What gear does Mötley Crüe use?
Nikki Sixx plays his Schecter signature basses and has said those Schecters are something else. Tommy Lee rejoined DW in 2020, Mick Mars played his white Fender Strat Isabella through Marshall JCM800s, John 5 was seen with Fender Telecasters and Marshall JVMs, and Vince Neil sings into Shure wireless.
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What gear Mötley Crüe uses: a sourced gear guide
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Vince Neil: vocals
Nikki Sixx: bass
“It was an exciting and creative process to work with Schecter on the new Schecter Sixx Signature Series Bass,”
“Those Schecters are something else, man.”
Tommy Lee: drums
“I had just gotten this new Chet Atkins guitar Gibson sent me, and I pulled it out of the case and the riff came to me.”
Mick Mars: guitar (former)
“I did put a Seymour Duncan in the bridge [position].”
“There’s also an Ibanez seven-string that Steve Vai had given me.”
“The Marshalls are 50- and 100-watt JCM 800s with mods in the preamp so they’re a three-stage instead of two-stage”
“The Soldanos are SLO-100 Super Lead Overdrives.”
“I used it to record “Without You” and some of the other stuff on the Dr. Feelgood album.”
“Everybody likes the 1969 Stratocasters ‘cause you know, I have three of them. In three different colours,”
John 5: guitar
“I’m very proud of this guitar,”
About Mötley Crüe's gear.
What bass does Nikki Sixx play?
His Schecter Sixx signature basses, a reverse Thunderbird shape with EMG pickups and a kill switch. In the '80s he played Spector's non-reverse Thunderbird shape around Girls, Girls, Girls, and later Gibson and Epiphone Thunderbirds.
What drums does Tommy Lee play?
DW drums, pedals and hardware. He rejoined the DW roster in 2020 after first using DW pedals in the late '80s. On the 1987 Girls, Girls, Girls tour he was seen with custom Pearl Free Floating snares and Drastic Plastik trigger pads.
What guitar did Mick Mars play?
Fender Stratocasters, above all Isabella, a white Fender-built Strat with a maple neck, Floyd Rose and hot humbuckers. He played Marshall JCM800s with modded preamps, Soldano SLO-100s and a Rivera Bonehead, and on the Girls, Girls, Girls tour a 1987 Kramer.
What guitar does John 5 play in Mötley Crüe?
Fender Telecasters: a gold mirror-finish Tele with a Floyd Rose and his Ghost signature models. His rig runs three Marshall JVM 100-watt heads and an EVH 5150 with a simple Boss board, including two SD-1s, an OC-5 Octave for Kickstart My Heart and a DD-8.
What microphone does Vince Neil use?
On the 2022 Stadium Tour Mix reported Vince Neil singing into an SM58 capsule on a Shure Axient Digital transmitter with JH Audio Sharona in-ears. In 2009 he endorsed Sennheiser and was seen with an SKM 535 G2 handheld decorated with Swarovski crystals.
Mötley Crüe are the Los Angeles band of Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and guitarist John 5, who replaced Mick Mars in 2023, behind Dr. Feelgood, Kickstart My Heart and Girls, Girls, Girls. This guide covers the whole band's documented gear: Sixx's Schecter basses, Lee's DW and Pearl drums, Mars' Strats and Marshalls, John 5's Telecasters and Neil's vocal mics.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Mötley Crüe didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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