Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother's Milk album cover

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother's Milk

Album 1989

The music gear and equipment used by the artists, producers, engineers, and more involved in the making of the 1989 album Mother's Milk.

Music from Mother's Milk

Gear Used On Mother's Milk

Explore the instruments, equipment, software, and production tools used in the making of Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother's Milk (1989). Click more on each item to see exactly how it was used.

Bass Guitars used by Flea on Mother's Milk

Electric Basses

Spector NS-2 Bass

Avg price: $6,359.40

In the provided image from Stadium-arcadium, Flea is seen using a Specter NS-2 Bass while recording the "Mother's Milk" album at Ocean Way Recording Studio in Hollywood between 1988 and 1989.

Electric Basses

Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass 1 Bass

Flea used the Ernie Ball Music Man Cutlass 1 Bass during the early years of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, including performances up to the "Mother's Milk" album. This can be seen in the 1985 Rockpalast Festival footage available on YouTube.

Amplifiers used by Flea on Mother's Milk

Bass Amplifier Cabinets

Mesa/Boogie 2x10 Road Ready Bass Cabinet

Flea used these on top of Mesa Road Ready 2x15s during the The Uplift Mofo Party Plan and Mother’s Milk tours.

Other Gear used by Flea on Mother's Milk

Bass Guitar Pickups

EMG J Set Pickups

Avg price: $183.14

Flea is confirmed to have used EMG J Set Pickups during the "The Uplift Mofo Party Plan" and "Mother's Milk" eras (1987-1991) of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is evidenced by his use of a Spector NS-2J bass, equipped with these pickups, in performances such as Pinkpop 1988 and Higher Ground at the Arsenio Hall Show. The official music video for "Knock Me Down," available on RedHotChiliPeppeVEVO's YouTube channel, further supports this information.

Amplifiers used by John Frusciante on Mother's Milk

Guitar Amplifier Heads

Soldano SLO 100 100-Watt Tube Guitar Amplifier

Avg price: $3,899.75

This is the amp that John used during the ‘Mother’s Milk’ studio sessions, however, during the album tour, he used either a Mesa/Boogie (unknown model), or a Marshall JCM800.

(For the album, I played through a Soldano head, which goes to “11.” [Guitar Player (USA), April 1990])

Effects Pedals used by John Frusciante on Mother's Milk

Fuzz Effects Pedals

Ibanez Soundtank SF5 60's Fuzz

Avg price: $143.30

During a 2020 conversation, Robbie "Rule" Allen mentioned that John Frusciante used an unidentified black fuzz pedal during a Red Hot Chili Peppers show in Kawasaki, Japan, for the Mother's Milk tour. It was determined that this pedal was the Ibanez Soundtank SF5 60's Fuzz, as detailed in the article "Ibanez SF-5: o pedal preto misterioso de Frusciante em 1990."

Guitars used by Hillel Slovak on Mother's Milk

Solid Body Electric Guitars

Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar

Avg price: $622.79

In this photo you can see Hillel playing a sunburst 1968 Strat.

"As a tribute to Hillel Slovak, which was one of Frusciantes' idols, John continued playing on Hillel's guitar. It was a Fender Stratocaster." - Wikipedia (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frusciante)

"I [John Frusciante] played mostly Strats and Les Pauls on the record [Mother's Milk]. For a while, my main guitar was a ’68 Strat, but it was stolen. Since then, I’ve gotten a couple of others that I’ve fallen in love with. But our basic philosophy is that our tones are in our fingers, and the particular instrument you play, or what kind of pick you use, doesn’t matter much." - Groundguitar (https://www.groundguitar.com/john-frusciante-gear/john-frusciantes-1968-fender-stratocaster/)