Vernon Reid

Vernon relies on a Parker Vernon Reid Signature MaxxFly with EMG SAX neck and middle pickups and an EMG 81X bridge pickup, along with a Roland CK-kit-GT3 MIDI pickup and Floyd Rose tremolo. He strings up with D'Addario Jazz Rock .011 - .049, and uses all sorts of picks (a self-proclaimed "plectrum fetishist") as another way to play with his tone.

I had been relying on a Hamer custom Chaparral sunburst, which I called “the Trout,” but I brought the prototype of the signature Parker with me to the sessions, and I ended up making a full-time switch to the Parker.

I became a Parker endorser, and this new record really represents my transition to the signature Parker. I had been relying on a Hamer custom Chaparral sunburst, which I called “the Trout,” but I brought the prototype of the signature Parker with me to the sessions, and I ended up making a full-time switch to the Parker.

I originally met Ken Parker back in the Nineties, and I had an early prototype that I always liked. I like the fact that the neck is slightly wider, which helps to facilitate tapping and some other techniques. The thing that smoothed my transition from Hamer to Parker is that the same luthier that made my Hamers, Terry Atkins, is also the head of production for Parker. He knew my neck profile, because I like a “V”-shaped neck, and he was able to get my neck profile back on track, which I’m so happy about. It’s a very comfortable guitar for me.

"This is a S2 Vela Custom..." Claims Reid at 0:52

Vernon Reid was known to make use of an ESP Mirage earlier in his career with Living Colour, it is equipped with two EMG SA pickups in the middle and neck and an EMG 81 in the bridge and a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system.

At 4:35, Vernon says, "The guitar rig and the Zoom are running out of the Lone Star."

Reid’s guitar rig had a much more modern vibe than the other players on the tour. In addition to his signature Parker guitar and Roland processor, it featured a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier with a matching 4x12 loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s and mic’d with Sennheiser e906 (left) and a Shure SM57 (right).

Vernon uses mainly a Roland VG-99 (the brains of the setup) into two Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers in stereo.

I discovered Bugera amps when we played the Rocklahoma Festival a few years ago. I use a 333XL head with two 4x12 bottoms, as well as a 333XL combo.

I like to use a combination of new high-tech stuff and the old-fashioned straight-jacked method. On “That’s What You Taught Me,” for example, I played my Hamer straight into a Krank, a Marshall and a vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb.

My Bugera amps—two 333XL heads with 4x12 cabs and two 333XL-212 combos—are set clean.

At 8:39 in this video Vernon shows his Kemper Profiler in his rack.

Vernon at 10:55 says that "David Cole Ty associated with Pigtronix has expanded his line to include the Supro Amp Line."

Vernon Reid is listed as an ADA MP-1 user in this advertisement.

Vernon mentions his Roland VG-99 at 1:40, saying, "There's a direct guitar out from the back and I'm using it to mold the guitar signal out."

Vernon mentions his Zoom G3 at 2:00 in this rig rundown video.

Vernon's Line 6 M9 is shown at 5:32 in this video.

At 8:55 in this rig rundown video, Vernon mentions his FC-300.

Vernon's Roland GR-20 can be seen at 4:44. Vernon says, "And also, I'm sending part of the signal out to the this GR-20."

In this tweet, NOIISE thanks Vernon for mentioning their app, FLUX:FX.

"One of the great things about the GP-10 is it's ability to use without having a 13 pin cable...a normal quarter inch plug can get a lot of the amp modeling and effects out of it," Vernon Reid says, at the beginning of this video, in which he demonstrates the GP-10.

Vernon Reid's Boomerang Phrase Sampler can be seen in this photo.

Vernon Reid can be seen with a Line 6 FM4 in this photo.

Vernon Reid uses a Pigtronix Echolution, according to their website.

According to Pigtronix's website, Vernon Reid uses an EP2 Envelope Phaser pedal.

Vernon Reid uses a Philosopher King pedal, according to Pigtronix's website.

This photo, posted Living Colour's Facebook, shows a Source Audio Dual Expression pedal in the setup for the Living Colour/Philly show.