Introduction: Equipment

The following list of equipment does not intend to be a complete

listing of every piece John Squire has used. Instead, it is a guide to

help create some of the tones and sounds that Squire does. Also, since

the finances and talents of Mr. Squire, compared to the rest of the

populace, are great, the sound he gets is going to vary from song to

song on the albums, and from live recording to live recording. So, use

this as a guide and you shall be all the wiser for it. You’re mileage

may vary, but this is a good start.

Electric guitars

*Gibson Les Paul (Standard, Custom, and "Black Beauty" Models have been used)

*Gibson 335

*Gretsch Country Gentleman

*Heavily modified Fender Jaguar

*Fender Stratocaster

*painted hollow body; double f-hole (unknown model and manufacture; possibly never played on known recording)

Acoustic guitars

*Takamine (unknown model)

Amplifiers

*Silverface Twin Reverb--Seems to be the standard. Unknown as to the exact modifications, but rumored not to be standard. With or without master volume is still a question, but less of an issue with rumored modifications.

*Other amps rumored to have been used--

Orange, (unknown model)

Marshall, (unknown model)

Fender, Blackface Twin Reverb

Effects

*Fuzz Face

*Alesis Quadraverb

*Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger

*Boss flanger

*Ibanez Tube Screamer

*Vox wah-wah

*Zoom distortion unit

*Maestro Echoplex

*Watkins Copycat

Equipment shown on the The Stone Roses album sleeve

*2 Silverface Twin Reverb amplifiers (Unknown if these are

master volume or not; and what modifications)

*1 Alesis Quadraverb

*1 Gretsch Country Gentleman

*1 double f-hole hallow bodied guitar with Pollock paint job

(unknown manufacture, possible Gibson of some sort)

*2 floor effects (possibly Boss manufacture, one a Boss flanger)

*Fuzz Face

Capo Positions

Elephant Stone - 1st fret

She Bangs the Drums - Open

Waterfall - 4th fret

Don't Stop (Spike Island) - 4th fret

Sugar Spun Sister - 2nd fret

Made of Stone - 2nd fret

This is the One - 2nd fret

The Hardest Thing in the World - 2nd fret

Going Down - 2nd fret

Mersey Paradise - 5th fret

Where Angel's Play - 2nd? fret

A lot of the old songs were written on the 2nd, so when in doubt

try the 2nd. Also, ignore the Blackpool clips for Waterfall and I'm

Standing Here on The Complete Stone Roses video, they took clips

from a few different songs and put them together. Also, there are various

tabs that recommend various capo positions; your mileage may vary.

Interviews and Articles on Guitar Related Matters

Currently the only article the FAQ has in it is from Total

Guitar, Issue 4, March 1995. It has been edited for length and any

content not relating in any way to Squire’s playing. The following are

the relevant bits of the article, The Rise of the Roses.

The actual recording process was simple. Guitarist John Squire

wanted to keep a live sound through much of his guitar playing.

Simon (Dawson, the producer ) explains "John would usually work

out roughly what he was going to play before coming in, and then

do three or four takes with the slant on 'performance' I'd

usually end up using one of those (the one with the best feel),

pinching bits from the other takes if there were any bad

mistakes in the best one. We tried to keep it as 'one take' as

possible." Surprisingly, even though the Roses are currently

considering headlining at Glastonbury, performing the album live

in future wasn't a big consideration. According to Simon "They

wanted to give it a very live feel anyway".

Valuable insight into the album is given by the kind of music

the band listened to at the Rockfield sessions .... for music

they tuned into Aerosmith, Sly & Robbie, Dub War and obscure US

hip hop artists - as well as a sizable chunk of old Chess

rock'n'roll and blues recordings. The band's use of new tunings

on Second Coming was probably inspired by these old recordings

from the 40's and 50's. The single Love Spreads saw John and

Mani dropping to a low D - John used his back-up Les Paul for

this. For the blissfully sweet Your Star Will Shine, John used

Nashville tuning (you make the three bass strings lighter gauge,

then tune them an octave higher than normal - it gives a

ringing, jangley style, perfect for picking). As far as effects

go, according to the album's producer, Simon, John just used an

Echoplex tape delay, a Fuzz Face, an Electric Mistress, a Cry

Baby wah and a Zoom distortion (at the end of Driving South).

Bassist Mani meanwhile occasionally used a SansAmp pre-amp tube

simulator to pump up his Rickenbacker bass and Mesa Boogie rig.

Ten Storey Love Song is the Roses' new single, due out this

month. Surprisingly, it's a triumphant return to their first

album form. Mixolydian meanderings take us into a huge swooping

major chord - you instantly know you're in Roses country here

....

Take a listen to the new album, and you'll hear that all the

right ingredients are there - in just the right combination.

Squire digs the leads from his '59 Les Paul and Electro-Harmonix

pedals through an old Fender Twin Reverb amp. Another backwards

look over the shoulder in the form of Orange amps was evident

during the recording sessions, as was an old Maestro Echoplex

tape echo unit, again just right for the analogue mood of the

album. Though simple, this set-up is very popular. The

combination of high output Les Paul pickups through the high

gain Fender Twin inputs (made with the low output Strat in mind)

produces a great sound, especially when the Fender Twin has been

hotrodded for extra boost (as Squire's has). On the other side

of the room, Mani's bass consistently holds the project

together, rolling and looping through the song and often being

the melodic standard bearer, while Squire runs at yet another

guitar solo. His sound is warm, round and wholesome, Mani's

Rickenbacker bass and Mesa rig being the perfect counterfoil to

the bright 12" speakers in the Fender Twin."

EQUIPMENT