Slash Guitar Rig 2015
You probably know him best for being an 80s rock guitar hero from the band Guns ‘N Roses but these days Slash is an accomplished solo artist in his own right. Touring the world under his own name has seen his status as a guitar player grow from strength to strength. With a setlist spanning his whole lifetime of work, the once simple rig has grown into a versatile tone machine.
In the early days, Slash would be seen with a Les Paul, a Marshall Stack and a wah pedal. These days it’s a bit of a different story, many pedals have been added to the rig to cover almost 35 years of his recording career.. Let’s dig into the 2015 touring rig of the top hatted guitar hero.
Pedals
Many of the pedals in Slash’s arsenal are MXR or Dunlop. Slash has had along standing relationship with the brand and has released many signature products under their umbrella. Here is the list of pedals he was using in 2015. Many of these were only used for one or two songs through his typical setlist to cover specific effects used on the record.
- Dunlop Cry Baby SW95 Slash Signature Wah
- MXR Octave Fuzz Slash Signature
- MXR Cry Baby Q Zone
- Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
- MXR M234 Analogue Chorus
- MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo
- MXR MC401 Boost/Line Driver
- MXR Phase 90
- Palmer Triage Amp Selector
Dunlop Cry Baby SW95 Slash Signature Wah
Slash has been a long time Dunlop Crybaby Wah user. The SW95 was designed in collaboration with Dunlop to provide Slash with a great, functional touring wah. The main wah is voiced to Slash’s famous throaty wah sound and the small kick switch on the side activates the built in fuzz circuit for those crazy, soaring solo moments.
MXR Octave Fuzz Slash Signature
This is a pedal that makes make appearences throguh the Slash setlist. One side is a Fuzz and the other enables an octave up and down effect. Slash uses this for No More Heroes, Paradise City, Carolina and more. The fuzz side is voiced to be a thick and warm 70s style fuzz like all of Slash’s favourite 70s rock records. The octave side allows you to dial in an octave up and down and blend it with the main signal.
MXR Cry Baby Q Zone
This is a Wah style filter effect but it simulates the pedal being held in a stationary position. This pedal was on Slash’s board in 2015, but all photos of that rig show the pedal not actually connected to the chain. It is assumed that the pedal was removed from the chain for some reason but left on the board.
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
For all the delay moments in the set Slash calls upon the Boss DD-3. He switches this on during Slither, Rocket Queen, Welcome to the Jungle and anywhere else that needs a little delay. Slash usually has it set to a fairly fast delay with a few repeats.
MXR M234 Analog Chorus
Whenever Slash requires some coloration on his clean tones through the night he will use the MXR Analog Chorus. This chorus pedal has remained on his solo touring board for many years now and seems to be his chorus pedal of choice. Most images of the pedalboard indicate that he runs is with everything pointed straight up to 12’o clock.
MXR M159 Stereo Tremolo
When the band perform the track Beautifully Dangerous of the first Slash record, the MXR Stereo Tremolo is used. The tremolo is set to a fast, choppy sound as heard on the studio version of the track.
MXR MC401 Boost/Line Driver
The MXR MC401 is Slash’s lead boost of choice. This pedal has 20dB of clean boost available. This is positioned at the start of Slash’s signal chain before his modulation pedals. There is a second one placed sideways on some images of his pedalboard but for the most part this is not connected to anything. This could just be a spare unit.
MXR Phase 90
Tracks like By The Sword, Ride Today and Halo contain some phasing guitar parts. For all phaser parts, Slash uses the MXR Phase 90 which is the most recognisable phaser pedal in the world. He runs is just under 12 o’clock.
Palmer Triage Amp Selector
This is an amp switcher that Slash uses to select between different amps and enable his acoustic channel.
Guitars
Slash tours with quite a lot of guitars, most of which are variations of Gibson Les Pauls. Slash has been a Les Play player since day one. Other guitars slip in and out of the show but the Les Paul is always number one.
- Gibson Les Paul (Many variations)
- 1980 BC Rich Mockingbird
- Guild Crossroads Doubleneck
Gibson Les Paul (Many variations)
Slash plays the majority of his solo show with a Gibson Les Paul of some sort. The newer songs are played on his latest red Rosso Corsa and Vermillion signature models. When any Guns N Roses songs make the set, the older Les Paul’s will make an appearance. Some of the Les Pauls he uses include the Appetitie VOS Les Paul (It’s So Easy, Paradise City, Rocket Queen, Nightrain), Les Paul Standard ’59 Reissue (Welcome to the Jungle) and a Les Paul Goldtop ’57 Reissue (Sweet Child O Mine),
1980 BC Rich Mockingbird
The 1980 BC Rich Mockingbird has been the main guitar for playing You Could Be Mine. This is the guitar that appeared in the music video for the same song and has been in Slash’s possession since the early days of Guns N Roses.
Guild Crossroads Doubleneck
The Guild Crossroads is a doubleneck guitar that is one half acoustic guitar and one half electric guitar. Slash uses this for the track Civil War where he will switch between the acoustic intro and the lead guitar parts on the electric guitar. The acoustic neck is enabled via Slash’s amp switcher which routes the acoustic output to a separate pre-amp.
Amplifiers and Cabinets
There is, and has only ever been one amp brand to be seen on stage with Slash and that is Marshall. He has been using Marshall amps since the 1980’s and makes no plans to ever change that. He often changes between a range of different Marshall amps on tour to suit whatever he feels at that particular moment.
- Marshall AFD100 Slash Signature
- Marshall JCM800 2203
- Marshall JCM 2555 Silver Jubilee
Marshall AFD100 Slash Signature
This amp has been in and out of Slash’s rig depending on the setlist. This amp is modelled on the famous Marshall amp that Slash rented from S.I.R Studios for the recording sessions of the Appetite for Destruction album and reportedly never returned. The original is believed to be a pre JCM-800 Marshall that was modded to have a more hot-rodded sound. The AFD100 was meticulously designed based on audio recordings and accounts from the time. Slash uses this amp for his heavy rock tones.
Marshall JCM800 2203
When he isn’t using the AFD100, he is using a JCM800. Sometimes, he will even mix and match the two. The JCM800 is also used for distorted guitar tones.
Marshall JCM 2555 Silver Jubilee
Slash uses the JCM Silver Jubilee for clean tones. Loaded with KT88 tubes this amp has a very high headroom, similar to that of a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo amp. The high headroom and warm mids mean that you can push the amp loud and still retain a lot of clean signal before the natural overdrive kicks in.
Sources:
Slash Paradise, Slash World
