John McBain

Mentioned in this October 1, 1997 Guitar interview, as transcribed on the official Wellwater Conspiracy website.

Much of Wellwater’s crunchy tone is shaped by McBain’s Guild S-100, a valued axe he originally purchased for Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil. “I knew Kim liked S-100’s, and I found this for about $175 at a New Jersey guitar shop,” he says. “When I brought it back to Seattle, he didn’t want it. Then I realized what I had.”

Mentioned in this 2001 Freak Shop USA interview.

When you finally recorded Tab for Glitterhouse, what kind of gear were you and Dave using?

My gear was the same gear that I used throughout Magnet, a Squier Strat, Big Muff, Vox wah wah and a Fender Bassman amp. Dave was using a solid state Ampeg combo, his nameless red guitar, an Ibanez Sonic Distortion pedal (the secret weapon of early MM. We used it on everything including vocals) and his beloved Echoplex. Tim beat the living hell out of floor toms and industrial sized cookware which he referred to as "gig pots".

What was used for that "flying saucer/laser" sound I hear on Tab? Is that the Echoplex?

Echoplex is correct. We also used a digital delay pedal and an old flanger. Those pedals are all over the Tab e.p.