Jerry Cantrell

Jerry Cantrell’s main guitar of choice is the G&L Rampage. “They’ve always felt really right to me,” Cantrell says at (2:35). “You know, it’s based off of a, kind of a Eddie Van Halen model almost, you know, kind of a wider flatter neck with, you know, with a single pickup and single volume knob and a tremolo system.”

For his tribute model, G&L made some modifications. According to Cantrell, at (3:41), the guitar “is based off of the original design with a couple of things that I modded. One was putting a Floyd Rose nut at the locking nut because the mechanism they used back in the mid-80s was just terrible. I mean it just broke, and it was weak. It never really held… We changed the pickup out...It was a Jeff Beck. This is actually a motor city, I think, pickup right now, and the tremolo systems were also flattened down and on top of the body, but when you took the tremolo down, you know, the E would pop out of the saddle quite a bit, so what I do was kind of sync and countersync it, and give it a little bit more attention on that nut to keep that string in the saddle.”

He continues at (4:05), saying “] So they’re in the process of putting that out, and I think they’ve done a really good job of that, and I know it’s been reviewed a couple times, and I think people are really digging it, you know. It’s not a super high-end guitar and it’s just kind of a meat and potato solid guitar. It’s made out of a hard rock, rock maple and neck. It’s got an ebony fretboard and the body I believe is maple as well.”

In addition to the G&L guitars, Cantrell plays a Gibson Les Paul Custom. “You know, pretty much within key to my sound all along,” he says at (3:09). “I play them both, depending on the song.”

You can also see Jerry using this Les Paul live here

Jerry Cantrell plays a Guild JF-55 on his band’s live album, Alice in Chains "MTV Unplugged,” performed on July 30, 1996.

Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell gets his signature grunge tone by using a Bogner Fish amplifier. “I’ve used them pretty much from the beginning,” Cantrell explains in this Premier Guitar video at (0:24). “The first couple records that we did, Facelift and Dirt, was basically a Marshall modified by Bogner, and then of course, I started picking up some of his amp stuff because I liked the mods that he was doing, so used the Fish for many years, and we still use that. William’s using that right now in combination with a couple of other things, and I’ve been kind of toying around with it.”

To achieve his unique sound, Cantrell blends guitar signals from multiple amps, including a Bogner Shiva and a Marsha, an amp made by Dave Friedman. “Right now,” Cantrell says at (1:20) “we run the Marsha and the Shiva…”I mean I’ve always kind of done that [amp blending.] For me, it’s kind of what the song needs…We use Matchless, Marshall, Bogner, and plenty more, you know, in combination with different guitars to kind of create tones and textures, depending

At 3:46 in this DunlopTV video, Jerry Cantrell's guitar tech, Punk Rock Dave, discusses Jerry's use of the MXR Bass Octave Deluxe and says, "I love it; it has an amazing sound."

In a live performance of "Would?" on Jools Holland in 1993, Jerry Cantrell is seen using an Ernie Ball Music Man Axis. Cantrell received two Ernie Ball Music Man EVH guitars from Eddie Van Halen—one blue and one Gold Top. Unfortunately, the Gold Top was later stolen. For more details, Cantrell discusses these guitars in an interview with Total Guitar.

According to this Dunlop advertisement, Alice in Chain's Jerry Cantrell uses 1.0mm Dunlop Tortex picks.

Jerry Cantrell talks about his signature "Blue Dress" guitar, featuring the artwork of Alain Aslan, from G&L in this video.

Used for the recording of “Dirt”. These amps were released after 1992 so this was probably a prototype.

Used on the first two Alice in Chains albums, Facelift (1990) and Dirt (1992). The amp was modified by Reinhold Bogner, who later worked closed with Jerry on most of his amps.

n addition to the Bogner Fish, Cantrell sometimes uses a Bogner Uberschall amplifier. “We had an Uberschall running for a while,” he says at (0:55). “We’re trying to get a little more that kind of metal edge with the Bogner, but we’re still playing with it, you know.”

Used on Alice in Chains' self-titled album in 1995.

