J Mascis

Sold on Reverb.com in 2017.

Vox Berkley II Head Cabinet (empty) & loaded Cabinet owned By J Mascis

J Mascis describes some features of his CAE Midi foot Controller at 18:23 in this video interview saying, “You can program these bottom five switches to switch at different pedals and you can assign every song a different number. So you could have the five pedals on the bottom switch on different things depending on the song if you wanted to do different things, which I do a bit."

At 12:37 in this Rig Rundown, J Mascis talks about his Megavibe pedal copy saying, “It's a Uni-Vibe copy, the KR Mega Vibe. I've tried out a lot of vibes and that one just seemed to sound the most authentic to me. The real one’s a bit too big and unreliable for touring, I find”

GC: Do you compress the acoustics after you record them?

Mascis: Yeah, during recording and after, but on that album I'm not sure. I might have used a Universal Audio LA-2A.

GC: What type of drums do you use?

Mascis: I've got a DW set that I only record with. It's dimensions are 16 x 28, 12 x 14 and 16 x 18.

GC: Do you use ADATs, analog or hard disk for recording?

Mascis: I use analog 24-track 2-inch. I also have some Tascam DA-88s I use occasionally. I limit myself to 31 tracks.

According to Guitar Geek's rig diagram, Mascis uses a MXR Phase 100 pedal.

mentioned in the "Guitars" section of the article

In the Premier Guitar article titled "J Mascis: Unplugged and Unfazed – But Not Unfuzzed," J Mascis is noted for using a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar.

Shown up close on Mascis' pedalboard at 4:16.

"I made this mini pedalboard which is like, clones of all pedals that I use, like, y'know (...) Ram's Head Big Muff, which is kinda my main distortion sound, usually..."

Used during the recording of Dinoasur Jr.'s Farm. In this video, it is used for an in-studio performance of "Tarpit" from You're Living All Over Me, as seen at 19:36.

"This C&C Purple Sparkle Drum Set (14x28 - 10x14 - 16x18) is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

You may have seen J behind this monster drum set during runs with Sweet Apple or Indian. C & C and the work of Bill Caldwell is widely renowned for their custom attention to detail and artist relations. This kit is no exception to their stunning work in regards to making the somewhat impossible seem possible for their artists. This kit is a BEAST. 28x14, 14x10 & 18x16 in beaufitul purple sparkle (of course!).

This particular kit shows some average signs of wear. As this was a road worn item there are scuffs and scratches to be expected from the struggles of lugging a 28" kick drum around the United States. For the most part though, this bad-boy shines! Sounds enormous.

Includes floor tom legs but no other hardware. The kick drum does include a vintage Ludwig case.

The toms have NO cases."

"This Epiphone 1954 Epiphone Acoustic Flat Top FT-210 (Pre-Gibson) is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

This guitar is a rare beauty! This was originally sold to CME from the private collection of Richard Gere, at which point J had purchsased this guitar directly from them. Since then he has used it sparingly and decided to share this wealth with you here on Reverb.

Gorgeous and severe finish cracking and neck wear on this unique and rare instrument. There are holes in the body showing that there had been a bridge alteration to the instrument at some point. These questionable original parts are not available. There is binding separation from the lower bout, but this does not effect it’s play or sound. Some similar wear is prominent around the neck joint.

We have been able to trace this FT-210 to 1954, but very little information is available to us besides that. This will ship in what looks to be an OHSC although there are no markings to confirm that the case is original. Based on the unique and original shape of this instrument it does look to be original."

Among the items sold on Mascis' official Reverb.com shop. Shown up close at 0:24.

Possibly used during the production of Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm. Visible throughout this video starting at 0:50.

According to Rio Grande pickups page, he uses a Dirty Harrys (Neck and Bridge) for Jaguar

Used during the late 1990s, as can be seen in this photo by Tym Guitars included in Kit Rae's interview with Mascis.

