James Walbourne

During 2019, Walbourne did a couple of promotional videos with Fender, where he played through Fender Deluxe Reverb. However, he mentions the use of '68 Custom Deluxe in January 2023 Guitar World issue, where he mentions using the amp for recording His Lordship's first EP.

Mentioned in January 2023 issue of Guitar World, Walbourne used this effect in for recording His Lordship's first EP.

James soon hit the road with the band and, opening up a road case with as many battle scars as the guitar itself, he tells us about the black Stratocaster that became his main stage guitar. “This guitar was a gift from Chrissie Hynde and I absolutely love it,” he says. “I think it’s a 1957 but it’s a bit of a ‘bitsa’ made from parts from various 50s and 60s guitars. It has that classic Strat tone: great clean and expansive when driven hard. “One day at a rehearsal, Chrissie turned up with this black Strat that she got from her lockup and didn’t know she had – no idea where or when she got it. So I started playing it, and then started playing it more and more at gigs, and then one day there was a drunken sort of, ‘You may as well just have that Strat, I’m never going to use it!’ “I said ‘I can’t accept that!’ but one night after a few drinks I did. That was back in 2008 and we were on tour somewhere. Fair play to her, she did give it to me, and I cherish that guitar, it’s one of my favourites. For the Pretenders stuff like Back On The Chain Gang and the more Strat-y songs that Robbie McIntosh played on, that guitar really suits. Also some of the bluesier stuff like My City Was Gone I play on that guitar. I do change it around a bit but it’s definitely one of the main two guitars I use with The Pretenders, on stage and in the studio.”

A 1952 Gibson LG-2 was used by Walbourne for recording Chrissie Hynde's cover album of Bob Dylan's songs, "Standing in the Doorway".

When it comes to pedals, James tries to use as few as possible. “I need something that breaks the sound up a little bit, a distortion maybe,” he says. “I really like the Z.Vex Box Of Rock. Then for something that makes it maybe one louder than that, I’ve got the Strymon Riverside. What I like about Strymons is that you can program it all in there, and every night it’s the same sound. Other than that, I use just a subtle bit of delay on some stuff.”

When it comes to pedals, James tries to use as few as possible. “I need something that breaks the sound up a little bit, a distortion maybe,” he says. “I really like the Z.Vex Box Of Rock. Then for something that makes it maybe one louder than that, I’ve got the Strymon Riverside. What I like about Strymons is that you can program it all in there, and every night it’s the same sound. Other than that, I use just a subtle bit of delay on some stuff.”

He also owns a 1965 Non-Reverse Firebird refinished in black that was bought from former Oasis guitarist Gem Archer. “We used to work in the same music shop many years ago,” James explains. “He keeps trying to buy it back it’s going nowhere! He modified the pickups somehow, I don’t know how, but it just sounds great. “I love the tremolo on this one and it’s great fun to play, it actually sounds amazing clean as well as driven. It’s a versatile guitar, I played it on a bunch of country stuff. I was playing with a band called Son Volt in North Carolina somewhere, and sort of halfway through the set the guitar tech said, ‘It’s not great news, the Firebird’s had it, headstock clean off!’ I think I played the rest of the set in shock! But some guy fixed it up the very next day with some mystical boat glue or something, and it’s been amazing ever since”.

As you might expect, one of the results of such a diverse CV is that James has amassed a fascinating array of instruments along the way while searching for different textures and tones. “My friend Creston Lea made me this guitar” he tells us, pulling out a florally adorned 2009 T-style electric equipped with P-90s and a Bigsby. “The paintwork is by the artist Sarah Ryan. Definitely the coolest looking guitar I own and it plays great.”

Another favourite that James describes as “amazing for early rock ’n’ roll stuff” is his Harmony Roy Smeck 7208 model, sold through Montgomery Ward mail order catalogues in the early 1960s. Featuring a beautiful maple top, a pair of DeArmond pickups and a very distinctive lightning bolt pickguard, it’s retro chic at its finest with, James notes, a “surprisingly playable and great-feeling neck.”

On the Dylan covers LP, James plays mainly acoustic guitar and piano, along with some mandolin. “Guitar-wise I used what I had at home, my 1952 Gibson LG-2, and my 1948 Martin 0-18 which my mother-in-law bought for me. An incredible ‘welcome to the family’ present! Those two guitars sound old, woody and small. I did also use my 2009 J-45 which works for everything really, it’s just a road warrior, a cannon!”

On the Dylan covers LP, James plays mainly acoustic guitar and piano, along with some mandolin. “Guitar-wise I used what I had at home, my 1952 Gibson LG-2, and my 1948 Martin 0-18 which my mother-in-law bought for me. An incredible ‘welcome to the family’ present! Those two guitars sound old, woody and small. I did also use my 2009 J-45 which works for everything really, it’s just a road warrior, a cannon!”

In this 2019 demo, Walbourne played a limited edition Fender Cabronita Telecaster.

Walbourne used this pedal as a part of the demonstration of the Fender Limited Edition Cabronita Telecaster.

Walbourne used this amp as a part of the demonstration of the Fender Limited Edition Cabronita Telecaster.

In an article from Guitar.com titled "The Collection: Pretenders guitarist James Walbourne," it is confirmed that James Walbourne uses a Gibson SG Junior 60's Electric Guitar. The article notes, "Inside is a gorgeous 1963 SG Junior in Cherry." Walbourne is quoted as saying, “I never thought I’d end up with an SG as my main guitar. But after using one for the Break Up The Concrete sessions in 2008, I felt I had to have one. I found this particular guitar on Denmark Street and it’s really become my number one. One P-90 pick-up, tone and volume – what could go wrong?” Additionally, a photo of the SG Junior is included in the interview, and Walbourne has been observed playing the Gibson SG Junior live on multiple occasions.