Periphery is a band that most of the progressive metal community has grown to love. With each release, they have aided in the shaping and reshaping of what progressive metal is. One of the defining features of the band is the tone that they manage to achieve with their instruments. A couple of weeks ago we talked about some of the gear that guitarist, Mark Holcomb, was using on tour.

Today we’ll be looking at some of Jake Bowen’s gear and see how his setup adds to the massive sound that is Periphery.

To start, Jake is a user of Ibanez guitars. These days he’s pretty much just using his signature Ibanez JBM100 as well as his LACS 7 and 8-string models.

The Ibanez JBM100 is based on the famous Ibanez RGA shape. This signature model guitar features a Mahogany body, a carved Maple top,  a 3pc Maple/Bubinga neck, a Bound Ebony freboard, a 25.5” scale length, 24 jumbo frets, a Lo-Pro Edge bridge, Sperzel Trim-Lok Tuning Machines, and Jake’s signature DiMarzio Titan pickups.

Now, I won’t go too much of a review into this guitar because we did a more in-depth JBM100 review a few weeks back.

Overall, the guitar is gorgeous and fun to play. The DiMarzio Titan pickups are super articulate regardless of the tuning they are being exposed to. It’s quite mid focused as well. These pickups are a great way to start if you’re looking for a solid Periphery tone.

His 6 and 7/8 string guitars have essentially the same specs, except that the 7 and 8 strings are build in the LACS in the US, and the signature model is built in Japan.

Something else to note is that although Jake is using his higher-end models live, Ibanez have released some more affordable models than the JBM100, including the JBM20 and the JBM27(7-string model).

If you’re after a guitar to get you the Jake Bowen sound, you can acquire any of these fine guitars in our shop as a custom order option. Unfortunately, the LACS models are one-of-a-kind and can’t be acquired. If you want to wet your whistle and see some other beautiful LACS guitars, check out some of our favorites.

Generally speaking, Jake prefers to run his guitars direct to the front of house sound instead of micing a guitar cabinet. To do this, he uses the Axe FX 2XL. He does however run his Axe into a solid state amp that powers some Zilla 2×12 cabs. Periphery does this so that the first row doesn’t miss out on the guitar sounds.

A lot of artists have been switching over to using Axe Fx and Kemper models these days. The ease of use and lightweight travel makes for a great touring amp setup.

Jake is usually using the 6160 Block Letter patch on the Axe Fx. This is based on the good ol’ 5150 amp. Instead of using pedals, all of the sounds are switched inside the Axe using a midi switch in a ProTools session. This way all of Jake’s reverbs and delays etc. are done automatically for him. They just auto change for him in time with the clicktrack. As a backup plan, Jake does have a Fractal MFC-101 pedalboard if the laptop fails during a tour. This way he can still change sounds easily.

Periphery’s latest album Periphery III: Select Difficulty is available now and the band is touring heavily in support of it.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out some more! We upload new articles, guides, reviews, and interviews daily, such as our Brent Rambler Geared piece!

Also, we are a dealer for many beloved brands such as PRS, Ibanez, Mayones, Schecter, ESP, and more! Feel free to stop by our shop and we can help you find the right guitar for you at the best price possible.

This article was written by Zac Buras, our editor located in Louisiana.

 

 

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