John Martyn

Guitar – Initially a Yamaha FG (solid wood with the lacquered finish rubbed off). The FG series are still great guitars and relatively cheap! Pickups – Initially no pickups and miked off the front of the guitar. Then he used a DeArmond sound hole pickup and Barcus Berry (type) contact pickup positioned behind and slightly below the bridge. Both gaffa taped onto the guitar.

Around 72/73 he swapped the Yamaha acoustic for a Martin D28 and appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test with Danny. The DeArmond sound-hole pickup up not stuck down by gaffa tape. The acoustic pickup was stuck just below and behind the bridge and cable taped down. DeArmond cable was routed sometimes below the sound hole and occasionally taped up and over the guitar. To fit a De Armond you use the integral wire clamp on the rear of the back plate of the pickup and a locking slide latch on the bottom, under the volume control. This latch clamps the pickup against the sound board from inside. These fixing can work loose, the sliding clamp damages the underside of the sound board and looses contact pressure with use and then the pickup can move around and will get displaced if you hit it when playing. Hence the practical useof gaffa tape to keep it in place which he deployed on his Guild D55NT and Martin D28.

In the Mid 70’s the Fender Twin amp was a replaced by a Musicman Amplifier Head and Cabinet.

In the late 70’s he started to use a Guild D55NT acoustic guitar and toured with this for a few years. Not sure why he would switch from his Martin’s but it is a glorious sounding guitar Small Hours was recorded using a D28 but from then on when Outside In was toured he used the Guild.

The Guild D55NT was still in use but he introduced the Gibson SG with P90 pickups, no pick guard and a traditional stop Gibson bridge. He told me after the Rock Goes to College gig at Reading Uni in 1978, that both the amp and the guitar were given to him by Eric Clapton.

John had two early Gold Top P90 loaded Gibson Les Paul electric guitars. One was a 1954 and the other similar in age, this I am not sure of.

Both of Martyn's Les Paul Goldtops were auctioned off in 2024, according to BBC.

Used from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, as known from the following:

• Guitar Player, May 1975, "John Martyn: A fingerpicking Brityn" by Dan Hedges

When did you first hit on that whole echo effect?

I honestly don’t know when it started. Initially, I got into it because I sussed out that if you put enough repeat echo on the thing, and the signal went in strong enough, you had to get incredible sustain. I wanted as much sustain as possible, and that’s really how it started.

What kind of equipment do you use to get the effect?

Just the average stuff: Gibson Boomer pedal, an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, a fuzz box, Fender amp, Echoplex, and a phase-shifter. Nothing exotic, really.

Very few people seem to use it on stage.

Well, most of the people that do don’t use it right. On the other hand, Joe Zawinul doesn’t use it the same way I do, but what he does with it sounds fantastic! [Tenor sax player] Eddie Harris is another guy who really knows how to use it. The thing is, you've got to be so tight with it. I listen to things I recorded two years ago, which I thought were great, and they're just not there now. I wasn't precise enough.

• Three of seven photos taken by Gus Stewart of Martyn performing with Steve Winwood at the Rainbow Theatre on November 21, 1977 (#1, #2, #3)

• Melody Maker, December 24, 1977, "Martyn's Martin" by Anonymous

I SAW John Martyn on Sight And Sound In Concert and was amazed at the sounds he got from his acoustic guitar. What did he use to achieve these effects? If he used a special gadget, how does it work? – Neil Sutherland, Finchley, London N12.

◼ John plays a Martin guitar and, for electric music, he utilises a De Armond pick-up across the sound hole, which goes to a pedal board comprising (in this order) a Big Muff (a kind of fuzz box), boomerang pedal (swell pedal) and MXR Phase-Shifter Mutrone (a variable frequency booster). From there the signal goes to an Echoplex and on into an amplifier. He also uses a Korg rhythm box. For his acoustic sound, he uses the same guitar, but with a Barcus Berry transducer/ pick-up situated just behind the centre of the bridge on the flat of the body. Then the signal is fed into a Barcus Berry studio pre-amplifier and on into the sound-desk. – ISLAND RECORDS LTD, 22 St Peter's Square, London W6 9NW.

• The Old Grey Whistle Test, January 10, 1978 performance at The Collegiate Theatre (visible) (shown up close @ 10:20 of the first third of the broadcast, 5:54 of the last third, and 8:50 of this compilation of the unbroadcasted second half)

• The Man Upstairs - In Concert In Germany 1978, performance at Audimax Hamburg, Rockpalast, March 17, 1978) (visible) (clear views @ 12:00, 20:58, 22:07, 35:19, 35:45, 36:55, 44:19, []50:33](https://youtu.be/bLf0YsnDuS4?si=B0i6C27HmP_juvZn&t=3033), 1:03:50, 1:13:56

• Rock Goes to College, performance at Reading University, October 20, 1978 (visible) (clear views at 20:05, 23:32, 31:03

• The Old Grey Whistle Test (January 1981) (visible) (clear views at 0:09 and 0:18 of "Sweet Little Mystery" excerpt)

