In 2022, one of guitar’s greatest players took to the stage, pedalboard in tow, for what would sadly become his final tour.
The Jeff Beck pedalboard would later sell at a Christie’s auction for a massive £126,000 [1]. Giving us a detailed view into the pedals that contributed to his legendary sound.
But, this wasn’t just any pedalboard. It was the completion of a lifetime’s pursuit of tone. From a guitarist who was one of the first to use effects pedals in rock music.
Beck was well-known for his ability to create incredible sounds with not many effects, often relying more on his fingers than his pedals. But his final pedalboard tells a fascinating story of his evolution for us pedal fanatics.
From the vintage Oberheim Electronics Maestro Ring Modulator that had been part of his arsenal since the mid-1970s to modern innovations like the Neo Instruments Ventilator II, every single pedal on this Jeff Beck’s pedalboard was chosen with purpose.
“I found that my best friend is the straight-ahead amplifier with very little effect pedal,” Beck once told Guitar Player magazine. Yet this quote doesn’t really represent the setup he ultimately ended up with.
Let’s take a look at Jeff Beck’s pedalboard and the collection of pedals that helped shape the final chapter of his legendary career.
Table of Contents
What Pedals Did Jeff Beck Use on His Final Tour?
For a guitarist who once claimed to prefer a “straight-ahead amplifier,” Jeff Beck’s final pedalboard was a masterfully created collection of both vintage and modern effects.
This version of Jeff Beck’s pedalboard, used throughout his 2022 tour, represented a significant change in his view on effects pedals.
While in his earlier years, Beck might have relied on just a wah pedal and an overdrive, this relatively large pedalboard setup allowed Beck to recreate studio effects and build upon his already huge musical palette in live settings.
The board itself measured an impressive 48 inches wide and was stored in a rather large and secure Thon flight case. I’m pretty sure these are custom flight cases made by the European music store Thomann.
Jeff Beck’s pedalboard featured twelve pedals, each serving its own specific purpose to his sound.
Modulation Effects
At the core of Jeff Beck’s pedalboard is a carefully selected collection of modulation effects that helped to craft the unmistakable “Jeff Beck” sound.
Oberheim Electronics Maestro Ring Modulator
Perhaps the most historically significant (and exciting) pedal on Jeff Beck’s pedalboard is his Maestro Ring Modulator.
This pedal dates back to the mid-1970s and is quite a rare pedal. In fact, this ring modulator had been with Beck throughout a large part of his career. As he said himself to Guitar Player in 2000, “The ring modulator is one of my all-time favorite nasty sounds.”
Apparently, the pedal came into his possession during his tours with keyboard legend Jan Hammer, who may have introduced Beck to an early prototype from Tom Oberheim himself.
This particular model, produced between 1971-75, was originally designed for keyboardists and found favor with artists like Herbie Hancock and Joe Zawinul before Beck started to use it for his guitar.
Empress Effects Tremolo 2
The Empress Tremolo 2 would have brought some warbling rhythmic pulses to Beck’s toolkit.
The Empress Tremolo has eight rhythm patterns, tap tempo functionality, and a full preset system capable of storing up to eight different settings. What made this pedal particularly special is its analog signal path combined with digital control. This mean it would have offered Beck pristine sound quality while keeping the organic feel he was known for.
The pedal can switch between different waveforms, including an asymmetrical tremolo modeled after a ’64 Fender Vibrolux. This would have given Beck easy access to both vintage and modern tremolo textures.
I’m not sure how he used this pedal exactly, but it’s exciting to think of the way he might have made use of it for his shows.
Neo Instruments Ventilator II
For rotary speaker effects (an effect I can’t get enough of at the moment), Beck chose the Ventilator II. A digital recreation of the classic Leslie 122 cabinet.
The Ventilator II creates a three-dimensional sound experience that emulates the physical movement of a rotating speaker. It’s glorious.
With the Ventilator II, Beck would have been able to dial in everything from subtle chorusing effects to full-on psychedelic whirls.
MXR Flanger M1117R
Rounding out the modulation section is the MXR Flanger. This pedal can produce everything from subtle chorus-like textures to those classic flanger dramatic jet-plane sounds.
The pedal has a manual mode that could have been useful. It would allow Beck to physically place the flanger effect anywhere along the frequency spectrum when he wanted precise control over the modulation.
