Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl is listed as using Oversized Standard cabinets on Mesa's website.

According to Barret Jones, Dave's drum tech, Dave used a Clear Pinstripe batter head.

According to Barret Jones, Dave's drum tech, Dave used Tama Titan Series Boom Cymbal Stands.

Used on Grohl's vocals for "The Pretender", as stated by mix engineer Rich Costey in this March 2008 Sound on Sound interview.

Vocals: Mercury EQH, UA 175, Roger Mayer RM58, Waves DeEsser, Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation, Sound Toys Echoboy, Pultec EQP1A, SPL De-esser, Neve Portico 5042

"If I recall correctly, the lead vocal is doubled throughout the song. I used a Waves DeEsser plug-in on it, which I'm quite a fan of, as I've not heard a hardware de-esser that is competitive with it. The main signal chain after that was a Mercury EQH tube EQ and then a couple of vintage UA 175s. I hit the background vocals with the Roger Mayer RM58. I haven't mentioned any plug-ins yet, apart from the Waves DeEsser, because I hardly used them on 'The Pretender.' The only other ones I used were the Reel Tape Saturation and the Pultec EQP1A on the intro vocals, and the Sound Toys Echoboy on one of the end vocal overdubs.

"I used board EQ on all the vocals. The Pultec EQP1A plug-in on the intro vocals was to help them cut through. The Reel Tape Saturation was a plug-in that I had just bought. I wanted to warm the vocals up a little bit with it and make them a little bit crisper. Nothing too distorted. The Echoboy plug-in was used on a vocal overdub at the end for a tight delay. I don't tend to use plug-ins that much; they're really not that interesting, in my opinion. Finally, I also used an SPL De-esser on some vocals, and the Neve Designs Portico 5042 for a bit of crispness. It has its own sound, and I used it a lot on the whole Foo Fighters album.

"To complete the picture, I used an EMT plate and the room mics for general reverb, and my two EAR 660 limiters were my bus compressors, together with the Manley Massive Passive. We printed the mix to the ATR102, on half-inch analogue tape, from which it was mastered."

Used on Grohl's vocals for "The Pretender", as stated by mix engineer Rich Costey in this March 2008 Sound on Sound interview.

Vocals: Mercury EQH, UA 175, Roger Mayer RM58, Waves DeEsser, Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation, Sound Toys Echoboy, Pultec EQP1A, SPL De-esser, Neve Portico 5042

"If I recall correctly, the lead vocal is doubled throughout the song. I used a Waves DeEsser plug-in on it, which I'm quite a fan of, as I've not heard a hardware de-esser that is competitive with it. The main signal chain after that was a Mercury EQH tube EQ and then a couple of vintage UA 175s. I hit the background vocals with the Roger Mayer RM58. I haven't mentioned any plug-ins yet, apart from the Waves DeEsser, because I hardly used them on 'The Pretender.' The only other ones I used were the Reel Tape Saturation and the Pultec EQP1A on the intro vocals, and the Sound Toys Echoboy on one of the end vocal overdubs.

"I used board EQ on all the vocals. The Pultec EQP1A plug-in on the intro vocals was to help them cut through. The Reel Tape Saturation was a plug-in that I had just bought. I wanted to warm the vocals up a little bit with it and make them a little bit crisper. Nothing too distorted. The Echoboy plug-in was used on a vocal overdub at the end for a tight delay. I don't tend to use plug-ins that much; they're really not that interesting, in my opinion. Finally, I also used an SPL De-esser on some vocals, and the Neve Designs Portico 5042 for a bit of crispness. It has its own sound, and I used it a lot on the whole Foo Fighters album.

"To complete the picture, I used an EMT plate and the room mics for general reverb, and my two EAR 660 limiters were my bus compressors, together with the Manley Massive Passive. We printed the mix to the ATR102, on half-inch analogue tape, from which it was mastered."

Used on Grohl's vocals for "The Pretender", as stated by mix engineer Rich Costey in this March 2008 Sound on Sound interview. An image of the item can be found here.