• Rock Goes to College, performance at University of Sterling on March 2, 1981 (clear views at 4:25 of "Some People are Crazy" excerpt, 0:21, 0:25, 0:31, 2:05, and 5:45 of "Couldn't Love You More" excerpt, 1:42, 3:46, 3:51 and 5:27 of "Amsterdam" excerpt, and 0:45 of "Johnny Too Bad" excerpt)

• A Little Night Music (August 12, 1981) (visible) (clear views @ 27:51 and 30:52 of In Vision ("Johnny Too Bad") and 6:13 of "Hurt in Your Heart" excerpt (48:21 of In Vision))

• International Musician & Recording World, September 1981, "John Martyn" by Peter Murphy

P.M.: Was there any precedent for what you were doing with the Echoplex?

J.M.: I had heard someone play with the echo, yes, I cannot tell a lie, but not on guitar. Terry Riley, he used to give like five-hour concerts on Hammond organ and electric piano.

P.M.: Was the Echoplex sound something you set out to achieve?

J.M.: No, I bought the Echoplex actually to look for more sustain, I bought it and the fuzz box at the same time. I had the idea of playing one chord and letting it hang a very long time and improvising over it vocally, and I really discovered the rhythmic possibilities by accident, just stumbled across it. It's been done a lot since. I heard a side of a Pink Floyd album, it sounds very like 'Glistening Glyndebourne' to me. Echoplex and guitar have been used by a lot of people since, that's another reason for stopping actually.

• Music UK, No. 18 (June 1983), "John Martyn" by Max Kay

“Pete Cornish, the pedal board man, didn’t build this one, but he does repair it; each time he sees it his hands flap further in the air in horror because it’s extremely outmoded. It’s just very familiar and I like it and decided to bring it back into the fold.”

What’s in there?

“A Big Muff fuzz (to which John dedicated his song Big Muff) which I’m using less and less, and a Gibson Maestro Boomerang (should come in handy on the Australian tour) which is wonderful. It’s a volume/wah pedal and it’s a favourite. There’s a Roland Chorus CE2 and a Mutron Ill which I love. It has a touch of octivide to it and it started Iife as the automatic wah-wah for clarinet, I think. The Echoplex I’m in love with, it’s a wonderful machine, but it’s extremely noisy, I mean it is very much outdated now, and I would, if possible, reduce the noise level. The calibration on it is very accurate, all you have to do is memorise three or four figures and you’re there.”

• International Musician & Recording World, March 1985, "Sapphire and steel strings" by Chris Maillard

"I used to like Electro-Harmonix stuff, too. It was cheap and cheerful but it did the business. I even called a song of mine Big Muff after their fuzz box. And a few other things.

• Kit Rae, Big Muff Pi Page, ""

JOHN MARTYN

[https://www.kitrae.net/music/Images_Secret_Music_Page/John%20Martyn%20Big%20Muff%201978_2sm.jpg]

[https://web.archive.org/web/20221002105329im_/https://www.kitrae.net/music/Images_Secret_Music_Page/John%20Martyn%20Big%20Muff%201978_4sm.jpg] [https://web.archive.org/web/20221002105329im_/https://www.kitrae.net/music/Images_Secret_Music_Page/John%20Martyn%20Big%20Muff%201978_3.jpg]

Shown above, left to right: John Martyn's pedalboard from 1978 showing a V2 Ram;s Head Big Muff. There are a few television performances from the 1977-78 period that appear to show a V3 or V4 Big Muff on his pedalboard.

He then made an inspired change in his amp. He went from Peavey combo to the Roland JC120 Jazz Chorus, a clean and open sounding solid state amp. He retained the JC 120 from then on.

He stopped using the Stats (hooray!) and from then on played a Gibson Les Paul. These were retired, stolen, sold off and he eventually used Epiphone Les Pauls in his come-back gigs and it seemed he had quite a few LP’s when he played Solid Air live.

Here, Martyn mostly plays a Martin acoustic with a soundhole pickup through a Fender Twin Reverb.

His pedalboard contains a Big Muff, a Mutron III, a Phase 100, and a Boomerang volume/wah pedal.

John Martyn used a Korg SDD-1000 when he accidentally damaged his Korg SDD-3000, as noted on the Official John Martyn Website.

The SDD3000 proved troublesome and were replaced by one and then two ALESIS QUADRAVERB GT multi effect and digital delay units (not with Hank Marvin preset I assume). These were mounted in a 19” rack flight cased config and placed onto top of the JC120 amp.

The sequence was; Elec guitar (Les Paul or SG) into Electro Harmonics Qtron +, Qtron+ to ProCo RAT, RAT to BOSS DDI, DDI to Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, EB to second DDI, DDI to DI Box and then to JC120 amp.

His pedalboard contains a Big Muff, a Mutron III, a Phase 100, and a Boomerang volume/wah pedal.

His pedalboard contains a Big Muff, a Mutron III, a Phase 100, and a Boomerang volume/wah pedal.

An Echoplex EP-3 sits atop the amp just behind him.

