The Rare Occasions’ Brian McLaughlin - GEAR MASTERS Ep. 647 - video Dailymotion

Digital Tour Bus

Become a member (it's FREE) at https://digtb.us/signup Buy official DTB merch at http://digtb.us/merch  On this episode of DTB’s “Gear Masters”, Brian McLaughlin, vocalist/guitarist of the indie rock band, The Rare Occasions, shows off the gear that he uses onstage, while on the “Why Not? 2026 Tour” with Girl Tones and Nova One.  PLAY THE SAME GEAR: Fender Player Telecaster Electric Guitar - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/JkZvW7 Fender Nashville Telecaster Electric Guitar - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/oNJgBE Fender Vintera II Jaguar Electric Guitar - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5kV1W Fender Vintera Mustang Bass Guitar - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/B5kV1W Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/3kzqzk TC Electronic Shaker Vibrato Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/vDm9my MXR Phase 90 Phaser Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/4aMxMr MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/VOxqPk Lehle Dual SGoS Amp Switcher - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/yZoPob Lehle D.Loop SGoS Effects Loop Switcher Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/YVKvKB Korg Pitchblack Tuner Pedal - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/MKEvE2 TC Electronic Sentry Noise Gate - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/7XK9Kd Vox AC15VR Valve Reactor Guitar Combo Amplifier - https://voxamps.com/product/ac15vr/ Fender Blues Junior Guitar Combo Amplifier - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/Gb141r Fender Rumble 100 Bass Combo Amplifier - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/VOdvja Shure Beta 58A Vocal Microphone - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/ZVEveQ Ultimate Ears Custom In-Ear Monitors - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/dO1jMk Pick Guy 1mm Delrin Custom Guitar Picks - https://pickguy.com/custom-printed-2/ Ernie Ball Slinky .010 Gauge Electric Guitar Strings - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/zzO5De Lehle MIDI Junction - https://www.lehle.com/lehle-midi-junction  VIDEO INFO: Film Date - May 31, 2026 Location - Cobra Lounge in Chicago, IL  KEEP UP WITH THE RARE OCCASIONS: Facebook - https://facebook.com/TheRareOccasions Instagram - https://instagram.com/therareoccasions TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@therareoccasions Twitter - https://twitter.com/rareoccasions  FOLLOW US: Website/Email List - https://www.digitaltourbus.com/#/portal/signup YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/digitaltourbus Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/digitaltourbus/ TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@digitaltourbus Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/digitaltourbus/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/digitaltourbus Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/digitaltourbus/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-tour-bus-llc Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/user/digitaltourbus  VIDEO SUMMARY: 00:00 Introduction 00:35 Skip Intro 00:48 Guitars 04:17 Pedalboard 07:14 Amps 08:35 Microphone  ABOUT DIGITAL TOUR BUS: Digital Tour Bus is your backstage pass to your favorite touring artists! With daily video releases, we cover all genres, and have had the pleasure of featuring the likes of Matchbox Twenty, Twenty One Pilots, Megadeth, MGK, Papa Roach, AJR, Pierce The

Transcript

00:00It's really bad. We're not good at all at these wind instruments, but that's part of the fun.

00:05These three pedals, I do have to press with my feet, but at least it's three instead of five.

00:35I'm Brian from the Rare Cajuns, and we're going to check out the gear that I use on the Why

00:40Not Tour.

00:41So this is a player telly, Fender player telly. My main telly that I've used for like over a decade

00:49is a Nashville telly with the three pickups.

00:52But we had some wiring issues on a tour back in 2022, and I didn't have a second guitar.

00:58So we just grabbed this from a guitar center and our manager noticed that it looks a lot better on

01:05stage than my Nashville telly.

01:06So we've been rolling with this live since then, and I switched out the pick guard.

01:13So it had like a white pick guard. Originally, I switched it out.

01:16I play tens, the slinkies, and I play a lot on the bridge pickup.

01:24And then for quiet songs, I'll use the neck pickup.

01:29And I pretty much always have the volume dimed, and the tone actually, both of these just 100%.

01:36And it's got a few dents.

01:39I just play standard tuning. So my capo is my index finger.

01:45That's all we have to do.

01:47This is the Vinterra 2 Jaguar. I got it a couple years ago.

01:52I started getting into music that uses whammy bar, and I had nothing to create such amazing sounds.

01:59So I started looking around, and I found this.

02:03I replaced the tremolo and the bridge with the stay tremolo bridge because the stock one kind of wasn't too

02:12great.

02:14And the pick guard is also just a different color. It's a white pearl.

02:19And I also play with tense and standard tuning.

02:27I don't have the neck shimmed or anything like that like some offset players do.

02:31I kind of like how it feels pretty loose compared to the Tele.

02:34It's nice to have just a different feel.

02:38So yeah, that's the Jaguar.

02:40So the Tele, I would say, is like two-thirds of the set.

02:43The Jaguar is one-third of the set, and this is just one song.

02:47So yeah, this is a Vinterra 1 Mustang bass.

02:53And this is my very first bass guitar.

02:56I used to borrow my roommate's guitar to do demos and stuff, and then when he moved out,

03:01I would like pitch down my guitar to do demos, and it just wasn't quite right.

03:07So eventually, I was like, I need to get a bass just as like a writing tool.

03:11And in the set that we're playing this year, Jeremy has been, I mean, he rips on guitar.

03:19So a couple of, well, just one song on this tour, I play bass, and he's playing guitar.

03:26And I do my best.

03:28These are just the stock strings, so I haven't changed them since I got it.

03:32We found these instruments in a dumpster somewhere in a back alley.

03:36You know, our van was parked, and this oboe and Jeremy's trombone, they were just,

03:40somebody left them there, and they didn't want them.

