Rig Rundown - Disturbed's Dan Donegan

www.premierguitar.com PG's Rebecca Dirks caught up with guitar tech Trevor Cole who gives us a look at Disturbed's Dan Donegan's array of guitars and lets us in on how Dan has everything set up for their tour. For more Rig Rundown videos, or to view Premier Guitar's completely FREE digital edition magazine, be sure to visit www.premierguitar.com

[@ronson3161]

That dude was like "if you come near Dan's gear during a set, I will eat you soul". lol

[@systematic11]

Donegan's tone is SICK

[@kingnothing2161]

Its so clean.. so distorted but never sounds fuzzy or gritty.. no clue how he does it.. especially using a digitech and a metal zone.. figured he was more of a big amp distortion guy

[@StratMatt777]

@@kingnothing2161 The metal zone does not contribute to his base distorted tone. It is used as an effect to make a thin transistor radio sound (as described in the video).

[@inrewts3936]

Iss aight :)

[@TheMusicalElitist]

Really? It sounds pretty healthy to me...

[@ArshLX12]

Rebecca Dirks was the best host premier guitar had..bring her back!

[@Eliasraoficeal]

Yeah I agree

[@tetrodotoxin9782]

I'm starring at the premier guitar shirt. 😁

[@Shard.11]

Trevor Cole seems like such a nice guy,Dan is very lucky to have him as his Guitar Tech !

[@sandytaylor8158]

Trevor! Glad to see you tellin the kids what's what! Cool dude who knows his stuff, hope you are still havin fun out there! (Nice NIN shirt!)

[@5tnblnkt]

Dude sounds like he is in love with Dan Donegan.

[@BLACKSNOWFALLING]

Aren't we all~?

[@5tnblnkt]

Not really.

[@DetVen]

Dan is his boss and Dan is an awesome guy so...

[@disturbedlife5691]

Matías De Luca this guy is in charge of all of dans electronic equipment, he just sounds like he loves his job.......I honestly wouldn't mind traveling the world with my favorite band

[@rayf7821]

you think.my god if something ever happened to Dan oh lord what would he do with himself.WOW

[@twistedH3L1X]

Trevor! What a great, honest, capable rig rangler!

[@AlexanderJBarnes]

Man, this guy is awesome, he's such a good dude.

[@YusreeMe]

I love these rig rundown videos

[@Eliasraoficeal]

Me to

[@1.123]

3:36 i really like the simplicity of the cable in the GCX

[@jasoncardoza6375]

I have his signature pedal “ the weapon “ and this guy ain’t lying it’s an absolute beast of a pedal. It was a limited edition and was spendy but worth the money. Unfortunately one day my gear was stolen from my garage. Guitar,amp and all my pedals. I went to all local shops with my gear identification Etc. A year later a local pawn shop called me saying my DD pedal was pawned the s/n matched + he remembered me and the distinctive pedal. In summary, I love this pedal so much I don’t care if I ever see my guitar again. It really sucks but oh well

[@Karatemusen]

Excellent rig run down video!

[@Danlikescheesteaks]

This video is over 10 years old, would be cool to see how his rig has changed since then

[@rockhouse90]

yeah thats understandable. for me personally, the band ive been in for the past 2 years, we constantly change the set list every single gig we play on purpose because theres quite a few people that come see us over and over again. plus it keeps us on our toes and it doesnt cause us to become complacent about gigs cuz its very easy to do that whether youre a local band playing 3 nights a week at local bars or an international touring juggernaut.

[@damonemikhail5895]

I wish I had my own personal guitar tech that would do my switching. That's why Dan is so great though too. He can play but it takes an amazing tech to comprehend the sound and do the all the work. It's like being Dan's brain for the entire show. I'd love to be a tech it seems so fulfilling. Oh yeah "magical sauce" hahaha XD Schecter guitars fucking rule!!!

[@namebrandmason]

Which is why there's also an Eddie Van Halen Flanger. It's the beginning of "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" sound.

[@rudicci]

I think this guy is the nicest and in love with the job Guitar Tech that i have seen in all the RR :D

[@prsplayer210]

adam jones from tool told me he wants a rig rundown

[@mathias6188]

To be fair, Dan does have a great sound, and this guy makes sure it stays that way.

[@TheScaredofsilence]

Isp is great. I have the rackmount. Couldn't live without it.

