Geared Up: Wine & Warpaint’s Brandon O’Neill on His Reverend 2018 Gil Parris Signature Guitar

With 2024 now in the rearview mirror, Wine & Warpaint can look back on the year extremely fondly. It marked a lot of milestones for the young alternative rock ensemble. It began in the spring with a couple of single releases, which led to the release of their debut full-length record, Disassociate. Featuring twelve tracks, the album was a decisive statement from a band that had been working hard for some time to make this release a reality. It really hones in on their musical evolution, gathering together large hooks, radio-ready singalong choruses, and a defiant, punk rock edge.

The year also featured other landmark moments, including the band’s “Shattering Stigma” tour that took place in November. More than just a tour, it was a collaboration with the non-profit organization Victims & Villains, a multimedia non-profit dedicated to reducing the stigma around mental health through pop culture engagement. They then ended the year off with a special Christmas release, a cover of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” The song is a memorable reimagining of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s legendary Christmas anthem.

We are pleased to be joined today by Wine & Warpaint frontman Brandon O’Neill for a Geared Up interview in which we discuss his Reverend 2018 Gil Parris Signature guitar, and of course, we couldn’t leave out a “gear goes wrong” story.

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?

Brandon O’Neill: “Lately, it’s been my Reverend 2018 Gil Parris Signature, aka the rock machine. I love everything about this guitar; it feels like it’s a Brandon O’Neill signature model. The humbuckers in the bridge and neck position are perfect for the tones I like to chase, and the single coil in the middle is a flavour bonus that feels unfair. My primary guitar sound on our record was that guitar twice: once on the neck humbucker and once on the middle single coil, which sounded like two different guitars.

“I’ve been a Reverend owner for ten years, so I’ve been familiar with the bass contour knob and the beautiful wood textures they’ve used for a while, which are unmatched. I find so many tone knobs unusable, so I’ve always loved the musicality of the bass contour. The GPS is a huge part of my taste and sound these days.”

What made you choose this particular piece of gear, and were there any close seconds or alternatives?

“After years of rocking with the three p90s in my Warhawk 390, I was in the market very broadly for just a guitar with humbuckers. As a Reverend nerd, I was eyeing the Double Agent and Charger lines, but I’m also a huge SG fan. I love a Les Paul, and I’d love to own a Tele Deluxe one day as well. The GPS popped up one day at my local shop, and I was smitten. The five-way switch is essentially a five-flavour roulette for five different epic rock albums.”

Wine & Warpaint’s Brandon O’Neill and Fender Player Plus Precision Bass

If you could or wanted to, what would you tweak or mod on this guitar?

“I would be so curious to hear how this guitar sounded as a set neck guitar instead of a bolt-on neck. Part of what I love about it is the jangle and playability of the current setup, but I wonder if having a set neck would add a little more sustain and beef to some of the creamy humbucker tones.”

How does this guitar hold up with regular touring and gigging?

“This guitar is a studio and road workhorse. I’ve taken it all over the country, and it has held up incredibly well. It keeps pitch effortlessly, sounds great, and looks sick.”

Is your jam setup the same as your road setup? Any notable differences (other than output, obviously)?

“I’ve been in the amp modelling and virtual effects realm for a while, and I’m really feeling the pull towards pedals and live amps in a recording environment. Our guitarist Colleen (Christman) is a pedal nerd and we have a lot of fun sending Walrus Audio and Universal Audio videos back and forth. There is so much inspiration in the tactile nature of a pedal or an amp, and you can’t replicate the vibe and feeling of air being pushed by a cab. I’ll probably never switch from amp modelling live; it’s too consistent and helpful for live mixing. But I’ll explore more in the realms of pedals and amps for our next record.”

What gear item has the most meaning to you or is the most important to you?

“For this, I’d say my Reverend Warhawk 390. I bought it when I was 15, and it still sounds great, and I use it all the time. I went in to pick it out and came back the next day to buy it, and the salesman very ominously said, ‘The red Reverend?’ And then he proceeded to tell me that the previous day after I played it, someone came into the store, grabbed it off the wall, and took off with it. He said God told him to take it. They had to tackle him in the street and the guitar got some scratches on the back and a chip in the side. I got a free case out of the deal and a divinely appointed guitar.”

Wine & Warpaint’s Brandon O’Neill and Gil Parris Signature Guitar

Time for some fun. Give us your best “gear goes wrong” story.

“Got the perfect story. For our album release show, we had tracks, lights, and one of our guitarist’s parts synced in Ableton. During our last encore song, I decided to move the iPad controlling Ableton for some dumb reason, and I accidentally hit stop, which killed the lights, tracks, and second guitar. I scrambled for about 45 seconds and managed to sync it up briefly for the breakdown, but had to kill it again because it wasn’t right on. Finished the song (and the show) as a three-piece with no lights.”

What is another piece of gear that is important to you?

“Bass tone can be underrated in our genre and the Fender Player Plus Precision Bass is huge to us getting the right growl and meat to our rhythm tones. The active pickups give you an incredible starting point, especially for dirtier distorted tones, and there’s so much expression in the highs as you move up the neck, which we like to do for softer, more dynamic parts of our songs.”

Wine & Warpaint ‘Disassociate’ album artwork

What made you choose this Gil Parris guitar, and were there any close seconds or alternatives?

“I was in the market to upgrade and was planning to buy this exact bass, and we found out that we were selected as winners of the Player Plus Studio Sessions Powered by Fender, where we were selected by a panel of music legends as one of the best-unsigned bands in the world. We won free studio time in New York, an industry consultation with Ari Herstand, and this bass, which is insane.”

How easy is it for you to tweak the device and get the tone/sounds you need?

“The three-band EQ is unfair to have built right into the bass. Between that and the drive of the active pickups, you barely have to do anything to it once you plug it in. I run just a little overdrive and compression, and then it’s ready to record. The active-passive switch is a huge relief, having had a show or two inconvenienced by a dead battery.”

How does this guitar hold up with regular touring and gigging?

“This instrument is a studio and road workhorse. I’ve taken it all over the country, and it has held up incredibly well. It keeps pitch effortlessly, sounds great, and looks sick.”

What gear item has the most meaning to you or is the most important to you?

“This bass will always have an incredible amount of significance to me. The email telling us about the selection came at such an important time. Being in a developing band can be tough, and I’d been hoping and looking for some kind of validation, so to have that panel affirm what we were doing gave us such a lift.”