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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Les Claypool. Every item links to its public source.
37 items · Last checked

What bass does Les Claypool play?

Les Claypool uses Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800 heads and Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 cabinets, Mixdown reports, with a walnut Carl Thompson 4-string. He has been seen with Carl Thompson's fretless six-string Rainbow Bass, Pachyderm's Sleek Bass, the Whamola and an NS Design upright, and in the 1990s played through a Mesa/Boogie Bass 400+ and Diesel 2x15 cabinets.

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What gear Les Claypool uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Basses

16 items

Amps

7 items

Pedals and effects

8 items

Records he loves

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Stage

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Questions

About Les Claypool's gear.

What bass does Les Claypool use?

Mostly Carl Thompson basses: the fretless six-string Rainbow Bass and a walnut four-string with a Kahler tremolo. He has also been seen with Pachyderm basses such as the 29-fret Sleek Bass, an NS Design electric upright and a red Fender Jazz Bass.

What bass gear does Les Claypool use?

Mixdown reports he uses Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800 heads with Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 cabinets and a walnut Carl Thompson 4-string. Mix photographed his 2015 rig with two Ampeg PR-410H cabinets, API 7600 input modules and a Shure UR4D+ wireless receiver.

What amp does Les Claypool use?

Mixdown reports that these days he plays through Mesa/Boogie Subway D-800 heads with four Subway Ultra-Lite 1x12 cabinets. In the '90s he used a Mesa/Boogie Bass 400+ head with two 2x15 Diesel cabinets and an A/DA MP-1 MIDI tube preamp.

What is the Whamola?

A one-string electric washtub bass with a handle that bends the pitch, which Claypool hits with a stick. He says it was left for him after a Frog Brigade gig, and Pachyderm Instruments now makes an official version.

What pedals does Les Claypool use?

Mixdown spotted a Line 6 DL4 and DM4, a Roland PK-5, a BOSS VE-20 and a Fractal AX8 on his board, plus a Boomerang Phrase Sampler and a Korg ToneWorks AX300B, and says he used an Electro-Harmonix Hot Tubes overdrive on the Brown Album.

Which bass albums does Les Claypool love?

He told Bass Player his favorites include Yes' Fragile, Rush's All the World's a Stage, Graham Central Station's Star Walk, Peter Gabriel's Security and Morphine's Yes.

LC
Les Claypool
About this guide · Last checked

Les Claypool is the bassist and singer of Primus, from Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese to Pork Soda, and also leads the Claypool Lennon Delirium and the Frog Brigade. This guide covers his bass gear past and present: his Carl Thompson and Pachyderm basses, uprights and resonator basses, the Whamola, his 1990s Mesa/Boogie Bass 400+ rig and current Subway rig, Ampeg cabinets and pedalboard, plus the bass 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. Les Claypool didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

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truerecs gear guides are independent research from public sources, not made or approved by the artist. Store buttons on this page may be affiliate links: truerecs may earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Les Claypool isn't paid for them. Report an error or ask for removal. Full disclosure.