What Makes John Frusciante's Tone So Special?
John Frusciante is a household name among the guitar community. Thanks to his funky licks and melodic solos, he is most well known for being part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and for his signature tone. But what pedals do you need to sound like Frusciante?
As it turns out, Frusciante's career spans over 30 years at this point, so it's natural that he has experimented with tons of different gear. Luckily though, his trademark sound stayed quite consistent throughout time, so you actually won't need too many pedals to recreate it.
In this guide, we will explore John Frusciante's guitar gear collection and show you how you can get a similar tone using boutique pedals and effects such as overdrive, fuzz, and modulation. Let's dive in!
In a hurry? Check out our quick guide with all of the featured pedals at the end of the article.
Exploring John Frusciante's Signature Sound
Even though this article is about pedals, we can't talk about Frusciante without mentioning the main core of his sound: vintage Fender Stratocasters. Most specifically, John is known for using a 1962 Strat for most of his career.
The guitarist also played other guitar models such as the Gretsch White Falcon, but his signature sound is largely attributed to the glassy tone of the Stratocaster. Using one is a great place to start, even though you can definitely try other single-coil pickup guitars to add your own twist to the mix! Some possible alternatives include the Fender Jaguar, Telecaster, or Jazzmaster.
What's On John Frusciante's Pedalboard?
Finally, let's talk about John Frusciante's pedalboard. One thing that stayed constant throughout the years is the player's preference for having a large number of pedals at his disposal, with some tours featuring as many as twenty-three effects units. Other than that, he also seems to have some duplicate units with different settings, such as a pair of Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortions.
Despite the sheer amount of pedals on Frusciante's setup, it's totally possible to cover a lot of ground with a few essential effects, as we will demonstrate further down the article. For now, let's explore the units on John's latest pedalboard for his Unlimited Love tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Fuzz
Electro Harmonix Big Muff PI
When it comes to fuzz, the Electro Harmonix Big Muff PI is Frusciante's main choice. The pedal has constantly appeared on his pedalboards throughout the years, being positioned at the beginning of the effect chain.
What's nice about the Big Muff is that you can use it both as a fuzz unit and as a distortion, a nice option for playing solos and emulating what John does with the Boss DS-2 using one single pedal.
Alternative Option: Mojo Hand FX 1979
The Mojo Hand FX 1979 is one of the best Big Muff clones in the market nowadays. Thanks to its extra mids, it cuts through the mix really well, which is a huge plus if compared to the original Muff. You also get to easily switch between two circuits with the built-in footswitches, useful for boosting the effect on solos, for example.
Distortion
A distortion pedal is essential for nailing that Frusciante tone, as the effect can be heard on the riffs and hooks of many Red Hot Chili Peppers songs. The player seems to be a fan of the Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion.
Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
Two units of this classic pedal can be found on Frusciante's pedalboard. The DS-2 is a very versatile distortion that John mostly employs on solos and power-chord-based riffs, such as the one on the chorus of "Dani California" (listen to the song for a practical example).
John uses the DS-2 in a way that pairs really well with the overdrive from his Marshall amps, with all of the knobs, maxed out while having the pedal on Turbo mode II. Here is a video demonstrating the technique:
Alternative Option: Anode Effects Jet
The Jet is a Rodent/Feline inspired distortion with three clipping modes and more clarity than the original RAT. While it's pretty hard to find a unit with a similar sound to the Boss DS-2, this Anode Effects pedal can definitely get you pretty close to Frusciante's tone, while also being useful in other situations thanks to its versatility.
Overdrive/Boost
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
The only overdrive present on Frusciante's setup is the Boss SD-1, which is a renowned classic and a pretty standard choice among guitarists from different genres. The pedal is used by the player to push the amplifier's overdrive further and add some bite to some songs, such as to the chorus of "Black Summer"
MXR Micro Amp
Frusciante also uses an MXR Micro Amp boost for a similar purpose: the unit can add a few dBs of gain to your sound, delivering a hotter signal to the amplifier. While it's a very useful pedal for many scenarios, it's not exactly the most essential addition to a Frusciante-inspired setup, as it doesn't color the tone that much.
