“The revised big board du jour”: Seal, a self-confessed guitar pedal fanatic, shares the secrets of his pedalboard – and it's filled with surprise boutique stompboxes

While primarily known as a crooner, Seal's guitar chops are not to be underestimated, and as a self-confessed guitar and guitar pedal fanatic, his “revised big board du jour”, as he calls it, is as studio-ready (and Seal-setlist-ready) as it gets.

“Obviously can’t say enough about both Simon & Robert’s genius at Kingsley and Keeley respectively but don’t sleep on the illumine, Lighthouse and Foxcatcher,” he writes in a new social mediapost, which shares the secrets of his pedalboard. “Will be putting one together around Browne Amplification soon.”

Fresh out of the gate is an Imperial All-Tube Preamp pedal, which brings Tone King's iconic MKII amp' vintage British rock, ’60s black-panel and ’50s tweed tones to a ’board-friendly format.

Other pedals of note include the Neunaber Audio Illumine Reverb – which packs a punch with 20 different reverbs, 50 presets, MIDI, and expression control – and the Keeley Electronics HALO Andy Timmons Dual Echo, as well as the Kingsley Minstrel V3 – a tube overdrive with a single 12AX7 tube running at high voltage, and a “More” footswitch that dials in a higher-gain mode.

Eventide and CopperSound Pedals are represented via the TriceraChorus and Foxcatcher Overdrive and Boost, while Seal continues flying the flag for boutique pedals and small builders with the Lighthouse Amplitude Modulating Amplifier by Bennett Custom Audio. The staples – the tuner and compressor – come by way of Origin Effects' Cali76 Compact Deluxe and Walrus Audio's Canvas Tuner.

In an interview with Origin Effects, the Kiss from a Rose hitmaker talks about blending analog effects with his digital modelers, and how he interacts with them differently.

“First off, I’ve been using the Quad Cortex and Fender Tone Master Pro,” he shared.

“The importance to me is in the creative process. Modelers and multi-effects processors are great for touring but, when I’m actually writing music in the creative process, it’s vital for me to be able to just reach over and interact with physical analogue pedals when I want to adjust a parameter. The moment I have to start menu diving, it’s over for me.”

Last year, Seal revealed how he wrote his breakthrough hit Crazy after learning two basic chord shapes on a borrowed guitar.