James Williamson

In this article on the making of the Stooges' album Raw Power, Williamson's gear at the time of recording is explained as such: "Armed with a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom driving a Vox AC30, as well as a Martin D-28 acoustic—the latter two of which he borrowed from the studio—Williamson dove headfirst into the recording process. Although he hadn’t previously tried the Vox-and-Paul combo, he was delighted after plugging in. 'That driving sound on the record is a combination of the way I play and the sound I was able to get with the combination of that instrument and that amp. It’s definitely a good sound.'"

In this article, on the making of the Stooges' album Raw Power, Williamson's gear at the time of recording is detailed as such: "Armed with a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom driving a Vox AC30, as well as a Martin D-28 acoustic—the latter two of which he borrowed from the studio—Williamson dove headfirst into the recording process."

In this Premier Guitar on James Williamson's reunion with the Stooges, the sidebar lists a 1962 Fender Jaguar among his guitars.

Initially, the band ran into problems with management over the direction of the music. “We tried a bunch of different demos, but management didn’t like them so we kept writing new material,” Williamson says. “I would sit in my room, working out riffs and things on my Gibson B-25 acoustic guitar, and ended up with a whole bunch of stuff. Eventually, the management got sort of consumed with breaking David Bowie in the U.S., and they quit paying attention to us. It was great, because we were then able to go into the studio on our own, without a producer or anything, and make Raw Power.”

This video shows James discussing his Artisan 30H. On the official Blackstar website, Williamson is quoted as saying, "From the first time I fired up the Blackstar Artisan 30H... Wow, wow, wow... it sounded fantastic!"

In this article on the making of the Stooges' album Raw Power, Williamson's gear at the time of recording is explained as such: "Armed with a 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom driving a Vox AC30, as well as a Martin D-28 acoustic—the latter two of which he borrowed from the studio—Williamson dove headfirst into the recording process. Although he hadn’t previously tried the Vox-and-Paul combo, he was delighted after plugging in. 'That driving sound on the record is a combination of the way I play and the sound I was able to get with the combination of that instrument and that amp. It’s definitely a good sound.'"

In this article, about James Williamson's reunion with the Stooges, the sidebar lists a '57 Tweed Deluxe among his amplifiers.

This detailed gear diagram of James Williamson's 2011 Iggy and The Stooges stage setup, which traces the signal flow of the equipment in his guitar rig, includes two Blackstar 4x12 cabinets.

From an interview with James Williamson's guitar tech, Derek See, this gear diagram of James Williamson's 2011 Iggy and The Stooges stage setup was created, which includes two Backstar Artisan Series 30 amps.

The Durham Electronics Sex Drive pedal is listed in this article by Premier Guitar, in the sidebar, among the effects that Williamson has used.

A Voodoo Lab Amp Selector can be seen in this gear diagram of James Williamson's 2011 Iggy and The Stooges stage setup.

In this detailed gear diagram, of James Williamson's 2011 Iggy and The Stooges stage setup, a Budda Budwah is listed.

From an interview with James Williamson's guitar tech, Derek See, this gear diagram of James Williamson's 2011 Iggy and The Stooges stage setup, was created, which includes a Fishman Aura.

I was chatting with James Williamson about his silver burst Les Paul custom, and we were discussing the cool equipment list of his gear on Equipboard. He requested I try to get the graphic changed from the Sex Drive to the F.E.T. Pre amplifier made by Steve Giles. He hasn't used the Sex Drive since 2010. Our email discussion is posted below. Thanks, Todd Novak on behalf of James Williamson.

James Williamson Attachments9:46 PM (22 hours ago)

to Todd Hi Todd, The graphic is great except the pedal I used after about 2010 was switched to one of these (see attached)...they are a special top boost pedal much like the sound from an AC30...they are the best. Please put this pedal in the graphic if you can. I used it instead of the sex drive. James

from the ultimate guitar interview. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/interviews/ug_interview_stooges_guitarist_james_williamson_talks_his_musical_upbringing_career_and_his_current_projects.html Effects

Advanced Pedal Workshop Treble Boost

"The pedal that I use for sustain on solos was designed by Steve Giles at Advanced Pedal Workshop... Its a Vintage FET Pre-Amp Treble Boost. It is out of manufacture currently but a new company may be formed to continue on making them." - James Williamson