Joanne Shaw Taylor

"I have my two staple guitars. One is a 1966 Esquire, which I’ve had for years and years—it’s my first guitar. When I was 15, I bought it in London on Denmark Street [a historic stretch of road known for its music shops and recording studios]. At the time I was real scared that my dad was going to beat the hell out of me for taking a train down to London at 15 and buying a ridiculously expensive guitar with all my pocket money. But I got it cheap because the previous owner had attacked it with a knife. It had a gaping hole near the neck, so I had a guitar tech dig it out and add a humbucker there. That made it kind of my dream Telecaster."

"Those are my main three guitars. I’ve got a bunch of odds and sods, the kinds of things I go into pawnshops to find. They’re dirt cheap and I like them. I’ve got a Squier 51—Fender’s answer to a Telecaster/Strat hybrid—that’s worth about 100 bucks. I installed a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates and pimped it out a little bit."

"I think it was a J-45. So that’s what I played on those two songs. It was just funny that he found his dream acoustic guitar and some kid had put his name across it in giant orange letters. Karma. So Gordon is just an acoustic guitar, but you have to call it by its proper name."

“I've got a 1991 Les Paul Classic, stock. That's been one of the main ones, but I've also got my 2007 Lemon Drop Les Paul Standard. I'm a little 'disabled' as a female as I don't have the largest hands in the world, so all my Les Pauls have the 1960s-profile necks. They're not chambered, but I do buy ones that are as light as possible. They're not your big 10lb boys! And when you're dragging them round an airport every day, Les Pauls seem to get heavier. But I love them."

“I've got a 1991 Les Paul Classic, stock. That's been one of the main ones, but I've also got my 2007 Lemon Drop Les Paul Standard. I'm a little 'disabled' as a female as I don't have the largest hands in the world, so all my Les Pauls have the 1960s-profile necks. They're not chambered, but I do buy ones that are as light as possible. They're not your big 10lb boys! And when you're dragging them round an airport every day, Les Pauls seem to get heavier. But I love them."

She explains Joe Bonamassa put her onto a source for an Albert Collins Telecaster. She plays it often on stage.

"I used a reissue Fender Bassman that’s a couple years old, a 1988 red knob Fender Twin Reverb, and some Fender Custom Shop amp that a local guitar player lent to me. We ran them all together."

"I did. Mike had a bunch of toys, so it was a time of experimentation. That octave fuzz is a Death By Audio pedal called the Octave Clang, which I love. When we cut that track Mike said, “What are you thinking of for the solo?” After hearing what J.J. did on the drums, I said, “I pretty much want it to sound like guitarmageddon.” He handed me the Octave Clang and told me to plug it in. After a few notes I said, “Yeah, that’s it.”"

"Mike had an old Rat distortion pedal I used for “Maybe Tomorrow,” which has probably the weirdest solo on the album. We had a vintage Boss chorus pedal, a vintage MXR chorus pedal, and a Dimebag Darrell wah-wah—my favorite wah— hooked up for that."

"Mike had an old Rat distortion pedal I used for “Maybe Tomorrow,” which has probably the weirdest solo on the album. We had a vintage Boss chorus pedal, a vintage MXR chorus pedal, and a Dimebag Darrell wah-wah—my favorite wah— hooked up for that."

"I use three pedals from Mojo Hand FX—a Recoil Delay, a Colossus Fuzz, and a Rook Overdrive, which has replaced my Tube Screamer."

"I use three pedals from Mojo Hand FX—a Recoil Delay, a Colossus Fuzz, and a Rook Overdrive, which has replaced my Tube Screamer."

"I use three pedals from Mojo Hand FX—a Recoil Delay, a Colossus Fuzz, and a Rook Overdrive, which has replaced my Tube Screamer."

"Other than that, I have a Way Huge Aqua Puss delay, which I use for slapback, and an MXR Dyna Comp, one of the old models. These pedals give me pretty much everything I need."

"Other than that, I have a Way Huge Aqua Puss delay, which I use for slapback, and an MXR Dyna Comp, one of the old models. These pedals give me pretty much everything I need."

"I have a ’90s Ibanez TS9 and an Ibanez TS808 modified by Robert Keeley that I use as a boost. I also used a Jim Dunlop Crybaby wah on “Heavy Heart” and a T-Rex Tremster tremolo on “Going Home.” I don’t use a lot of effects, mostly because no matter how many different things I try, I always come out sounding the same."

"I have a ’90s Ibanez TS9 and an Ibanez TS808 modified by Robert Keeley that I use as a boost. I also used a Jim Dunlop Crybaby wah on “Heavy Heart” and a T-Rex Tremster tremolo on “Going Home.” I don’t use a lot of effects, mostly because no matter how many different things I try, I always come out sounding the same."

"I have a ’90s Ibanez TS9 and an Ibanez TS808 modified by Robert Keeley that I use as a boost. I also used a Jim Dunlop Crybaby wah on “Heavy Heart” and a T-Rex Tremster tremolo on “Going Home.” I don’t use a lot of effects, mostly because no matter how many different things I try, I always come out sounding the same."

"How about strings and picks? I’m a devoted fan of Ernie Ball strings— always have been. I use the Skinny Top Heavy Bottom sets, gauged .010–.052. I tune down a half-step—mostly for my voice, because I have a slightly lower register— and I used to play with .011s. But then I grew up and realized I have female hands and I’d have to stop playing in 10 years if I continued using big-boy strings. I don’t have Jimi Hendrix’s hands!"