In the middle is the same Ram's Head Big Muff, Deluxe Electric Mistress, and Memory Man, from J's 1997 rig. Note the volume and sustain pots are set to maximum, and the tone pot is set around 55% /12:30 (o'clock). (...) Photos © Hank Reynolds (left, middle) and Tym Guitars (right).

A reverse color Deluxe Big Muff Pi is part of Mascis' fuzz collection, as can be seen in this photo included in Kit Rae's interview with Mascis.

Shown above, left to right: The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Big Muff, which was an IC based version of the circuit that included the Electro-Harmonix Soul Preacher compressor. In the middle is a rare variant color scheme version of Deluxe Big Muff and two vintage mid 1970s Muff Fuzz pedals, from J's own pedal collection. To the right are J's vintage Little Muff pedals, manufactured circa 1971. Photos © Kit Rae (left) and J Mascis (middle, right)

Developed in collaboration with Mascis.

Visible in this photo from Dinosaur Jr.'s November 2, 2018 KEXP performance and this November 11, 2018 Facebook post.

Mentioned in this August 24, 2011 interview with Kit Rae.

KR: Have you ever tried any of the Big Muff clones that are out there? There must be at least thirty different boutique Big Muff circuit replicas or variants out there from various makers. I know a friend of mine from Stomp Under Foot sent you a Screaming Panda few years back, and a couple of other makers have told me they sent you their versions.

JM: Yeah, the first one I got was the DAM one. That was pretty good. Then the Hairpie I like a lot. (KR - The D.A.M. Ram Head, now discontinued, was a highly praised clone made by Differential Audio Manifestations in the UK, and the Hairpie was a clone made by Ronsound in the USA. Ron Neeley, the EH Man, is still making the Hairpie at the time this interview was made)

KR: Have any of those made onto your recordings, or are they just something you play around with or use live?

JM: I don’t know if I have used a Big Muff at all on any recordings in the last…yeah, I seem to never really use them now on record. Now it’s more kind of my live sound. Now I’m just in the studio kind of experimenting with stuff. For rhythm tracks I’ll usually just go straight into an amp. I have a Tweed Deluxe or a Vox AC15. I basically just use those two amps in the studio mostly now, and then experiment with different pedals.

Mentioned and pictured in this August 24, 2011 interview with Kit Rae.

KR: Do you combine the Big Muff with other pedals live?

JM: I combine it with some other things sometimes. I usually have the Big Muff on, even if there is another fuzz on. Like a Super Fuzz (a clone made by MC FX in Australia) and the Big Muff. I have been using sometimes this (Dr Scientist) Frazz Dazzler, have you tried it? Yeah, with the Big Muff, or you know, like a Range Master with the Big Muff (J uses the Sun Lion - a Range Master treble booster clone comboed with a Sunface fuzz, built by [Analogman]http://www.analogman.com/). Many times when you hear an over the top solo tone in J's live shows, he is running the Big Muff with another fuzz pedal).

Shown above: J knows his fuzz. Here is what is on his 2011 pedal board, left to right: Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler, Z. Vex Double Rock (custom Box of Rock combo), Analogman Sunlion (Range Master/Sunface combo), and the MC-FX Super Fuzz clone. The three on the left show J's preferred settings. J keeps the Super Fuzz knobs set around 11:00.

Visible in this January 2009 photo taken by Analog Man during repairs, included in Mascis' August 24, 2011 interview with Kit Rae.

Shown above, left to right: A few of J's Big Muffs being worked in the Analog Man shop in 2003, and later in 2009. Mike at Analog man mentioned J's Big Muff collection to the producers of the Fuzz documentary film, promting them to interview J for the movie and show off his collection in 2007 (Photos © AnalogMan)

Sold on Reverb.com in 2017.

This Martin 1963 00-21NY Parlor is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

These were the first reissues of earlier style guitars to appear in Martin’s catalog. The NY designation stood for “New Yorker” but by today’s standards the NY models weren’t much like the old Martins with the New York stamp. With satin lacquer low-gloss finishes, slotted headstocks, no fretboard dots, and no pickguard many potential customers assumed they were nylon-string guitars.

