Mike Sullivan

At 1:29 in this rig rundown video Sullivan says, "Yeah the Meat Smoke is 300W...it's also a very, very, dark tone amp." For live and studio use, Sullivan’s main amplifiers of choice are 300-watt Verellen Meat Smoke and a 100-watt Verellen Loucks tube heads.

Bridge: High Wind Imperial

The Tone Block 202 is part of his live rig. It's used in conjunction with with 2 Fender Twin Reverbs. It can also be seen powering a fender cabinet during their Audiotree live performance from January 2020.

On his '57 Les Paul, Mike removed the pickups with a set of Dirty Fingers pickups, mainly for the bass and mid-range.

Mike’s current main squeeze is a 1985 Gibson Les Paul Custom that he bought in his hometown of Chicago at Rock N Roll Vintage. Since acquiring the guitar, he dropped in new pickups—a high-wound Lollar Imperial in the bridge and a standard Lollar Imperial in the neck. Sullivan goes with D’Addario NYXL .011–.056 strings and tunes this one to a DADGAD variant—C#-G#-D-G-C-A#. When it comes to picks, he’s been loyal to the Dunlop Max-Grip Jazz III since he found some inside a box for an Andy Timmons pedal. Sullivan’s backup is this ’81 Gibson Les Paul Custom (with the original pickups) and is reserved for songs in A-A-D-G-A-D tuning including a new song off 2016’s Guidance called “Afrika.”

The pedals aren’t as funny but sound pretty damn good

Seen and named by Mike in the Riff Rundown video for the song 'Harper Lewis', produced by Premier Guitar.

In this photo, found in this article, Mike Sullivan from Russian Circles is scene with his pedalboard, which includes a Fulltone OCD.

Mike specifically names the Flying V he owns as a 67' Reissue.

Amongst the amplifiers that Mike Sullivan uses is a Fender Pro Junior. This amp was used in studio for a brighter sound.

For years, Sullivan has been a user of the mighty Verellen Meatsmoke, but for the band’s most recent run of European dates he opted for a Fender Super Bassman and hasn’t looked back. He relies on stompboxes for any dirt and drive, so he really enjoys the clean headroom his all-Fender lineup provides. It rests on and powers a standard Ampeg 8x10 cab.

Mike bought a custom Dunable Cyclops back in 2018, fitted out with a black limba body, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard and Lollar humbucking pickups.

At 0:38, Sullivan says, "the main amp I've used live and in the studio is this Verellan Loucks...it's just a great clean, overall, clean, loud amp. It's very dark too." Sullivan’s main amplifiers of choice are 300-watt Verellen Meat Smoke and a 100-watt Verellen Loucks tube heads.

"Recently, I had the pleasure of watching a performance by Chicago-based instrumental post-rock/metal trio Russian Circles. On the night I took in the show, the band’s guitarist Mike Sullivan was concocting his tone cocktail with a Gibson Les Paul Custom, a slew of effects pedals, two Sunn Model T heads, and Emperor 4x12 and 1x15 cabinets."

-Lyle Zaehringer, Premier Guitar

The final amplifier that Mike uses in studio for different textural sound is a Fender Twin Reverb.

Originally, Mike used a Deluxe Memory Man as his main delay pedal, and only recently has he begun making use of the Strymon El Capistan.

In this Instagram photo of Mike Sullivan's pedalboard, there is a Strymon DIG at the centre of the board.

Mike Sullivan mentions the Electro-Harmonix 720 Stereo Looper on his Instagram, expressing that while the 720 is interesting, he finds the Headrush more effective for keeping loops in time.

At 12:44 you can hear them talking about how Mike split the guitar signal from his MAXON CS-9.

This Quilter amp has been a crucial player on this Australian tour. I knew I’d be dealing with different amp rentals each night so I brought this along. I’m truly impressed by how great it sounds at full stage volume.

This photo from a 2013 Premier Guitar article shows Mike Sullivan's pedal board, which includes a Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb pedal.

Rig Rundown at Premier Guitar:

"Sullivan’s new love is a Fano RB6 that he recently received from the boutique guitar maker’s custom shop. “It comes down to the clarity thing,” Sullivan says. “You hit a chord and you hear every note. The Lollar P-90’s in the neck and bridge just sound incredible, and just have a pure organic tone. There’s nothing to hide behind.” In addition to its Jason Lollar P-90 pickups, Sullivan’s RB6 utilizes a Gibson-like 24 3/4" scale neck with a chunky C-shape. Sullivan’s guitars are strung up with Dean Markley custom-gauge .012-.056 strings (he occasionally uses a .058 for the lowest string), and are tuned low to high to B-F#-C-F-G-B."

Talked about around 8:04 in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfTkHgfS-NU

"For a quick, not quite slapback, short delay I used a MXR Carbon Copy. Those are pretty cool and they're certainly analogue in the way the signal decays very quickly. Those are cool – a fun little pedal."

In-depth guitar talk with the instrumentalist by Rob Laing, August 11, 2010

"I also used a [Crowther] Hotcake here and there but because there was all kinds of crap laying around we'd throw things in."

In-depth guitar talk with the instrumentalist by Rob Laing, August 11, 2010

"My main distortion pedal is a Fulltone PlimSoul"

In this Instagram photo, Mike Sullivan can be seen playing into a Fender Vibro Champ.

The final amplifier that Mike uses in studio for different textural sound is a Fender Twin Reverb.

Source from the "Other Band's Stuff" Tumblr, this photograph taken at a show on August of 2012 shows a rare occasion of Mike when he had used a Jazzmaster.

Here's his robust board

In a recent Instagram post by Premier Guitar, Mike Sullivan of Russian Circles is shown with his pedalboard, which includes the Xotic Effects EP Booster.