BLESS YOU YHANK U SM

[@lucasfolkmusic]

Mike just could not be bothered which is totally a bummer