Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger recently met up with Guns N’ Roses guitarist Richard Fortus for a Rig Rundown featuring the vast collection of guitars that he is currently touring with. Included in Fortus’ collection is a pair of Gretsch G6136T Players Edition Falcon axes, in White and Black, as well as a one-of-a-kind Stephen Stern Custom Shop Gretsch with a drum wrap-inspired custom “Moto” finish that was built for Chicago Music Exchange.
Fortus is a huge fan of Stern’s builds and after seeing photos of the custom Gretsch, said he “flipped out and had to have it.” With the band soon thereafter hitting Chicago for a show, Fortus swung by the music retailer to pick it up.
In the Rig Rundown, Fortus also spoke about his love for Filter’Tron pickups and their ability to let his Gretsch guitars stand out on stage while playing with fellow GNR guitarist Slash.
“The Filter’Trons really sit around Slash’s tone really nicely,” he said. “His tone is very mid-focused and thick. These [Filter’Trons] are bright with a lot of low-end thump. They really envelop what he’s got going on. It’s really separate.”
Hit play on the video below to check out the rest of Fortus’ touring guitars in the latest Rig Rundown from Premier Guitar as well as a bonus video of Fortus playing his custom Gretsch for Chicago Music Exchange