Veteran guitarist Pete Thorn reveals his must-have session gear.
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If you’ve patrolled YouTube for cool gear demos, you’ve likely come across Pete Thorn, who is one ofVeteran guitarist Pete Thorn reveals his must-have session gear.
If you’ve patrolled YouTube for cool gear demos, you’ve likely come across Pete Thorn, who is one of the video-sharing website’s most prolific product reviewers. But the tone-obsessed guitarist has also done studio sessions and/or worked stages with Chris Cornell, Courtney Love, Pink, Alicia Keys, Melissa Etheridge, and others. If anyone knows how to “give good tone” it’s Thorn, and here he reveals his must-have session gear.
Which guitars and amps typically see duty during a Thorn session?
My signature Suhr guitar covers many bases, and my other favorites include a ’63 ES-335, a ’64 Strat, a’ 66 Tele, and a Gil Yaron Bone. Sometimes, I like to use Floyd Rose-equipped guitars, and I’ll reach for my EVH Wolfgang or Suhr Classic S when I need a locking trem. My favorite acoustics are a Martin D-28 that Chris Cornell gave me, and a Taylor 12-string. I always have a capo (Planet Waves), a slide (Dunlop Joe Perry), and different picks on hand.
My Suhr PT100 amp covers Fender and Marshall tones very well, and my Vox AC15HW gets those unique, glassy Vox tones. I think of those as the three main amp food groups. The Suhr Reactive Load has transformed the way I work. It loads the amp down to line level, so you can safely use it without a speaker cabinet. I take the line out to a mic preamp or recording interface, and I mainly use Impulse Responses from Celestion and Ownham-mer to add speaker and mic simulations in my computer. Not having to deal with blaring loud cabs, and getting quality miked sounds immediately and repeatably is a huge help.
I also have a Line 6 Helix hooked up to a Kemper Profiler so I can run the