Austrian-born Thomas Nordegg is one of the top guitar techs in the music business. Since the ’70s, he’s provided tech services for some of the world’s best-known artists, including Frank Zappa, Dweezil Zappa, Missing Persons, Duran Duran, Toto, Tears for Fears, Jimmy Page, The Pretenders, and many others. Currently, Thomas works with legendary guitarist Steve Vai, constantly traveling the world with him and managing his rig on solo shows and G3 tours.

Throughout his 40-plus years of tech work, BOSS and Roland have been reliable, trusted mainstays for Thomas in the touring rigs he builds for the stars. For his own personal enjoyment at home, Thomas has assembled an amazing dream rig that can conjure up every sound imaginable. BOSS and Roland gear play a huge role in this setup, which includes numerous pedals, three generations of VG-series V-Guitar systems, and four different Roland guitar synths, all playable at the same time!

During a rare touring break, we talked with Thomas for a recent BOSS Tone Radio podcast. To listen to the complete conversation, visit www.BossUS.com/podcasts. 

You came over from Austria in 1972?

Yes, that is correct. In the ’60s, when the Beatles came up, there was a band in Vienna called the Slaves. They had a Gypsy guitar player [named Charly Ratzer] who couldn’t read or write, but of course could play like Satan, up and down. In ’71, my dad bought me a ticket to New York City for two weeks, and that just blew my mind. I said, “This is where to go!” So I came back and decided to manage [Ratzer], and left with him in ’72.

In 1976, you hooked up with someone named Peter Wolf. Was that the guy from the J. Geils Band?

No, no, not from J. Geils Band. This Peter Wolf was originally supposed to come with me and Ratzer. Wolf was a prodigy—a Mozart-type keyboard guy, and we decided to go to Los Angeles.

The full story would take too long, but I can tell you this much: we got an apartment right on Santa Monica and Crescent Heights, and we would hang out at the one and only Guitar Center at that point. Peter was trying out keyboards. We’d just hang out there and give out our phone number. And literally, I’d say within three weeks, I picked up the phone and it’s, “Hi, this is Frank Zappa. Can I talk to Peter Wolf?”

Frank was putting a new band together with Terry Bozio and Patrick O’Hearn. Frank, in his usual manor, did everything right away. We went instantly to his house and Peter auditioned and got the gig. I was hired as his roadie, and then a month into it, rehearsals started in Hollywood at a movie soundstage.

Frank owned his own PA and lights, and we had eight- to ten-hour rehearsals. I mean, I was from little Vienna and blown away. Adrian Belew was hired in the band. I was with Frank almost seven years.

Steve Weingart, keyboard player with Steve Lukather, just walked in. I lent him a pedal when we were on G3, and he just returned it—an EV-5 by Roland. Steve Vai uses two of these pedals in his system presently: one is the master volume for the system, and the other one is, depending on the patch, it’s a wah, whammy, or what have you.

The EV-5 is a handy pedal.

Oh—must have.

It has a little control on it so you can control the amount of expression.

Oh, yeah, yeah. Absolutely mandatory.

Let’s talk more about Steve Vai’s rig. He’s got some BOSS FS-5Us; those are really handy control pedals.

Oh totally. All that stuff, plus how you can put them next to each other with the track, you know?

Yes, you can slide multiple FS-5Us together to make one larger multi-pedal.

The two [in Vai’s rig] are used for [volume] down and up; whenever he’s in a patch, he can go by dB amounts or half dB amounts.

In the past, Steve Vai used a BOSS DS-1 Distortion, correct?

Yes. You know, he’s created the Gemini [pedal] with Ibanez. But from ’99 on up, yeah, he used the DS-1. That was his main pedal. Forever he had the DS-1, always.

You’re constantly on the road with Steve. Are there any things that have stood out in the last six months?

The G3 tours are always great. I think it was in Prague…Al Di Meola happened to be there in town, and he came by to join the jam [at the show that evening]. In the afternoon, he walked in with his tech guy. Steve happened to be there checking his gear, so they jammed together. It was really cool.

Was the last G3 tour the one with Steve Lukather?

The one in Australia was with Lukather. The most recent one we did in Europe was with Steve Morse.

So G3 always has Vai and Satriani, but the third guy changes?

More than not. But Satriani went out [to South America] and we couldn’t do it because of the Vai tour. I think he went with Lukather and Steve Morse.