If you want to learn more about how to use Flanger, check out our Guide to Flanger Pedals.
Overall, what stands out to me about Beck’s choice of modulation effects is the balance between vintage and modern, analog and digital. Each pedal must have been chosen not just for its individual sound but for how it could be used within his overall rig.
Pitch and Octave Effects
Beck used two distinctly different but complementary pedals for the pitch section of his pedalboard.
Boss Super Octave OC-3
The legendary Boss OC-3 Super Octave took a place on Beck’s pedalboard. This octave pedal can add octave effects to anything (even full chords).
What makes the OC-3 particularly versatile is its three distinct modes:
- Polyphonic Octave mode for chord processing.
- Drive mode that added distortion to the octave notes for a fatter, more aggressive tone.
- The original OC-2 mode, which can produce two notes one and two octaves down.
Again, I’m not sure exactly how Beck used this pedal. But if he took full advantage of it, he’d have been able to easily switch between different octave effects, from subtle bass reinforcement to massive two-octave drops that could make his Stratocaster sound like it was dueting with a bass guitar. Pretty cool, huh?
MXR Talk Box M222
Okay, so this might not strictly be a pitch effect in the traditional sense. But, in all honesty, I wasn’t really sure where to place this pedal.
The MXR Talk Box was Beck’s tool for adding vocal-like expression to his guitar sound. Unlike the vintage talk boxes that need a connection to an amplifier’s speaker output, this modern version contains its own amp and speaker driver, making it much more practical for Jeff Beck’s pedalboard and touring setup.
This combination of the Boss OC-3’s pitch manipulation and the Talk Box’s expressive abilities gave Beck a wide range of tools for creating some pretty unique voices and sounds with his guitar. It’s exciting that this quite clearly demonstrates that even in his final tour, he was still pushing the boundaries of what a guitar could sound like.
Signal Control and Routing
At the core of Beck’s pedalboard was a rather modest signal routing system that formed the backbone of his pedalboard.
The GigRig Loopy-2 (Two Units)
Beck used two GigRig Loopy-2 units on his pedalboard to control his loops while keeping his signal squeaky clean.
These professional-grade loopers would enable Beck to instantly switch between completely different effect combinations (no tapdancing) while maintaining the clarity and dynamics of his playing.
Radial Engineering Shotgun Guitar Splitter & Buffer
The Shotgun was no doubt an important part of Beck’s signal chain, serving as both a buffer and signal splitter. This compact but powerful unit could drive up to four amplifiers simultaneously, giving Beck and his team precise control over his live sound.
The inclusion of these routing tools shows us that, despite not being a big effect pedal user, he understood the importance of maintaining signal integrity when using multiple effects.
Drive and Tone Shaping
Even in his later years, Beck’s approach to overdrive and fuzz remained as nuanced as his playing. His choice of drive pedals on his final tour was simple but reflected both vintage inspiration and modern innovation.
J Rockett Audio Designs Archer
The Archer held a special place in Beck’s drive section, being a tribute to the legendary Klon Centaur overdrive. The Klon is a pedal that Beck himself had used in various forms throughout his career.
This isn’t just another overdrive. It’s a carefully crafted homage featuring germanium diodes that captured the mystique of the original Klon’s “transparent overdrive” tones.
What makes the Archer particularly suitable for Beck’s style is that it preserves the dynamics of your playing while adding just the right amount of harmonically rich overdrive.
I’m not sure if Beck used this as a clean-ish boost or to bring in some of that signature Klon drive. But either way, this pedal works beautifully at both.
MXR Super Badass Variac Fuzz M236
The Super Badass Variac Fuzz must have brought something special to Beck’s tone. This pedal can recreate the sound of vintage fuzz pedals running on dying batteries but with the reliability of a modern pedal.
Given Beck’s history as one of the early pioneers of fuzz tones in rock music, I can certainly see why this pedal got a place on Jeff Beck’s pedalboard.
The Super Badass Variac Fuzz has an awesome feature that allows you to adjust the pedal’s voltage from 5V to 15V. It works like this:
- Lower voltage settings (5V)
Produces that sought-after “dying battery” sag and compression. - Higher voltage settings (15V)
Gives you more headroom and transparency.
The variable voltage control means Jeff could dial in exactly the right amount of voltage sag for any situation.
