Brian Wilson

When Brian was touring and performing with the Beach Boys in the 1960s on stage he would play a white precision bass. In this video of the performance of "I Get Around" he can be seen playing the white precision bass.

Wilson can be seen playing a Valley Arts California Pro Bass at :38 of this performance of "Barbara Ann".

Wilson can be seen in this photo playing a Sadowsky Precision Bass.

In this photograph you can see Brian Wilson in the studio playing an ARP Odyssey Mark 1 Analog Synthesizer.

Wilson can be seen playing a purple Mellotron M400 at 1:37 in this video.

Brian Wilson used the Roland SH-1000 synthesizer during the recording of "Love You," an album notable for its heavy reliance on synthesizers alongside contributions from his brothers on guitar and percussion. This period reflects Wilson's creative yet tumultuous years before his conservatorship. A Twitter post by user fredgriego provides photographic evidence of Wilson's connection to this synth, highlighting its role in the album alongside other synthesizers, primarily from Moog.

Brian Wilson was an early pioneer in integrating synthesizers into mainstream pop music. Notably, he used the Moog Modular Synthesizer in several tracks. The earliest example is "Cool, Cool Water," where rain noises and a raindrop rhythm were crafted using the synth's white noise generator and envelope filters. Wilson continued to incorporate the Moog in subsequent releases, including "Don't Go Near the Water," "Funky Pretty," and the 'Mount Vernon & Fairway' EP from 1973's 'Holland.' Other tracks featuring innovative synth work include "Sweet Mountain" by American Spring, "I Wanna Pick You Up," and "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone," which utilized a ring modulator. This information is detailed in a discussion on Smileysmile, highlighting Wilson's experimental use of synthesizers.

In this photo, Brian Wilson can be seen playing a RMI Rock-Si-Chord with the Beach Boys, as Wilson joined the band for a surprise appearance at the Whiskey a Go Go in 1970. Several other photos from this show have surfaced, which can be found here, here, and here.

According to this Beach Boys recording archive, Brian Wilson played a Baldwin Electric Harpsichord on “When I Grow Up (To Be a Man).”

In this photo from 1967, Wilson can be seen playing a Farfisa Combo Compact organ backstage with the Beach Boys in Hawaii.

Brian Wilson is shown using an Ampeg B-15 in a photo posted by rayriendeau on Instagram, captioned: "The great Brian Wilson with a Fender Precision and Ampeg B-15 🔥". Furthermore, session bassist Carol Kaye remarked on Wilson's innovative use of the bass, stating: “He saw it as integral in a symphonic orchestra. He used bass as the framework for a hit record. Very few people can write for bass, but his writing was beautiful.”

Korg Triton Studio in this post.

Brian Wilson is confirmed to use the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, as evidenced by a photo posted by @brianwilsonlive on Instagram, showing him performing in 1988.

Brian Wilson was seen using a Roland RD-700NX during his appearance at the Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas, as documented by photographs available on Getty Images.

In a 1966 studio picture taken at Western Records, Brian Wilson is seen using the AKG C12 microphone. Additionally, the AKG C12 with the optional windscreen is visible in "Good Vibrations the Lost Studio Footage" at the 0:49 mark, when the group begins to sing around it. The windscreen is clearly in use at 1:28 in the video.

At @brianwilsonlive in Instagram, an image of Brian Wilson circa 1965 listening to a studio playback in the same mixing console at Western Studios. The same console was sold for U$370,000 in the auction site juliensauctions.com, where the description reads "The original Universal Audio 610a console built for and used in Studio #2 of Bill Putnam's legendary Western Recorders Studios in Hollywood California. [...] The console was installed in 1962 and went on to record countless hit songs and memorable television soundtracks." And later "Studio #2 and this console specifically were used to create such iconic pop recordings as [...] The Beach Boys Barbara Ann (1965)". The console consists of "[...] fourteen 610a microphone preamps, with mic and line inputs, three echo sends and three echo returns [...]", as the item description goes.

Brian Wilson is confirmed to use a Wurlitzer 200A, as evidenced by a photograph of him playing the instrument featured in the article "Brian Wilson Was The Sound Of Something Just Out Of Reach" on Defector.

In a photo accompanying the article "Brian Wilson Was The Sound Of Something Just Out Of Reach" on Defector, a Moog Minimoog Model D can be seen on the right side next to Brian Wilson, confirming its use by the artist.

You can see him playing the piano in this video

In the photo, Brian Wilson is shown playing the Steinway & Sons Model D Concert Grand Piano

This website states that Brain Wilson uses a Harmonium on the Bech boys track “I Know There’s an Answer”, from there Pet Sounds album.

According to the liner note he used the synth on the beach boys album “Love you”