Top 5Has said they use
Gibson
ES-330 (1961)“Currently, I've been doing a lot of writing on this Gibson ES-330 single pickup.”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
Photo: Filip Kojic (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 3.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by alt-J. Every item links to its public source.
13 items · Last checked What gear does alt-J use?
Joe Newman has said he plays a Fender Custom Shop Nocaster, a 1962 Stratocaster, a 1961 Gibson ES-330 and a Larrivee parlor, and that every alt-J album has gone through one late '60s Vox AC30 with a Roland Space Echo. Thom Sonny Green has said a Teenage Engineering OP-1 is his most used production tool.
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Top 5
Where to start with alt-J's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Larrivee
P-05 parlor“I love that guitar.”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
03
Top 5Has said they use
Vox
AC30“It's a late '60s Vox AC30”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
04
Top 5Seen using
Neumann
TLM 103Seen in Sound On Sound: Producing Alt-J & Madness (Charlie Andrew), April 2013
05
Top 5Seen using
What gear alt-J uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Joe Newman's guitars
Has said they use
Gibson
ES-330 (1961)“Currently, I've been doing a lot of writing on this Gibson ES-330 single pickup.”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
Has said they use
Larrivee
P-05 parlor“I love that guitar.”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
Has said they use
Fender
1962 Stratocaster“There's also a 1962 [Fender] Stratocaster that I bought for half-price, because in the '70s someone painted it in black car sealant.”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
In the studio
Has said they use
Vox
AC30“It's a late '60s Vox AC30”
Said in Guitar World: Alt-J's Joe Newman on his guitar journey and love of Teles, February 2022
Seen using
Has said they use
Roland
Space Echo“Then we use [a Roland] Space Echo a lot with the tremolo, and we reamped everything on our new album back through the Vox AC30 and that Space Echo as well.”
Said in MusicRadar: Alt-J's Joe Newman on the Fender Acoustasonic, December 2021
Has said they use
Avid
Pro Tools“We do use Pro Tools, and Pro Tools is undeniably a vital part of how we work in the studio”
Said in MusicRadar: Alt-J's Joe Newman on the Fender Acoustasonic, December 2021
Gus Unger-Hamilton's keys and bass
Seen using
Seen using
Roland
Juno-60“The most synthy we got on that album was a [Roland] Juno 60 for the main hook on 'Dissolve Me'”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Producing Alt-J & Madness, April 2013
Thom Sonny Green's kit and production
Has said they use
Novation
Bass Station II“This synth is really easy to use and has so much power behind it.”
Said in Dummy: The music gear that made Thom Sonny Green's album High Anxiety, August 2016
Has said they use
Zoom
H2n recorder“This has been a really useful instrument in my production.”
Said in Dummy: The music gear that made Thom Sonny Green's album High Anxiety, August 2016
Has said they use
Teenage Engineering
OP-1“I've used this piece of equipment more than any other in my production.”
Said in Dummy: The music gear that made Thom Sonny Green's album High Anxiety, August 2016
Records that shaped us
Has said they love
Radiohead
In RainbowsSaid in Rolling Stone: How Alt-J sold a million records and made Miley a fan, November 2014
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Questions
About alt-J's gear.
What guitar does Joe Newman play?
He told Guitar World in 2022 that The Dream was made on a Fender Custom Shop Nocaster in Candy Tangerine, a 1962 Stratocaster, a Masterbuilt Yuriy Shishkov Telecaster and a Jimi Hendrix Strat, with a Larrivee P-05 parlor for writing.
What amp does alt-J use?
Joe Newman has said every alt-J album has gone through one late '60s Vox AC30 kept by producer Charlie Andrew, which he believes was once David Gilmour's. On The Dream about 80 percent of the tracks were re-amped through it.
What keyboards does Gus Unger-Hamilton play?
Sound On Sound reported that An Awesome Wave was made with his Casiotone and a cheap Yamaha keyboard, plus a Roland Juno-60 for the hook on Dissolve Me. By The Dream he was also playing a Hofner violin bass.
What drums does Thom Sonny Green play?
He plays without cymbals: he told Rhythm his early hi-hat was an upturned saucepan, and that he puts Moongel on his toms so they sound dead, like an electronic kit.
What gear did Thom Sonny Green use on High Anxiety?
He told Dummy he used a Teenage Engineering OP-1 more than anything else, plus a Novation Bass Station II, a Zoom H2n recorder and a Nintendo Game Boy, recording into Ableton.
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Named in this guide
A
alt-J
About this guide · Last checked
alt-J are the Leeds-formed band behind An Awesome Wave, This Is All Yours, Relaxer and The Dream: Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton and Thom Sonny Green. This guide covers Newman's guitars, the Vox AC30 every record goes through, Unger-Hamilton's keys and bass, and Green's kit and production gear, from interviews with Guitar World, MusicRadar, Sound On Sound and others.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. alt-J didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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