Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster“I just use a Stratocaster. That’s what I’ve always used.”
b
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Beach House. Every item links to its public source.
18 items · Last checked What gear does Beach House use?
Alex Scally has said he just plays a Fender Stratocaster through regular reverb pedals, naming the Boss RV-5. MusicRadar reports Victoria Legrand's keyboard setup leaned on a Yamaha PS-20, with a Casio SK-8 and a LinnDrum among their drum machines. Records they have named include Portishead's Dummy and The Cure's Disintegration.
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Top 5
Where to start with Beach House's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
“I don’t use anything fancy. I’m not really into fancy guitar stuff. Just [Boss] RV-5 reverb.”
03
Top 5Seen using
04
Top 5Seen using
05
Top 5Seen using
Linn Electronics
LinnDrumSeen in MusicRadar: the story behind Beach House's Space Song, January 2026
What gear Beach House uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Alex Scally's rig
Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster“I just use a Stratocaster. That’s what I’ve always used.”
Has said they use
“I don’t use anything fancy. I’m not really into fancy guitar stuff. Just [Boss] RV-5 reverb.”
Victoria Legrand's keys
Seen using
Drum machines
Seen using
Seen using
Linn Electronics
LinnDrumSeen in MusicRadar: the story behind Beach House's Space Song, January 2026
Records that shaped us
Has said they love
Portishead
Dummy“But that whole record, “Dummy,” was something that played over and over again.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
George Harrison
All Things Must Pass“the whole record is one of those records that start to finish is completely incredible.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
The Cure
Disintegration“And then that album “Disintegration” is just destructive. It crushes you.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
Lower Dens
Twin-Hand Movement“My favorite record by them is “Twin Hand Movement”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
The Velvet Underground
Loaded“And the song “I Found A Reason” is just this crushing love song.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
Cocteau Twins
Treasure“There are so many gems with the Cocteau Twins, but I feel like this one is particularly beautiful.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
Mariah
Utakata No Hibi“I just thought this song “Shinzo No Tobira” is a great representation of this record.”
Said in WTMD 89.7: Beach House, Artists in Residence, May 2019
Has said they love
Has said they love
Andrew Lloyd Webber
The Phantom of the Opera (Original London Cast)“when I was a kid, I listened to The Phantom Of The Opera a billion times.”
On our nightstand
Has said they love
Clarice Lispector
The Hour of the Star“Reading this book, so many of the themes and the style in which it's created reminded me so much of our creative world”
Has said they love
Philip K. Dick
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch“So I just read The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch which is a totally awesome Phillip K. Dick book.”
Said in St. Louis Magazine: Talking to Alex Scally of Beach House about Depression Cherry, September 2015
Also at
Has said they love
Yukio Mishima
Spring Snow“And I love them all.”
Said in St. Louis Magazine: Talking to Alex Scally of Beach House about Depression Cherry, September 2015
Also at
Has said they love
Elena Ferrante
The Lost DaughterSaid in St. Louis Magazine: Talking to Alex Scally of Beach House about Depression Cherry, September 2015
Questions
About Beach House's gear.
What guitar does Alex Scally play?
Asked about his slide guitar sound in 2013, Alex Scally told Phoenix New Times: "I just use a Stratocaster. That's what I've always used."
What reverb pedal does Beach House use?
Alex Scally has said his reverb comes from regular pedals you can buy at Guitar Center, nothing fancy, and named the Boss RV-5.
What keyboard does Victoria Legrand play?
MusicRadar reports that a major part of Victoria Legrand's keyboard setup around Depression Cherry was the Yamaha PS-20, whose sustained organ and string sounds carry Space Song.
What drum machines does Beach House use?
According to MusicRadar, for Depression Cherry they cut back on live drums and leaned on their collection of retro drum machines, namely a Casio SK-8 and a LinnDrum.
What records inspired Beach House?
For WTMD in 2019, Victoria Legrand picked Portishead's Dummy and The Cure's Disintegration, and Alex Scally picked George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and Lower Dens' Twin-Hand Movement. Legrand has also said she played The Phantom of the Opera a billion times as a kid.
What books does Alex Scally read?
He has named Clarice Lispector's The Hour of the Star, Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Yukio Mishima's Spring Snow and Elena Ferrante's The Lost Daughter.
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Named in this guide
BH
Beach House
About this guide · Last checked
Beach House are the Baltimore duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, behind Teen Dream, Bloom, Depression Cherry, 7 and Once Twice Melody. This guide covers Alex Scally's Stratocaster and reverb, the thrift-store keyboard and drum machines MusicRadar traces on their records, and the records and books the two have named in interviews.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Beach House didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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