Alternative Option: Cusack Music Meta Plexi
Our suggestion is not an SD-1 or Micro Amp clone, but a pedal that you can use to emulate the overdrive tone coming from Frusciante's Marshall amp. The Meta Plexi, as the name implies, reproduces the sound of the famous Plexi amplifier, with two voicings (vintage and modern) and three levels of dB boost.
An interesting feature about this pedal is that you can use the Lead footswitch to activate a boost on the fly, matching what Frusciante does with the SD-1 and Micro Boost while getting a similar Marshall type of tone.
Wah
Ibanez WH-10
Frusciante is well-known for his use of wah pedals, be it on funky riffs or solos when paired with fuzz and distortion. The player's wah of choice is the Ibanez WH-10, which sounds quite different from everything else thanks to its op amp circuit.
Alternative: BMF Effects Wah
Despite having its own unique voice when compared to the WH-10, this wah from BMF Effects can totally do Frusciante-style tones. What's also nice is that there are many spec boards available, each with a different tonal quality.
Modulation
There are quite a few modulation pedals on John Frusciante's pedalboard, including classics such as the MXR Phase 90 and the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, as well as unique units such as the Moogerfooger Low Pass Filter MF101. Let's look at each of them in detail.
Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble
A chorus pedal is, in our opinion, essential in getting Frusciante's tone as the player uses it quite frequently when playing clean chords and in some of his signature riffs throughout the years. John's chorus of choice is the Boss CE-1.
The CE-1 is one of the first chorus pedals to be ever released, originally coming out in the 1970s. Nowadays, it's a very rare and expensive unit, with its price usually surpassing $1000. Luckily, many pedals can do a great job of replicating its modulation effects.
Alternative Option: BMF Effects Liquid Sky Chorus
You can't go wrong with the BMF Effects Liquid Sky, as it's a straightforward chorus with a compact design. Although it doesn't feature a separate vibrato circuit as the CE-1, the range of tones you can get with this pedal is unmatched.
MXR Phase 90
A certified classic, the Phase 90 is a very famous phaser pedal in the guitar community. Frusciante uses the effect seldomly, such as in the solo of Parallel Universe. This unit was mostly used in the Californication era, being swapped for a Moogerfooger 12-step phaser in the Stadium Arcadium tour.
Alternative Option: Mojo Hand FX Mr O
The Mojo Hand FX Mr O is a phaser that takes some inspiration from the MXR Phase 90, with a very vintage vibe to it. It's definitely a great choice if you're into Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication era. Although it has only four and six stages, it can also cover some Stadium Arcadium ground.
MXR Flanger M117
The MXR Flanger M117 is used by John mainly to give more dimension to clean chords and make them sound thicker. He uses it in a similar way to the Boss CE-1. The effect can be heard in the outro of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under the Bridge", for example.
Alternative Option: Mojo Hand FX Swim Team
The Swim Team is a chorus/flanger combo, making it a very thoughtful choice if you're replicating Frusciante's tone on a budget. Although you can only use one effect at a time, it's capable of replicating most of Frusciante's riffs and licks with ease.
Delay
Frusciante uses delay pedals almost as an "instrument", rather than mere ambience machines. This is evident in songs such as "Don't Forget Me" and "Tell Me Baby", where the effect is used very densely to create a melodic atmosphere.
On the Unlimited Love tour, John used four different delay pedals, two analog and two digital. While these units are used in conjunction with some riffs, you can somewhat replicate the effect using a single delay if you're not willing to spend a fortune.
MXR Carbon Copy and Dunlop Echoplex Analog Delays
When it comes to analog delay, Frusciante's choices on the Unlimited Love tour are the MXR Carbon Copy and the Dunlop Echoplex.
Digitech PDS-1002 and Boss DD-500
John also uses the rare Digitech PDS-1002 and the Boss DD-500. These are digital delays, so they sound quite different from their analog counterparts.
Alternative Option: Cusack Music Tap-a-Delay
The Cusack Music Tap-a-Delay would probably be your best bet to replicate Frusciante's delay tones. On its own, it can cover a lot of ground, as it has several features that might help you achieve John's sound using a single echo unit.