I also used a Les Paul through a Peavey 5150 amp. Ed [Van Halen] gave me three stacks after we did the tour with him a few years ago. He'd just come out with his new Music Man guitar and the 5150 heads, and I asked him if I could maybe buy one off him. When I came back home after the tour, there were three stacks waiting for me in the fucking garage! [laughs] The guy was totally f-ing cool! Plus, he gave me a couple of his guitars, too.

Seen at 4:07 into this rig rundown video. Jerry Cantrell uses it in the Alice in Chains track God Am for "a sweep effect when he's doing an octave run"

According to this article found on groundguitar.com, it mentions that Jerry Cantrell used a Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedal on his solo album, “Boggy Depot."

Jerry Cantrell is seen with a 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite in Translucent Black, featuring a mahogany top and back with a Chromyte insert, as evidenced by a user-uploaded photo.

Jerry Cantrell began experimenting with the Gibson SG Standard a couple of years ago, as noted in Groundguitar's overview of his gear.

Jerry Cantrell is using the PRS SC 245 in the video

Jerry Cantrell has been known to use a 1966 Fender Telecaster in white, as evidenced by various images available through a Google search. While the specific guitar in the picture isn't a Fender, Cantrell is recognized for his use of Telecasters.

In a photo from Glidemagazine, Jerry Cantrell is seen performing with a Gibson Flying V 2018 in Aged Cherry at KAABOO Del Mar.

In the video description it says that he plays RPS regular Slinky strings. At 4mins he starts talking about Ernie Ball strings and the camera shows a box of Ernie Ball RPS regular Slinky.

In this video from Jerry Cantrell, a Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer is seen on top of the Jet City JCA20H.

Alice in Chains guitarist-songwriter Jerry Cantrell graces the cover of Guitar World’s October issue, along with his G6131MY-CS Custom Shop Malcolm Young “Salute” Jet™.

Inside the issue is a lengthy interview with Cantrell as he discusses the band’s approach to writing recently released sixth album Rainier Fog.

“I throw a ton of shit up against the wall, and then I pick out the best pieces and string them together,” said Cantrell of his writing style. “I’m actually much more of a writer than I am a free-form-solo guy.”

The recording process for Rainier Fog planted Alice in Chains in familiar soil. The majority of the album was recorded at Studio X in Seattle, the same studio that produced the band’s 1995 self-titled album.

“It’s nice being home,” shared Cantrell. “We are good wherever we record, but Studio X is a part of our story. It’s the hometown [studio].”

Cantrell also found a match with his new Malcolm Young Salute Jet.

“My buddy Mike Tempesta (Artist Relations) got me one of those Gretsch Malcolm Young tribute replicas; I use that on ‘Maybe,’ and I think on ‘Fly’ and one or two other songs,” said Cantrell. “That guitar has great fucking tone.”

Visit newsstands to pick up your issue or subscribe online here, and check here for tour dates.

Around 4:00 in this video, Cantrell's tech points out that the two MXR M-135 Smart Gate Pedals "keep his whole rig really hush quiet..."

The Boss Super Chorus CH-1 can be seen in Jerry Cantrell’s pedalboard at (5:32) in this premier guitar Rig Rundown.

The G&L Tribute Rampage is Jerry Cantrell's signature model guitar. It can be seen in this ad.

In this video, Jerry talks about his signature amp. At :55s Jerry says "it’s got a lot of power, a lot of balls, tight response you don’t lose any notes anywhere on the spectrum."

Jerry Cantrell recalls his signature wah pedal at Dunlop: "It looks great, sounds great, and it's mine, man".

In the Premier Guitar "Rig Rundown" video, Jerry Cantrell discusses his use of the Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp, highlighting its role in achieving clean tones.

In the YouTube video titled "Alice in Chains - Sea of Sorrow (Original version) HD" by NERO, Jerry Cantrell is seen playing an ESP M-II FR electric guitar. This rare footage from the 1990s showcases Cantrell's exceptional talent, highlighting his preference for ESP guitars. While I couldn't find an image of the specific ESP M-II model with a white finish and rosewood fingerboard featured in the video, I am including a current model for reference. As a fan of ESP-LTD and Jerry Cantrell's work, this discovery is particularly exciting.