[@arklayt1038]

He's right about those iSP Technologies Decimator pedals. Those things are beast.

[@Lasadder01]

this tech is soo cool and calm

[@locks.666]

Damn rebecca is beutifol

[@matthewmeserve73]

The spring in the Digitech Wammy pedal was a nifty idea

[@mr.mcmagpie6606]

agreed

[@matthewmeserve73]

+Gabe Johnstone Would love to see that..she is hot!!

[@Slicklickz]

The Whammy 4 also has midi in and can be controlled with an external continuous controller pedal.He could mount it in the rack with the other stomp boxes in a loop of the GCX and use his Mission Engineering pedal through the Ground control pro.I have this exact setup so I know that it works.

[@brownhooque]

Anyone remember what Trevor Cole said on the 311 Enlarged to Show Detail video about working for other bands?

[@autizmo2963]

Dan made me actually want a metal zone. I never knew how he made that sound. I thought he just left a wah pedal on or something but I might actually get one now

[@djw6670]

That moment when you realise Dan is one of the only guitarists of all time to get a good sound out of a MetalZone 😂 Tbf, one could say it's only a shit pedal because of exactly that, being hard to set up.

[@kayakchrispy]

I use a metal zone for a few solos only. Not often .. dialed way back

[@MrTimster123]

that is actually insane!!

[@JDeloggia]

Rebecca

[@dubmoth76]

I don't know this band... I don't know what they sound like but after seeing their tech talk (and being so funny!) I want to see some of their stuff! What a great guy! Wish I could afford a tech! Hahahaha!

[@RahulSynysterGates]

i really wish it was Dan himself there.....

[@KeeperOfPoops]

i agree, i only disliked this video because it's a random fuckboy not Mr D

[@Cuandoman]

He likes consistency which helps give the show a known level of quality. Watch Aerosmith gig rundown for the exact opposite! Years of touring will do that.

[@VvVGuitar]

Do a Periphery rig rundown, of every guitar player!!

[@paparoachschecter]

AWESOME!!!

[@BeardedDanishViking]

Bring Rebecca Derps back!! Epic interviewer! :D

[@nikolabakich9709]

+BeardedDanishViking i think she got married and had a baby

[@BeardedDanishViking]

Nikola Bakich Oh, excuses excuses! xD

[@nikolabakich9709]

but yeah love her too def my fav haha

[@KeeperOfPoops]

she's not coming back, blame these perverts making jokes about "seeing her rig"

[@shaneedmundson7506]

please do a rr on fleetwood mac! im sure its been discussed, but now that mike c and neil finn are in the group, im even more interested in their rr!

[@100chuckjones]

the ISO cab is such a critical part of Dan's sound and such a great idea. in this type of high gain tone (and music) its a must to have that sound he has in the studio, and how to do that ? an ISO cab stacked with Vintage 30's. only half of it really, his sauce and the Randall's are also key to this guys great live sound. seen them back in 2004. the one thing that really impressed me was his sound. ive only seen a few people live that had such a great sound, EVH, Jerry Cantrell and believe it or not...Joe Perry has one of the better live sounds ive ever heard. he mixes a slew of amps/cabs. from Fender Bass amps to JCM's, to a solid state Marshall lead 12 (for his talkbox).

[@JaZZaShhOns89]

chuck jones Got a question. When the rhythm guitar parts are being played for the chorus or the solo sections how is this done live? A lot of songs on the Immortalized album I noticed during big chorus sections that the rhythm riff is playing but there’s a shit load of solo lead going over the top. How does he still capture this live?

[@MofosRealReviews]

I had no idea it was so complicated to get great sound...that brain is awesome. I thought the guitar techs changed pedals in the back if the guitarist didn't I had no idea a damn brain did it automatically!

[@thebassistsoldier]

BASS RUNDOWNS!!!! David Ellefson!!! Also, Evanescence, Rise Against, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Halestorm, Sick Puppies, Three Days Grace, and Five Finger Death Punch would be cool.

[@prototypep4]

@mlsleep Because most people don't like using multi fx and so they use a bunch of stomp box/rack gear to achieve the sounds they want. It takes alot of gear to do this as almost each sound is different. And dan doesn't suck he's one of the most creative guitarists out there.

[@Janesch]

first: those digitech preamps seem to be quite popular with heavy bands. megadeth, chimaira, disturbed... second: I have never seen a guitarist use a signature "modeller" pedal, when he can have the big thing. cool thing that he incorporates this thing in his rig!