Vocals: Mercury EQH, UA 175, Roger Mayer RM58, Waves DeEsser, Digidesign Reel Tape Saturation, Sound Toys Echoboy, Pultec EQP1A, SPL De-esser, Neve Portico 5042

"If I recall correctly, the lead vocal is doubled throughout the song. I used a Waves DeEsser plug-in on it, which I'm quite a fan of, as I've not heard a hardware de-esser that is competitive with it. The main signal chain after that was a Mercury EQH tube EQ and then a couple of vintage UA 175s. I hit the background vocals with the Roger Mayer RM58. I haven't mentioned any plug-ins yet, apart from the Waves DeEsser, because I hardly used them on 'The Pretender.' The only other ones I used were the Reel Tape Saturation and the Pultec EQP1A on the intro vocals, and the Sound Toys Echoboy on one of the end vocal overdubs.

"I used board EQ on all the vocals. The Pultec EQP1A plug-in on the intro vocals was to help them cut through. The Reel Tape Saturation was a plug-in that I had just bought. I wanted to warm the vocals up a little bit with it and make them a little bit crisper. Nothing too distorted. The Echoboy plug-in was used on a vocal overdub at the end for a tight delay. I don't tend to use plug-ins that much; they're really not that interesting, in my opinion. Finally, I also used an SPL De-esser on some vocals, and the Neve Designs Portico 5042 for a bit of crispness. It has its own sound, and I used it a lot on the whole Foo Fighters album.

"To complete the picture, I used an EMT plate and the room mics for general reverb, and my two EAR 660 limiters were my bus compressors, together with the Manley Massive Passive. We printed the mix to the ATR102, on half-inch analogue tape, from which it was mastered."

Used for the snare on Songs for the Deaf, as stated by producer Eric Valentine in this September 14, 2019 "Making Records with Eric Valentine" video at 24:15.

Then I have distortion on the snare, that would've been my Tube Driver. [pictures a Chandler Tube Driver rackmount]

Used for the slapback delay on the drums in the chorus of "No One Knows", as stated by producer Eric Valentine in this September 14, 2019 "Making Records with Eric Valentine" video at 24:20. The initial anecdote is made at 21:05.

And when I did my little drum rough mix, I put like a little slapback on the drums. At the time, I though that would be cool. So then, but that only comes in the choruses, so... (...) And then here's a TASCAM cassette deck [pictures a 122 MKIII] that I used for the slap that you heard on the chorus sections.

In the YouTube video titled "Dave Grohl - Play [Keys in Master Version]" by painmanist, Dave Grohl is seen using a Fender Rhodes Mark I Stage 73.

In the YouTube video titled "Dave Grohl - Play [Keys in Master Version]" by painmanist, Dave Grohl is shown playing a Wurlitzer 200A.

In the YouTube video titled "Dave Grohl - Play [Keys in Master Version]" by painmanist, Dave Grohl is seen using a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer.

On this screenshot from the live at [V], October 4th 1999, we can see a big black box with 3 knobs in the middle like an original The Rat. Dave said in an interview from 1999 that they used an old ProCo Rat for recording the distorted parts of the guitars. I think that’s the Rat (the ‘The Rat’) that they used on the TINLTL recording and that Dave get it on his board for the Australian Tour.

Dave uses these picks nowadays with custom graphics.

In this image Dave can be seen with tortex 60.mm on his microphone stand

In this old pic you an see the touring rig of Dave; a Mesa Boogie Rectifier w/ 2 cabs and a Mesa Boogie Heartbreaker

Yes, it is a tiny pic, but you can see the Heartbreaker logo on the amp

In a user-uploaded photo, Dave Grohl appears to be using a Boss PW-2 Power Driver. The pedal's distinct orange-yellow hue, which differs from the typical SD-1 or OD-2 models, suggests it's the PW-2.

In this Guitar.com article you can see Dave Grohl playing the red JB Josh Leonard model from Fidelity Guitars in a NME event.

Dave grohl is playing Danelectro 4011 in this photo.

