Experimental Gear: Synths, Pedals & Software Used by Experimental Artists

Drawn from the documented rigs of 1,605 Experimental artists and the Equipboard community — ranked by real usage, not opinion.

1,605 artists → 21,691 gear items tracked 56,749 gear associations

The Gear That Shapes the Experimental Sound

The essential categories, ranked by how much more Experimental artists lean on them than the rest of Equipboard.

Most-Used Experimental Gear

Counts are artists & fans on Equipboard who own or saved each item and are associated with Experimental.

Experimental Synthesizers

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#1 · Owned or saved by 94

#2 · Owned or saved by 74

#3 · Owned or saved by 68

#4 · Owned or saved by 62

Experimental MIDI Keyboard Controllers

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Experimental Production & Groove

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#6 · Owned or saved by 25

Experimental Delay Effects Pedals

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Experimental Reverb Effects Pedals

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Experimental Distortion Effects Pedals

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Experimental DAW Software

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#1 · Owned or saved by 380

#2 · Owned or saved by 191

#4 · Owned or saved by 83

#5 · Owned or saved by 65

#6 · Owned or saved by 64

Experimental Synth Plugins

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#3 · Owned or saved by 55

Experimental Compressor Plugins

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#2 · Owned or saved by 22

Experimental Effects Processors

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Experimental Audio Interfaces

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Experimental Dynamic Microphones

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#1 · Owned or saved by 189

#2 · Owned or saved by 140

#3 · Owned or saved by 48

#4 · Owned or saved by 27

Experimental Drum Machines

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#1 · Owned or saved by 64

#2 · Owned or saved by 44

#5 · Owned or saved by 32

Experimental Tabletop Synthesizers

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Experimental Audio Samplers

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#1 · Owned or saved by 50

#2 · Owned or saved by 37

#4 · Owned or saved by 30

#5 · Owned or saved by 26

Experimental Solid Body Electric Guitars

See all Solid Body Electric Guitars →

Experimental Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitars

See all Semi-Hollowbody Electric Guitars →

Experimental Steel-string Acoustic Guitars

See all Steel-string Acoustic Guitars →

Experimental Combo Guitar Amplifiers

See all Combo Guitar Amplifiers →

Experimental Guitar Amplifier Heads

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Experimental Headphones & In-Ear Monitors

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Experimental Computers & Peripherals

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Experimental Electric Basses

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#1 · Owned or saved by 80

#2 · Owned or saved by 59

#4 · Owned or saved by 19

#5 · Owned or saved by 17

#6 · Owned or saved by 16

Experimental Fretless Basses

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Gear That Defines Experimental

Not just popular — disproportionately Experimental. Multipliers compare usage among Experimental artists & fans to usage across all of Equipboard, so gear everyone owns doesn't crowd out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.

The Artists Behind the Data

This page is built from the documented rigs of Experimental artists on Equipboard — a few of the 1,605:

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain

Singer, Guitarist · Nirvana

Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

Guitarist, Drummer · Foo Fighters

Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Singer, Bassist · The Beatles

George Harrison

George Harrison

Singer, Guitarist · The Beatles

Krist Novoselic

Krist Novoselic

Bassist, Keyboardist · Nirvana

Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin

Music Producer · The Tuss

John Lennon

John Lennon

Singer, Guitarist · The Beatles

Les Claypool

Les Claypool

Singer, Bassist · Primus

Daniel Johns

Daniel Johns

Singer, Guitarist · Silverchair

Lemmy Kilmister

Lemmy Kilmister

Bassist, Guitarist · Motörhead

Browse all 1,605 Experimental artists →

How We Built This Guide

Documented artist rigs

Every count starts with the sourced, evidence-backed gear of 1,605 Experimental artists on Equipboard — interviews, photos, and rig breakdowns, not guesswork.

Community signal

Saves and gear-photo tags from players who love this genre add weight, so the lists reflect who actually plays this stuff.

Distinctive, not just popular

We compare Experimental usage to all of Equipboard — so a tuner everyone owns doesn't drown out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.

Explore community gear photos →

Keep Exploring

Gear guides for genres in Experimental's orbit.