Shavo Odadjian
Shavo Odadjian's Gear
In a Gibson interview, Shavo says, "When System of a Down were recording our first record, we went out to buy some equipment. I found this non-reverse body ’66 Thunderbird somewhere in Hollywood. I ended up using it on the entire record. It just felt right. Before that I was using a bass from a different company, and they gave me as many basses as I wanted, in any color I could imagine, but I didn’t like any of them as much as that Thunderbird. Those old Gibsons are the Rolexes and Cadillacs of guitars. They’re all about quality. Just holding that bass made me feel different. You have to fight with it a little to make it your own because it has a heavy headstock that dives to the ground if you let go of the neck. But once I mastered that bass I couldn’t go anywhere else."
This is an inaccuracy, however, as he would start using it during the recording of their second album, Toxicity. He also used it for live shows going forward.
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He's seen jamming with it in the video
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This photo shows Bassist and Band Lader Armenian So-Cal band System of a Down performing live with a red Ibanez BTB. Ibanez sponsored Shavo Odadjian shortly and in this time he picked up an Ibanez BTB-1000 as well as a BTB-500.
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Odadjian can be seen playing a black Fender Precision Bass in this image.
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Odadjian can be seen playing a Music Man Stingray in this image.
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He started using a Warwick bass in 2017 for their 2017 tour.
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Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down is a featured artist of Ashdown Engineering. They have him listed as using their ABM 900 EVO III Bass Amp.
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In the Ernie Ball: String Theory video featuring Shavo Odadjian of System Of A Down, Shavo is shown using two Ashdown Engineering ABM 810 8x10 1200 Watt Bass Speaker Cabinets.
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In this documentary, at 6:36 and 3:41, shavo is seen with a 1961 stacked knob fender jazz bass in a natural finish. It was used all throughout mezmerize/hypnotize for its sharp attack, and great note clarity for high speed songs. The Gibson Thunderbird, was not used at all for what is on these two albums, due to the tone being much too boomy and not tight, like the fender jazz bass' tone.
Here are some tracks that this bass was used on for further evidence:
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In a video titled "Shavo Jamming" on his YouTube channel, Shavo Odadjian can be seen with a Rickenbacker 330 Electric Guitar in the background.
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In this video, you can see Shavo Odadjian playing this guitar.
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In this video you can see an Ampeg SVT-810E Bass Enclosure to the right of the screen at 1:28 seconds into the video behind Shavo
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He said he used these strings in the video at 3 minutes
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In the second half of Shavo Odadjian's String Theory episode, he's shown playing a Gibson Les Paul Custom while talking about his music wrtiting process.
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At the end of this video it shows that Shavo uses regular slinky bass 5 strings and regular slinky electric guitar strings.
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he can been seen playing it through out the video
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Listed on Shavo's official Ashdown artist page.
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In the video titled "Shavo jamming" on YouTube, Shavo Odadjian can be seen with a Fender Telecaster Deluxe in the background.
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Shavo Odadjian is listed as using the Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI Effects Pedal on Siteofadown, a dedicated System of a Down fan site.
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Shavo is seen on stage in the first image on what appears to be like a brown Warwick Streamer LX, not a Fortress
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In this video taken at the recent Sick New World festival, Shavo can be seen playing a Warwick P/J Streamer.
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Shavo co-created this strap with the brand owner, Virginia "V" Castro, and worn it during System Of A Down's 2025 tour.
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Shavo Odadjian is confirmed to use the Linc Luthier Custom Bass, as he is seen playing it live at the Metro in Chicago, IL (PROSHOT | 1998) throughout the entire show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er_k_2d0RdA). Furthermore, this bass was utilized during the recording of System of a Down's debut album.
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In an Instagram post shared by Get'm Get'm, Inc., Shavo Odadjian is pictured using the Get'm Get'm Indochine 2" Guitar & Bass Strap Collector’s Edition.
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In this photo, Shavo Odadjian can be seen using an Ibanez SR890 Standard Soundgear Bass in a concert from 1997. He used this bass guitar in a lot of early concerts.
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In this photo, an MTI-Era Ampeg SVT can be seen behind Shavo Odadjian. This was his primary bass amp before swapping to different Ampeg models after 1997.
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In this photo from 1998, Shavo Odadjian can be seen using an Ampeg SVT-CL Classic. This replaced his MTI-Era Ampeg SVT, and would use this for a few years before switching to the Ampeg SVT-VR.
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On the right side of this photo, the Ampeg SVT-AV can be seen being used by Shavo Odadjian. This photo comes from the studio sessions which resulted in the albums Toxicity and Steal This Album.
He also used the Ampeg SVT-AV live, as seen in the music video for Chop Suey at 1:28: https://youtu.be/CSvFpBOe8eY
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This is a community-built gear list for Shavo Odadjian.
- Find relevant music gear like Guitars, Amplifiers, Effects Pedals, Bass Guitars, and other instruments and add it to Shavo Odadjian.
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