In a documented performance by the Foo Fighters at the 2023 Austin City Limits, Dave Grohl is clearly seen playing an Epiphone DG-335 at the timestamp 15:11, as captured in the video provided by Better Than Nothing Videos titled "2023-10-07 Foo Fighters Austin City Limits Full Show Pro Shot HD!" This source serves as concrete evidence of Grohl's use of this specific guitar model during the event.

In this live performance of "stacked actors", he is using one of these guitars.

Dave used a Washburn Dimebolt in Tenacious D The Pick Of Destiny

Used for the bass drum on Nevermind, as stated by producer Butch Vig in this March 1997 Sound on Sound interview.

"In the case of Dave Grohl's kit I used an AKG D12 and a FET 47 on the kick, and then we built a drum tunnel consisting of old drum shells attached to the bass drum and extended out about six feet. That way you can move a mic back three to four feet, and the FET 47 was a little farther away from where the front head would have been. By having the drum tunnel, you isolate the room, so that you don't get all of the cymbal bleed, or whatever."

Otherwise the drum miking was fairly standard: a Shure SM57 on the snare, along with an AKG 451, Sennheiser 421s on the toms, AKG 414s and Neumann KM84s on the cymbals, and Neumann U87s for distant room mics.

Used for the bass drum on Nevermind, as stated by producer Butch Vig in this March 1997 Sound on Sound interview.

"In the case of Dave Grohl's kit I used an AKG D12 and a FET 47 on the kick, and then we built a drum tunnel consisting of old drum shells attached to the bass drum and extended out about six feet. That way you can move a mic back three to four feet, and the FET 47 was a little farther away from where the front head would have been. By having the drum tunnel, you isolate the room, so that you don't get all of the cymbal bleed, or whatever."

Otherwise the drum miking was fairly standard: a Shure SM57 on the snare, along with an AKG 451, Sennheiser 421s on the toms, AKG 414s and Neumann KM84s on the cymbals, and Neumann U87s for distant room mics.

Used for the snare on Nevermind, as stated by producer Butch Vig in this March 1997 Sound on Sound interview.

"In the case of Dave Grohl's kit I used an AKG D12 and a FET 47 on the kick, and then we built a drum tunnel consisting of old drum shells attached to the bass drum and extended out about six feet. That way you can move a mic back three to four feet, and the FET 47 was a little farther away from where the front head would have been. By having the drum tunnel, you isolate the room, so that you don't get all of the cymbal bleed, or whatever."

Otherwise the drum miking was fairly standard: a Shure SM57 on the snare, along with an AKG 451, Sennheiser 421s on the toms, AKG 414s and Neumann KM84s on the cymbals, and Neumann U87s for distant room mics.

Used for the cymbals on Nevermind, as stated by producer Butch Vig in this March 1997 Sound on Sound interview.

"In the case of Dave Grohl's kit I used an AKG D12 and a FET 47 on the kick, and then we built a drum tunnel consisting of old drum shells attached to the bass drum and extended out about six feet. That way you can move a mic back three to four feet, and the FET 47 was a little farther away from where the front head would have been. By having the drum tunnel, you isolate the room, so that you don't get all of the cymbal bleed, or whatever."

Otherwise the drum miking was fairly standard: a Shure SM57 on the snare, along with an AKG 451, Sennheiser 421s on the toms, AKG 414s and Neumann KM84s on the cymbals, and Neumann U87s for distant room mics.

Used for vocals on The Colour and the Shape, as stated in this article posted to the fansite Foo Fighters Live.

In terms of outboard gear, UREI 1175LN Peak Limiter compressors were installed, along with a mixture of Manley and LA Audio tube amplifiers. A range of microphones were set up including Shure SM57s on the Amplifiers and Neumann u47 and u67 mics for vocals.

Used for the drums on Songs for the Deaf, as stated by producer Eric Valentine in this September 14, 2019 "Making Records with Eric Valentine" video at 19:16.

