Randy Rhoads’ Guitar Rig Rundown, Gear, Amps, Pedals/Pedalboard, Guitars

H.B.M: Randy’s rig.

Below is an excerpt from a guitar clinic Randy Rhoads did in 1982, six weeks before his death. The entire segment can be found @ Guitar World.

What effects do you use when you play live?

“I have a pedalboard that’s got an MXR Distortion +, an MXR 10-band equalizer, a chorus, an MXR stereo chorus, an MXR flanger, a Cry Baby wah pedal and a Roland volume pedal.

“I used them much more in the past than I do nowadays, but now our sound man is starting to add a lot more upfront. Sometimes I use them more for quiet rhythm parts, just to enhance the sound. I never use echoes or anything for leads.”

Do you have a preamp built into your guitar?

“No, I just have the Distortion + on the board, and I just keep that on all the time. My amps are Marshalls.”

What speakers do you use in your cabinets?

“I use Altecs. I prefer those to Celestions because they’re very bright, clean speakers. I found that Celestion speakers are pretty dirty, and if you add a fuzz box to them they’ll sound terrible.”

Do you ever have trouble with feedback?

“Yes, I have lots of problems there. For example, if you let go of the guitar for a second, it will feedback. You’ve got to play so that you’re covering your pickup. If I don’t want to do something quiet, I have to either use the volume pedal or click off the fuzz – otherwise, my guitar will squeal. I’ve gotten used to playing that way.”

Do you have a special tremolo unit on your Charvel Flying V?

“Grover Jackson, who owns Charvel, builds the guitars himself for me, and I use his tremolo units. There’s no perfect tremolo, except for maybe a Floyd Rose, but Grovers are very good. I have another Flying-V, the polka-dotted one, but it isn’t a Charvel, and I do have tuning problems with it all the time.”

Read the entire segment @ this location.