Poison Ivy

I also use a Univox Super Fuzz pedal and a Maxon delay for slapback.

She confessed her undying love for the ’58 Gretsch 6120 she acquired in 1985 and detailed her stage and studio rigs.

I’ve got other guitars including a Gibson ES-295 and some guitars I almost never touch.

I use original blackface Fender Pro Reverb amps. I have two of them onstage – one is a backup. One’s a 2×12 and one is 1×15. I usually play through the 1×15

"I had this kind of rare Canadian guitar called “Lewis.” Actually, I had two of them. I bought the first on 48th Street in New York City in 1976, then the second in Vancouver in 1983. They’re both solidbodies with a Bigsby-like vibrato bars and they both weigh a ton. One unusual characteristic about both of them is that the necks are flat and wide, like a classical guitar. I wish I could find out more about them. When I bought the first one, the salesman told me it was a Canadian make. Well, the headstock on my main Lewis got snapped off at a concert in Paris. There was this riot, and a security guy grabbed it really fast… Actually, what broke it was him falling down the stairs with it!"

From Vintage Guitar Magazine http://www.vintageguitar.com/2915/poison-ivy/

Poison Ivy from The Cramps playing a 1997 custom-made copy of a Danelectro Longhorn. Next to her is the builder Steven Metz (formerly SMT Guitars)

Poison Ivy with her plexiglass Dan Armstrong guitar taken from “How To Make A Monster” booklet, 2004

Poison Ivy of The Cramps is shown playing a National Newport Val-Pro 88 in photo #16 on The Selvedge Yard blog.

In this article article from 2003 (https://www.vintageguitar.com/2915/poison-ivy/), Poison Ivy states:

"I use original blackface Fender Pro Reverb amps. I have two of them onstage – one is a backup. One’s a 2×12 and one is 1×15. I usually play through the 1×15. The Pro Reverb has built-in tremolo and reverb, but I use an outboard tremolo, too – a Fulltone tremolo pedal. I like the tremolo on my amp, but it doesn’t stay working for too long on the road, so I usually end up using the pedal."

In this photo, taken during a concert at the Astoria in London in 2003, it is possible to see Poison Ivy's pedalboard (https://theselvedgeyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/poison-ivy.gif). A second photo taken from another angle during the same concert is also available (https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-cramps/photos?photo=656280). Finally, this same pedalboard is visible, in color and from above, on a video filmed during a concert in Oslo on August 11, 2006 (at about 2:42) from the following link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcbaGvyRqEs&list=PLEAB74D81D9A98E41&index=2). Considering these three sources, the pedal chain is most likely as follows : Boss TU-2 Tuner > Univox Super Fuzz > Maxon Analog Delay > Boss TR-2 Tremolo.

In this photo, taken during a concert at the Astoria in London in 2003, it is possible to see Poison Ivy's pedalboard (https://theselvedgeyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/poison-ivy.gif). A second photo taken from another angle during the same concert is also available (https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-cramps/photos?photo=656280). Finally, this same pedalboard is visible, in color and from above, on a video filmed during a concert in Oslo on August 11, 2006 (at about 2:42) from the following link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcbaGvyRqEs&list=PLEAB74D81D9A98E41&index=2). Considering these three sources, the pedal chain is most likely as follows : Boss Tuner (TU-3 or TU-2) > Univox Super Fuzz > Maxon Analog Delay > Boss TR-2 Tremolo.

Poison Ivy's pedalboard is visible, in color and from above, on a video filmed during a concert in Oslo on August 11, 2006 (at about 2:42) from the following link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcbaGvyRqEs&list=PLEAB74D81D9A98E41&index=2). This same pedalboard was also used by Poison Ivy during a concert at the Astoria in London in 2003 : a first photo showing the pedalboard from the side is visible from this link (https://theselvedgeyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/poison-ivy.gif) and a second one showing this pedalboard from the back is available from this other link (https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-cramps/photos?photo=656280). Considering these three sources, the pedal chain is most likely as follows : Boss TU-2 Tuner > Univox Super Fuzz > Maxon Analog Delay > Boss TR-2 Tremolo.

In this article from Vintage Guitar Magazine (November 2003), Poison Ivy states that she uses D’Addario XL115 strings (.011-.049 gauge).

In the August 1990 issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Poison Ivy stated, "I use two distortion units, a Univox Super Fuzz and a pedal called (Tube Works) Real Tube, which supposedly simulates overdrive."

In the August 1990 issue of Guitar Player Magazine, Poison Ivy confirmed that she uses the Shure SM57 microphone.

Poison Ivy used a Gretsch White Falcon Double Cutaway, notably during a concert in France in 1986 (see around 0:33 in this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdTG70sYEw&list=RDmrdTG70sYEw&start_radio=1). This guitar, dating from 1970, was reportedly sold to the guitarist-singer of the British band "The Dogs D'Amour" (see these links : https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1091790627650296&set=a.667663233396373 and https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=870354219818407&id=320902528096915&set=a.320923774761457).

In this photo, taken during a concert at the Astoria in London in 2003, it is possible to see Poison Ivy's pedalboard (https://theselvedgeyard.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/poison-ivy.gif). A second photo taken from another angle during the same concert is also available (https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/the-cramps/photos?photo=656280). Finally, this same pedalboard is visible, from above, on a video filmed during a concert in Oslo on August 11, 2006 (at about 2:42) from the following link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcbaGvyRqEs&list=PLEAB74D81D9A98E41&index=2). Considering these three sources and the fact that Poison Ivy has been using this model since 2003, this pedalboard is most certainly a Pedaltrain 1.

In this article from Vintage Guitar Magazine (November 2003), Poison Ivy states that she uses Herco gold picks.

In this photo, you can see Poison Ivy with a Vox Mark VI Teardrop guitar in a striped finish (the Vox logo is visible on the headstock). I've added another photo of Poison Ivy, with the guitar fully visible, to the Vox Mark VI Teardrop listing.

In this photo, Poison Ivy can be seen playing a Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar. This photo appears at 0:31 on this video made in tribute to the queen of rock 'n' roll (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24R6D5OAxM0&list=RD24R6D5OAxM0&start_radio=1). As the exact model is not clearly identifiable, the connection has been made to this generic model which states that "this Fender Stratocaster is the key representative of the entire model family".

In this photo taken in the Cramps' house, Poison Ivy appears next to what seems to be a Gretsch Country Club.