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.

Closeup photo: http://i.imgur.com/rnzZVJ0.jpg

He says:

"I’ve owned my Les Paul Custom ever since high school, all those years ago. It’s been my setup since day one and it’s all I pretty much use to this day." (original source here, article dated March 31, 2015)

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

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)

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. Original source here.

In this photo from an Interpol show in 2002, a ProCo RAT 2 can be seen in Paul’s pedal chain

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

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.

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)

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

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

You can see Paul using a les Paul Deluxe goldtop with mini humbuckers and in the early days of Interpol as well.

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)

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)

In a Rolling Stone article titled Paul Banks: My Style, Paul Banks talks about some of his gear. He shows his B.K. Butler Tube Works Real Tube Overdrive, and says:

A classic Real Tube Overdrive pedal.

Original article can be found here.

This photo of the pedalboard Paul Banks uses when playing alongside RZA as Banks & Steelz shows he uses a Pedaltrain 1 (it can be seen written on the back of the pedalboard). This photo was taken at the Banks & Steelz Official 2016 ACL Fest Late Night Show at Antone's in Austin TX on Fri October 7, 2016.

In this photo from a show in 2002, Paul can be seen with a Boss CS-3 within his pedals. This is visible in the centre of the picture.

In a Rolling Stone article titled Paul Banks: My Style, Paul Banks talks about some of his gear. He shows his Critter & Guitari Kaleidoloop, and says:

Critter and Guitari loop for making samples on the go.

Original article can be found here.

Paul can be seen with a Boss EE-7 Equalizer pedal within his signal chain. The pedal is just visible behind the microphone stand.

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)

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 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 interview with Paul Banks, he discusses his creative process for his solo efforts under the moniker Banks. The interviewer asks him:

It sounds like you've worked on your solo music a lot while you're on the road, using the laptop as a tool. What kind of software did you use for that?

To which Paul Banks replies, "I just used Logic." He goes on to explain how moving from a four-track recorder to using Logic has helped him out a lot:

"It wasn't until I got Logic that I was able to write the drum beats out and do the bass lines and build up all the string arrangements. That was all the process that brought out my first record. So when I went down to this record, it's like, "Oh no, this is my system." Now I know how to make my songs. I educated myself in how to execute the ideas from start to finish to make my first record, and this time, I just used that method."

"So it begins with a guitar riff. If I think it's good enough to start to build into something, I'll record the guitar riff in and probably write a structure on guitar first and input all of that, and then go about writing all the bass and guitar. Once I have a song on guitar, it's on. There's no reason to not get it finished. So it wasn't like a struggle to make this record. I kept having lots of ideas."

Original interview can be found here.