John 5

The 14th item down the line is this Evertune Bridge, there isn't any writing with it, but there's this diagram showing how it works: https://i1.wp.com/john-5.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/j5-evertune.jpg?resize=550%2C254 Here is also a photo with his telecaster with said bridge on: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5e/24/01/5e24010f6fa7a971665afb51b28d5306.jpg

At 5:01 onwards in Premier Guitar's "Rig Rundown - Rob Zombie's John 5 (2013)" video, John says "Just a great sounding guitar, this one is tuned down to C and I use this all the time aswell".

This is a John 5 Custom Shop version of Buck Owens Telecaster, John's has the same paint job in honor of Hee Haw which he explains at 5:25 "Is the reason I play guitar is because of Hee Haw and I would see them all pickin' on Hee Haw and just thought that the telecaster was the only guitar ever made".

At 0:45 can be seen this pedal on he's pedalboard

(18:17) John 5 Interview

John 5 playing with 6-string Fender banjo

In this video from Fender, John 5 plays the Fender Fullerton Tele Uke.

In this video John 5 talks about his Dimarzio D Activator pickups. At 0:22 the text on the screen shows he uses Dimarzio D Activator Neck and Bridge pickups, and at 0:39 he says, "I have the pickups in my main guitars."

In this music video of John 5's ''Noche Acosador'', There's a great shot at 0:57 of him playing the Martin D-28 Authentic 1937.

In this article taken from John 5's website, he shows off the gear he uses, including a Audiotech Source Selector 1x6.

In this article taken from John 5's website, he shows off the gear he uses, including a Fender acoustic signature John 5.

At 5:36 in this rig rundown video, John 5's Whirlwind Selector A/B Box is shown, at the top of the pedalboard.

Red Monkey has been making custom guitar straps for John 5 for years.

It says on his website that he uses the TC Electronic Polytune.

The first item on the list is this case with a picture and note, the note reads: "The Reunion Blues Renegade Series takes a modern approach to the classic leather bags that the company is known for, combining the elegance of supple leathers with cutting edge design. Handmade with the utmost care and detail, the Renegade guitar bags feature a protective dual-layer foam with reinforced edges and seams, and a luxurious soft interior lining so you can carry your favorite axe in style.

The large padded pocket has numerous compartments for tuners, strings, books, and other accessories.

For convenient and comfortable transport, the case sports the Reunion Blues Zero-G handle, and an ergonomic hideaway backpack, as well as a subway grip on the back."

Those were used due to their durability for the Holy Wood Tour.

Used during Holy Wood Tour in 2000.

Used during Holy Wood Tour in 2000.

In this video from Fender, John 5 discusses his signature Ghost guitar.

His famous telecaster has Twisted Tele in the neck position.

In a YouTube video titled "MTV AWARDS 1998 dope show.mp4," John 5 plays an Ibanez RG320Z Electric Guitar. He mentions in an interview that this particular guitar delivers a clean sound suitable for acoustic styles, yet it can also handle metal genres. The guitar is also featured in several of his concerts from 1998 to 2003, often used for drop B songs like Antichrist Superstar.

John is currently using our Gold Box Distortion pedal, Bomb pedal, Selector AB box, Multi-Selector 4 channel, rack mounted amp switcher and all of his guitar cables. Check out the tour schedule posted below, and if they're coming to a venue near you, they remain an absolute must see. Thanks again John for melting our faces off, and thank you for choosing Whirlwind.

Playing guitar through Boss Katana Mini in this post.

In this video from Fender, John 5 talks about the Fender Telecaster Ultra II. He says:

I loved television. I just was obsessed with TV and my dad would always watch Hee-Haw, and everybody had a Telecaster. And I always thought, 'Oh, that's what an electric guitar looks like.' It burned into my mind as a Telecaster. And that was that was what it was for me. And it was all because of TV. So you never know when influence is going to hit you and how much it will affect your life. And how it affects my life still to this day. You know, thank God for the Telecaster, 'cause I don't know what I'd be playing.

The genius about the Telecaster, if you think about it, nothing really has changed from all these years. You know, they got it so right in the beginning. But now you have this beautiful high-performance Telecaster that can do everything. It's just it it really you can go on stage with the highest gain or the cleanest tone, and this guitar will absolutely do anything you want. It feels perfect and it's so easy to play. It's just one of the greatest Teles I've held.

