Top 5Seen using
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by The xx. Every item links to its public source.
31 items · Last checked What gear does The xx use?
On the debut, Romy Madley Croft was seen using an Epiphone Les Paul and Gibson ES-335 through a Roland Micro Cube and Boss DD-3, and Oliver Sim a 1970s Fender Precision Bass. Jamie xx uses an Akai MPC1000, Isla S2400, Roland TR-808 and Korg Delta, plus Serum and Soundtoys Crystallizer.
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Top 5Seen using
Gibson
ES-335Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
03
Top 5Seen using
Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
04
Top 5Seen using
Epiphone
Les PaulSeen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
No store page for this one.
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Top 5Seen using
Fender
Mustang“Judging by its live use, Madley Croft tends to use her Mustang for the majority of the tracks from I See You.”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: The xx, January 2018
What gear The xx uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Romy Madley Croft's rig
Seen using
Seen using
Gibson
ES-335Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
Seen using
Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
Seen using
Epiphone
Les PaulSeen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Fender
Mustang“Judging by its live use, Madley Croft tends to use her Mustang for the majority of the tracks from I See You.”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: The xx, January 2018
Find it on
Guitar amps on the debut
Seen using
Fender
Blues Deluxe“The [Fender] Blues Deluxe is pretty much on every track on the album as well.”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
No store page for this one.
Seen using
Fender
Hot Rod DeluxeSeen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
Oliver Sim's rig
Seen using
Fender
1970s Precision Bass“Oliver Sim, meanwhile, played a '70s Fender Precision bass, through one of two amps.”
Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
Find it on
Seen using
Seen using
Ampeg
SVT“On bass, Sim tends to use a larger Ampeg SVT rig for live performances, complete with an 8×10 fridge cabinet to cut through the mix.”
Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: The xx, January 2018
Jamie xx's setup
Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC500Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: The xx, January 2018
Uses
Akai Professional
MPC1000“The MPC 1000 does, and this has analog circuitry mixed with digital.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
Isla Instruments
S2400“Or I’ll just play stuff in live using MPC or the Isla, so that it has a more live, slightly off-kilter feel rather than everything just being drum machine.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
Roland
TR-808 Rhythm Composer“I had this 808 through a guitar distortion pedal.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
Korg
Delta“The Korg Delta that I got in Japan, which is another weird synth where you can set it to a mode that when you take your finger off the note, it plays another note.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Seen using
Akai Professional
MPC2000Seen in Mixdown: Gear Rundown: The xx, January 2018
Seen using
Seen using
Seen using
Jamie xx's studio
Seen using
Jamie xx's plugins
Uses
Xfer Records
Serum“Yeah, this is the verse bass line, which is just using sort of a regular serum, very used bass plugin.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
Soundtoys
Crystallizer“I use the Crystallizer without the pitching quite a lot now because it has a very widening delay.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
XLN Audio
XOSaid in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Uses
Sonarworks
SoundID Reference“So I’m using this sound reference, sound ID reference software which you record different tones coming out of speakers of different parts of the room.”
Said in Tape Notes TN:157: Jamie xx, June 2025
Recording xx
Seen using
Seen using
Sennheiser
MD 421Seen in Sound On Sound: Rodaidh McDonald: Recording The xx, June 2011
Seen using
Romy's records
Has said they love
Madonna
Confessions on a Dance Floor“Sonically, I really loved it.”
Said in Beatportal: Artist of the Month: Romy, June 2023
Has said they love
Everything But The Girl
Walking Wounded“I also liked "Walking Wounded" and the accompanying album where they went more electronic.”
Said in Beatportal: Artist of the Month: Romy, June 2023
Has said they love
Jamie xx's records
Has said they love
Questions
About The xx's gear.
What guitar does Romy Madley Croft play?
Sound On Sound reported that she used an Epiphone Les Paul and a Gibson ES-335 while recording xx. Mixdown's 2018 rundown says she plays a Fender Mustang for most of the I See You songs live.
What amps did The xx use on their debut album?
Engineer Rodaidh McDonald told Sound On Sound the lead guitar went through a Boss DD-3 and the Roland Micro Cube's reverb, with a Fender Blues Deluxe on pretty much every track and a Hot Rod Deluxe for rhythm parts.
What bass does Oliver Sim play?
Sound On Sound said he played a 1970s Fender Precision Bass on xx, through a tweed Fender Bassman reissue and then an Ampeg B15N. Mixdown says he plays an Ampeg SVT with an 8x10 cabinet live.
What does Jamie xx use to make beats?
In his 2025 Tape Notes session he named the Akai MPC1000 and the Isla S2400 as the drum machines he mostly uses, and ran an 808 through a guitar distortion pedal. He played an Akai MPC live from the band's early days.
What plugins does Jamie xx use?
On Tape Notes he named Logic as his main DAW, Serum for a bass line, Soundtoys Crystallizer as a widening delay, XLN Audio XO for finding drum sounds and Sonarworks SoundID Reference to correct his room.
What records have The xx named as influences?
Romy told Beatportal she loved Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor and Everything But The Girl's Walking Wounded and Fuse. Jamie xx named Burial's debut album as the record that made him want to produce.
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TX
The xx
About this guide · Last checked
The xx are the London trio of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie xx, with Baria Qureshi on guitar until 2009. This guide covers the guitars, amps, basses, samplers, synths and plugins named in Sound On Sound's account of recording xx, Mixdown's 2018 gear rundown and Jamie xx's 2025 Tape Notes studio session, plus records Romy and Jamie have named.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. The xx didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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