Glenn Hughes

"I was at school with [ex-Trapeze and Whitesnake guitarist] Mel Galley - RIP - he was my hero, but he didn't even know I existed. I was in short pants - I must have been 12 and he was 15. Over the course of the next few years we befriended each other. He joined a band called Finders Keepers, so when their bassist left in '68, he asked me if I would be interested in switching from guitar - my first instrument. I really wanted to play with him, so I bought a bass from the bass player of that group and I started to play. So my first bass was a Salmon '62 Fender J bass."

Glenn Hughes used this late 1973 (evidenced by the photo being taken in early 1974, but the bass not having the 'toaster' pickup that came on most 1973 basses) Ricky 4001, at Ritchie Blackmore's urging, to record the Burn album and the first few dates of the tour. He then gave it to Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath who used it for a few dates, and now keeps it safe at his home. Glenn has since said he regrets giving it to the Sabbath bassist.

After giving the Rickenbacker that he used on the Burn album and first few dates of the tour to Geezer Butler, he went and got this natural P bass that he would use for several years.

In recent years, Glenn's main basses are Nash Precision basses and Jazz basses. He uses a red P bass and a white one as backup.

As well as his two Nash PB-57s, and real Fender Jazz bass, Glenn uses a black JB-63.

“Thanks @swedenrockfest???? here I am playing my new Yamaha GH signature Bass???? remember ?look closely at my Bass?”

” “I plugged into that Orange amp and it was as though it had been designed for me! It was the sound I had with Trapeze in ’69 and the sound I had in Deep Purple,” says Glenn.”

“I plugged into that Orange amp and it was as though it had been designed for me! It was the sound I had with Trapeze in ’69 and the sound I had in Deep Purple,” says Glenn.”

Behind Glenn we can see a pair of Hiwatt DR201s, better known as Custom 200s. He used them with Deep Purple.

Listed on Glenn's official Orange endorser page.

"I also love my effects. I have this DigiTech bass synth wah bass envelope filter. I used two of them - one for that left-handed Mini Moog sound, that low-end bass Moog - and then I use one that's more of a neutral wah, very sort of groovy. I used to use that kind of thing in 'Purple, like the California Jam [live album]. I like just a few effects like that."

Glenn Hughes, former vocalist/bassist in Deep Purple and Black Sabbath and currently touring with his own band, uses a Diago Powerstation

In Deep Purple, notably at the California jam of 1974, Glenn used 8 Martin Audio 115 Bass Bin cabinets.

HipStrap's Photos

HipStrap Purple Haze of Glenn Hughes

Live he choose our HipStrap Coral Haze with his vintage Rickenbacker 4001 Fireglo from Deep Purple era

In some media picture he can be seen using our vintage new old stock straps Bohemian Red y Fillmore Yellow.

In some media picture he can be seen using our vintage new old stock straps Bohemian Red y Fillmore Yellow

I snapped this picture of Glenn's pedal board from a show in the spring of Glenn's 2017 USA tour.