And so, I wanted to try and get away from having microphones right up on the toms and so I just had drum kit mics. So there was a mic that was sort of over on the left side that picked up the snare over here and the rack tom. There was this CMV 3, I don't know if you're familiar with those, with this old, you know, it's one of the very first condenser mics ever made by Neumann, and so that was in the middle of the kit and then I had another mic over here [on the right] so, these were C12As [gestures to left and right sides], I had the CMV 3 in the middle, and so here's the CMV 3. [plays isolated track, open another] There's the C12A on the left... [plays right C12A track] And so these three mics together would just give you, like, this stereo picture of the drum set that's really punchy and in your face because you're not in this big room, but the mics aren't, like, right up on the drums, you know, so for the toms, you know, the mics are a little further away. And then I had C-37As way up high in the room just capturing the ambience of the room.

Used as a room mic for the drums on Songs for the Deaf, as stated by producer Eric Valentine in this January 14, 2012 Rhythm interview and in this September 14, 2019 "Making Records with Eric Valentine" video at 19:16.

Rhythm, January 14, 2014, "Classic drum sounds: No One Knows"

Where exactly were the drums recorded for the track?

"The drums were recorded in a small isolation booth. It was roughly 8'x12' but not exactly a rectangular shape and the ceiling was quite tall (16'). It was very dead acoustically. It has curtains and cork on the walls and carpet on the floor. The idea was to have a room sound that still sounded very tight, focused, punchy and kind of claustrophobic. I used a pair of Sony C37A microphones for room mics. They were positioned up high - maybe about 12' up. I would just move them around in the room until they both sounded balanced between the kick and the snare and were roughly equal distances from the snare drum."

"Making Records with Eric Valentine", September 14, 2019

And so, I wanted to try and get away from having microphones right up on the toms and so I just had drum kit mics. So there was a mic that was sort of over on the left side that picked up the snare over here and the rack tom. There was this CMV 3, I don't know if you're familiar with those, with this old, you know, it's one of the very first condenser mics ever made by Neumann, and so that was in the middle of the kit and then I had another mic over here [on the right] so, these were C12As [gestures to left and right sides], I had the CMV 3 in the middle, and so here's the CMV 3. [plays isolated track, open another] There's the C12A on the left... [plays right C12A track] And so these three mics together would just give you, like, this stereo picture of the drum set that's really punchy and in your face because you're not in this big room, but the mics aren't, like, right up on the drums, you know, so for the toms, you know, the mics are a little further away. And then I had C-37As way up high in the room just capturing the ambience of the room.

Used for the drums on Songs for the Deaf, as stated by producer Eric Valentine in this September 14, 2019 "Making Records with Eric Valentine" video at 19:16.

And so, I wanted to try and get away from having microphones right up on the toms and so I just had drum kit mics. So there was a mic that was sort of over on the left side that picked up the snare over here and the rack tom. There was this CMV 3, I don't know if you're familiar with those, with this old, you know, it's one of the very first condenser mics ever made by Neumann, and so that was in the middle of the kit and then I had another mic over here [on the right] so, these were C12As [gestures to left and right sides], I had the CMV 3 in the middle, and so here's the CMV 3. [plays isolated track, open another] There's the C12A on the left... [plays right C12A track] And so these three mics together would just give you, like, this stereo picture of the drum set that's really punchy and in your face because you're not in this big room, but the mics aren't, like, right up on the drums, you know, so for the toms, you know, the mics are a little further away. And then I had C-37As way up high in the room just capturing the ambience of the room.

In this photo of the first Foo Fighters show (02/19/1995), Dave Grohl can be seen playing a Marshall JCM800 2203 100W. This amp was used for the first tour and also the recording of the first album. We know that it’s a JCM800 2203 because, Ernie Bailey (Foo’s 1st guitar tech), answer to some questions of a fan called Johnny (posted on the commente section of the YouTube video ‘Recreating Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters Guitar Tone!’) : “David WAS plugged into his Turbo Rat pedal, into a Marshall JCM800 2203 100 watt head powering a Marshall 4x12 cabinet.”