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Page 1 of 2 Billy Gibbons nicknamed the Reverend Willie G, is best known as the guitar player for the band ZZ Top. He is also the lead vocalist and composer for many of the band's classic songs. Gibbons is known for playing a classic 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar he calls Miss Pearly Gates. He is known to play his guitar using a quarter or a peso as a pick, lending a distinctive sound to his playing.
So here's the deal for this list. It is really hard to find out exactly what gear Billy Gibbons uses/has used. We have over 14 different resources we used to get this list together, but there are certainly gaps for you to help fill in. If you check the pictures we have, you'll see one of billy's rack from 2008.
Let's look at some of the gear and equipment that has been seen in Billy Gibbons's guitar rig.
 Click the gear images for more info and specs at Musician's Friend
Guitars
Note: Billy's tech said in an interview that Gibbons has hundreds of guitars.
- Gibson '59 sunburst Les Paul aka "Pearly Gates". Gibson is making a Pearly Gatesguitar in 2009 - you can get it signed and played by Billy(aged version) or the lower price version which is not signed etc..
 
 
- Fender Esquires, aka Bones
- '58 Gibson Flying V
 
- Gibson Les Paul 50th Anniversary Corvette
- Goldtop Les Pauls
 
- Gibson Les Paul Juniors
- Gibson Melody Maker (his first guitar)
- Fender Stratocasters, inlcuding a Pink Fender Strat, given to him by Jimi Hendrix
- Fender telecasters
- Gretsch co-signature model, the Billy Bo
- Robin Artisan-Eight Custom "Bo Diddley" Guitars in exotic finishes
- Tokai Les Paul style guitar
- Billy has a large collection of guitars - he even has a book about them (Rock + Roll Gearhead)!
Amps and Cabinets
- Fender Deluxe 1x12
- Marshall 1968 plexi
- Marshall JCM800/900
- Rio Grande amplifiers
- solid state Marshall Valvestate rack amps
- Crate V50
- Marshall JPM-1 preamps
- Marshall 2x12 cab
- Fender Champ (his first amp)
- Mohave Scorpion amp head (Live goes to goes to one of the Iso cabs. Vivian Campbell said in a 2005 Modern guitar interview, that Billy brought this amp to the studio to record his parts on vivian's record)
- ZT Lunchbox amplifiers
- Demeter Iso Box with Eminence governor and Man O War speakers
Effects and More
- Pro Analog MKIII fuzz pedal
- Pro Analog The Power Driver
- Pro Analog The Dual Drive
- Boss Bass octave
- Electro Harmonix POG
- Fulltone Ultimate Octave
- Fulltone Deja Vibe
- Bixonic Expandora
- Chandler Tube Drivers
- Keeley Katana pedal
- Korg Rack tuner
- Furman Power conditioners
- Tech 21 NYC Midi Mouse
- Analog Man Sun Lion pedals
- Samson UR5D wireless units
- Peterson StroboStomp tuner
- RG-16 Rack unit
- Boss SE-70 Super Effects Processor
- DigiTech Mono 28 EQ rack units
Strings, Picks and More
- Dunlop Reverend Willy's accessories (Slides, guitar strings.... He uses the 7 gauge version)
 
