"With 35+ pedals in line, a clean switching system was necessary for easy rig maintenance. These custom switchers from Bright Onion Pedals feature a toggle switch assigned to each pedal with a corresponding letter that can be bypassed while keeping the chain alive. If the signal goes out, Josh's tech only has to flip each of the toggles and check the LEDs to see which pedal is the offender. "
"Because Josh uses vintage Marshalls that are more prone to failure, he also employs a backup rig consisting of a Marshall JMP-1 and Palmer speaker simulator that can be switched on at a moment's notice. He won't finish the set with this rig, but it gives his tech the time to switch to his backup head. "
"Flea doesn't use many effects, relying on these four for all of the tones he needs. Left-to-right he uses a Malekko Bassmaster for fuzz and distortion, MXR Micro Amp used as clean boost for slapping and leads, Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron used for ""Sir Psycho Sexy,"" and a Moog Mooferfooger 12-Stage Phaser used just for fun. The board is powered by a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus."
"Josh Klinghoffer uses a three-amp setup. The vintage Marshall Major provides the basis for his tone with an emphasis on low-end, the Silvertone is run a bit quieter for midrange, and the Fender Super Six is set even quieter and provides top end. All three amps are on at the same time and the effects are run through all three."
"Flea uses three Gallien-Krueger 2001RB amps, one controls the other two as slaves. There are two additional 2001RB amps in the rack, one is used when Klinghoffer plays bass, and the other is simply a backup."
"Since the cabinets are open-back, they use a piece of loose plexiglas to keep the sound from bleeding into the percussion mics behind. Partially closing off the back, however, heats up the amp, so a fan sits atop it to move hot air out and keep it functional."
"This bass is used for ""By The Way,"" and is tuned to Drop D. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan, rather than his usual Modulus pickups."
This Chinese-made bass from Flea's own line of Flea Basses features a limited-edition spin-art finish by artist Damien Hirst. It's used occasionally throughout the show.
"Josh's says that as a standalone amp, this white Marshall Major head sounds better to his ears than the red one. However, since the Major is used primarily for the low-end in the mix, he prefers the red one for that purpose."
"The signal comes into the center board, beginning with a Boss TU-2 tuner, into an Ibanez WH10, Keeley-modded Boss DS-1, Marshall Guv'nor, Pigtronix PolySaturator, Wilson Effects Fuzz, Boss Analog Delay, Boss DD-3 (clipped repeats), Boss DD-3 (glitching Radiohead-style), Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man (short slapback), Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man Tap Tempo (used with the expression pedal), Boss Vibrato (""Suck My Kiss""), Boss CE-2, and Boss CE-2 (modded for wider sweep)."
"Flea relies on his main Modulus bass for the majority of the set. It's outfitted with a Modulus Lane Poor pickup, which is no longer in production, an Aguilar preamp, and a Leo Quan Badass bridge. He keeps his knobs taped at his preferred settings (bass almost full up, treble rolled off) and only uses his volume knob live. The Modulus has a graphite neck that allows his guitar tech, Tracy Robar, to set Flea's action very low and Flea uses his signature set of GHS Boomers (.105 - .145). "
"The vintage 1963 Silvertone is among the most reliable pieces in the rig, surprisingly. Only the bottom cabinet is active."
"Finally, the signal goes to the far left board into a Wilson Effects Haze, Lo-Tech-N-Fi-Bot Pocket Synth, Line 6 DL4 (used as a looper and phrase sampler between songs), Bright Onion looper (used as a kill switch), Boss CS-2 Compressor, and a Framptone 3-Banger amp switcher. "
"In addition to being used for its high-end, Josh occasionally uses the reverb or vibrato in the background."
"From the center board, it goes to the right into a Lastgasp Labs Cybertronic (high-end, whispy filter), Moog Moogerfooger Low-Pass Filter, Line 6 FM4 (synth sounds), Moog Moogerfooger 12-Stage Phaser (used for ""Throw Away Television"" in conjunction with the FM4's sequential synth), Boss SG-1 Slow Gear, Boss RV-5, Electro-Harmonix Cathedral, Electro-Harmonix Freeze, Boss DD-6 (cascading repeats), Electro-Harmonix Goly Grail, Xotic Effects EP Booster. Also on this board is an Expressionator pdal, which allows Josh to use one expression pedal for up to three different effects, each with their own set taper."
"In addition, Flea uses a Modulus bass with the Aboriginal national flag with the controls built into a cavity on the back (only an on/off switch on the face) tuned down a half-step for ""Breaking the Girl,"" a backup Damien Hirst-painted Flea Bass, and a Fender P-Bass that isn't used live. Far left is a Fender Bass VI used by Josh Klinghoffer on ""Happiness Loves Company"" while Flea plays piano. In the gig bag is a five-string Modulus used for ""Funky Monks."""
"Josh changes his pedalboard setup constantly, but when we caught up with him, it'd been steady for a few shows. Certain pedals are on the board to capture the recognizable recorded tones, while others are used for fun as he feels in any given moment. "
"Josh uses a core of Strats, starting with Chad Smith's '63 Tobacco Sunburst used for older songs like ""Higher Ground"" and anything with a whammy bar. His main Strat is a black '66 with a '68 neck and he also uses a black 1974 hardtail Strat as his backup. He uses a Gretsch White Penguin for Californication-era songs as a tip-of-the-hat to Frusciante, an early-70s Gibson ES-335 for ""Universally Speaking"" and a Neil Young song, a '67 Telecaster that was a gift from Frusciante long ago, a '64 custom-color Fender Jaguar used for lighter songs, a 12-string Gibson Firebird with some modifications to the pickguard and switching, a Fender Coronado 12-string in burnt orange (dropped a half step for ""Breaking the Girl""), and a ""Fools Telemaster"" relic'd Tele/Jazzmaster hybrid."
"Each night, Josh's tech makes a setlist with notes for the guitars Josh wants to use on each song. This was the listing for the May 28 show in Chicago, Illinois."
"The Major is a 1970, 200-watt head through a 1972 8x10 cab. The cab is originally a 120-watt cab, but his guitar tech, Ian, swaps the drivers for 40-watt Celestions to handle the power from the Major."
"The amps run into three Gallien-Krueger 410 cabinets and three 115 cabs, all running."
Rebecca Dirks graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in journalism and art, and joined Premier Guitar as an intern in 2007. She lives in the Iowa City area with her husband, two giant dogs, and more cats than are appropriate to mention. When not petsitting, she enjoys challenging herself in the kitchen, watching the Packers dominate, and discovering new music or rediscovering old favorites.
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