This odd-couple guitar duo complement each other with a melodic mix of breakneck notes and juggernaut riffs, all effortlessly executed on 7-string shred sticks from Ibanez and Jackson.
Before ERRA’s headlining show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl in support of their latest album, Cure, cofounding member Jesse Cash and newcomer Clint Tustin—a pair of proficient guitar-playing pyrotechnicians—invited PG’s Chris Kies onstage for a conversation that was both lighthearted and enlightening. They cover their speedy 7-strings from Jackson and Ibanez, explain why they landed on their preferred DiMarzio and Fishman pickups, and reveal all the ways the Neural DSP Quad Cortex has condensed, streamlined, and optimized the duo’s stage attack.
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Cassius Play
Jesse Cash is a creative force. He plays, he writes, and that’s pretty much where his love for guitar starts and ends. He’s not into gear specs nor does he overthink his setup: If it works, it works. For a decade-plus, Ibanez RG-profile guitars have been getting the job done. His current ride-or-die is the above Ibanez Prestige RG2027XL that is pretty stock aside from a few key upgrades, including a set of and DiMarzio D Activator 7 humbuckers, an EverTune bridge for tuning stability, gold hardware for eye candy, and a pearloid pickguard that Jesse likes to make his muscle car look a bit classier. It features a basswood body, Wizard-7 neck with maple and wenge tonewoods, a bound Macassar ebony fretboard, and a 27" scale length. The band tunes to drop G# and lets the Quad Cortex technology transpose any other lowered tunings so they can tour with minimal guitars and maintain a familiar feel.
Sandblasted
Clint Tustin is all Jackson, all day. The above model is the Jackson Pro Series Dinky DK Modern Ash HT7. It’s built with an exposed ash body decorated in a dazzling “baked blue” textured finish, a 26.5" scale length, a sturdy, graphite-reinforced, bolt-on 3-piece maple-wenge-maple neck with a compound radius (12" –16") and a Jackson Speed Neck profile, bound ebony fretboard, a Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut, and active multi-voiced Fishman Fluence Open Core PRF-CO7 humbuckers. This is his only touring guitar without an EverTune bridge.S
Prestige Production
Before acquiring the RG2027XL, Cash’s main seven was this production-line 2017 Prestige 752LWFX that was featured heavily on ERRA’s albums Neon and Erra. Like the 2027XL, it has a basswood body, but this one is decked out with an African black limba top, a rosewood fretboard, a 25.5" scale length, a Gibraltar Standard II bridge, and of course, the pickguard and gold hardware. They do share the same heartbeat—a set of DiMarzio D Activator 7 humbuckers. The standard scale length helps Jesse move around the fretboard quicker, so this RG sees stage time for the band’s older material.
Gold Tone
This stunner is Clint Tustin’s Jackson Pro Plus Series DK Modern EverTune 7. It’s completely stock and features nearly the same DNA as his previous Dinky DK, but it has a basswood body and an EverTune bridge.
Silver Surfer
Another DK Modern EverTune 7 for Tustin that was modified by a friend to have this big-flake, bass-boat sparkle finish—including the pickups—that can be seen from the last row of the venue, or probably even space. This one has a set of Fishman Fluence Modern humbuckers.
Problem Solved
These dudes are pragmatists. As digital modeling technology has improved, ERRA has evolved their live setups to achieve quicker setups, less headaches, and decreased traveling costs. Jesse and Clint are currently both using the Neural DSP Quad Cortex direct to front of house. They have no cabs or monitors onstage, and hear themselves via in-ear monitors and the PA.
As noted before, their guitars stay in G♯ tunings, and they let the Quad Cortex transpose any lower tunings. (They did say that pitch-shifting up via the Neural setting is less accurate and so they manually tune their instruments.) They depend on the QC to make tone changes, so they are free to roam the stage and entertain the crowd.To that end, they both utilize the Sennheiser EW G4 units for wireless and in-ears. A lot of their core tones and sounds are based around a STL Tones DZL Herbert import for rhythms, Neural’s Misha Mansoor Archetype for leads, and their Plini Archetype for cleans.
Shop ERRA's Rig
Ibanez Prestige RG2027XL
DiMarzio D Activator 7 Humbuckers
Ibanez Prestige 752
Jackson Pro Plus Series DK Modern EverTune 7
Fishman Fluence 7-String Modern Humbuckers
Neural DSP Quad Cortex
Sennheiser EW G4 IEM Wireless
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Question: What picking style have you devoted yourself to the most, and why does it work for you?
Guest Picker - Mei Semones
Mei’s latest album, Kabutomushi.
A: The picking style I’ve practiced the most is alternate picking, but the picking style I usually end up using is economy picking. Alternate feels like a dependable way to achieve evenness when practicing scales and arpeggios, but when really playing, it doesn’t make sense to articulate every note in that way, and obviously it’s not always the fastest.
Obsession: My current music-related obsession is my guitar, my PRS McCarty 594 Hollowbody II. I think it will always be an obsession for me. It’s so comfortable and light, has a lovely, warm, dynamic tone, and helps me play faster and cleaner. This guitar feels like my best friend and soulmate.
Reader of the Month - Jin J X
Photo by Ryan Fannin
A: For decades, the Eric Johnson-style “hybrid picking” with a Jazz III for “pianistic” voicings. Great for electric, though not so much acoustic. I’ve been recently learning to use a flatpick, à la Brian Sutton, by driving the pick “into” the string at an angle—which makes me think of Pat Metheny and George Benson, without irony.
Obsession: I’m still focused on understanding the concepts of jazz, neo-classical, and beyond, though I’m also becoming obsessed with George Van Eps’ 7-string playing, flatpicking, hip-hop beats, the Hybrid Guitars Universal 6 guitar, and the secret life of the banjo.
Editorial Director - Ted Drozdowski
A: Decades ago, under the sway of Mississippi blues artists R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Jessie Mae Hemphill, I switched from plectrum to fingerstyle, developing my own non-traditional approach. It’s technically wrong, but watching R.L., in particular, freestyle, I learned there is no such thing as wrong if it works.
Obsession: Busting out of my songwriting patterns. With my band Coyote Motel, and earlier groups, I’ve always encouraged my talented bandmates to play what they want in context, but brought in complete, mapped-out songs. Now, I’m bringing in sketches and we’re jamming and hammering out the arrangements and melodies together. It takes more time, but feels rewarding and fun, and is opening new territory for me.
Managing Editor - Kate Koenig
A: I have always been drawn to fingerpicking on acoustic guitar, starting with classical music and prog-rock pieces (“Mood for a Day” by Steve Howe), and moving on to ’70s baroque-folk styles, basic Travis picking, and songs like “Back to the Old House” by the Smiths. I love the intricacy of those styles, and the challenge of learning to play different rhythms across different fingers at the same time. This is definitely influenced by my classical training on piano, which came before guitar.
Obsession: Writing and producing my fifth and sixth albums. My fifth album, Creature Comforts, was recorded over the past couple months, and features a bunch of songs I wrote in 2022 that I had previously sworn to never record or release. Turns out, upon revisiting, they’re not half bad! While that one’s being wrapped, I’m trying to get music written for my sixth, for which I already have four songs done. And yes, this is a flex. 💪😎