- .08 gauge Gibson Britewire guitar strings
- Dunlop picks (his tech shows them and thinks they are the gell picks. Though it looked Orangish)
- he uses a peso as a guitar pick in addition to other picks
Go to the next page for awesome pictures of Billy Gibbon's guitar gear.
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Comments
This video is him with a Blackstar, so yes it appears you are right! :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvlHZXe3H7U
The palmer DI box can handle a power amped signal without a speaker load so he may have it there for a backup for the iso cab since this does basically the same thing in less space or he is running both to give that multiple miced sound for the board.
I know when I saw ZZtop they were using rack marshalls and Crate 2-12 on stage for monitors ( very clean
He has also use Vox tone benders
I think it's some Martian fuzz box he's aquired when he went off world
Would anyone happen to know which fuzz pedal the Revd used circa 1980? Coupled with Pearly it sounded amazing.
Regards
V
The strings im 100% sure about though
However, in pictures over the last few years, he is often pictured with an Orange pick, that might be a Dunlop Tortex or something like that...
www.flickr.com/.../o
looks like an OLD like DSP128
That's definitely a Tech 21 Midi Mouse mounted on top.
In the first rack space, there's a Furman PL-Plus Voltage Regulator.
There's a couple of Samson UHF UR-5D Wireless Systems.
He has a Korg ToneWorks DTR-1 Rack Tuner.
The next box that you had a question on looks to be a rack guitar splitter. I found one that's SIMILAR to that, and it's called the Vrtacic Design Guitar Splitter. Here's the URL address for it: www.vrtacicdesign.com/.../
By the way, just to correct you (it's no big deal), those aren't Peavey Effects Processors, but they're actually Peavey Autograph II Graphic Equalizers, used to match his stage guitars with the sound of "Pearly Gates".
There's 3 Marshall JMP-1 Pre-Amps, but 1 is a back up. Then, 3 Marshall Valvestate 8008 Power Amps and one is a back up as well.
As you mentioned, in the first rack drawer, there's a Boss Bass Octave and an Electro-Harmonix POG. But, in the second rack drawer, there's a Pro Analog MKIII Fuzz Pedal (for fuzz effects), a Pro Analog Power Driver (for a clean boost), and a Pro Analog Dual Drive Version 1 (for overdrive effects).
Next is a Palmer PGA-04 ADIG-LB Speaker Simulator. The last device is a Furman AR-1220 Voltage Regulator.
From what I know about signal paths, the Marshall JMP-1 Pre-Amps go to the Power Amps. 1 Power Amp goes to the speaker simulator, and from the speaker simulator, it goes to a Demeter Silent Speaker Chamber (aka an Isolation Cabinet). The other Power Amp goes to one of the Crate Blue Voodoo 4x12" cabinets on stage. If you'll look closely at Bobble-Head's picture, you'll see that on the power amps, they're marked with tags that read "ISO CAB", "ON STAGE", and "BACK UP".
Now, I'm pretty sure this is right! We'll probably never know the REAL setup on Billy's rig right now, but from experience of playing guitar, I'm pretty sure this is how it goes.
(starting from the very top)
Tech 21 Midi Mouse
Furman PL-Plus power conditioner
2 Samson UR-5D wireless systems (one for Billy and one for Dusty)
Korg ToneWorks DTR-1 rack tuner
Anybody have any idea on the next box?? :dry:
2 Peavey Effects Processors (don't know the model, but they look like the older Peavey racks that are discontinued nowadays)
3 Marshall JMP-1 Pre-Amps (one is used as a spare)
3 Marshall Valvestate 8008 Power Amps (one is used as a back up)
In the first rack drawer, as mentioned above by Frederick,
What's in the other rack drawer? Who knows!!
Palmer PGA-04 ADIG-LB Speaker Simulator
Furman AR-1220 Voltage Regulator
One of the Valvestate 8008 power amps goes through 2 Demeter Isolation Cabinets, each loaded with a 100-watt 12" Celestion speaker. The other power amp goes to one of the Cr8te Blue Voodoo 4x12" cabinets onstage.
Each JMP-1 Pre-Amp goes to a Peavey Effects Processor, a Valvestate 8008 Power Amp, and the Palmer Speaker Simulator.
All this is going to the Front of House mixer.
I hope this clears things up.
And, can somebody please tell me what that thing is between the Korg rack tuner and the Peavey Effects Processor??
Thanks so much!
samsontech.com/.../...
Don
The Reverend gave us a basic tour of his guitar rig. The rack was run by a trio of JMP-1 pre amps, augmented by Peavey signal processors, the exact models I missed because I was so overwhelmed by the mans Zen/Western sense and hospitality.
One of two pedal drawers revealed a Boss bass octave and Electro Harmonix POG. The thing that surprised the hell outta' me was that the pre amps were powered by solid state Marshall Valvestate rack amps. Hey, whatever works Rev!