Top 5SponsoredHas said they use
“So that polka-dot guitar came from me lying to my mom.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy has, most definitely, still got the blues, June 2023
No store page for this one.
Photo: Tom Beetz (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY 2.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Buddy Guy. Every item links to its public source.
6 items · Last checked What guitar does Buddy Guy play?
Buddy Guy uses a Fender Bassman, the old tweed amp he has kept for decades. He has said he got his tone from a 1957 Fender Stratocaster, plays his polka dot Fender Buddy Guy signature Strat, and has been seen using his signature Dunlop Cry Baby wah on record.
Top 5
Where to start with Buddy Guy's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster (1957)“I got my tone from a ’57 Strat and an old Fender Bassman.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy on B.B. King, Hendrix, and his amp that got left on the runway, September 2025
No store page for this one.
03
Top 5SponsoredSeen using
Seen in MusicRadar: Buddy Guy unleashes the wah pedal on funky new single I Let My Guitar Do The Talking, September 2022
No store page for this one.
04
Fender
Bassman amp
Top 5Uses
Fender
Bassman amp“I’ve still got that old Bassman.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy on B.B. King, Hendrix, and his amp that got left on the runway, September 2025
No store page for this one.
05
Fender
Tweed Bassman combo (his long-serving amp)
Top 5Has said they use
“It had that sound that Leo left us with”
Said in Guitar World: Buddy Guy says he and his pals would stash their wine in the back of his old Fender Bassman, February 2023
No store page for this one.
What guitar gear Buddy Guy uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Guitars
SponsoredHas said they use
“So that polka-dot guitar came from me lying to my mom.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy has, most definitely, still got the blues, June 2023
No store page for this one.
Has said they use
Fender
Stratocaster (1957)“I got my tone from a ’57 Strat and an old Fender Bassman.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy on B.B. King, Hendrix, and his amp that got left on the runway, September 2025
No store page for this one.
Harmony
Acoustic guitar (early years)
Seen using
Seen in MusicRadar: When Buddy Guy rewrote the blues rulebook with a Strat, December 2024
No store page for this one.
Amps
Fender
Bassman amp“I’ve still got that old Bassman.”
Said in Guitar Player: Buddy Guy on B.B. King, Hendrix, and his amp that got left on the runway, September 2025
No store page for this one.
Fender
Tweed Bassman combo (his long-serving amp)
Has said they use
“It had that sound that Leo left us with”
Said in Guitar World: Buddy Guy says he and his pals would stash their wine in the back of his old Fender Bassman, February 2023
No store page for this one.
Pedals
SponsoredSeen using
Seen in MusicRadar: Buddy Guy unleashes the wah pedal on funky new single I Let My Guitar Do The Talking, September 2022
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Buddy Guy's gear.
What guitar does Buddy Guy play?
A Fender Stratocaster. He told Guitar Player he got his tone from a 1957 Strat, and his Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster comes in the polka dot finish he chose as a tribute to his mother.
What amp does Buddy Guy use?
A Fender Bassman. He told Reverb and Guitar Player he still has his old tweed Bassman, its knobs stuck from years of spilled wine and whiskey, and that Fender could not copy its transformer.
Why does Buddy Guy play a polka dot guitar?
He told Guitar Player that when he left Louisiana for Chicago he promised his mother he would come back in a polka-dot Cadillac. She died before he could explain, so the polka-dot Strat became his tribute to her.
What wah pedal does Buddy Guy use?
His signature Dunlop Cry Baby, which MusicRadar notes he used on the 2022 single I Let My Guitar Do The Talking.
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Named in this guide
BG
Buddy Guy
About this guide · Last checked
Buddy Guy is the Chicago blues guitarist and singer who influenced Hendrix, Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. This guide covers the Stratocasters, Bassman amps and wah he has talked about in guitar press interviews.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Buddy Guy didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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