Lee Ranaldo

Seen throughout thie video. He plays with it from 0:19

During Sonic Youth's 1987 Pukkelpop Festival performance, Lee borrowed Steve Albini's "That The Thing" partscaster for "I Wanna Be Yr Dog."

Lee Ranaldo uses the JAM Pedals Red Muck Mk.2, as discussed in a Reddit post detailing his current setup.

Lee Ranaldo uses the EarthQuaker Devices Spatial Delivery V2 filter effects pedal, as discussed in a Reddit thread detailing his setup.

This website covers Sonic Youth's September, 1986 interview appearence in Guitar Player Magazine, the article mentions Ranaldo's use of .88mm Dunlop Nylon Standard picks, as well as Thurstons use of standard .60mm Dunlop Nylon picks:

NOTES

This is a very nice Daydream Nation era piece with several extensive sidebars dedicated to the band's gear, tunings, and even some tablature. The three guitar players are also interviewed together after a show. The article opens with Thurston recording some screams into his Sony walkman to play during the gig while they change guitars. The band discuss their influences, cyberpunk, improvisation and their songwriting process in general.

GEAR MENTIONED

The article mentions many of the guitars used by the band, though often doesn't specify who used them. Thurston is pegged as the bigger supporter of the Jazzmaster, having recently purchased a reissue.

• Fender Jazzmasters (1) (2) (3) (4)

• Fender Jaguar

• Fender Mustangs (1) (2) (3)

• "a pair of identical Telecaster Deluxes" (1) (2)

• Fender Duo-Sonic

• "a Mustang/Telecaster hybrid" (??)

• Strat-style Fernandes

• Univox Plexiglas Dan Armstrong copy

• Quest refitted with Ibanez pickups

• Ovation Viper

• Drifter

• '76 Gibson Thunderbird bass

• Rickenbacker bass

• Ovation bass

LEE: "One thing we hate is locking tremolos. We'd never buy a guitar with that. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster never go out of tune, and the Mustangs are pretty reliable, too. The Jazzmaster pick-ups sound a little thin to my ear, but Thurston somehow manages to get a lot of meat out of them." (Indeed, Lee shied away from the Jazzmaster until he first started putting Tele Deluxe pickups in them in the mid-90s.)

The Drifter, pictured in a promo shot with Daydream Nation under its strings along with the drumstick, is showcased as the "sickest" guitar, explaining that Lee pulled out the frets years ago as a microtonality experiment, and it's now fitted with 4 bass strings and Thurston uses it as his drumstick guitar.

• Peavey Roadmaster Amplifier w/ 4x12 cab (THURSTON)

• Peavey Roadmaster Amplifier w/ 6x10 cab (LEE)

• Fender Super Reverb (blackface) as extension cab (LEE)

• Peavey Encore 65 (THURSTON, to play his Sony Walkman thru onstage)

• Marshall Jubilee Bass Series head w/ Dietz 2x15 cab (KIM)

LEE: "Most Peaveys are horrible but they made that one great series of top-of-the-line six-tube killer-watt amps."

LEE's PEDALS:

• Pro-Co Rat distortion box

• Boss Compressor/Sustainer

• Morley volume pedal

• Fender DGC1 delay (should be DGL-1 digital delay)

THURSTON's PEDALS:

• DeArmond volume pedal

• MXR Blue Box ("just as a goofy thing")

KIM's PEDALS:

• Aria MP-5 Metal Pedal

• Dunlop Cry-Baby wah wah

As in the earlier issue, the band discusses their dislike towards relying on effects, though you can see they're starting to adopt them.

THURSTON: "They just get in the way. I'm more interested in the organic side of sound, like tuning. Pedals are a deviation. If you use them, then you're listening to the effect and not the guitar; they become the dominant factor in the sound."

Both guitarists use medium gauge Jim Dunlop picks (Thurston .60 mm, Lee .88 mm), while Kim uses a Gibson heavy gauge (featured as a gnarled stub in the issue's fold-out poster of famous picks).

This website covers Sonic Youth's November, 1992 interview appearence in Guitar World magazine, in the interview Ranaldo mentions that most of his Jaguar/Jazzmaster guitars are modified with DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers in the neck position.

NOTES

I think this is the second SY article in Guitar World, and it's an excellent read! All 3 guitarists are interviewed and discuss the recording of Dirty and associated gear/tunings/etc, along with the band's influence on other bands and the cost of vintage Jazzmasters, Kim's perceived frontwoman status, and which record was noisier: Goo or Dirty?. There is also a sub-article digging deeper into the band's Dirty era gear.

GEAR MENTIONED The article mentions multiple guitars:

THURSTON

• several Fender Jazzmasters (1) (2) (3) (4)

• one Fender Jaguar

• two Tele copies (1) (2)

• Turbo Rat

"I don't know anything about guitars or amps, I just know I need a 100-watt tube head."

• Marshall head

• Peavey Roadmaster head

• a few new Marshall cabs

LEE

• 3 early-70s Fender Telecaster Deluxes (1) (2) (3)

• Fender Jaguars (1) (2)

• Fender Jazzmasters (1)

• Travis Bean

• Gibson SG

Lee specifies that most of his Jaguars/Jazzmasters have DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups in the neck position.