[@xdaethsheadx8661]

hahaaa the ol' Boss Metal Zone xD memories..

[@billyrouse4813]

I still use one. I use it for the same kind of radio tone.

[@alextolson123]

damn shame Dime isn't still with us. id love to see a gear tour with him.

[@snapascrew]

I’d love to hang with him and drink but I could careless for a rig rundown. Dimes tone was awful hahaha

[@annebell7274]

Oh. Had to look twice. Where did all that hair from lol. When my brother had his band many decades (lol). They had a deckboard and amplifiers. Changed days 🌿🌿💚💚🌿🌿

[@thepeginator2556]

The band play to backing tracks from a computer, so the guitar tech programs MIDI patch changes on a MIDI track in whatever piece of software they're using to play the backing tracks (probably Pro Tools) and as the backing track plays, at the appropriate point in the song (chorus for example) It will fire off a MIDI message that goes down that Ethernet cable he showed, which is converted to MIDI by that little box, which triggers the GCX switcher and changes the patch - so no manual tap dancing.

[@systematic11]

Wait what the eff... he uses 3 distortions in his effects? This man is a distortion tone nut, like me!

[@rockhouse90]

good dude and I like disturbed n all but my god. I understand having things "regimented" but when you put on a live show, that's exactly what it is is a live show. you gotta have fun and throw some improv and little jam sessions n stuff and make each gig different especially for the people that come out time and time again

[@livepunx]

@pipecfh yep tell me something idk.the point here is that we like the raw stuff because is part of the fun.

[@supercollider_x]

dan donegan seems like a real professional from this video

[@Echo_III]

I'm monster jealous... 9 the same guitars... damn, and I must tune my guitar all time to play something diffrent in lower key. ;D

[@max8591]

can someone please explain how this drumset driven midibox at 9:20 works?? I dont really get it..Thx

[@zagan1]

I don't think it'd be heaps sure you are buying twice of some things but of the couple metal band rigs I've seen, they seem really simple setups and if it's not used or needed then it not in the setup. like set guitars for set songs, set pedals for certain times, and 1 amp setup that seems to stay at the same settings for all songs. Some of the rock bands have a setup that would be 4 times the amount of stuff to setup. pretty surprising.

[@severelyKILLED15]

@MorbidAngel2011 wow good comeback.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

the Digitech GSP1101 rack unit is PRO quality, no doubt about it. (made in the USA too)

[@529ark]

magical sauce.....

[@TheRacingTurtle]

This guy know his job!!!

[@VayleGW]

if its a wireless footswitch, just put them on the same frequency?

[@JordanMottram]

What a really nice guy

[@tomsix123]

what a great guy :)

[@spicyMcHAGGIS9green]

@MartyCannava He looked at the flanger and said something along the lines of, "Just like Eddie Van Halen."

[@zagan1]

Some fans don't like changes in songs and to be honest most metal songs need to be pretty much exact or they might not sound quite right. there's songs that I might not like overall but they';ll have a 2-3 min bit where it hits all the right sounds and is really great. If that song doesn't have that then your always left waiting and you wonder whats happening. But I do agree I wouldn't have expected that in a metal band.

[@rockhouse90]

even if my band actually sticks it out long enough to actually get a record deal and magically get put on a REAL tour, each show wed do would be different every single night. i was the one that really put my foot down on that sorta thing where every show we play we have a different set list every night itll cater to the people who regularly see us, and cause new fans we may or may not gain to keep coming again and again and again

[@liamgallagherrr]

I actually appreciate the attention to detail here...I guess you could say I'm down...with the sickness

[@namebrandmason]

The drummer is running a click track (that's fancy talk for a metronome), and the band has always had pre-recorded backing tracks (keys and such), now his effects are synced in with the click track. Basically, it sounds like his guitar sounds change on a big timer. So much for changing things up from night to night.

[@AndrewMorgan]

I watched meshuggahs tech guy and then this guy and HA OH MAN totally opposite in complication of what I was expecting. - but proved the all in one package of axe fx.

[@95gothstar]

wow nice thaks for the vid

[@MusicMan642]

The iso cab is a good call

[@stivan47]

Rebecca is a damn good interviewer!!