Reverb
On Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest tour, John used two MXR M300 reverb units, possibly with different settings. The M300 is a quite versatile pedal as it features six types of reverb. The guitarist revealed in an interview that he uses one of the units in room mode, which is on all the time, and the second one in plate setting.
Alternative Option: EarthQuaker Devices Ledges
The EarthQuaker Devices Ledges is, in our opinion, an excellent alternative to the M300 as it features three types of reverberation (room, hall, and plate) plus some useful features such as the six preset slots and damping control. You can also use the expression jack to switch between presets, which should be useful to replicate John's use of paired reverb pedals.
Compressor
MXR Dyna Comp
The MXR Dyna Comp needs no introduction, as it's a staple in the guitar community. A compressor is quite important to nail that glassy clean Frusciante tone, as the player uses it very often.
Alternative Option: BearFoot FX Putting Green
The BearFoot FX Putting Green is a great alternative to the Dyna Comp, as it's an optical compressor modeled after amp and speaker compression. This causes the effect to blend in very well with the rest of your signal chain. It also features bass and treble controls, which is a nice bonus.
Extras
Moogerfooger MF-101
The Moogerfooger is a one-of-a-kind pedal based on the lowpass filter found on Moog synthesizers. This unit is widely discussed among Frusciante fans, since the player used it in conjunction with a Moog CP-251 Processor, controlling the filter via an LFO and creating a unique warble effect that can be heard in Dani California.
What's interesting is that, back on the Stadium Arcadium tour, John used a combination of six different Moog pedals to recreate the effect as faithful as possible to the studio version, while on the most recent Unlimited Love tour, he played it using a wah pedal.
If you want to get into this rabbit hole, this video uncovers some of the mysteries surrounding this pedal and Frusciante's pedalboard:
Wrapping Up: What Are the Essential Pedals to Sound Like John Frusciante?
As you can see, John Frusciante's pedalboard has a sheer amount of units. A lot of us don't have the luxury to replicate his setup down to the last detail, or simply want to make the most of each pedal when emulating his tone. In that case, what are the essentials?
While the answer will vary depending on your personal preferences and your favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers era, these are the essential pedals to sound like John Frusciante in our opinion:
- Compressor
- Wah (Optional)
- A Big Muff style fuzz
- Overdrive/Distortion
- Chorus
- Delay
Here is an example of pedalboard which would allow you to cover most of John Frusciante's signature tones:
- BearFoot FX Putting Green Compressor
- Mojo Hand FX 1979 Fuzz
- Cusack Music Meta Plexi Distortion
- BMF Effects Wah
- Mojo Hand FX Swim Team Chorus Flanger
- Cusack Music Tap-a-Delay
Frequently Asked Questions
What Amp Does John Frusciante Use?
John Frusciante is most known for using Marshall amps, particularly the JCM800, Plexi, and Silver Jubilee. The guitarist also used other amps throughout his career, such as the Vox AC30, but most of his signature tone comes from the Marshall amplifiers.
What Pick and Strings Does John Frusciante Use?
John Frusciante uses the orange Dunlop Tortex 60mm picks. For the strings, John's choice is D'Addario XL .10.
Conclusion
These are the pedals currently used by John Frusciante with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While there are many other units previously used by the player that weren't mentioned, we decided to base our list on the latest Unlimited Love tour to keep things concise.
While it's a great idea to explore Frusciante's signature sound, make sure to give it your own twist and use this article as inspiration to develop your own tone, rather than a strict set of rules!
|
Pedal Type |
Pedal |
Price |
|
Fuzz |
$169.00 |
|
|
Distortion |
$179.00 |
|
|
Overdrive/Distortion |
$195.00 |
|
|
Wah |
$239.00 |
|
|
Chorus |
$249.00 |
|
|
Phaser |
$159.00 |
|
|
Chorus Flanger |
$159.00 |
|
|
Delay |
$195.00 |
|
|
Reverb |
$199.00 |
|
|
Compressor |
$179.00 |
You can check these and many other pedals in our store!
Bonus: Use the code IASN10 at checkout for an extra 10% discount!