Old School Thrash Gear: Pedals, Amps & Guitars Used by Old School Thrash Artists
Drawn from the documented rigs of 390 old school thrash artists and the Equipboard community — ranked by real usage, not opinion.
The Gear That Shapes the Old School Thrash Sound
The essential categories, ranked by how much more old school thrash artists lean on them than the rest of Equipboard.
Most-Used Old School Thrash Gear
Counts are artists & fans on Equipboard who own or saved each item and are associated with old school thrash.
Old School Thrash Wah Pedals
3.0× site average-m.webp?v=1784386587)
$92.00 - $109.99
in Wah Pedals Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 87
$199.00 - $219.00
in Wah Pedals Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 23
$169.00 - $179.99
in Wah Pedals Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 17
$209.99 - $235.80
in Wah Pedals Rank
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#4 · Owned or saved by 14
$154.00 - $159.99
in Wah Pedals Rank
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#5 · Owned or saved by 14
-m.webp?v=1784386926)
$92.00 - $99.99
in Wah Pedals Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 12
Old School Thrash Noise Gate Effects Pedals
2.9× site average-m.webp?v=1784386586)
$89.00 - $120.99
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 57
-m.webp?v=1784386665)
$124.78 - $159.99
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
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#2 · Owned or saved by 21
$75.00 - $169.97
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 14
$143.36 - $322.00
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
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#4 · Owned or saved by 10
$70.00 - $80.70
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 9
-m.webp?v=1784386608)
$322.14
in Noise Gate Effects Pedals Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 8
-m.webp?v=1784301159)
Old School Thrash Distortion Effects Pedals
2.6× site average
$54.99 - $73.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 97
$96.82 - $119.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 56
-m.webp?v=1784386586)
$79.00 - $89.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 47
$77.00 - $109.99
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 29
-m.webp?v=1784386759)
$109.00
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 15
$89.10 - $125.99
in Distortion Effects Pedals Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 15
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Old School Thrash Combo Guitar Amplifiers
2.5× site average#1 · Owned or saved by 26
$215.00 - $349.99
#2 · Owned or saved by 26
$318.00 - $390.02
in Combo Guitar Amplifiers Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 16
$49.17 - $129.99
in Combo Guitar Amplifiers Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 14
$229.99 - $349.99
in Combo Guitar Amplifiers Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 14
#6 · Owned or saved by 13
-m.webp?v=1784386706)
Old School Thrash Guitar Amplifier Heads
2.4× site average-m.webp?v=1784386608)
$1,699.00 - $2,899.99
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 30
$1,800.00 - $3,299.00
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 15
$1,282.00 - $1,999.99
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 14
$149.00 - $309.00
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 12
$775.52 - $2,449.99
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 11
$775.00 - $1,999.99
in Guitar Amplifier Heads Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 11
-m.webp?v=1784386606)
Old School Thrash Solid Body Electric Guitars
1.7× site average
$619.00 - $719.99
in Solid Body Electric Guitars Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 39
$1,333.00 - $2,741.79
in Solid Body Electric Guitars Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 34
$2,007.74 - $2,499.00
in Solid Body Electric Guitars Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 34
$95.00 - $319.99
#4 · Owned or saved by 27
$899.00 - $1,099.99
#5 · Owned or saved by 24
$1,792.64 - $2,799.00
in Solid Body Electric Guitars Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 24
-m.webp?v=1784359835)
-m.webp?v=1784386621)
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Old School Thrash Electric Basses
$654.61 - $1,999.99
in Electric Basses Rank
#1 · Owned or saved by 27
$649.00 - $1,589.00
in Electric Basses Rank
#2 · Owned or saved by 22
$158.00 - $369.99
in Electric Basses Rank
#3 · Owned or saved by 16
$231.50 - $369.99
in Electric Basses Rank
#4 · Owned or saved by 15
$2,300.00
in Electric Basses Rank
#5 · Owned or saved by 14
$2,099.00 - $2,890.00
in Electric Basses Rank
#6 · Owned or saved by 11
-m.webp?v=1784332429)
-m.webp?v=1784386713)
.jpg?v=1784353661)
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Gear That Defines Old School Thrash
Not just popular — disproportionately old school thrash. Multipliers compare usage among old school thrash 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.
Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Cry Baby Wah
Wah Pedals
4.2× vs site-wide
2
Jackson King V
Solid Body Electric Guitars
4.2× vs site-wide
3
Boss Katana 50 MKII
Combo Guitar Amplifiers
3.6× vs site-wide
4
Boss MT-2 Metal Zone
Distortion Effects Pedals
3.5× vs site-wide
5
Fender Mustang LT25 25W
Combo Guitar Amplifiers
3.5× vs site-wide
6
Jackson JS11 Dinky
Solid Body Electric Guitars
3.3× vs site-wide
7
MXR M116 Fullbore Metal
Distortion Effects Pedals
2.9× vs site-wide
8
Jackson JS22-7 Dinky
Extended Range Guitars
2.8× vs site-wide
9
Positive Grid Bias FX 2
Multi-Effect Plugins
2.7× vs site-wide
10
MXR M135 Smart Gate
Noise Gate Effects Pedals
2.6× vs site-wide
The Artists Behind the Data
This page is built from the documented rigs of old school thrash artists on Equipboard — a few of the 390:
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Old School Thrash Rigs from the Community
Real, item-tagged setups from Equipboard members who make old school thrash.
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How We Built This Guide
Documented artist rigs
Every count starts with the sourced, evidence-backed gear of 390 old school thrash 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 old school thrash usage to all of Equipboard — so a tuner everyone owns doesn't drown out the gear that makes this genre sound like itself.
Keep Exploring
Gear guides for genres in old school thrash's orbit.