Who Gear – The Who’s musical instruments & equipment
About this page
The ever-expanding latest section of Whotabs: Who Gear. In a similar vein of exploring the music of The Who through transcriptions, this section analyses the genre-defining musical instruments and equipment The Who used and abused throughout its storied history. These pages are under constant revision, based on continuing research and feedback from you. Got a suggestion, correction or addition? Contact Whotabs.
Table of contents
- Pete’s Guitar Equipment
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Introduction to the Pete Townshend Guitar Equipment section.
- Pete’s Guitar Equipment History – Complete Timeline
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A year-by-year overview of the guitars, amplifiers and effects that Pete Townshend used on stage and in the studio throughout his career, both solo and with The Who, from 1956 to the present. Includes equipment detail pages on notable equipment.
Pete’s Instrument overviews
- Home Studio instruments
- Recording Studio instruments
- Pete’s Endorsements and Signature Series
- Smashed Guitars
Pete’s detail guitar pages:
- Collings Guitars
- Coral Hornets
- Danelectro Guitars
- Fender Jazzmasters
- Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster Guitars
- Fender Stratocaster Guitars
- Fender Telecaster Guitars
- Gibson J-200 Guitars
- Gibson SG Special Guitars
- Gibson Les Paul Deluxe Guitars
- Gibson EDS-1275
- Gibson ES-335
- Gibson ES-345
- Gibson ES-355
- Rickenbacker Guitars
- Schecter/Giffin ‘Telecaster’-Style Guitars
- Takamine Guitars
- Washburn Thinline Acoustic Guitars
Pete’s Amplification
Pete’s Instrument Profiles
- 1964 Rickenbacker 330S/12
- D’Angelico New Yorker
- 1957 Fender Stratocaster
- 1952 Fender Telecaster
- Fender Electric XII
- Fender Stratocaster with P-90 pickups (2002)
- Fylde Ariel
- 1968 Gibson J-200
- 1956 Gibson Les Paul Custom “Black Beauty”
- 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom
- Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Guitar
- Gretsch 6120 Duo Jet
- 1958 Gibson Flying V
- Late ’50s Grimshaw
- Guild F512 12-string
- Spanish Classical Acoustic Guitar
- Rose Morris, Co., LTD., Rickenbacker 1993
- Harmony Sovereign H-1260 6-string
- Harmony Sovereign H-1270 12-string
- 1920s Martin 00-42
- 1952 Radiotone Archtop
- Rickenbacker 12-string (1980)
- Vox Cheetah (1967)
- Lowery TBO-1 Organ
Pete’s Effects
- Big Muff Pi
- Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
- Grampian Reverb
- Marshall Supa Fuzz
- MXR Dyna-Comp
- Pete Cornish Custom Design pedal board
- Tone Bender fuzz
- Univox Super-Fuzz
- Gelf Preamp
- Edwards Light Show Volume Pedal
Pete’s Miscellaneous
- John’s Bass Equipment
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An era-by-era overview of the bass guitars, amplifiers and effects John Entwistle used on stage from 1960 to 2002.
Eras:
- 1960–1966 – Fender P’s and J’s etc.; Marshall, Vox, Marshall
- 1967–1971 – Frankenstein is alive; Sound City and Hiwatt amps
- 1971–1974 – Thunderbirds and Fenderbirds; Sunn
- 1974–1985 – Alembics; Sunn
- 1986–2002 – Buzzards; Little Manhattan
- Miscellaneous: Strings, Picks & Action
- Endorsements & Signature Series
- Keith’s Drums
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A kit-by-kit overview of the drums that Keith Moon used on stage from 1965 to 1978.
Eras:
- 1961–1965 – Early kits
- 1965–1966 – Premier Red Sparkle single-bass drum kit
- 1966–1967 – Premier Red Sparkle double-bass kit
- 1967–1968 – Premier ‘Pictures of Lily’ kit
- 1968–1970 – Premier Champagne Silver kit
- 1970–1973 – Premier Black kit
- 1970–1971 – Zickos
- 1973–1974 – Premier double tom row kits (Black and Gold)
- 1975–1976 – Premier cream/white kit
- 1977–1978 – Final Premier kits
- Borrowed kits
- Miscellaneous Info
Work-in-progress page on Kenney Jones’s drumkits from his time with The Who.
- The Who PA and Foldback Equipment
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Overview of the Who’s pioneering innovations in the realm of concert sound reinforcement and presentation, including PA (“public address” or “power amplification”), foldback (or monitoring) as well as stage lighting and lasers.