Ed Sheeran

This is the new loop station that Ed Sheeran will be using on the Divide Tour. It's an enhanced version and second incarnation of the original Chewie Monsta that he and his guitar tech Trevor Dawkins created using a program called Mobius (a looping plugin). This version also includes an input for a keyboard for songs like "Shape of You." The "Chewie II" logo lights up and changes as Ed presses certain pedals on the board. On the display, 4 channels can be seen, labeled on the screen as GUITAR, BOOM, RC20, and VOX. The RC20 likely refers to the Boss RC-20 Loop Station, which is integrated into the Chewie 2.

In an interview on the Today show, he explains that the BOOM channel is the drums, or in his case him beating on the body of the guitar for percussion. He also demonstrated the guitar and keyboard channel, and layers them all together.

While the Chewie 2 is a custom piece of gear and not available for purchase, if you're interested in using a looper like Ed Sheeran here are the 5 of the best looper pedals you should look at.

Ed Sheeran is using the custom Chewie Monsta looper pedal on his 2014 "Sing" album. In this Tweet from June 2014, Jim Shearer shares a photo of it and confirms:

"Ed Sheeran parts w/ his Boss station for this custom-built mothership. No compression, every loop is crystal clear."

In an interview, Sheeran said, "...I'll see where the next album takes me. This album was all written around the loop pedal. And most of it recorded with the loop pedal. I'm gonna be using it for a while."

The Chewie Monsta is a custom built Midi Foot Controller (made by his guitar tech) that controls a Roland FC-300 Midi Foot Controller off-stage for his guitar tech to control (incase of mishaps) off-stage. Ed's loop pedal has 4 tracks which he can loop onto. Ed's guitar, looping mic and the off-stage Midi controller connects to an audio interface (off-stage) which connects to both a laptop and FOH (front of house) where each individual loop track gets treated at FOH. The laptop runs a looping software called Mobius & the laptop monitor feeds the monitor to show the Mobius User Interface on the Chewie Monsta screen so that Ed can visually monitor his loops. The Pedals on the Chewie Monsta itself are Boss twin pedal recycled onto the Chewie Monsta unit. All in all, Ed could easily just use the the offstage Roland FC-300 as the loop pedal onstage but uses the Chewie Monsta instead as its pedal layout is to his preference and can see what he is doing with the loops. The signal chain would go:

1. Guitar>Boss TU-3>Audio Interface>FOH and
2. Looping Mic>Audio Interface>FOH and
3. Chewie Monsta>FC-300>Audio Interface>FOH

Audio Interface connects to Laptop running Mobius via USB, Audio Interface outputs for guitar, looping mic and Chewie Monsta goes to FOH sound desk, Laptop connects to Chewie Monsta screen via VGA or HDMI cable.

And finally his main vocals mic goes separately to FOH.

The guitars are all strung with Elixir Nanoweb 0.012–0.053 80/20 bronze strings, which Ed loves the sound of.

Ed Sheeran recorded his single "Bad Habits" on Shure SM7B.

Ed Sheeran uses the Dunlop Trigger Curved Capo in this video of him performing "You Need Me, I Don't Need You."

Ed Sheeran's loop software named "Chewie" runs as VST in Ableton. 5:40 in the Video

Ableton isn't the soft his albums are recorded with (it's Logic).

Ed Sheeran is known for using the Martin X Series LX1E Little Martin Acoustic-Electric Guitar, a choice evident in a photo from his Manchester Arena performance. Early in his career, Sheeran favored pre-2011 models with Fishman Mini Q pickups. These pickups had a preamp/battery box mounted under the strap nut, a setup he preferred due to its impact on sound quality, especially the percussive elements. To maintain consistency, Sheeran's guitar tech frequently transfers these pickups to new LX1 guitars, either using pre-cut models or customizing them as needed. His signature models also follow this setup. For the general public, the LX1E models come equipped with Fishman Isys T pickups. The guitar features a Solid Sitka Spruce top, HPL Mahogany finish back and sides, and a Stratabond neck.

In this video, Ed Sheeran gives a lesson on building on a looper using the Boss RC-20XL pedal. The pedal is visible at several points in the video, and can clearly be seen at 3:14.

The accompanying photo (from a Sound On Sound article from January 2012) shows the microphone that was used to record Ed Sheeran's guitars on his + album. The sE Electronics sE4400a Condenser Microphone was the mic of choice used to capture Sheeran's guitars by producer and co-writer Jake Gosling, at Gosling's Sticky Studios.

In the article, Gosling says, "I did a lot of the guitars using a pair of SE 4400as. The main vocals pretty much were all done on the SE Z3300a, but I've just got a new Telefunken U47, which is lovely."

The original source article can be found here.

Ed Sheeran can be seen singing into a Neumann U87 Condenser Mic in this video of him performing "Wayfaring Stranger" live in the studio. He is using the Nickel version of the U87 (a Matte Black version also exists).

In this YouTube video, Ed Sheeran plays the Paul Reed Smith HollowBody II guitar in what appears to be an Acquableux finish at the 2014 iTunes Festival for his song "Thinking Out Loud."

In this video of Ed Sheeran performing his song "You Need Me, I Don't Need You," his vocals are being recorded by the sE Electronics Z3300A Multi-Pattern Studio Condenser Microphone. A great closeup of the mic can be seen at the 1:15 mark.

