John Myung

This was John's signature bass that was being produced in the mid to late 90s. To prove that he actually has used this bass, it is used through out this entire video and concert. (Metropolis Live Scenes From New York)

This was the bass that John was using in 2005, on the Train of Though tour. In this video he uses a dark-colored model, because he uses different tunnings in different songs and the colors indicate which is which.

He used his jazz bass on early dream theater records until he switched to 5 and 6 string basses

In this video you can see the NS-2 bass he used. Definitely sounds like he favoured the bridge pickup sound over a fuller rounder sound, that's why for most of images and words his tone cuts.

On July 23, 2007, a posting on the Music Man online forum by the owner of Music Man, Sterling Ball, stated with certainty that "I am speaking for both myself and the entire Music Man family in welcoming a wonderfully talented bassist and good guy, John Myung of Dream Theater. John has fallen in love with the prototypes that we made of the Bongo 6 and is now playing them exclusively. He is so in love with them that he wont let me tweak them. He is playing the first proto and has two others from the same batch. This is historic for us to have hit the nail on the head for an artist without any input, visit, or promise."

I had an MXR compressor and.. which gave the sound that 'fire' that I was talking about earlier.

In this picture John Myung can be seen tapping the strings of a Wingbass.

His current rack includes the M9 Carbine and two Big Block 750s. They power a Mesa/Boogie Powerhouse 4x10 cabinet off stage that is miked up for the in ear monitor mixes on stage.

At 34:14, You can see a TC Electronic Vortex in the top left

I had an... and a Mesa Boogie Grid Slammer pedal which gave the sound that 'fire' that I was talking about earlier.

Clearly at locations like 1:12 and 1:22 you can see John holding and playing a Chapman Stick

In a 2019 Premier Guitar Rig Rundown, John Myung is noted for using the TC Electronic Flashback Delay.

" He started using the Moog Taurus 3 pedals this tour for what his tech calls, 'seat-rattling low end,'" states this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

At 15 seconds in, you can see Myung playing a MusicMan Bongo 5 bass with due humbuckers.

In this video Mike Portnoy is showing off Myungs basses, including a Hamer 8 string.

"He uses an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal as Master Volume to pull the signal back to tune," says this Premier Guitar rig rundown.

On this video John myung comments about his Cobalt strings, as featured by Ernie Ball Music Man: "String Theory is a web series from Ernie Ball that explores the sonic origins of some of music's most innovative players. In this episode, Ernie Ball artist John Myung discusses his influences, playing bass for Dream Theater, and his Ernie Ball strings." The set of string can be seen on the video at 2:24 and 8:25.

In 3:05, john myung can be seen playing a black stingray with double humbuckers and maple fret board.

In this video Mike Portnoy shows off Myungs basses, including a red Music Man Stingray 5 H.

In the YouTube video titled "Ernie Ball Music Man Artist Series: John Myung Bongo Six-String Bass," John Myung is shown using the Ernie Ball Music Man John Myung Artist Series Bongo 6 HH, highlighting its features and his personal connection to the instrument.

Can be seen in this video

"Myung uses a Shure UR4D wireless. From there the signal goes into a switcher, then to a Radial JD-7 splitter that splits into three signals. The first goes straight to a Demeter Tube DI, while the second goes through a Demeter Optical Compressor, Demeter Preamp, then Demeter VTHF-300M into a Radial JDX speaker simulator," states this rig rundown, by Premier Guitar.

"Myung uses a Shure UR4D wireless. From there the signal goes into a switcher, then to a Radial JD-7 splitter that splits into three signals. The first goes straight to a Demeter Tube DI, while the second goes through a Demeter Optical Compressor, Demeter Preamp, then Demeter VTHF-300M into a Radial JDX speaker simulator. The third output goes into the Fractal Audio Axe-FX II, which handles overdrive, chorus, reverb, and any other effects processing," states this rig rundown article, by Premier Guitar.

At 4:05, Myung's tech, John Zocco explains that the Ultra handles his processing, such as overdrive, chorus, reverb, flange, etc. For "As I Am" Myung uses the Ultra for the harmonized intro.

His current rack includes the M9 Carbine and two Big Block 750s. They power a Mesa/Boogie Powerhouse 4x10 cabinet off stage that is miked up for the in ear monitor mixes on stage.

Listed on John's official Ashdown artist page.

Used to record bass parts on Dream Theater's "Distance Over Time", according to John's official Ashdown artist page.

It was also featured in the 2019 Premier Guitar interview.

And then for amp tones, we just miked up an Ashdown—the ABM series. And that sounded great too. It just gave us what we wanted to hear without having to mess around with the knobs. So, it’s really just those two things: the Neve and the Ashdown. It really made a difference in this album.

"The main component live is a Demeter HPB1 Bass Preamp, which I use to generate a little bit more air in the sound.

In this video, John Zocco goes over John Myung's full rig setup for touring and at 1:33 after Rebecca asks what Myung strings his Music Man Bongos with, Zocco replies with Ernie Ball Strings. Now, this can be vague, because John Myung directly endorses Ernie Ball Cobalts in his featured String Theory video, but Ernie Ball doesn't make a six-string set of cobalts for Myung's Basses. Ernie Ball only makes the 6-String Slinky Nickel Wound Bass Set, and we can conclude from this that he strings his six-string basses with these strings specifically (.32-.130 gauge)

In a 2019 Rig Rundown by Premier Guitar, John Myung is shown using the MXR M-83 Bass Chorus Deluxe.