Rig Rundown: John 5 [2026]

I Ain’t Afraid of No Ghost

John 5’s obsession with Telecasters dates back to his days watching Hee Haw, seeing Buck Owens and Don Rich playing the classic Fender 6-strings. Influenced by aesthetics from Buckethead and Supreme, 5 created his signature John 5 Ghost Telecaster, with DiMarzio D Activator and Super Distortion pickups in the neck and bridge, respectively.

Meyers’ Monsters

Ken Meyers created these oddball instruments for John 5 after running into the guitarist at NAMM and offering to build a guitar for him. 5 requested a light-up guitar, and Meyers delivered, then outdid himself with the queasy-green “Lava” T-style. After a below-zero mishap with a previous model, this one’s been filled with antifreeze.

5’s 5150

Eddie Van Halen himself gifted John 5 one of the first 5150s. He still has it to this day, but on the road he plays this EVH 5150 III S EL34 with a matching cab.

John 5’s Pedalboard

John 5 likes to run with gear that he can replace at a moment’s notice from any local music store, so on his all-Boss board, he runs a pair of SD-1s, an NS-2, RV-6, CE-5, and a DM-2w.

EVH 5150IIIS 100-watt EL34

Boss SD-1

Boss NS-2

Boss RV-6

Boss CE-5

Boss DM-2w

Fender John 5 Ghost Telecaster

DiMarzio D Activator

DiMarzio Super Distortion