Alan Sparhawk

"First guitar of my own was a Japanese copy of an SG bass. Still have it. Then I think my dad gave me an Aria Pro 2 ZZ Deluxe - a baby blue Explorer-shaped thing. Once I could buy my own, I traded it in for a stripped 1964 Mustang. Still have that."

According to Guitar Geek, Sparhawk has Fender Telecaster which is a 1962. reissue and has Gibson Humbucker. It is tuned to DGDGBD (Open G).

In this rendition of song "Nightingale", Sparhawk used Danelectro 5005 Convertible which had a different headstock than other Convertibles do.

In this KEXP performance, throughout the whole show, Sparhawk can be seen playing this creamy coloured Gibson Les Paul Custom. This one also includes Bigsby.

This is his main guitar most of the time and he uses it a lot for shows.

At around 4:58 minute mark, Sparhawk is visible playing Epiphone Les Paul Baritone, which is rumoured to be paint sprayed in gold colour.

"Then I think my dad gave me an Aria Pro 2 ZZ Deluxe - a baby blue Explorer-shaped thing. Once I could buy my own, I traded it in for a stripped 1964 Mustang. Still have that."

"Alan – Black late 1980s Les Paul standard with Rio Grande P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem. I have a few Les Pauls & they’re all pretty exciting to play (most Les Pauls are not), but this one seems the most reliable & consistent. It’s a very heavy piece of wood & whoever had it before me played it a lot. I used to play telecasters with a humbucker & bigsby, but then I crossed over like DRI. In the studio, I’ll usually use several different guitars to get different textures, plus it kinda helps justify having more guitars than you really need. On tour, I’m usually doing it all with just the one."

According to Guitar Geek's rig diagram, Sparhawk uses Vox V15.

According to Guitar Geek's rig diagram, Sparhawk uses Fender Vintage Vibroverb.

"Right now, it’s a Les Paul with P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem into a Z-Vex Octane 3, an SIB Mr. Echo, a Z-Vex Lo-fi Loop Junkie, & then a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Amps vary, but I like the 1965 reissue Fender Twin with the 15 inch speaker, &/or a Traynor Bassmaster head into a 1x12 cab. With Low, I’ll use smaller amps - a Carr Mercury, Fender Vibroverb, or just a Champ."

So, this is really messed up situation. I would call it as a mistake, because AD9 is illustrated, so somebody probably wanted to say he uses analog, not digital delay. So, he uses AD9, not digital delay.

"Right now, it’s a Les Paul with P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem into a Z-Vex Octane 3, an SIB Mr. Echo, a Z-Vex Lo-fi Loop Junkie, & then a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Amps vary, but I like the 1965 reissue Fender Twin with the 15 inch speaker, &/or a Traynor Bassmaster head into a 1x12 cab. With Low, I’ll use smaller amps - a Carr Mercury, Fender Vibroverb, or just a Champ."

"Right now, it’s a Les Paul with P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem into a Z-Vex Octane 3, an SIB Mr. Echo, a Z-Vex Lo-fi Loop Junkie, & then a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Amps vary, but I like the 1965 reissue Fender Twin with the 15 inch speaker, &/or a Traynor Bassmaster head into a 1x12 cab. With Low, I’ll use smaller amps - a Carr Mercury, Fender Vibroverb, or just a Champ."

"Right now, it’s a Les Paul with P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem into a Z-Vex Octane 3, an SIB Mr. Echo, a Z-Vex Lo-fi Loop Junkie, & then a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Amps vary, but I like the 1965 reissue Fender Twin with the 15 inch speaker, &/or a Traynor Bassmaster head into a 1x12 cab. With Low, I’ll use smaller amps - a Carr Mercury, Fender Vibroverb, or just a Champ."

"Right now, it’s a Les Paul with P-90 pickups & a bigsby trem into a Z-Vex Octane 3, an SIB Mr. Echo, a Z-Vex Lo-fi Loop Junkie, & then a Z-Vex Super Hard On. Amps vary, but I like the 1965 reissue Fender Twin with the 15 inch speaker, &/or a Traynor Bassmaster head into a 1x12 cab. With Low, I’ll use smaller amps - a Carr Mercury, Fender Vibroverb, or just a Champ."

This video starts with a clear shot of Alan Sparhawk's pedal setup. The MicroPOG can be seen in the front.

"Sparhawk’s a great experimenter when it comes to pedals. For the album, he relied on a DwarfCraft Devices Great Destroyer, Red Panda Particle delay, and especially a ZVex Instant Lo-Fi Junky."

"Sparhawk’s a great experimenter when it comes to pedals. For the album, he relied on a DwarfCraft Devices Great Destroyer, Red Panda Particle delay, and especially a ZVex Instant Lo-Fi Junky."

This is a photo of Sparhawk's pedals from a Low concert that took place in Saskatoon, SK, Canada on June 23, 2017. You can see the new Afterneath pedal there on the right.

In this KEXP performance, Sparhawk is seen singing into Neumann KMS104 microphone.

"Alan – Fender Pro Jr. amp is still the best buy out there - 15watts, tube, simple circuit. The Traynor Bassmaster head can be found pretty cheap, but it’s one of the best sounding amps in the world. Over the years I’ve found things cheap here & there - a Micro-Moog synth for $150, the first Roland drum machine for $25, the Silvertone I use in the Snakes, etc. I’ve had to buy gear on the road in emergency situations & it always goes bad - a Victoria Tweed amp, a JMI AC30 copy, newer AC30s."