PG’s Chris Kies tracks down the soft-spoken guitarist and his tech Dave Folman to talk shop before Clark Jr.’s opening slot for the Foo Fighters at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Before he could ever dream of having his own signature model, Clark Jr. gravitated to an Epiphone Casino because of its sleek, symmetrical body shape and its ability to give him tones reminiscent of B.B. King and T-Bone Walker. Following the success of his album Blak and Blu, Epiphone honored the Texas axe-slinger with his own namesake model shown here. The only major differences from a standard Casino are the Blak and Blu finish and Gibson P-90 pickups. Almost all of his guitars are strung up with D’Addario Custom Nickel .011–.049, but the lower-tuned guitars use .011–.052.
This Fender Custom Shop 1963 Strat is very special to Clark Jr. and not just because it’s the best sounding one he’s played and it reminds him of Nile Rodgers’ “Hitmaker,” but because it was given to him by his fiancée after he mentioned that “I need that in my life” when walking by Ludlow Guitars in NYC. He typically uses the Strat on the more soulful cuts like “Cold Blooded,” “Star,” and “Down to Ride.” This is the only guitar with lighter-gauge strings—D’Addario Custom Nickel .010–.046.
Almost equally as cool as the Strat gifted to him from his fiancée, is this 1961 Gibson Les Paul/SG Standard that was given to the guitarist by the Foo Fighters when they recorded the song “What Do I Do / God As My Witness” for the Foo’s album (and documentary) Sonic Highways. He admits to liking the SG because it’s his only guitar that is raw and a bit unhinged sounding with its humbuckers. He’s been using it a lot live and particularly on songs from The Story of Sonny Boy Slim like “Grinder” and “The Healing.”
Here’s a 1966 Epiphone Casino that was a factory second and was sent to Europe to be sold, but Gary stumbled upon it at a pawnshop in London. This used to be Gary’s main “heavy” guitar, but it now rests in the wings as a backup to the SG.
This sunburst beauty is a Gibson ES-330 that is reserved as a backup or is used to accompany Clark Jr. when he busts out a harmonica because the guitar’s overall tone is softer and rounder than most of his axes.
Before either Blak and Blu the album or the signature guitar came out, this was one of his most-used guitars—a 2007 Epiphone Casino.
Another gifted 6-string is this Fano JM6 that was given to him by his bassist Johnny Bradley before they recorded The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. Gary has said the tone of this Jazzmaster-inspired 6-string reminds him of his Strat but with more midrange honk because of the Fralin P-90s.
One of the few guitars that Clark Jr. plays that doesn’t sport a double cutaway is this 1974 Fender Telecaster that he used to play on the song “Numb.” He claims it screams when it’s set up in an open tuning.
The Austin-based guitarist plays with Dunlop Poly Medium picks.
Gary uses a two-amp setup for his live rig and has them both running at all times. Shown here is his Fender Vibro-King combo that is loaded three Jensen 10" speakers.
The second Vibro-King actually came from Pete Townshend’s collection because when Clark Jr. was touring Europe he couldn’t find a Vibro-King combo and Townshend apparently had 10 pairs of custom-made Vibro-King heads and 2x10 extension cabinets. This particular amp-and-cabinet combo was used almost exclusively while recording The Story of Sonny Boy Slim. And while Clark Jr. prefers to use the onboard reverb and tremolo from the Vibro-King, the various stage materials and setups often cause uncontrollable feedback and noise so he’s since opted to use a Strymon Flint.
Gary’s board is lean and mean with only five stompboxes on it. He has the TC Electronic PolyTune, a Fulltone Octafuzz—the champion after testing out nearly 30 fuzzboxes—a Hermida Audio Zendrive (which took the place of his Tube Screamer), the aforementioned Strymon Flint, and a brand new Gary Clark Jr. Signature Jim Dunlop Cry Baby—his tech describes it “as a dark pedal, almost like you were playing guitar under water with a wah”—that should be available by the end of the year.
Chris Kies has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. He's now the multimedia manager maintaining the website and social media accounts, coordinating Rig Rundown shoots (also hosting and/or filming them) and product demos, and occasionally writing an artist feature, all while still shooting/editing video for NAMM-show coverage. Other than that, he spends time with his pitbull and enjoys non-guitar-related hobbies.
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