Dave Depper

"I have been lusting after a Zaftig by @biltguitars for over a year now. A few months ago, we got in touch about getting one made, and today in Montreal the dream is realized! I just soundchecked with it and am completely blown away by its tone and playability. It's perfect! I am in love with this thing!"

In this photo, Depper's Arc Crimson King pedal is visible.

"I use the Digital machine for U2-like syncopated delays in songs like “You Are a Tourist” and “Your Heart Is An Empty Room.” I use the Analog machine for subtle slapback in songs like “Cath…” and “Why You’d Want To Live Here.” And the Tape machine comes in handy for all-out mayhem on “I Will Possess Your Heart” and “Bixby Canyon Bridge.” I definitely find myself abusing the self-oscillation function several times throughout the set."

"My main guitars are both made by Fano. One is the PX6, which is loosely based on a non-reverse Gibson Firebird, and it has Lollar Firebird pickups installed. The other is the GF6, which in turn is inspired by the Fender Starcaster, and it has Fralin P90s in it."

In this video, the Strymon El Capistan is visible.

In this video, where Depper shows how his loopings are made, the TurboRAT is visible.

In this photo, Depper photographed a part of his setup, and Gibson Les Paul Special is visible. In the Instagram comments, he says how he acquired that guitar in 1994 and that it is still one of his favourite guitars.

In the Instagram comments section, Depper calls this synth "the best investment he's made in a whole year".

"With the BigSky, about half the time I am using the Spring reverb machine, especially on the rockier songs. I like running my amp very clean and effect-free, getting most of my tonal variation from my pedalboard. I adore the Spring machine’s warm, natural sound.

My favorite application, however, is the Bloom machine. It’s quite simply my favorite reverb sound I’ve ever encountered, and I use it pretty liberally throughout the set, especially during the slower, more atmospheric songs like “Transatlanticsm” and “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life.” And I ESPECIALLY love holding down the switch to engage the Infinite Sustain when using the Bloom machine. Freezing the sound in place like that ends up sounding almost like a synth pad, and it’s kind of like having a piano sustain pedal for my guitar. I use this trick fairly often throughout the set."

"Possibly my favorite pedal of all time. In Death Cab, I’m using it for my medium to heavy gainl/lead tones. However, I’ve used this pedal for years in all sorts of roles, from a clean boost to a dirty boost to a simple EQ to a rock distortion machine.

My original BB Preamp got wet during soundcheck at Red Rocks at our show earlier this year, I foolishly didn’t have a backup, and the thing shorted out during the second song. I had a disaster of an evening as a result, so dependent am I on this miracle baby. I learned my lesson and have three now!"

"Incredible little nuclear bomb of a pedal, it’s EQD’s spin on the Ace Tone Fuzz Master, and dang, does it sound good. I’m currently using it to play the guitar solo on the Death Cab single “Black Sun” – it needs a very specific octave-fuzzy kind of sound, and this pedal nails it."

"My favorite transparent boost, made in Portland to boot. Sadly discontinued."

"My main guitars are both made by Fano. One is the PX6, which is loosely based on a non-reverse Gibson Firebird, and it has Lollar Firebird pickups installed. The other is the GF6, which in turn is inspired by the Fender Starcaster, and it has Fralin P90s in it."

"I've been searching for the perfect Stratocaster for years, and my quest came to an end last week when the lovely folks at @fender sent me a stunning '56 American Vintage Reissue in shell pink, the most funky of all colors. If you need me I'll be playing the solo from "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" for the next 72 hours." - Depper about the Fender American Vintage Stratocaster.

"Every sound except the drums is coming from this amazing little keyboard I bought for $100 years ago and never used. Phase Distortion forever!"

"What a lovely treat to come home from tour and find that @fender sent me one of their new Paramount series parlor acoustics! It plays perfectly right out of the box and has already been used on a recording. Thanks guys.??"

In this photo, Depper's Hoof Reaper pedal is visible.

In this photo, Depper's JHS Sweet Tea pedal is visible.

Dave Depper mentions on Instagram that his new guitar, a Fender Mustang, is a 42-year-old model with a racing stripe, suggesting it's from 1973.

In this photo, Depper showed his Dr Z. MAZ 18 combo amplifier.

In an Instagram post by Dave Depper, an Akai GX-630D Tape Recorder is featured, indicating its use during a series of shows with Twin Shadow.

"Received a most wonderful care package from the illustrious @earthquakerdev today, including the startling revelation that they have... their own coffee blend? BALLER. Thanks, folks! ??"

In this photo, Depper's pedalboard is shown, which shows the Xotic SP Compressor.

"My main guitars are both made by Fano. One is the PX6, which is loosely based on a non-reverse Gibson Firebird, and it has Lollar Firebird pickups installed."

"I'm positively addicted to the Bit Commander, Afterneath, and the Platonic Ideal of overdrive, Palisades."

It became apparent that it would be a really good way of translating the specific guitar tones in the studio to the live show. We’ve also had a lot of consistency issues with amps, and we just realised it would be amazing to have the exact consistent sound from night to night.

I’m modelling a Hiwatt with a lot of headroom the whole time, and that closely emulates the Dr Z Maz 38, which I was using the last tour cycle.

Excerpted from this post which also discusses the live setup used by Dave.

It took me a while to be convinced that I could part with the Strymon TimeLine and BigSky, which are my bread-and-butter pedals at home, but I got very close with the Fractal Axe-Fx. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with an expression pedal hooked up to the Fractal, and assign it to basically whatever parameter you want. So it’s opened up a whole new world for me in terms of delays and reverbs.

Excerpted from this post which also discusses the live setup used by Dave.

"ARC is a really wonderful builder in upstate NY. His handiwork is beautiful and he’s a total pleasure to work with. The Klone, as the name implies, is a faithful recreation of a Klon Centaur. Obviously, this is a cottage industry these days, and there’s many Klon clones to choose from, but of all the ones I’ve tried, this one just NAILS it. Also, there’s an optional bass boost switch which ably makes up for some of the low frequency drop that this type of pedal is known for at higher gain settings.

I use the Klone for mild overdrive and as a dirty boost – volume around 10 o’clock, tone at noon, and gain ranging from 9 to 1 o’clock, depending on the song. I have it on about 80% of the time."

In a feature on Strymon, Dave Depper highlights the TC Electronic Polytune Mini as a compact and convenient addition to his pedalboard.

"Genius MIDI foot controller. I have many different presets on both Strymon pedals, so this pedal essential creates a master preset on a song by song basis out of a combination of the two, and I can scroll through it rapidly and intuitively. It also includes a shortcut to the looping function on the TimeLine pedal, which comes in VERY handy."