There are lots of guitar-related careers in the music industry but being a guitar tech for a large touring band has to be one of the most rewarding and demanding jobs going.  I spoke to Matt McGinn about life on the road. What he does today is a long way from where he started in the industry.

“Music was all I ever wanted to do and I was in a succession of bands but none of them got anywhere.  Then I started roadie-ing for a band called Kenickie and a number of other unknown small bands - and one of those bands turned into Coldplay.”

I asked Matt if there was anything about the band in the early days that suggested future greatness.  “Chris was captivating straight away.  There was something about him that was really watch-able.  And musically speaking the band just worked.  They made a great noise.  I was working for some good bands - but with Coldplay you knew it was different.”

Does he think their extra-ordinary success has changed the band as people in any way?  “No.  They’ve always been really nice guys and they haven’t changed at all in that respect.”

What about as performers?   “They’ve become a truly amazing live band.  There’s nothing quite like a group firing on all cylinders, especially in a large venue, and for me it’s just a privilege to be a part it all really.”

Speaking of large venues – what is stadium level touring like?  “There’s more room and better security.  But then again I’ve got more stuff to take care of so I need it.  If you thought about the size of the gig too much you’d just freeze and wouldn’t be able to work.  Thankfully I can’t often see the crowd and I just get on with my job, which is the same thing however many people are there.”

“The nerve-wracking moments are at fast moving TV events like the Grammys.  We had just forty-five seconds to get the amps and the band set up for a totally live performance on front of forty million people.  My heart was in my mouth that night I can tell you.”

“Then again it’s funny what you get used to.  The first time we did the Manchester Evening News Arena I remember looking up at ceiling and thinking ‘This is HUGE!’  Then we’re back to the same venue a year later and I’m thinking ‘This isn’t so big after all…’ ”

I asked Matt if Jon’s equipment had changed.   “Jonny started off using a borrowed blue Tele as his main instrument and he’s certainly got more than that now.  We take nine guitars out on the road.   His favourite is a 1974 Fender sunburst Thinline Tele with humbucker pickups. There’s also a Fender Jaguar re-issue, a beaten up old 60’s Jazzmaster, an early ‘60s brown Gibson 335 and two Rickenbacker 12 strings.  The Rickys look beautiful and they sound amazing but they are a pain in the neck to re-string and tune up!  Anyone who’s ever owned one will know what I’m talking about.”

“Finally there’s two Martin acoustics.  One for Yellow and another for Scientist.  Each has the name of the song that they’re used for scrawled all over them and all over their cases.  It would be a nightmare if the wrong one was picked up for the wrong song because they have different tunings.  When Jonny changes to electric guitar I finish off the acoustic part for Scientist at the side of the stage.  I also play the acoustic in Yellow, which is scary as it starts the song.”
 
Jon Buckland uses three Fender Hot Rod Deville 2 x 12 amps and Chris Martin uses two more.  Why do they use the same equipment?  “They used Hot Rod Devilles for the whole of the recording of Rush of Blood to the Head and just fell in love with them.  They sound great clean and they also distort very nicely.  The wiring isn’t quite robust enough for life on the road so we’ve had them re-soldered to make sure they don’t let us down.”

“The amp and pedals set up was designed by custom rig builder Mike Hill, while the instruments are maintained by Graham Noden from a workshop under Andy’s Guitar Shop in Denmark Street.  I can do set ups and fret stoning but prefer to have it done by a real craftsman like Graham.  If one of the older guitars starts misbehaving we just send it to be Graham-ed.”

How do you get a guitar to stay in tune under the hot lights when your guitarist is whacking away at the strings on stage?  “That’s one of the advantages of changing guitars all the time.  There are so many tunings that they get swapped and checked every other song.  I went to see AC/DC recently and Malcolm Young played the same guitar for the whole gig, and I didn’t even see him tune it once.  That must be a very well set up and robust guitar.”

How often do you change Jon’s strings?  “I do the main Thinline Tele every single show.  The others are done about every four shows.  Fortunately Jonny breaks strings vary rarely - only about four or five strings in the last three years.  Chris however is a really hard hitting player who throws it about a bit and his tech is constantly changing strings.”

Could you pick out a favourite venue or show?  “There have been so many.  The memorable gigs tend to be the technically challenging ones where something goes wrong and you work through it.  At Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver (the famous U2 venue) my set up was above the drainage sump for the whole stage and there was this massive torrential rainstorm.  I had to make my own little river system out of towels to re-direct all the water away from our equipment.”

Got any tips for bands supporting acts at larger venues?  “Make friends with everybody.  Be nice!  We’ve all done supports and they can be amazing experiences if everyone works together and gets on well.”

Jon Buckland’s pedal set up:

• MXR micro amp boost (some guitars are quieter and thinner sounding like the Jaguar so they need a little help volume-wise)
• BOSS DD5 delay – often used to sweep a sample on the hold function
• BOSS RV3 reverb
• BOSS TR2 tremelo
• Cry Baby (“the chrome one”)
• Line 6 delay (great for more messy delays and dubby old sounding stuff – trippy and not clear at all)
• Mute pedal
• BOSS Acoustic simulator (used for the second verse of Trouble)
• BOSS TU12 tuner