This fuzz gave Beck an incredibly wide range of tones, from vintage-style fuzz textures reminiscent of his Yardbirds days to more modern, aggressive sounds.
The drive section on Jeff Beck’s pedalboard reflects his evolution as a guitar player, and it’s so exciting to see. Jeff was one of the first guitarists to experiment with fuzz effects in the 1960s. He used a Sola Sound Tone Bender and prototype fuzz box on “Heart Full of Soul” with The Yardbirds.
Learn more about fuzz history in our article The history of fuzz pedals.
Custom Audio Electronics (CAE) Wah MC404
Another important element on Jeff Beck’s pedalboard is the CAE Wah MC404.
My personal all-time favorite wah pedal. This wah pedal isn’t your standard wah. It has dual Fasel Inductors that can be switched on and off easily, giving Beck access to two very distinct wah voices.
It also comes with a built-in Boost/Line Driver circuit and internal Q and gain controls. Overall, the MC404 would give Beck excellent control over the wah effect’s character.
Time-Based Effects
For time-based effects, Beck kept things focused and very simple. Using just a single but legendary delay pedal on his final tour board.
Dunlop Echoplex Delay EP103
The addition of the Echoplex Delay on Beck’s final pedalboard brings him a perfect marriage of vintage character combined with modern convenience.
This pedal was designed to capture the magical sounds of the legendary Echoplex EP-3 tape echo unit, a device that helped shape some of the most iconic guitar tones of the ’70s.
What made this pedal particularly special is its ability to recreate the warm, organic modulation and sweet musical character of the original Echoplex units but in a pedalboard-friendly format.
For Beck, who had a lot of experience with original tape echoes (apparently, he used an original Echoplex for many years before switching to a Roland RE101 tape delay), this pedal offers familiar territory with modern reliability.
What’s particularly noteworthy about Beck’s choice here is how it reflects his appreciation for vintage sounds while taking advantage of modern convenience. Rather than struggling with the maintenance and reliability issues of an original tape echo unit, the EP103 gave him the same beloved sounds in a reliable, consistent format.
For time-based effects, Jeff Beck’s pedalboard focuses on quality over quantity. This perfectly aligns with Beck’s general philosophy about effects in general.
The Legacy Told by Jeff Beck’s Pedalboard
I find it comforting that Jeff Beck’s final pedalboard stands as a representation of his lifelong pursuit of creative guitar tones.
From the vintage Maestro Ring Modulator that had been with him since the 1970s to modern marvels like the Ventilator II, each pedal represents a carefully considered choice in his musical evolution.
Despite his often-quoted preference for a “straight-ahead amplifier,” this final collection of pedals reveals a musician who never stopped exploring and refining his sound.
What makes this pedalboard particularly important to me is how it balances Beck’s minimalist philosophy with his desire to recreate his classics in a live setting. The historical significance and high selling price of this rig just highlight its importance in guitar and rock music history.
This pedalboard is a memorial to Beck’s journey through the decades of guitar effects. From his early pioneering days with the Yardbirds, where he helped popularize fuzz, to his final tours (like this one) where he masterfully integrated digital and analog technologies.
This pedalboard tells the story of an artist who remained curious and innovative throughout his entire career.
Unsurprisingly, the wonderful Jeff Beck is teaching us all once again something extremely valuable about effects pedals:
It’s not about how many pedals you have, but how you use them.
FAQs
How to get the Jeff Beck sound?
Jeff Beck’s signature sound comes from his masterful technique combined with a few overdrive, delay, and modulation effects.
What amplifier did Jeff Beck use?
Throughout his career, Jeff Beck used several amplifiers: Marshall amplifiers were his mainstay, particularly Marshall Super Leads and a modified JCM2000. In his early days with the Yardbirds, he used Vox AC30s.
Later in his career, he often used a Marshall JCM2000 boosted with a Klon Centaur pedal, and also experimented with Fender Pro Jr. amps and Magnatone amplifiers.
What guitar did Jeff Beck use?
Jeff Beck mostly played Fender Stratocasters in his later years, particularly white Custom Shop models. His main guitar from the early 2000s to 2014 was a white Strat nicknamed “Anoushka.” Earlier in his career, he was known for playing Gibson Les Pauls, including the famous “Oxblood” Les Paul featured on his album “Blow By Blow.