Sheeran's producer Jake Gosling has also used the Z3300A to record Ed in the studio. In a Sound On Sound interview from January 2012, Gosling says, "The main vocals pretty much were all done on the SE Z3300a" (referring to the vocals for Sheeran's + album). Other sources mention the Z3300A was also used on the recording of Ed's album Collaboration No.5.

This photo shows Ed Sheeran performing live and singing into a Sennheiser e 865 microphone. An article on the UK Sennheiser site confirms that Sheeran uses an 865 capsule with a Sennheiser 2000 Series wireless system.

Sheeran's Front of House engineer Chris Marsh says that before the 865, Ed was using the Sennheiser e945, which didn't respond as well to Sheeran's "cupping the microphone and holding it in the air at an awkward angle." He goes on to say, "The 865 is the capsule out of all those that I tried, and not just Sennheiser, that has consistency between the open mic and the cupped. And Ed likes it!"

The original article can be found here.

At 1:12 in the movie there's some version of Logic on screen and later into the movie it visible again. He uses Logic only in the studio.

In this video, Ed Sheeran can be seen using a replica Fender Eric Clapton "Crash 1" Stratocaster Electric Guitar to play his single 'Thinking Out Loud' live.

Sheeran reportedly no longer uses this guitar after learning it was an unauthorized reproduction, and has since commissioned Crash to create a unique Strat for him, in collaboration with British artist Teddy M.

In this photo of Ed Sheeran performing live at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the guitar strap he's using is the red Planet Waves Polypropylene Guitar Strap.

Twitter user @MikePlanetWaves points out the exact strap he's wearing:

Every1 talkin bout @edsheeran's #Chewie pedalboard but lets talk about his strap game!

When asked what his preferred microphone for recording is, Ed Sheeran responded:

I’ve got to be honest man, this sounds so base, but an SM58. Seriously. And like, sometimes I’ll get on a nice Neumann or something like that and record but if I’m right in it I have an SM58 that I just put on the guitar and strum. And I know that sounds so basic, but it works.

Designed in collaboration with award-winning recording artist Ed Sheeran, the LX1E Ed Sheeran Signature Edition features Ed’s signature “+” sign on the headstock and album logo laser-etched on the solid sapele top. Stage-ready, this model is small enough to take anywhere and comes equipped with Fishman Isys T electronics, SP Lifespan Martin strings and a padded gig bag. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this model will be donated to the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (www.each.org.uk). Solid Sapele top, HPL finish back & sides, Stratabond neck.

In this photo, Ed Sheeran uses a customized Lowden 35 Series guitar. He can be seen playing it live on the song Lego House and while singing with Wayne Rooney.

The article was written by Trevor Dawkins, Ed's sound engineer.

"Ed Sheeran essentially plays two Martin Guitar models. The larger models are a pair of 00-28VS customs that Martin put together for us. They’re absolute beauts: figured Koa back and sides, the gecko inlays on the neck (copies of one of Ed’s tattoos . . . ), and the inlaid koa “X” logo on the soundboard. These are fitted with Fishman Matrix Infinity electronics and are used for Ed's acoustic ballad-type songs." From watching live videos, Ed has 4 copies of this guitar. One has black bridge pins, another has white, and the other two have no gecko inlays on the neck.

Ed Sheeran uses the Sennheiser SR 2050 In-Ear Monitoring System during his 'Divide' World Tour, as highlighted by FRONT of HOUSE, where it's praised for its reliability.

In the photo provided by Kysermusical, Ed Sheeran is seen using a Kyser Quick-Change Capo.

In this video, Ed Sheeran uses the Sony headphones during the recording of the version of 'Perfect' with Andrea Bocelli.

In this Instagram photo shared by Ed Sheeran September 2013, he shows a collection of Martin guitars which he has toured with over seven years. The left-most guitar is a Martin Steel-String Backpacker Acoustic Guitar. He captions the photo, "7 years of touring"

Fender Tweets this image where Ed can be seen using the Vox AC15 in his performance with Beyonce and Gary Clark Jr. at a Stevie Wonder tribute concert. In the photo Ed is also playing his Eric Clapton Crash 1 Stratocaster Electric Guitar.

"There are two vocal mics, a 2000-series radio mic fitted with a custom 5235 capsule, which is relayed through a Sennheiser EM2050 radio system straight to the front of the house and a Sennheiser e945 vocal loop mic, which again runs into the new loop system," reads this article. At 1:42 in this video, Sheeran can be seen using an e945.

At the 1:42 mark of this video of Ed Sheeran performing the song "Small Bump" live in the studio, the AKG C 451 B Condenser Microphone he is using to mic his acoustic guitar can be seen.

The kemper is on the left side of the desk where Ed is sitting with his collaborators

In this video, while playing live with John Mayer, Ed Sheeran uses a PRS Silver Sky, which he later got to keep (he posted it on his Instragram story the next day). Ed Sheeran was a guest star during John Mayer's concert.

A collaboration between New York graffiti pioneer John CRASH Matos and Teddy M, commissioned by multi-platinum musician, Ed Sheeran.

This exciting collaboration sees the striking cohesion of Crash x Teddy M on a Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster.

Both artists worked closely together selecting the colours and applying their own signature touches, Crash's being the eye and Teddy M's the heart.

Crash previously created the famous graffiti guitars played by Eric Clapton and later John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr.

In 1983, Crash headlined an exhibition in New York City with his friends Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and his work is now in MoMA and art museums around the world.

Teddy M considers Crash to be one his major influences in him deciding to follow a career in art.