Top 5SponsoredHas said they use
“Well, I've got three EOB Strats.”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Ed O'Brien. Every item links to its public source.
19 items · Last checked What guitar does Ed O'Brien play?
Ed O'Brien has said his main guitars include his Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster, a Gibson ES-335 and Rickenbacker 360 6- and 12-strings, played through Audio Kitchen Little and Big Chopper amps. His board has held a DigiTech Whammy, an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, an Origin Effects Cali76 and a Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe.
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Top 5
Where to start with Ed O'Brien's gear.
01
02
Top 5Has said they use
Gibson
ES-335“I think the main guitars on this record were the Tele and the EOB Strat, plus my 335 for Long Time Coming.”
03
Top 5Has said they use
Rickenbacker
360“a Rickenbacker [360] 6[-string]”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
04
Top 5Has said they use
Rickenbacker
360/12“a Rick [360] 12[-string]”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
05
Top 5Seen using
Fender
Vibro-King ampSeen in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
What gear Ed O'Brien uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Guitars
SponsoredHas said they use
“Well, I've got three EOB Strats.”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Has said they use
Gibson
ES-335“I think the main guitars on this record were the Tele and the EOB Strat, plus my 335 for Long Time Coming.”
Has said they use
Rickenbacker
360“a Rickenbacker [360] 6[-string]”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Has said they use
Rickenbacker
360/12“a Rick [360] 12[-string]”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Amps
Seen using
Fender
Vibro-King ampSeen in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Has said they use
Audio Kitchen
Little Chopper“I mainly used Audio Kitchen, the Little Chopper and the Big Chopper, as well as my Lazy J 20.”
Has said they use
Audio Kitchen
Big Chopper“I've got the Little Chopper, the Big Chopper, and the Base Chopper.”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Pedalboard
Has said they use
DigiTech
Whammy“That and the Whammy got used all over the album. They're both such important pedals for me.”
Has said they use
Electro-Harmonix
Deluxe Memory Man“I've been using a Memory Man for years... I used to call it the 'God' pedal.”
Said in Guitar World: Ed O'Brien, The guitar to me is like an oscillator on a synthesizer, June 2020
Also at
Has said they use
Origin Effects
Cali76 compressor“There's a Whammy on there, a Deluxe Memory Man [delay], an Origin Cali76 [compressor], plus a Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe Delay”
Said in Guitar World: Ed O'Brien, The guitar to me is like an oscillator on a synthesizer, June 2020
Also at
Has said they use
Catalinbread
Belle Epoch Deluxe“Catalinbread has done an amazing job with the Belle Epoch Deluxe.”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Has said they use
Hologram Electronics
Infinite Jets Resynthesizer“I also own a Hologram Electronics Infinite Jets. I love that thing, it's like an amazing synthesizer.”
Has said they use
Hologram Electronics
Dream Sequence“they've got another pedal [Dream Sequence]”
Said in Premier Guitar: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Hail to the Texturalist, November 2017
Has said they use
Meris
Polymoon“There's another one I have, the Meris Polymoon, which is also great.”
Has said they use
Strymon
Timeline“I only really use the Timeline for its built-in looper.”
Said in Guitar World: Ed O'Brien, The guitar to me is like an oscillator on a synthesizer, June 2020
Has said they use
“I also used the old Korg SDD-3000 from the 80s.”
Uses
The GigRig
G3 switcherRecords he has named
Has said they love
Prince
Sign O' The Times“The first record I bought was Sign o' the Times.”
Said in Diffuser: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Prince Kind of Saved My Life, June 2016
Listen
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising
Has said they love
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising“Those were my first two purchases”
Said in Diffuser: Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Prince Kind of Saved My Life, June 2016
Buy
Questions
About Ed O'Brien's gear.
What guitar does Ed O'Brien play?
His signature Fender EOB Sustainer Stratocaster, of which he told Premier Guitar in 2017 he had three. He has also named a Gibson ES-335, Rickenbacker 360 6-string and 12-string models and, for Earth, a 1972 Telecaster and a Martin 000 acoustic.
What amps does Ed O'Brien use?
He told Guitar World in 2020 that Audio Kitchen's Little Chopper and Big Chopper, plus his Lazy J 20, were the main amps on Earth. Premier Guitar reported he had played Fender Vibro-King Custom combos with Radiohead since the King of Limbs tour in 2011.
What pedals are on Ed O'Brien's pedalboard?
His 2020 live board held a DigiTech Whammy, an Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, an Origin Effects Cali76, a Catalinbread Belle Epoch Deluxe and a Kingsley Page boost, with a Hologram Infinite Jets, a Meris Polymoon and a Strymon TimeLine for looping.
How does Ed O'Brien get his ambient guitar sound?
He says he treats the guitar like an oscillator on a synthesizer. The sustainer in his EOB Stratocaster holds notes indefinitely, and he runs it into delays like the Deluxe Memory Man, which he calls his God pedal, and a Whammy for pitch.
Which records shaped Ed O'Brien?
He has said the first records he bought were Prince's Sign o' the Times and De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, and that Prince kind of saved his life.
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Named in this guide
EO
Ed O'Brien
About this guide · Last checked
Ed O'Brien is the Radiohead guitarist behind the band's sustained, textural guitar parts, and the solo artist behind Earth (as EOB) and Blue Morpho. This guide covers his Fender signature Stratocaster, his other guitars, Audio Kitchen amps and the pedals from his interviews and his 2025 touring board, plus the records he has named.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Ed O'Brien didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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