In preparation for his cover story on Stevie Van Zandt, PGcontributor Mark Finkelpearl got a backstage tour of the E Street Band’s guitars at Baltimore’s Camden Yards before their September 13 show. Here’s a look at the gear that Van Zandt brings on tour.
Van Zandt’s “Number One” Strat is a vintage-style ’80s-built reissue with a purple paisley pickguard custom-made by Asbury Park luthier Dave Petillo. Van Zandt likes to keep a boost at his fingertips, so it’s loaded with an Alembic Stratoblaster circuit.
Van Zandt takes six Rickenbackers on the road. Seen here are his two one-of-a-kind-finish Rickenbacker 1993Plus models in candy apple purple and SVZ blue, a fireglo, and his candy apple green Fab Gear 2024 Limited Edition ’60s Style 360. Also on hand is a fireglo 360/12C63, a gift from guitar dealer and collector Andy Babiuk to Van Zandt that stays in open E.
Next to “Number One” is Stevie’s Gretsch Tenessean with a custom Dave Petillo pickguard and a Vox Teardrop that’s on long-term loan from Andy Babiuk. In the background is a Petillo-customized Fender Jaguar.
Dave Petillo creates custom pickguards for many of Van Zandt's guitars. “The pickguards that I build for Stevie are all clear acrylic plastic, just like Gretsch did in the old days,” he says. “Their pickguards were clear, and they would paint the underside. It’s the same process that I use for Stevie’s Rickenbackers.” The luthier hand draws the artwork using a computer, and then laser prints each design at a facility in North Carolina. He explains that no two Rickenbacker pickguards are ever drilled precisely the same way, so each finished guard must be custom-fitted.
However, Van Zandt's Rickenbacker Fab Gear 2023 Limited Edition ’60s Style 360 has a pickguard created by a dedicated fan who totally understands the vibe.
Tech Ben Newberry shows off Van Zandt’s Soulfire guitar, custom built by Petillo, which the guitarist mostly uses in his Disciples of Soul band but will occasionally appear on E Street stages.
Van Zandt plays through two Vox AC30 amps housed off-stage at tech Ben Newberry’s station, and a pair of Vox cabinets join him on stage.
Van Zandt’s pedals are offstage, too, not at his feet. Stevie only gently colors his tone. He uses three Durham Electronics pedals: the Sex Drive, the Mucho Busto, and a Zia Drive. The guitarist learned about Durham pedals years back when he produced guitarists Charlie Sexton and Doyle Bramhall II’s Arc Angels record in 1992. Newberry explains that the Sex Drive is “basically always on.”
The pedalboard rounds out with an Ibanez Tube Screamer, a Boss Space Echo, a Boss TR-3 Tremolo, and a Boss Rotary Ensemble to simulate Leslie speaker sounds, and an Electro-Harmonix Satisfaction fuzz.
Just offstage, Newberry follows his pedal-switching script using a Voodoo Labs Ground Control Pro switcher to trigger Van Zandt’s effects.
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