Warren Haynes’ Current Gear

No Les Paul for the Dead

Gibson.com continues to make every effort to do justice to musicians who play their instruments, the latest being an interview with Warren Haynes. Warren, as we all know, is a player’s player – meaning a working musician with lots of talent, a thirst for playing and an ear for WoodyTone.

Did I mention a thirst for playing? Warren is now in three well-known bands: the Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule and the Grateful Dead. In the Gibson.com interview, excerpted below, Warren talks about which gear he uses for which bands.

“I use different guitars and amps with each band. In the Allman Brothers, virtually no effects. In Gov’t Mule I tend to use more. Some of the amps and guitars overlap, but there’s a lot of differences as well.

“And in the Dead I tend to use completely different gear, because I’m paying homage to someone completely different, Jerry Garcia, and my sounds have to blend in with what’s going on around me. If I walked on-stage with the Dead with the same sound I use with the Allman Brothers, it’d be inappropriate.

“[With the Dead] I’m not playing any Les Pauls. I play an SG, a ’61 ES-335 and recently had Gibson build me a Firebird with two of the mini-humbuckers in it that I’ve been using a lot in the Dead. It fits in very nicely. We’ve done 11 shows with the Dead so far this year and I’ve yet to pick up a Les Paul.”

Gibson.com asks what of his gear is common to the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule.

“The one common element amp-wise is my Ceasar Diaz CD-100 prototype amp. In the Allman Brothers my other amp is a Soldano SLO-100 that’s been modified or a 100-watt Marshall Plexi or my 50-watt Marshall sometimes. In Gov’t Mule the Soldano and the Diaz are my two main heads.

“In the Dead I’ve been using this Paul Reed Smith amp I got recently, a Dallas [fellow Allmans guitarist Derek Trucks uses PRS amps now – more on those amps in a future post]. I’m exploring trying to find different sounds that work in each band.

“I’m using a Tone Tubby cabinet and a Marshall cabinet in the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule. In the Dead, it’s a PRS cabinet.

“When it comes to speakers I’m usually a Vintage 30 guy, but — although none of my cabinets are equipped with them right now — I do also like 25s. Every time I play through a Marshall cabinet with 25-watt Celestions I really enjoy it, but I always find myself going back to the 30s.” [Why?!]
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That’s all the tone info in the interview. If you’re wondering who Caesar Diaz is, click here for more info about him (more info about the CD-100 here). Caesar is a well-known vintage tone connoisseur who has helped Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Eric Clapton and many other well-known axe-slingers with their sounds.

Category: Caesar Diaz, Celestion speakers, Firebird, Les Paul, Marshall, PRS, SG, Soldano, Speakers, Warren Haynes