Martin ads suggested they were intended for use with steel or nylon strings and often shipped them with silk and/or steel strings. Until this time, the standard 00-21 (with fretboard dots and pickguard) had been the only twelve-fret, slotted headstock model to bridge the gap between the original Martin guitar and its highly evolved namesake. Made for only 5 years, between 1961 and 1965, CF Martin Company built a total of 906 of these 00-21NY models, with 275 made during the peak year of 1964.

We have left the strings on this beaufitul [sic] instrument the way it came to us from J. You may want to switch them out as they are absolutely used and rusted, but for a collector, leaving them as-is is totally understood!

Fashioned from Brazilian Rosewood, there are a few splits and cracks here on the body, namely 3 on the upper bout on the back of the guitar. Don't mistake the wood finish here as cracks in the body itself, it's simply a beautiful wood grain selected for this instrument. We have done our best to capture this in our photography of this guitar.

On the front lower bout is some cracking which looks like it could soon result in a split. This guitar could also stand to have a neck reset as the action is very high past the 12th fret of the instrument and bridge of the guitar is beginning to raise off of the body. Pick rash on the front. Some denting on the front bouts. This is also on the rear of the guitar as well. This instrument was absolutely played, well loved and tossed around. The best instruments often are and this one is no exception. Wonderful sound. An excellent fingerpicker.

Ships in an OHSC. This is a thing of beauty and can be yours today.

All items in J's Reverb Shop ship fully insured with a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity by J Mascis.

Sold on Reverb.com in 2017.

This Gretsch Brian Setzer 6120-SH Purple is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

Gretsch Brian Setzer Hot Rod Models are stripped down and built to Brian’s exacting specs. The single-cutaway bound hollow body has an arched top and f-holes; the maple neck has a bound ebony fingerboard with Neo-Classic thumbnail inlays. Other features include dual Brian Setzer "Signature" TV Jones pickups, three-position pickup switch, single master volume control, Schaller locking tuners, pinned Adjusto-Matic bridge and Bigsby B6C vibrato tailpiece.

If you haven't noticed a theme by now, J loves the color purple. This is a pretty excellent lightly used Gretsch in a rare purple variant. Plays excellently. One small notch on the side near the lower horn. During testing we experienced a some scratchy tone switching the pickup to the bridge position. After some toggling, this went away.

Ships in an OHSC which still has the tags.

All items in J's Reverb Shop ship fully insured with a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity by J Mascis.

Sold on Reverb.com in 2017.

This Barge Concepts BB-JR is part of the private collection of J Mascis.

This pedal is in great shape with some average wear looking as though as it may have spent some time on J’s board or getting thrown around in the studio. An excellent addition to any fuzz collector. This is one of my favorite fuzz’s in the shop.

This pedal is in great shape with some average wear looking as though as it may have spent some time on J’s board or getting thrown around in the studio. An excellent addition to any fuzz collector. This is one of my favorite fuzz’s in the shop. Hook this up to your favorite DC9V power supply and let ‘er rip!

All items in J's Reverb Shop ship fully insured with a signed and embossed Certificate Of Authenticity by J Mascis.

According to Guitar Geek's rig diagram, he used this pedal.

"@dinosaurjr 's J Mascis uses our new TU-30S on his pedal board! How cool!" - caption from Boss' Instagram page. In the photo, Mascis's pedalboard is shown, which contains Boss TU-3S.

In the Effects Bay article titled "J Mascis Pedalboard - 2017," J Mascis is shown using the MXR DC Brick™ Power Supply – M237 on his pedalboard, described as essential for powering his effects setup.

J Mascis is known to use the Roger Mayer Vision Wah pedal, as discussed in the FreakScene.net forum thread titled "The Only J Mascis Gear Thread & Questions."