Michael Schenker

"Just a 50-watt Marshall JCM800 2205, which can be very hard to find. When I have to find a new one, I can’t! [laughs] I’ve tried quite a few amplifiers over the years, but that’s the one I like best. "

In the first question he mentions the pick he uses is a Dunlop .60mm

"Interviewer: Do you have a type of pick that you can't live without?

Schenker: I play Dunlop 60mm. I guess it was a type of pick that was lying around and I got used to it."

Looks like a nylon pick here: https://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/MICHAEL_SCHENKER.jpg

In the user-uploaded photo titled "MSEffects.JPG" on BlogSpot, Michael Schenker can be seen with an Ibanez TS10 Tube Screamer Classic, indicating its use among his guitar effects pedals.

One of his other V used in UFO days.It's a Flying V with a modified pickup (it's unknown what kind of pickup he used here).This guitar was one of his main guitar in his UFO days,along with his red V.This guitar can be seen in "Only You Can Rock Me" music video.This guitar was mainly used in "Obsession" era. (taken from blacksonata-hihi.blogspot.it/2012/08/michael-schenkers-guitar-and-sounds.html)

Michael's most notable amplifiers are both Marshalls,The 1987x MKII 50 Watt series and JCM800 2205 series,in UFO and MSG eras respectively.

In a video by Lazy Guitarist on YouTube titled "Michael Schenker Brighton," Michael Schenker is seen using the Dean Michael Schenker’s Custom Flames V guitar.

In the 1980s, during his MSG days, Michael Schenker played four main guitars equipped with Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Model pickups, as shown in a user-uploaded photo on Flying-v.

Michael used Dunlop .88 mm picks and also D'Angelico strings with standard .009 gauges

Picture taken at Ramona MainStage, Ramona California Feb 14th, 2014

In this October 2009 edition of Vintage Guitar, when asked about his current effects, Schenker stated:

VG : What amps and effects do you take on the road?

Schenker : I use two JCM 50-watt Marshall two-channel amps and the Marshall cabinets with Celestion greenbacks. My only effects are a Dunlop Dimebag wah and a Boss delay and chorus. The other pedals are just volume controls, a Marshall footswitch, and a Boss tuner.

Michael Schenker uses his signature DiMarzio Michael Schenker Signature Humbuckers, as detailed on Reverb.

You can see Michael Schenker using this Gibson Medallion Series Flying V during the concert for Don Kirshner's Rock Concert at 0:06

Michael Schenker is noted for using the Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay pedal, as detailed in the Black Sonata blog post, "Michael Schenker's Guitar and Sounds." This pedal contributes to the distinctive delay and reverb effects heard in tracks like "Bijou Pleasurette" and many others, although it's unclear if the RV-3 or the Boss DD-3 was specifically used on these recordings.

Michael Schenker incorporates the Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble into his pedalboard, using it to add tonal color during live performances, as noted in Black Sonata: Michael Schenker's Guitar and Sounds.

Throughout the 70s and 80s before he was with Dean, Michael Schenker had a Gibson Flying V which was borrowed from his brother Rudolf which can be seen in live performances in the with the Scorpions, UFO and The Michael Schenker group. I'm not sure if he had his own signature Flying V or if he borrowed his brother's signature but he can be found using a Flying V and here's a photo of him with one.

EDIT: That is NOT a Rudolf Schenker model, that is his 1971 medallion Flying V that had a custom paint job. It doesn't even look like the Rudolf guitar. Use your eyes!

Michael Schenker, primarily known for his use of the Flying V, initially played a Gibson Les Paul Standard early in his career. During a Scorpions gig, after breaking a string on his Les Paul, Schenker borrowed Rudolf Schenker's Flying V to continue playing. This experience led him to favor the Flying V thereafter. The fate of Schenker's original Les Paul remains unknown. A photo on BlogSpot captures Schenker with his Les Paul.

This picture, taken live from approximately late 2010-early 2011, shows Schenker playing a Kaleidoscope live.

In a user-uploaded photo on BlogSpot, Michael Schenker is shown with a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, highlighting his use of this pedal in his effects setup.

In the YouTube video by GuitopiaX, Michael Schenker is shown using Dean Lights Out Humbuckers, specifically designed for the bridge and neck positions.

During this Temple of Rock concert video from May 3rd 2015, Schenker uses the Retro throughout, and starts playing it at 0:33.

In a user-uploaded photo on BlogSpot, Michael Schenker's pedalboard includes the Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner, highlighting its role in his setup.

In this picture, taken in 2013, Schenker is playing a Standard Yin Yang.

In this photo from Schenker's Temple Of Rock 2015 tour, he is seen playing the 10th Anniversary, which was limited to 75 pieces.

In this photo from Schenker's facebook page (posted September 16th, 2015), the back of the Red/Black is clearly seen.

In this video from December 26th, 2009 at the Canyon Club, Schenker uses the guitar throughout, starting at the beginning of the video.

"SOUND"

"For more than a half century, Schenker’s signature instrument has been a Flying V. The relationship began when he borrowed brother Rudolf’s red ’71 Gibson Medallion V with T-Top pickups and plugged into a Marshall stack. Early photos depict a stripped mahogany V, later painted black, then white, and finally the trademark graphic black and white panels. He also played a Les Paul Standard and white ES-1275 in the studio. Gibson issued a tribute model V in ’85 and Dean currently markets his signature version. He used .009 Fender Rock and Roll strings, preferred high action, a glass slide, and Herco gray nylon picks held with thumb and two fingers."

"Schenker plugged into 50-watt 1987 Marshall heads (Presence, Treble, Middle and Bass on 10, Volume at 8), later graduated to 2204 and 2205 models, and often chained two together. In ’73, he routinely used at least two full 4×12 stacks. A departure from the norm, he experimented with a Pignose amp on much of Lights Out. His effects were minimal – a modified Crybaby wah pedal and WEM Copicat tape echo."

In 2026 Gibson released the Michael Schenker Custom Edition Flying V, a reproduction of the 1971 model he had been playing after he left UFO until he started playing Dean guitars.