• Cry Baby wah

• MXR Phase Shifter

• DOD Analog Delay

• DOD Digital Delay

• MESA/Boogie Mark III

• Marshall 4x12 cab

• vintage Orange head

KIM

• Gibson Thunderbird

• B.C. Rich [Mockingbird] bass

• '64 Fender P-bass

• Eterna

KIM (re: BC Rich bass): "That bass always stays in tune. You can throw it on the ground, walk on it - anything. It sounds horrible; it has no tone whatsoever. But it's really loud. Then I have an old '64 P-bass, which I bought because I thought I'd record with it. And I did use it on one song. It's really easy to play, but I missed the Thunderbird's low end."

KIM (re: "Creme Brulee"): "Yeah, it was just me. I just started playing something and Steve was playing along. Thurston was just doing some feedback on the guitar, making some weird sounds. And Lee turned on the tape machine. So we recorded it in our eight-track studio at our rehearsal space."

• Turbo Rat

• Dunlop Jimi Hendrix octave fuzz

• MESA/Boogie amp w/ 18-inch bass cab and 4x12 guitar cab.

For the Dirty recording sessions, both of Kim's cabs were miked, and she also sent a clean DI straight from her bass to the board.

KIM: "That's the basic setup. Then I have this other box, a Hendrix octave divider that I use to get ultra-distortion, like on "100%" "Stalker" and "Theresa's Sound World". Actually, it just works like an extra distortion pedal."

According to the Sonic Youth illustrated equipment guide Lee Ranaldo used this model at two shows in South America in 2011, including the final show in Sao Paulo

The guitar can be seen at 25:05 in this video:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qNZxvMg47L4

"This guitar was borrowed from Dredd Foole and the Din for an impromptu 2-song cover set at the Rat in Boston on May 9th, 1987."

This guitar was played live in early 1990 by Thurston, and was later used by Lee in the "Dirty Boots" video. I'm told it was a deluxe version of the Genesis line. This guitar was auctioned on eBay in 2011 for a ShelterBox benefit. Black mahogany body w/ white trim 2 humbuckers Rosewood fretboard 2 knobs Gold hardware

Lee Ronaldo mostly used the Hiwatt in the early 2000s.

Used by Lee: 1986-1990 1986 -- GGDDD#D# (Kill Yr Idols, Brother James, Green Light, Flower) 1987 -- GGDDD#D# (Cotton Crown, Stereo Sanctity, Brother James) 1990 -- GGDDD#D# (Stereo Sanctity, Flower)

In this video for the official Reverb Youtube channel, Lee Ranaldo shows some items he has put up for sale on a special store at the website. One of the items is a Foxx Tone Machine Octave-Fuzz that he bought in high school and used in Sonic Youth.

Kim Gordon mentioned that Lee Ranaldo uses Dunlop Tortex Standard 0.88mm Guitar Picks when asked about the picks used by each member of Sonic Youth.

Used with Sonic Youth, in Daydream Nation and Goo. Broke in 1991 and was replaced with a Digitech PDS-1002.

In the video titled "Show Us Your Junk! Ep. 18 - Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) | EarthQuaker Devices" by EarthQuakerDevices on YouTube, Lee Ranaldo states that he frequently uses the Korg MS-20.

Lee Ranaldo purchased the Harmony H15 Bobkat guitar before joining Sonic Youth, as discussed in the episode "Show Us Your Junk! Ep. 18" by EarthQuaker Devices on YouTube.

Lee Ranaldo is confirmed to have used a Fender Duo Sonic II during Sonic Youth's performance of "Mildred Pierce" in August 1990. For this performance, Lee borrowed the Duo Sonic II from the opening band, STP, as the song required standard tuning. This is supported by footage from the music video shoot, where he used this specific guitar on one of the two nights.

This guitar was used on May 17th, 1986 in Manchester. It was most likely borrowed from another act on the bill, the Membranes, who are seen playing the guitar in other photos from the show. I'm guessing it was used for "The World Looks Red" - it was the 2nd song of the set but the circulating recording cuts after six songs so there could have been another screwdriver song.

For their final 5 shows in South America, November 2011, the band were unable to transport all of their gear between the 5 cities, so they assembled a "B group" of equipment to use at certain shows. The "B" group (used for 2 shows - Lima and the final gig in Sao Paulo) consisted of some familiar SY instruments, but they were also loaned a number of shiny new guitars by Fender. This sunburst Telecaster is one of those, used by Lee for F#F#F#F#EB.

Lee Ranaldo is confirmed to use a Hagström Viking Electric Guitar, as evidenced by a photograph from the March/April 1985 Europe tour showing the sunburst guitar at his feet. Additionally, there is an image of Ranaldo playing this guitar with a screwdriver behind the 9th fret while Kim Gordon is singing and playing bass. Further images taken by Petra Gall on April 17th, 1985, show Thurston Moore using the same guitar, prepared with drumsticks, indicating its use in performances around this period.

Used for one leg of the tour, for the F# tuning previously held by the stolen Travis Beans. By the next leg, this guitar was replaced with another Travis Bean.

Lee Ranaldo uses the Elektronika Venta PE-11, as confirmed in a YouTube video by Reverb, where he showcases various pedals from his studio collection.