Davy Knowles
Isle of Man born Blues guitarist
Davy Knowles' Gear
"D’Addario on my electric and acoustics and my mandolin. I have EXL110 strings on the electric, 10-52, which is like a heavy bottom and light top mixture. The thicker lower strings give me a little bit more tension and bass response and thinner top strings are easier bending." - excerpt from Performing Musician interview.
"Knowles’ current go-to guitar is a 1966 Fender Telecaster, and while the band went for a stripped vibe, Knowles found inspiration in a pedal by Foxrox Electronics, called the Octron."
I’ve used all sorts of stuff over the years, but an AC30 just has a sparkle and an aggression that I absolutely love. It really throws the sound out. I think it really stems from Rory Gallagher’s influence, he used one a lot in the early part of his career. The only other amp I truly love is made by Brandon Montgomery, his Bludotone amps are magic. That man is a genius.
In this video, Knowles is seen demonstrating the Roland Blues Cube.
The one I’ve really settled on is the Flynn Amps Hawk booster. It really hits the amp hard.
I use a Crowther Audio Hotcake pedal if I need a little more overdrive, but more often than not, I just use the volume on the guitar for all that.
"As a player who uses the volume control on my guitar a lot, as well as changing pick attack, it's important for me to have overdrive sounds that respond to dynamics. The Trimode is wonderfully touch-sensitive. What I love most is that it just doesn't sound like an overdrive pedal at all - it sounds like a really great amp. It's fantastic! I can't say enough good things about it." - Knowles about Radial Trimode.
"I now have the Budda Superdrive Series II 30W, with Budda 2 x 12 and Marshall 2 x 12 cabinets. The Superdrive overdrives pretty early and I get my distortion from that. I don’t use my Fender Twin anymore. I’m too frightened to take it on the road and it’s unreliable and sounds too clean.”- excerpt from Performing Musician interview.
Davy Knowles is using his King of Tone on the whole song, and just using the volume control on his guitar to adjust the gain and dynamics.
Been a few questions on my rig after the video below, and whether that pedal (Boss Waza Craft Blues Driver) is still a part of it... Why yes it is!
Knowles quite naturally shifts the discussion from singing and songwriting back to his first love: guitars. In addition to his J50 he also owns a J45, which is four years old. “I don’t take it on tour at the moment, but it is a wonderful guitar.” - excerpt from Performing Musician interview.
"Knowles quite naturally shifts the discussion from singing and songwriting back to his first love: guitars. In addition to his J50 he also owns a J45, which is four years old. “I don’t take it on tour at the moment, but it is a wonderful guitar.” " - excerpt from Performing Musician interview.
Davy Knowles uses the Pete Cornish NBM-2 pedal, which functions as a boost, line driver, mute, and provides a tuner output. This information is shared by Davy Knowles himself on his Facebook page.
According to Boss' website, Knowles uses Boss DM-2W delay pedal.
"Knowles found inspiration in a pedal by Foxrox Electronics, called the Octron. The octave-up and octave-down pedal became the catalyst that helped him finish the album’s third track, “Falling Apart,” which features a dark, driving, ominous riff that recalls Jimmy Page’s haunting tone on “Dazed and Confused.”"
I leave an MXR carbon copy delay on all the time, set to a very short repeat just for a little ambiance.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the pedals visible is the Framptone Amp Switcher.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the pedals visible is Fulltone Supa-Trem.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the pedals visible is Way Huge Angry Troll.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the pedals visible is Modtone Deep Dive.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the pedals visible is Budda Budwah.
In this photo, which comes from 2009 concert with Back Door Slam, Knowles' pedalboard can be seen. One of the items visible is Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
In the video titled "Davy Knowles 2020 Touring Rig" on YouTube, at the 1:16 mark, Davy Knowles is seen using the Boss TU-3W Chromatic Tuner.
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Discography