As one of the world’s top guitar techs, what is your opinion of the BOSS GT-100?

It’s just really so flexible, so easy. [It] gives you full effects and full amps and easy usage. I’m looking at it right now, it’s turned on—it’s low profile, it’s small, and literally you can take it in a backpack. Anywhere you go, and there you are, you know?

Because of the dual LCD screens, I think it’s the easiest to use BOSS multi-effects ever.

Correct, absolutely. That is a big change. I mean, I can share this with you. In two months with Vai, with the Fractal machine, no question [it has] deep editing, and therefore it becomes somewhat complicated for a guy like Vai, [who likes] instant gratification.

This is the expensive $1200 unit with the $700 foot controller?

Well, more than $1200. More like two grand. Way too expensive.

And the GT-100 does a lot of the same stuff, right?

Totally. Absolutely, I agree. [And in] such a compact way. Like you said, there are two elements needed with a Fractal; you really want to get that MFC-101 [foot controller]. But [the GT-100], it’s all here on the floor. And the [GT-100] display beats Fractal and anything.

The Fractal interface looks a little more difficult.

Yeah. [The GT-100] is really the ticket, no doubt about it. The layout and how it’s done, low profile and super compact, and with the various ports for the controller switches. I was reading up on how deep you actually can go—every parameter, full on.

Which brings up the FS-5Us we were just talking about, or the EV-5.

Add those little sideboards and off you go. Full MIDI madness, everything—it’s all there. And the looper is great. You can’t go wrong.

There are an amazing amount of effects in the GT-100. It has 20 overdrive and distortion models, different reverbs, different delays, different compressors…it’s just endless stuff in there.

Oh, everything. And the Advanced section…

Yes—in the Advanced section, there are eight brand-new amp models that are based on vintage and modern amps. And there’s also a section where you have massive control to customize and create your own amp.

Exactly. And [the GT-100] sounds super-clean, that’s the other thing.

I saw a YouTube video of you showing the guitar rig that you built for yourself, and it takes up your whole living room. It’s like a Frankenstein’s monster! Do you still have that?

Yeah. It’s changed and [now it’s] super-compact. [When I return from this tour], I’ll have three months where I’ll finish the wiring. I’ve got the master harness done. It’s one bigger board, two smaller boards, the main one with a MIDI foot controller. It’s all there, and the GR-33 [guitar synth] is on the floor there.

So you work with guitar gear for your job, but when you come home, your hobby is also working with guitar gear?

It started in ’99 when I brought a Strat. It had LEDs dots that lit up [on the neck], and a holographic pickguard. Vai saw it and said, “Can I play it on one song, just for flamboyance?” So he did. On my rig, I can go sonically where nobody can go, blindfolded by the way. I’ve got the [Roland] VG-88 that I had rack mounted.

I saw that! Do you have two of them?

I have the VG-88 and the VG-8EX, all rack mounted.

Do you have the VG-99 as well?

Yeah…and the GR-55, GR-33, and GI-20 with the XV-2020. And the GR-20, the little one. I can play four at the same time—totally transparent, no interference, no noise. And, of course, individually with my MIDI board for MIDI madness. You can just imagine where I’m going. It’s limitless.

You’ve got just about everything that a guitar player could dream of. On that YouTube video, I saw you just pick up the guitar and the whole rig came on.

Yeah. [With] radio control, I can turn on the rig and my room lights. I can get in the mood and then just take it away, you know?

You’re a high-level tech and you’re out there on the road everyday. Do you have any last words to say about BOSS pedals and gear?

Always a good experience, period. Across all my years, BOSS and Roland for me are both top shelf. They were the first ones anyway; all the stompboxes are modeled after the original BOSS boxes. Vai, at home in his drawer, has at least six or seven DS-1s.

I saw a video of a big cabinet where he keeps all his pedals.

Oh yeah. All organized, lots of BOSS. All the DD delays, all of them. And those are used on the small rig, a quick board that I have in a Pelican case for quick gigs. That’s what he used on the G3 jam—he had one amp with one head, and direct to the little board in front. I think one’s a DD-7, one’s a DD-3, and then a TU-3 tuner.

What’s next for you?

I’m leaving in 92 hours for Finland to do another two months with Vai, like 57 shows in 62 days. There you have it—it’s a grind!