[@MartyCannava]

@spicyMcHAGGIS9green He had both... phase 90 often on for solos etc.. And he had a flanger dor songs like "atomic punk"

[@AzHarris]

The tech could at least have a Disturbed shirt on. I wonder if there exists, a guitar tech who dislikes the band he works for.

[@CoolspyGaming]

+AzHarris The guitar tech Dave Mustaine kicked when he fucked up with the guitars.

[@pharmerdavid1432]

I would love to have her rundown my rig! (Bevis and Butthead mentality - sorry) Seriously, she is the healthy farmer's daughter type I love, and does a good rig rundown too!

[@prototypep4]

@alextolson123 There is rig rundown vids of dimes gear from when he was with damageplan.

[@powerhitter033]

6:05 Can someone explain what "iso" on the isp decimator pedal on the left means?

[@isatariq7533]

"Iso" means its going to the isolation cab, the other "live" isp decimator is probably going to the cabs they use to monitor the sound on stage

[@powerhitter033]

@@isatariq7533 Thank you!

[@DetVen]

6:03 ISP...best gate out there.

[@saintjabroni]

Is that a fact? Real question.

[@Lesspaw41]

Man...I miss my old Digitech GSP 1101

[@funkduckfuck31]

The guitar tech seems like a fucking cool guy.

[@KeeperOfPoops]

but he's not dan donegan tho, he's just a fuckboy techie how about we rename the video as "Rig Rundown - Undisturbed's Trevor Cole" cos that just rolls of the tongue DUH!

[@VayleGW]

ofcourse, as the guy said, dan is very much doing the same things he always does, but if he indeed would like to change stuff, he always could try having like 3 controllers around, so he'd had 3 different places to switch sounds from

[@spicyMcHAGGIS9green]

I need to study up on my Eddie Van Halen. I always thought it was exclusively a phase 90.

[@stephie1466]

How can I get a hold of you Trevor Cole??? It's me Stephanie from LA back in the Day 🌹 I went to Lord Buckley Fest with you❤

[@rodrigomiranda9698]

Indestructible, inside the fire, stricken, the night DROP C!!🎸🔥 Pd: 3:45 no puedo creer que use un puto Boss metal zone!! Wtf

[@TangeClown]

iso box... thats a damn good idea.

[@fredmachine]

Ibanez Tosin Abasi Model (and various other guitars) in his weird tuning into AxeFX II. Done.

[@azombiestool]

I use my whammy probably the most out of my pedal board. And luckly I got box full of springs :)

[@haydencampbell8821]

Gotta love the NIN shirt

[@aragorn767]

I watched this to try to recreate Dan's tone on the Helix. Don't think I can.

[@rtaylor1105]

thats funny...i did the same thing with the spring under the peddle on an old crybaby wah. silly simple and it worked. stays put because its actually around the switch so it can't go anywhere.

[@ChubbyTubbs]

yup :D

[@AydinRD]

This guy reminds me of The Roadie from the Tenacious D song :)

[@jeleopard]

Yea... Yea they do. They know their rigs quite well and have multiple rigs set up at once and switch between them live.

[@jacobnelsen2786]

Do a Metallica Rig Rundown, I’m sure they’d be delighted to go over it, maybe even Robs tech would show all his basses, I’d love to see a Metallica Rig Rundown

[@widowmaker5544]

I thought this was a rig rundown of dan donegan? i don't see no dan donegan, only a trevor cole!

[@GammaSwagg]

I would like to see a Tosin Abasi rig rundown

[@Destroyerrrrrr06]

one of he's pedals is call Angry Troll ... epic

[@TangeClown]

i still dont understand it... did he say the drums tell the guitar rig when to switch?

[@WAZOOMA]

Do a Parkway Drive rig rundown. I'm sure they'd be happy to do it, that would be awesome. And do more bass rundowns!

[@schlagdog]

I'm surprised he stuck with the Randall preamps since they parted ways. Atleast you know he actually uses his signature stuff instead of just taking a check and never using your own signature gear.

[@limpxander]

love the nine inch nails shirt!

[@motorkristburaz3086]

METAL ZONE !!!

[@cheesebutt1000]

Love rebecca, oh dan is a god, too

[@TangeClown]

im saying its a little unnecessary to have that track change pre-programed. if he wants different settings and effects, a multi effects unit is proper. in my opinion at least. however dan is highly professional and if he has access to that kinda stuff then more power to him. and im sure other people use the same technology too