When I first picked up this guitar, I was blown away by how easy it was to play and how it just felt really comfortable to me. And the first thing I felt was the Contour back here. And when I started playing also the incredible cutaway here that felt just so comfortable. And again, on most Teles you don't get that, but you can get have such easy access way way way way way up in the neck. You can bend this guitar and it does not fret out. It's the radius and that's what's so cool. I mean, you can bend as far as your hand will let you go. Just does not fret out. And that is this beautiful radius. And you have this nice round feel up here and then it gets flatter up the neck so you can just really bend those notes and it just does not fret out. Things like that which, guitar players it's so important, so important with weather changes and stuff like that. You know, your guitar will start to fret out, but this thing is just incredible. You can bend it as much as you can and it's just sounds perfect.

Another thing, if this guitar wasn't top top top super cool, is the dots here on the side of the neck glow in thee dark like Luminlay and like I've been on every stage I've been on I'm like trying to like look and stuff and I'm just using the Jedi mind force and just hopefully I'm hitting the right notes but with these that glow in-the-dark it is you know what more could you ask for, it's amazing. I love these locking tuners here and because most of my guitars don't have a tremolo I do a lot of stuff behind the nut and bending it having these locking tuners on here is just a godsend. You can really go crazy on it and you will always be in tune and how brilliant is that.

Another really cool thing about this is the S1 switch here which is super super smart because it's in the top of the volume knob. Now this will control both pickups in series also in any position which is super cool, so it will work in any position which is pretty incredible to me. Okay, this is something that's so smart. You have your pickup selector at a slant. It's absolutely brilliant. Any Telecaster picker can totally agree with me cause you're picking like this, okay, you're picking like this and when that toggle switch was that way you're 100% hitting that you're hitting that pickup selector so this slant here has got to be the smartest thing ever. It's just like putting the plastic ends onto a a shoelace or something. What a smart idea.

What's really special about this guitar and I would say probably my favorite thing about the guitar are the pickups. Now I'm playing with high gain and you know there's noise and all that stuff, but with these noiseless vintage pickups you don't get any of that hum, you don't get any of that 60 cycle hum, and you can do that with these pickups. They're absolutely brilliant. So yeah, you get no noise and no 60 cycle hum from these noisless vintage pickups from the Ultra 2. It's incredible.

Here's the deal. I'm being honest. This is to me just the incredible incredible guitar and I would definitely pick this over a 60s, 70s Telecaster just because of all of the upgrades, the S1 switch, the side toggle, I the side pickup selector, the glow-in-the-dark inlays, the the locking tuners, the contour, the cutaway, I mean the noiseless pickups. It is the perfect Telecaster in my eyes.

In John 5's first live appearance with Marilyn Manson at the MTV Music Awards in 1998, a Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe is visible on his pedal board at the 03:41 mark of the video, as documented by the YouTube channel MARILYN MANSON world archives.

According to a post from the "thejohn5collection" Instagram page, John 5's signed Dunlop 95Q Cry Baby Wah Wah pedal was used during the GGG tour. Although it visually resembles the 535Q model, the back plate of the pedal clearly identifies it as the Cry Baby Custom 95Q.

In an image of John 5's pedal board from 2003, when he was working with Marilyn Manson, a Rocktron All Access Midi foot controller is clearly visible, confirming its use by the artist at that time.

In a photograph of John 5's pedalboard, a Dunlop GCB-80 High Gain Volume Pedal is visible next to his wah pedal. Despite the photo's low quality, the word "volume" can be discerned at the top of the pedal, confirming its identity.

John 5's use of the Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer was confirmed in 2021 when his guitar tech, James "Shotty" Shotwell, showcased John 5's pedal board, highlighting the addition of the TS9 in place of the previously used Boss SD1. This was documented in a video by Play and Trade Guitars titled "JOHN 5 Guitar Rig 2021 FENDER GHOST Prototype Telecaster," which provides an in-depth look at John 5's gear during a tour with John 5 and The Creatures.

In a 2024 video interview and rig exploration hosted by American Musical Supply, John 5's guitar technician provides an overview of his live equipment setup with The Creatures. At the 20:45 mark, the technician specifically discusses the use of the EVH 5150IIIS EL34 100-watt Tube Head as part of John 5's rig.