03:42So we figured we may as well pick them up, right, and put them to good use.

03:47So on this tour, I have an oboe, Jeremy has a trombone, and we have no idea how to play

03:54them.

03:54So we're just figuring it out.

03:55We're just learning these instruments, and we thought the best way to learn would be

03:59to ask the crowd for a rare occasion song, and we try and figure it out by ear.

04:04So, yeah, it's really bad.

04:06We're not good at all at these wind instruments, but that's part of the fun.

04:10We're just figuring it out.

04:11A lot of my pedal board is really just for signal flow.

04:15So, we have, obviously, a tuner.

04:20This is a gate, so that we don't have 60 Hz hum.

04:24And then, these are switchers.

04:28So, this is switching between these, basically turning effect loops on or off for the fuzz or the overdrive.

04:37So, for example, that turns the fuzz on, and this turns the overdrive on.

04:44This is the amp selector.

04:46So, when I showed you the fuzz, I actually prefer the fuzz going through the Blues Junior.

04:51So, it actually switches to that amp.

04:54And then, my clean tone is pretty dirty, but I run it through the Vox AC15.

05:02And then, sometimes I use, like, a clean tone on the Blues Junior.

05:07You get the idea.

05:08It's constantly switching between amps and these two pedals.

05:12The gainiest of the pedals.

05:16I also have this midi junction.

05:20So, this is made by Leela.

05:21And, basically, we can use our backing tracks to do some of the switching for us.

05:29Which helps me a lot as a frontman.

05:31And, I don't have to be doing this tap dancing while I'm trying to sing and be engaged with the

05:36audience.

05:37So, it just takes a little bit of the pedal pressing off my plate.

05:42And, it was really fun to set it up.

05:44But, basically, it's all automatic, controlled by midi.

05:49So, this is a Big Muff Pi.

05:52I found this used.

05:53It has the old style power jack.

05:57I don't know if you can see that.

05:58Like, the eighth inch power jack.

06:02So, I think it's at least from the 90's.

06:03Maybe a little bit earlier.

06:06And, I use that for songs like Mr. Bubbles and the breakdown there.

06:12And, then, this is an overdrive.

06:16I use it a lot on this album.

06:18Big whoops.

06:18So, I put the word big whoop there.

06:22This is the TC Electronic Shaker.

06:25It's basically just a vibrato.

06:29And, I don't know.

06:30I use vibrato in a few songs.

06:32And, this is a Phase 90 Phaser pedal.

06:37I only use it a couple times in the set.

06:39And, this is the MXR Carbon Copy.

06:43And, we have a lot of songs with delay.

06:45So, these three pedals, I do have to press with my feet.

06:49But, at least it's three instead of five.

06:52And, it makes it a little bit easier.

06:54So, I'm a singer.

06:57This is my water bottle.

06:59Oh, voila.

07:01It's very important to have quick access to water.

07:04So, you've got to have the flip top.

07:06So, that's what I use in the middle of the set.

07:09To get a good gulp of water.

07:11Okay.

07:12So, amps.

07:14The bass amp is basically just a smaller version of what Jeremy is running.

07:18It's a Rumble 100.

07:19And, like I said, I only use it on one song.

07:21So, I have this tuner just to mute the bass when I'm not playing.

07:26And, then I unmute it and make sure I'm in tune for that song.

07:30For the amps.

07:31So, I would say my main amp is this AC-15.

07:34And, it's actually the AC-15 VR.

07:38So, this version, it's, they call it like a hybrid amplifier.

07:43So, it's not, there's only one tube, I think it's in the power amp stage.

07:47It makes it very lightweight.

07:48And, I honestly prefer the sound.

07:51I mean, it's just kind of like my sound.

07:53So, even though it's not as cool and fancy as a real AC-15, that's just like what I've always

07:58run through.

08:00So, yeah, I usually, I use this mainly as my clean tone.

08:04And, I just have the volume channel completely all the way.

08:09So, that it's like pretty dirty, clean sound, if you know what I mean.

08:14And, then Blues Junior, I keep this one a little cleaner.

08:18So, when I'm switching between the amps, this is kind of like the happy middle.

08:25And, then the Blues Junior, I usually, I use it for like really cleans.

08:29Or, it plays really nicely with the fuzz pedal.

08:32So, if I'm doing a riff, I'll run it through the Blues Junior as well.

08:36These are our mics that we tour with.

08:38This is a Beta-58, made by Shure.

08:43I don't know why I use this mic, but it has a different polar pattern than the SM57.

08:51And, when we were picking out mics, we wanted that polar pattern.

08:54So, that's what we went with.

08:55I like the coily cable on the input side.

08:58It just looks kind of cool.

09:00I don't know.

09:01It's definitely less convenient, but it's kind of retro.

09:06I don't know, I like it.

09:08Pics, we have, I use custom made picks.

09:12They say the rare occasions on them.

09:14I'm pretty sure the person who makes this is called That Pick Guy.

09:17And, I think it's a one millimeter Delrin pick.

09:22Yeah, in-ears, both Jeremy and I are using Ultimate Ears.

09:26I think this is like their, not their fanciest model, but like, just under that.

09:31There's like, I don't know too much about it actually.

09:36Yeah, but they work pretty well.

09:38I have my mix.

09:39I just have the vocal super, super loud.

09:41Because, as a singer, I think it's the most important thing that I get right for the audience.

09:46Thanks for checking out our gear.

09:48We're called The Rare Occasions.

09:49I'm the singer Brian.

09:51And, you know, check out our music on any streaming platform.

09:54We have several albums and EPs that we've released over the years.

09:59And, thanks for listening.

10:29We'll see you next time.

The Rare Occasions’ Brian McLaughlin - GEAR MASTERS Ep. 647

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