Paul Banks

Paul Banks of Interpol can be seen playing a black Les Paul Custom, one of his primary guitars. This photo of him is from their Coachella 2011 performance (originally sourced from rock.about.com).

His Les Paul Custom differs slightly from a completely stock version, since he has removed the humbucker covers.

Paul Banks of Interpol can be seen in this photo playing a black1962 Reissue Jaguar, rosewood fretboard, with a black pickguard and black pickups. At first glance it seems like it could be a black HH model (Blacktop Jaguar HH or Special Edition Jaguar HH), but the floating tremolo prevents it from being that specific one.

In an interview, Paul Banks talks about why he plays Fender Jaguars:

The Jaguars are, I think, because of Kurt Cobain and John Frusciante as a child. I happened upon my Les Paul, which also suited me because I'm a big Neil Young fan. But that came about from a trade, or I got it for a song, from a good friend of mine in high school. But it wasn't a guitar that I had gone to a store and picked. It's that I saw it and said, "Fuck, will you sell me that please?"

Alongside that has always been an inclination to play a Jaguar, basically, because, as I mentioned, Frusciante and Kurt; whether or not those guys used Mustangs, I don't care. I love the Jaguar. On another side, I've always been sort of a strummy, primarily rhythm guitar player. I'm only a rhythm guitar player. There's a reason why the Rapture uses thin-stringed kind of Fender guitars with that sound, that kind of funk, disco sound. It's made for a Fender, and a beefier, moody sound, I think, is made with a Les Paul.

A lot of the kind of guitar playing I do is rhythm oriented, so I like, once in a while, going over to the Fender side because the neck is thinner, and it's like a less percussive, more rhythmic thing. Also, I feel like the Les Paul suits Interpol. The Jaguar actually came about specifically within Interpol because I had written a part in which I wanted whammy, and I don't like Les Pauls with Bigsbys. I had just got a guitar that had a whammy bar.

(source here, published November 2012)

In this photo, Paul Banks can be seen playing a Gibson ES-135 Black Custom.

In this behind the scenes footage of Paul Banks working on his new solo album "Banks," he is seen rehearsing and playing on stage with a black Fender Dave Murray Signature Stratocaster Electric Guitar. Looks at the guitar can be had throughout the video, but specifically at 2:03.

In a series of Tweets with a fan, Paul Banks confirms the model of the guitar, and why he enjoys playing it:

@gchiaren: "Gear question- is your Strat a @Fender Dave Murray model?"

@bankspaulbanks: "why yes it is! I love it cuz of the humbuckers." (source)

@bankspaulbanks: "the neck length of fenders is longer than gibsons which affects the string tension which makes strats real fun for funk rhythm" (source)

In this photo of Interpol playing a gig April 27, 2007 at Coachella, Paul Banks (on the right) can be seen playing a black Gibson Flying V Electric Guitar.

In an interview, when asked why he switched over to playing a Flying V for a while, Banks replies, "The Flying V because I've always wanted to because it's the coolest looking of all guitars."

Paul Banks plays a Fender Modern Player Marauder Electric Guitar in a Lake Placid Blue finish, with Rosewood Fretboard. These photos are from a live performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas (Sept 30, 2016). In this particular performance he's playing alongside RZA in the group Banks & Steelz.

This photo shows Paul Banks' guitar amp rig, consisting of a Fender Pro Reverb 115 combo (left) and Hot Rod DeVille 212s (right). He says, "I've been using Fender amps ever sinceI started playing.

But for live playing, we discovered that we had to disengage our amp reverb early on because it makes a fucking racket on shaky stages so we switched to reverb pedals instead. But there are plenty of good reverbs out there." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

This photo showing Paul Banks' guitar amps reveals he uses a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 212 III 60W 2x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp (on the right). He comments, "I've been using Fender amps ever sinceI started playing. But for live playing, we discovered that we had to disengage our amp reverb early on because it makes a fucking racket on shaky stages so we switched to reverb pedals instead. But there are plenty of good reverbs out there." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

In this photo taken of Paul Banks' amp setup during a Banks & Steelz show (Official 2016 ACL Fest Late Night Show, held at Antone's on Fri October 7, 2016), his Fender Deluxe Reverb Guitar Combo Amp can be seen with two mics on it. This can be verified as Paul Banks' setup due to the guitar next to it, his Fender Dave Murray Strat with the Copperpiece guitar strap he's also been seen using.

Paul Banks’ pedalboard can be seen in this photo. The Electro-Harmonix POG2 Polyphonic Octave Generator effects pedal can be seen on the lower left of the board (from his point of view). This photo is of Paul Banks performing under his solo name “Julian Plenty,” from a November 2009 show at Chop Suey in Seattle, WA.

Paul Banks can be seen with an MXR Carbon Copy Delay pedal on his pedalboard in this photo.

On Paul Banks' pedalboard in this photo, his Boss DS-1 can be seen.

This photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard shows he uses a MXR M-133 Micro Amp Pedal (top left). About this pedal (and his Xotic Effects EP Booster) he comments: "I like my bass tone to be a little bit juicier than the straight amp sound." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

Xotic Effects EP Booster Pedal seen here, top row right on Paul Banks' pedalboard. He says, "I like my bass tone to be a little bit juicier than the straight amp sound." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

Big Ear N.Y.C. Loaf pedal seen in the bottom right corner of Paul Banks' pedalboard in this photo. He comments, "This is a really clever distortion pedal." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

A Boss DD-7 Digital Delay Pedal can be seen in the top row of Paul Banks' pedalboard in this pic. He comments, "I use a bunch of delay pedals, mostly an MXR Analogue, an old Boss DD-7 that has a couple of settings I really like, and a small boutique delay pedal [the Malekko] that’s pissing me off!" (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

Paul Banks on his Malekko Ekko 616 delay pedal: "I use a bunch of delay pedals ... a small boutique delay pedal [the Malekko] that’s pissing me off!" (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

Right under Paul Banks' EHX Micro POG, his Malekko Spring Chicken Reverb can be seen. (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

Bottom left corner of Paul Banks' pedalboard is a yellow ZVex Effects Seek-Trem Hand Painted Tremolo pedal. (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

An Electro-Harmonix Micro POG pedal can be seen in the top-left corner of this pedalboard belonging to Paul Banks of Interpol. The "MICRO POG" writing is covered up by tape with diagrams of what the positions of the 3 knobs should be. (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

On this picture of his 2015 pedalboard, there is a Big Ear Woodcutter (original source here : http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/rig-tour-interpol-618675 , article dated March 31, 2015)

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine pedal can be seen. This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his Boss OS-2 Overdrive Distortion Pedal can be seen (along with a label showing the four knob positions). This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his MXR M66S Classic Overdrive Pedal can be seen (with a label on it showing the three knob positions). This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his Eventide H9 Harmonizer Multi-Effects Pedal can be seen. This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal can be seen (bottom-right corner of the photo). This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.

In this closeup photo of Paul Banks' pedalboard as part of Banks & Steelz, his Livewire ABY1 Guitar Footswitch can be seen. This photo is from Banks & Steelz performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival 2016.