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.
- Pete’s Guitar Gear
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Introduction to the Pete Townshend Guitar Gear section.
- Pete’s Guitar Gear 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
- Miscellaneous 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
- 1959 Fender Bandmaster
- Fender Bassman
- Fender Pro
- Fender Showman
- Fender Vibrasonic
- Fender Vibro-King
- Hiwatt CP103 amplifier
- Lazy J amplifiers
- The Marshall ‘Stack’
- MESA/Boogie amplifiers
- Peavey Vintage
- Sound City L100 amplifier
- Sunn Amplifiers
- Vox AC-100 amplifiers
- Vox Thomas Organ Super Beatle amplifiers
Pete’s Instrument Profiles
- 1964 Rickenbacker 330S/12
- D’Angelico New Yorker
- Epiphone Coronet
- Epiphone Wilshire
- 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 F-612XL 12-string
- Spanish Classical Acoustic Guitar
- Rose Morris, Co., LTD., Rickenbacker 1993
- Harmony Sovereign H-1260 6-string
- Harmony Sovereign H-1270 12-string
- Levin Goliath LM-26
- 1920s Martin 00-42
- 1971 Martin D-35
- 1952 Radiotone Archtop
- Rickenbacker 12-string (1980)
- Vox Cheetah (1967)
- WEM/Watkins Fifth Man Project IV Guitar
Pete’s Effects
- Big Muff Pi
- Boss OD-1 Overdrive
- Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face
- Edwards Light Beam Volume Pedal
- Ernie Ball Volume Pedal
- Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone
- Grampian Reverb
- Marshall Supa Fuzz
- MXR Dyna-Comp
- Pete Cornish Custom Design pedal board
- Roland
- Shaftesbury Duo Fuzz
- Tone Bender fuzz
- Univox Super-Fuzz
- Preamps
Pete’s Miscellaneous
- John’s Bass Guitar Gear
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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:
- 1960–1963 – Getting started, the first Fender P
- 1964–1966 – Fender P’s and J’s etc.; Marshall, Vox, Marshall
- 1967–1968 – Frankenstein is alive; Sunn, Solid-State, and Sound City amps
- 1968–1971 – Frankenstein and Hiwatt amps
- 1971–1974 – Thunderbirds and Fenderbirds; back to Sunn
- 1975–1985 – Alembics; Sunn
- 1986–2002 – Buzzards; Little Manhattan
- Miscellaneous: Strings, Picks & Action
- Endorsements & Signature Series
- Keith’s Drumkits
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A kit-by-kit overview of the drums that Keith Moon used on stage from 1965 to 1978. Plus Kenney Jones’ and Zak Starkey’s drumkits from their time with The Who.
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)
- 1974 – Premier gold kit museum display
- 1975–1976 – Premier cream/white kit
- 1977–1978 – Final Premier kits
- Borrowed kits
- Miscellaneous Info
- Endorsements and Signature Series
- Kenney Jones’ drumkits
- Zak Starkey’s drumkits
- Roger Daltrey’s guitar timeline
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A work-in-progress overview of Roger Daltrey’s use of guitars onstage 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.
Eras:
- Miscellaneous Gear
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A section for everything else related to Who’s gear.
- Museum Pieces
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A work-in-progress overview of the The Who’s instruments featured at museums, restaurants, etc.
- Gig profiles
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A new section featuring gig profiles.