Guitar World would like to thank Vintage ’n’ Rare Guitars for the kind loan of the incredible sparkle finish Sixties Strat that appears on this spread (page 58).
MICHAEL AMOTT
MXR PHASE 90
“I HAVE SO many phasers, but the one I usually go back to is the classic Phase 90. It just sounds how I imagine a phaser to sound in my head. I have all these custom-shop ones from Japan or whatever, but they don’t really sound like the ones I heard on those famous records. I even have the EVH one [MXR EVH Phase 90], but I kinda prefer the regular Phase 90. I run it with the speed at zero, and it gives everything this extra fatness and slight sense of movement. I like the 3D kind of depth it brings.”
ARIELLE
J. ROCKETT ANIMAL
“MINE IS THE old model that looks like a bread box. I love it because no matter what amp I put it in front of, it breaks things up beautifully with just the right amount of gain — especially when I don’t want to kill everyone’s ears with volume. The gritty saturated tone is so minimal, and it creates smooth Dumble-like tones, plus other sounds more associated with Fender, Marshall and everything in between. If I could only have one pedal, this would always be my first choice.”
JOHN BAIZLEY
FTELECTTRONICA SCHUMANN PLL
“I USED THIS analog harmonizer pedal a lot on the last Baroness album, as well as a handful of tracks from Purple. The builder’s name is Schumann, and I believe he only makes two pedals — both of which are ridiculous and unique. They’re very pricey; the PLL I used actually belonged to our producer, David Friddman. It’s very bizarre with lots of weird knobs and dials with some kind of envelope follower, while also having this very rich fuzz tonal characteristic.”
LARI BASILIO
JHS MORNING GLORY
“I LOVE THE articulation and dynamics of this pedal! It’s easy to dial in and has been my main overdrive for many years. Most of the time I use it on the red channel and then I control the amount of the drive according to what I need in each specific situation. The tone control will also depend on my mood, but usually it’s not too bright. You can hear this pedal on songs like ‘Not Alone’ [transcribed in our March 2023 issue], ‘Far More,’ ‘Fearless’ and ‘Your Love’.”
JENNIFER BATTEN
DIGITECH WHAMMY WH-1
“I DISCOVERED THE DigiTech Whammy pedal not long after they released it in 1989. I used it all over my debut record, Above, Below and Beyond. I mostly used the whole-step-down mode for slide effects. I loved it so much; it inspired several tunes, including ‘Cat Fight’ (octave-up mode); I discovered you can make it sound like an angry cat. I also dedicated a tune to it called ‘Whammy Damage.’ I had a Whammy pedal under each foot so I had to sit down to play it. I had my left foot set to an octave down and the right set to an octave up. I played three octave riffs and arpeggios in the same spot.”
NUNO BETTENCOURT
PRO CO RAT
going straight into my amp, except for this Rat pedal that I’ve had for ages. It’s supposed to be a distortion but I turn the distortion all the way off. It’s there purely to tighten up my bottom end, especially for single-note riffs like ‘Suzi (Wants Her All Day What?)’ from. I’m the only guitar player in the band so I want to cut through and sound big. The only way to get the response I need is through a Rat pedal. It’s been there since day one for the tightness of the bass frequencies.”
