Scott McKeon reveals what’s on his touring pedalboard and explains why the SM Fuzz is his MVP

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GW checks in with the Tom Jones guitarist to talk pedals and ask, 'What's new, pussycat?'

Tom Jones and Scott McKeon
(Image credit: Hans-Peter Van Velthoven)

“The first thing the guitar sees is the SM Fuzz (gray pedal near lower right corner), which is my own signature fuzz pedal, then the Vemuram Jan Ray overdrive. After that we’re into the first GigRig switcher, which has the Hudson Electronics Broadcast preamp, Donner Mini Dynamic Wah, Nobels ODR-1 overdrive and the Dawner Prince Pulse for amazing Leslie sounds. There’s also an old Fulltone Clyde Standard wah.

“Then there’s the second GigRig switcher, which has the Origin Cali76 compressor, Blackout Effectors Cadavernous Reverb, Jam Pedals Delay Llama (which I set to slapback) and the Strymon Flint tremolo. From there I go into the Lehle volume pedal, which is placed after the drives and compressor so I can use it for swells and pedal-steel-type stuff.

Scott McKeon's Pedalboard

(Image credit: Scott McKeon)

“Next up, there’s my Dawner Prince Boonar, which is an incredible Binson Echorec-style delay. With the Tom Jones band, I’m using the Strymon Timeline mostly for long atmospheric delays on the few tracks we play to a click, where it’s programmed with the bpm. 

“Having the delays after the volume pedal allows the trails to continue. I’m using two Cioks DC10 power supplies to power the board, and there’s a little TC Electronic PolyTune 2 there too. This rig was built with the help of my friend and fellow guitarist Ben Jones.”

Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).

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