It's episode 4 of Pedalpocalypse, the new show from Guitar World, MusicRadar and Guitar Player. Produced in LA by British guitarist Robin Davey and Growvision, and inspired by the bad-old-days of lockdown, in each episode we ask guitarists: “If you could only take three pedals with you into a future lockdown/weird pedal-related apocalypse, which ones would they be?”
This month, acclaimed blues player and songwriter Kirk Fletcher reveals the three pedals that he leans on to get his glorious tone.
"I only use one or two pedals," says Kirk, "but the ones I use are really crucial."
First up, the Vemuram Jan Ray: "For me, I have to use pedals that really work with a varied amount of amplifiers. On my rider usually, it's a Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12 – I really liked that amp – or a Vox AC30 or Super Reverb or something like that. So I've found that the Vemuram Jan Ray works really fantastic for me, for just being able to add more bass cut bass and add a little bit of grit to it.
"Because my style is really once removed from the blues greats that we all love – you know, like Albert King, BB King, Otis Rush and all those guys. For some of my more modern songs I have a little bit more of a 'singing tone' – it's almost like a '70s West Coast, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford – so I'll go for more of that."
Then there's the Line 6 DL4. "It's just set to some standard things, you know – a modulation delay slapback and a longer delay on there for swells."
And finally the TC Electronic Hall of Fame Mini. "Reverb is something that I don't want to live without because for me, being primarily a cleaner kind of player, reverb just kind of lifts the notes. You know, when I play or when I attack it. I just kind of have this pillow, you know, that I can like crash into and it's like just makes everything more pillow-y like."
And if you don't know what he means, just listen to what he plays on the video.
Previously on Pedalpocalypse:
Episode 1: Blues-country-jazzmaster and all-round tone wizard Josh Smith
Episode 2: British blues guitarist Scott McKeon
Episode 3: Legendary virtuoso Steve Vai
