Johnny’s GEar
A selection of cool devices from the guitarist’s formative years
1 TEAC A-108 SYNC TAPE MACHINE
Johnny traded his old 1980 Les
Paul for this TEAC A-108 Sync tape machine and the Gretsch 7680 Atkins Super Axe shortly before the formation of The Smiths. Enabling him to experiment with layers of guitar overdubs, this machine was key to developing his imagination and skills in the art of writing and recording.
2 LOVETONE PEDALS
Sonic experimentation is and has always been an important part of Johnny’s approach to playing guitar. This set of Lovetone pedals is a studio mainstay and includes (clockwise, left to right): the Ring Stinger ring modulator/octave fuzz; the Doppelganger phaser/ vibrato; the Meatball envelope filter; the Big Cheese fuzz; and the Brown Source overdrive.
3 ROLAND JC-120 JAZZ CHORUS TRANSISTOR AMP
With plenty of clean headroom at high volume and a particularly good-sounding chorus circuit, the Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus transistor amp was an important part of Johnny Marr’s live rig since The Smiths’ first major tour of the UK (along with more traditional tube amplifiers, such as the 1956 Fender Bassman on previous page).
4 CLASSIC TRANSISTOR RADIO
An important musical relic dating back to his childhood, some of the first music Johnny Marr ever heard emanated from this old radio in the Maher family home in Manchester during the 1960s. Johnny’s mum would hoist him up on a chair in front of this radio as he stood, for hours at a time, transfixed by the guitar parts.