Jerry Cantrell

Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell gets his signature grunge tone by using a Bogner Fish amplifier. “I’ve used them pretty much from the beginning,” Cantrell explains in this Premier Guitar video at (0:24). “The first couple records that we did, Facelift and Dirt, was basically a Marshall modified by Bogner, and then of course, I started picking up some of his amp stuff because I liked the mods that he was doing, so used the Fish for many years, and we still use that. William’s using that right now in combination with a couple of other things, and I’ve been kind of toying around with it.”

To achieve his unique sound, Cantrell blends guitar signals from multiple amps, including a Bogner Shiva and a Marsha, an amp made by Dave Friedman. “Right now,” Cantrell says at (1:20) “we run the Marsha and the Shiva…”I mean I’ve always kind of done that [amp blending.] For me, it’s kind of what the song needs…We use Matchless, Marshall, Bogner, and plenty more, you know, in combination with different guitars to kind of create tones and textures, depending

Used for the recording of “Dirt”. These amps were released after 1992 so this was probably a prototype.

Used on the first two Alice in Chains albums, Facelift (1990) and Dirt (1992). The amp was modified by Reinhold Bogner, who later worked closed with Jerry on most of his amps.

n addition to the Bogner Fish, Cantrell sometimes uses a Bogner Uberschall amplifier. “We had an Uberschall running for a while,” he says at (0:55). “We’re trying to get a little more that kind of metal edge with the Bogner, but we’re still playing with it, you know.”

Used on Alice in Chains' self-titled album in 1995.

I also used a Les Paul through a Peavey 5150 amp. Ed [Van Halen] gave me three stacks after we did the tour with him a few years ago. He'd just come out with his new Music Man guitar and the 5150 heads, and I asked him if I could maybe buy one off him. When I came back home after the tour, there were three stacks waiting for me in the fucking garage! [laughs] The guy was totally f-ing cool! Plus, he gave me a couple of his guitars, too.

In this video, Jerry talks about his signature amp. At :55s Jerry says "it’s got a lot of power, a lot of balls, tight response you don’t lose any notes anywhere on the spectrum."

In the Premier Guitar "Rig Rundown" video, Jerry Cantrell discusses his use of the Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp, highlighting its role in achieving clean tones.

To get the thick guitar sound on Alice In Chain's 1992 album Dirt, Cantrell mixed three amps together - a Bogner Fish for the low end, a Bogner Ecstacy for the mid-range, and a Rockman Headphone amp for the high frequencies.

Cleary seen right next to him

Reinhold Bogner modded a JCM 800 2204 for Jerry Cantrell and called it the "Bogner Snorkler".

In the YouTube Video at 1:16 you can see the Amp.

Used on “Jar Of Flies”.

Photographed by Jerry in the studio.

Jerry was using this as his guitar monitor cab in concert in New Zealand on March 7, 2019. The name is clearly seen on the back of the cab and matches the images on the Tonesonic website: http://www.tonesonics.com

According to Guitar Lobby, Jerry used Twin Reverb.

In this Rig Rundown with Premier Guitar, at 7:04 there's a clear shot of Jerry's rack, with two Bogner Fish preamps paired with a Two/Ninety/Two Power Amp and a Fryette LX-II

In this Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with Jerry, we see a clear shot of his rack at 7:04, where we see his two Fish preamps hooked up to a Fryette 2/90/2 and an LXII

In the YouTube video by Premier Guitar titled "Jerry Cantrell's Pedalboard & Amps for I Want Blood Tour 2024," Jerry Cantrell confirms at the 2:02 mark that he uses the JHS Little Black Amp Box pedal for his 2024 solo tour.

According to a Guitar Geek rig diagram, Jerry Cantrell uses Celestion G12M Greenback 12" 25-Watt Speaker 8 Ohm in one of his speaker cabinets.

According to a Guitar Geek rig diagram, Jerry Cantrell used Celestion Vintage 30 12'' 60-watt speakers in one of his cabinets.

Throughout the vast majority of Alice In Chains shows during the 90s, these cabinets can be seen behind Jerry Cantrell. This live medley of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Soundgarden covers performed on Layne Staley’s birthday in 1991 is no exception. Two Marshall 1960A cabinets can be spotted at 0:21 on top of two straight-front 1960B cabinets.

Throughout the vast majority of Alice In Chains shows during the 90s, these cabinets can be seen behind Jerry Cantrell. This live medley of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Soundgarden covers performed on Layne Staley’s birthday in 1991 is no exception. Two 1960B cabinets can be seen below the slanted 1960A cabinets at around 0:43.