NIgel Tufnel

"I've got the Gold Top, 1955, completely original with the soap bar pickups. A lot of people have put humbuckers in and I said I don't want to do that because the value of the guitar goes down, plus there's something about the soap bar, even though it's a bit raunchy and noisy, that I like. I like that sound. It's a very characteristic sound and I said I didn't want to change it."

"Jeff Beck gave me one of his new Strats and it's a lovely guitar. But it's got a huge neck on it. I say. 'Jeff, who's supposed to be playing this, three people?' And he says, 'Nige, are you a woman?' I say, 'No' and he says, 'Belt up then.'"

"It is a fully functional working instrument personally used by Nigel Tufnel during some of Spinal Tap's most memorable tours....This guitar was Nigel's mainstay for many European shows."

"I've got a '58 Junior that I've had for about twenty years."

"I go through an SE-50 BOSS effect processor, so it's got a little bit of chorus and delay,"

"When he came out on stage on the 2001 reunion tour at the House of Blues in Las Vegas with this guitar, I said I have to get one of those..."

This is the top to, uh, you know, what we use on stage, but it’s very, very special because, if you can see, the numbers all go to 11.

It’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not 10. You see, most, most blokes, you know, will be playing at 10 – you’re on 10 here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up – you’re on 10 on your guitar, where can you go from there? Where?

Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

11, exactly. One louder.

"...on 1967's "Rainy Day Sun" he played a Hofner Verythin through a Vox AC-30."

"...on 1967's "Rainy Day Sun" he played a Hofner Verythin through a Vox AC-30."

In the beloved “guitar collection” scene in 1984 rock “mockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap, Tufnel (Christopher Guest) shows filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) several of his most cherished guitars. One of the instruments is so special to Tufnel that he’s never even played it; indeed, it still has the price “tagger” attached to it. Tufnel admonishes DiBergi not to touch it, point at it or even look at it. And while viewers get barely a glimpse of the instrument during the scene, Tufnel’s prized instrument is in fact a Bass VI in a rare Sea Foam Green finish.

According to Fulltone's website, Tufnel used Fulltone Clyde Wah for the purposes of recording the 2006 Volkswagen commercial. The picture was later moved to its own web page.

Nigel explains how he used a Pignose to escape being drafted into the Swiss Army: "...after about a month they let me play the song. The Swiss Army 'wake-up' song. 'You see,' I said, 'I play.' They said, 'Really?' So I went down the village to get a little Pignose and a good guitar, but they didn't have one [a good guitar]. I ended up playing some sort of weird Swiss cutaway"

He shows off his 1959 Les Paul in this clip

He shows off his custom 3-pickup Les Paul in this clip

Nigel Tufnel is seen playing an Ernie Ball Music Man EVH model guitar, identifiable by Eddie Van Halen's signature on the headstock and the pickup switch placement, which matches Van Halen's design.

In the YouTube video of Spinal Tap playing Listen to the Flower People at Royal Albert Hall 1992, where Nigel Tufnel is seen playing a Danelectro double neck on a stand.

In the film "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" (2025), Nigel Tufnel is shown using the Korg Miku Stomp pedal on his pedalboard. In a scene, David describes the pedal's sound as "a Japanese woman being stabbed," to which Nigel humorously replies, "she's Vietnamese."

In the movie "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues" (2025), Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Maestro MPF-1 Parametric Filter when two additional boards are added to his rig, and the pedal is visible on the first board.

Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Electro-Harmonix Intelligent Harmony Machine on the first iteration of his pedal board in the studio, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is evidenced by an image available on Equipboard.

Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer on the first iteration of his pedal board in the studio, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is evidenced by an image available on Equipboard.

Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Valbruch Chorus on the first iteration of his pedal board in the studio, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is evidenced by an image available on Equipboard.

Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Big Ear Slice Of Pie Fuzz on the first iteration of his pedal board in the studio, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is evidenced by an image available on Equipboard.

Nigel Tufnel is seen using the Danelectro Back Talk Reverse Delay Reissue on the first iteration of his pedal board in the studio, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is evidenced by an image available on Equipboard.

Nigel Tufnel is confirmed to use the Maestro MPF-1 Parametric Filter, as it is visible on the leftmost board of the second iteration of his pedal board during a stage performance, as depicted in the movie "Spinal Tap: The End Continues." This is supported by an image available on Equipboard.

In an Instagram post by bigearpedals, an early 2-knob Death By Audio Fuzz War is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard, confirming its use by the artist.

In an Instagram post by @bigearpedals, a Lovetone Brown Source is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard as featured in the film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.

In an Instagram post by @bigearpedals, a Flynn Amps Rory Gallagher Hawk Booster is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard as featured in the film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. This identification is supported by the unique enclosure of the pedal and corroborated by comments on the post.

In an Instagram post by @bigearpedals, a Gurus Echosex 2° is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard as featured in the film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.

In an Instagram post by @bigearpedals, a Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe+ is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard as featured in the film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.

In an Instagram post by @bigearpedals, a fOXX Tone Machine Octave-Fuzz is clearly visible on Nigel Tufnel's pedalboard as featured in the film Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.