Jim James

James has a number of Gibson ES-335 guitars. In this photo, he is seen playing only one of them. The second one is used for "One Big Holiday" live on the Letterman. For that song, he used his Gibson Flying V as well, most notably on the Bonnaroo Festival.

In the Premier Guitar interview, he confirmed he uses one of those guitars for songwriting. "I write in my head, and then just grab whatever guitar is around. I keep just a couple of guitars at home. I’ve got an old 1950s Martin parlor guitar and a Gibson ES-335."

Seen here playing his Suzuki Omnichord 250m

James can be seen in this photo playing a Gibson Flying V. He used this guitar from at least 2003, and this is probably guitar that serves him the longest. It is used to perform songs such as "Lowdown" and "One Big Holiday". Premier Guitar says that this is 1999 Gibson Flying V, which means that is a '67 reissue model.

In the 2015 Premier Guitar interview, James said : "Yeah, there are certain songs where only the V will do. It’s like a sword or something—even if I haven’t played it in a while, it’s like an old friend that comes right back to me as soon as I pick it up."

According to the Premier Guitar's gear list, James uses the 1975 Fender Stratocaster as well.

ZVex Box Of Rock was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Seen here on his pedal board.

In this video, The New Basement Tapes perform “Down On The Bottom". Jim is shown playing a Barney Kessel throughout the video.

ZVex Woolly Mammoth Fuzz was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown.

This was Jim James' second guitar, right after Harmony Stratocaster for 100 dollars.

"Aaron played that, I got a Fender Squier Stratocaster, and we just started going for it. From that moment on, I was possessed, just captivated. And it hasn’t let me go."

James used this guitar for recording most of "The Waterfall". It is unknown whether he used it live, because he usually uses the Ventura Barney Kessel model live. The guitar was also listed among the gear used in 2021 Premier Guitar interview.

I wrote a lot of The Waterfall on a Gibson Barney Kessel I found that I really love. Last night I was playing another favorite: my mom’s guitar when she was a kid, just an old, no-name kid’s guitar from the ’50s.

Mentioned in this February 12, 2015 article from the Vintage King website.

Jim James' musical evolution has seen him move from just fronting his band, My Morning Jacket, to a much more production-based role on their latest Grammy-nominated release. Sharing a co-producer credit with Tucker Martine on The Waterfall, the band's seventh studio album, James looked to use a combination of vintage gear and faithful reproductions from Retro Instruments.

For the recording of "Believe (Nobody Knows)," Martine and James utilized two different vocal chains as the song employs doubled up vocals. For the first vocal, the duo used an RCA BK-5, which was plugged into a Retro Instruments OP-6 (a modern recreation of the storied RCA OP-6) and then run through a Retro Instruments 176. The second vocal was recorded by a vintage Neumann U-67, run through a Telefunken V76 mic pre and another Retro Instruments 176.

Seen here playing his 1976 Gretsch Broadkaster

SIB Mr. Echo Delay was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Seen here on his pedal board.

In this snapshot of James' pedalboard, one of the pedals that can be seen is the Boss OC-2. The pedal makes another appearance in 2021 Premier Guitar interview.

Seen here on his pedal board.

Mentioned in this February 12, 2015 article from the Vintage King website.

Jim James' musical evolution has seen him move from just fronting his band, My Morning Jacket, to a much more production-based role on their latest Grammy-nominated release. Sharing a co-producer credit with Tucker Martine on The Waterfall, the band's seventh studio album, James looked to use a combination of vintage gear and faithful reproductions from Retro Instruments.

For the recording of "Believe (Nobody Knows)," Martine and James utilized two different vocal chains as the song employs doubled up vocals. For the first vocal, the duo used an RCA BK-5, which was plugged into a Retro Instruments OP-6 (a modern recreation of the storied RCA OP-6) and then run through a Retro Instruments 176. The second vocal was recorded by a vintage Neumann U-67, run through a Telefunken V76 mic pre and another Retro Instruments 176.

In the source photo, Jim James' 3 Monkeys The Orangutan amp head can be seen behind him. He talks about his amp setup:

I have finally found an amp I love both on the road and in the studio— the 3 Monkeys Orangutan. It is unreal how versatile this amp sounds. It can truly do everything. I feel like I’m doing a product endorsement right now... But I’m really being serious. The amp sounds amazing and it looks beautiful, too—like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey or something. God bless that amp.

The image is from 3monkeysamps.com. The amp makes another appearance in 2021 Premier Guitar interview.

According to Premier Guitar 2021 interview, James uses Gibson J-45.

Boss BD-2 was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Jim James is listed in the list of Artists on the Bearfoot Effects website as using the Pale Green Compressor, along with a few more Bearfoot pedals.

Earthquaker Monarch was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown.

Mentioned in this February 12, 2015 article from the Vintage King website.

Jim James' musical evolution has seen him move from just fronting his band, My Morning Jacket, to a much more production-based role on their latest Grammy-nominated release. Sharing a co-producer credit with Tucker Martine on The Waterfall, the band's seventh studio album, James looked to use a combination of vintage gear and faithful reproductions from Retro Instruments.

For the recording of "Believe (Nobody Knows)," Martine and James utilized two different vocal chains as the song employs doubled up vocals. For the first vocal, the duo used an RCA BK-5, which was plugged into a Retro Instruments OP-6 (a modern recreation of the storied RCA OP-6) and then run through a Retro Instruments 176. The second vocal was recorded by a vintage Neumann U-67, run through a Telefunken V76 mic pre and another Retro Instruments 176.

Seen here with his Mesa Boogie and cabinet.

According to D'Addario/Planet Waves website James is using these strings beside others from D'Addario.

Earthquaker Ghost Echo was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown. The pedal makes another appearance in 2021 Premier Guitar interview.

Malekko Spring Chicken Reverb was featured in his "gear list" during the 2015 Premier Guitar rig rundown. The pedal makes another appearance in 2021 Premier Guitar interview.

Listed in this June 16, 2015 Guitar World interview.

• GUITARS: (James) Early Sixties Gibson Barney Kessel, early Fifties Martin 000-style acoustic; (Broemel) Duesenberg Starplayer, Gretsch Tennessean

• AMPS: (James) 3 Monkeys Orangutan; (Broemel) Fender Tweed Deluxe and Seventies Vibrosonic; (both) Fender Sixties Princeton Reverb, Gibson Maestro Reverb-Echo

• EFFECTS: (James) Spaceman Sputnik Germanium Fuzz; (Broemel) Roland RE-201 Space Echo, Fulltone Tube Tape Echo, Spaceman Saturn V Harmonic Booster, Ibanez tube screamer

Seen here on his pedal board

Jim James is listed in the list of Artists on the Bearfoot Effects website as using the Mint Green Mini Vibe, along with other Bearfoot pedals.