The live set-ups I saw in the early 70’s were comprised of a Fender Twin Silver Face for the guitar.

In 1976 Roland launched the mains powered Chorus CE-1 chorus pedal and this was added between the pedal board and the Echoplex. Due to the lack of real estate on the board and size of the CE-1 this was normally placed on the floor next to the board.

The Echoplex tape delay’s were swapped for a Korg SDD3000 digital delay. This had presets that could call up settings for specific numbers and a simple sampling/looper function that is rather short. Initially the SDD3000 was placed on the floor by the mic stand and this caused major problems when he stepped on it! He then mounted it in a 19” rack frame and flight case and put it on top of his amp.

Towards the end of this period, his on-floor effects set-up was simplified, no more wah only an Ernie Ball Vol Pedal and the EH Big Muff was swapped for a ProCo RAT distortion pedal. Playing volume had increased in this band context.

John Martyn used the Boss DD-3 Digital Delay as part of his guitar setup, which included running the signal from an electric guitar (Les Paul or SG) through an Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron+, a ProCo RAT, and into the DD-3. The chain continued from the DD-3 to an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, into a second DD-3, and finally to a DI Box before reaching a JC-120 amp. This setup is detailed on the official John Martyn website in the article "A History of John's Guitar Set Ups."

The new album sees the mysterious ‘Mutron guitar’ credited on several tracks. “They’re now called Q-Trons,” Martyn explains (different company, though: he uses an Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron+).

Mentioned in Guitarist Vol. 1, No. 8 (released January 1, 1985), as transcribed on fansite Big Muff: The John Martyn Pages.

What about your effects and backline equipment?

I have a Pearl effects board consisting of phaser, flanger, chorus and overdrive. I have an envelope generator, (can't for the life of me remember who makes it) and a Korg 3000 DDS digital delay unit. Occasionally I use the Echoplex which I used to use a lot but I didn't last night and I won't tonight. That all goes into a Peavey Renown, 120 watts. I used to use a Fender Twin Reverb but it doesn't have enough poke for what I want to do now.

The Mastro Boomerang pedal has long gone and been replaced by an Ernie Ball Volume pedal.

John Martyn is one of the early artists to use the Echoplex as a fundamental part of his sound, and unusually, he used it extensively with acoustic guitar. He combined echo with fuzz, wah, and a phase shifter, creating unique sonic landscapes driven by rhythm. Martyn used EP-1 and EP-2 tube Echoplexes at different times during his career. Listen to "Outside In" or "Solid Air" for notable uses of this effect with Martyn's unique guitar style.

One of Martyn's Echoplex units was sold in an auction in 2024, according to BBC.

Mentioned in Guitarist Vol. 1, No. 8 (released January 1, 1985), as transcribed on fansite Big Muff: The John Martyn Pages.

What about your effects and backline equipment?

I have a Pearl effects board consisting of phaser, flanger, chorus and overdrive. I have an envelope generator, (can't for the life of me remember who makes it) and a Korg 3000 DDS digital delay unit. Occasionally I use the Echoplex which I used to use a lot but I didn't last night and I won't tonight. That all goes into a Peavey Renown, 120 watts. I used to use a Fender Twin Reverb but it doesn't have enough poke for what I want to do now.

Mentioned in Guitarist Vol. 1, No. 8 (released January 1, 1985), as transcribed on fansite Big Muff: The John Martyn Pages.

What about your effects and backline equipment?

I have a Pearl effects board consisting of phaser, flanger, chorus and overdrive. I have an envelope generator, (can't for the life of me remember who makes it) and a Korg 3000 DDS digital delay unit. Occasionally I use the Echoplex which I used to use a lot but I didn't last night and I won't tonight. That all goes into a Peavey Renown, 120 watts. I used to use a Fender Twin Reverb but it doesn't have enough poke for what I want to do now.

Mentioned in Guitarist Vol. 1, No. 8 (released January 1, 1985), as transcribed on fansite Big Muff: The John Martyn Pages.

What about your effects and backline equipment?

I have a Pearl effects board consisting of phaser, flanger, chorus and overdrive. I have an envelope generator, (can't for the life of me remember who makes it) and a Korg 3000 DDS digital delay unit. Occasionally I use the Echoplex which I used to use a lot but I didn't last night and I won't tonight. That all goes into a Peavey Renown, 120 watts. I used to use a Fender Twin Reverb but it doesn't have enough poke for what I want to do now.

Mentioned in Guitarist Vol. 1, No. 8 (released January 1, 1985), as transcribed on fansite Big Muff: The John Martyn Pages.

What about your effects and backline equipment?

I have a Pearl effects board consisting of phaser, flanger, chorus and overdrive. I have an envelope generator, (can't for the life of me remember who makes it) and a Korg 3000 DDS digital delay unit. Occasionally I use the Echoplex which I used to use a lot but I didn't last night and I won't tonight. That all goes into a Peavey Renown, 120 watts. I used to use a Fender Twin Reverb but it doesn't have enough poke for what I want to do now.