Green Day – Insomniac
The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1995 album Insomniac.
Music from Insomniac
Artists on Insomniac
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Gear Used On Insomniac
Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Green Day – Insomniac (1995). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.
Bass Guitars used by Mike Dirnt on Insomniac
Avg price: $2,300.00
This was Mike Dirnt's main bass from 1991-1997. After his Peavey Patriot broke (https://youtu.be/VZU1hoTYipY?si=jKUbjhwq8PQ7OCw3) He bought this off of a bassist in Minneapolis, MN. It was used to record Kerplunk, Longview on Dookie, and Insomniac and for every Green Day concert from 1991 until 1996 before he switched to Fender Precision Bass in 1997. However, the G3 made surprise appearance during the 21st Century Breakdown tour at Canada in 2010. It also appears in the music video for "Basket Case" starting at 0:08. It has now also returned on the Dookie 30th Anniversary tour.
Guitar Center, "Smashing Basses with Mike Dirnt of Green Day!", 2007
GC: Tell us about your basses. What do you use and why do you use it?
Mike: Right now, I'm using anything from 1963 to 1974 Fender P-Basses, mostly ash bodies. Sometimes I'll swap out the pickups, if they're dying, to a Seymour Duncan antiquity, which is a pretty hot pickup. I used to use a Gibson G3 bass years ago. I played at least 700 shows out of that thing before Tre accidentally broke the neck on it twice on stage by pushing over my amps.
Bass Player, "Holy Trinity: Mike Dirnt and Green Day", January 20, 2013
On Insomniac, I played my Gibson G3; you can really hear it on Kerplunk and Insomniac. It’s distinctive, like on the intro to “No One Knows.” On Nimrod, that was mostly my ’69 P-Bass and a ’52 Precision, I think.
You seem to favor passive basses.
Some guys have gotten great active sounds, but that’s just never been my world. Actually, on Dookie, I played an active P-Bass that I rented from SIR, because my basses were broken and thrashed from touring. That bass had P/J pickups, but the way I had it set, it might as well have just been a P-Bass. It went through an Éclair Engineering Evil Twin tube DI, and then my 6x10, and an Ampeg SVT. I had the Ampeg for the low end and the extra sub-lows, and then the 6x10 for that classic punch.
It also has 2 of the original pickups and a Bartonini Jazz Pickup (with it being added as the original bridge pickup broke on tour in Europe in 1991) and a Gotoh? Bridge. (https://youtu.be/VZU1hoTYipY?si=jKUbjhwq8PQ7OCw3)
Strings used by Mike Dirnt on Insomniac
Rotosound RS66LD Swing Bass 45-105
Avg price: $24.81
Mike Dirnt used Rotosound RS66LD Swing Bass 45-105 strings during the mid-90s, specifically around the Dookie and Insomniac tours. This is evidenced by photographs from the era, which show the distinctive red silk at both the string and ball ends of his bass, as seen in the provided image.
Guitars used by Billie Joe Armstrong on Insomniac
Avg price: $1,720.29
This guitar was used during the Insomniac era. It is a red SG that has the strap taped onto the body and covered in stickers. It can be seen in this 1996 live performance of "Brain Stew"at 0:26. It's current whereabouts are unknown.
Drum Sets used by Tré Cool on Insomniac
DW Collector Series Custom Drum Set
Avg price: $4,004.72
Tré Cool used the DW Collector Series Custom Drum Set during the recording and performances of Green Day's albums "Dookie," "Insomniac," "Nimrod," and "Warning." This is evidenced by a user-uploaded photo on Tripod.
