How to Sound Like Radiohead's Guitarist Ed O'Brien
If you want to sound like Ed, here are some of the instruments you need to get you started.
Radiohead is one of the world's most experimental, innovative rock bands, often fusing various genres to create their trademark sound, which is emulated by fans around the world.
Ed O'Brien, one of Radiohead's guitarists, is known for his huge collection of musical instruments, including custom-made acoustic, bass and electric guitars, as well as pedals, amps, and microphones. If you want to sound like Ed, here are some of the instruments you need to get you started.
Rickenbacker 360/12 FG
According to Radiohead fansite The King of Gear, Ed O'Brien used several guitars for the band's In Rainbows tour, which played to packed-out crowds and garnered critical acclaim. The Rickenbacker 360 was spotted in his guitar rack, a thin line semi-acoustic guitar known for its maple body, rosewood fretboard, and triangle inlays. The guitar, which has a scale of 629 mm and a nut width of 41.4 mm, has Schaller machine heads, two Hi-gain pickups, and 24 frets. This guitar definitely packs a punch and can help you sound like Ed straight off the bat.
Fender Classic Series 70 Strat MN OW
Ed has used a 1970s Fender Strat. This electric guitar has a C neck shape, maple fretboard, chrome hardware, 2x tone control, custom-wound zebra humbucker and a custom-wound vintage-style coil. The guitar, which comes with a gig bag, makes an instant impression, helping you to create the dynamic sound that Ed produced on Radiohead's In Rainbows tour.
Gibson ES-335 Studio Wine Red
The Gibson ES-335 is another one of Ed's guitars. This instrument is available for €1,989 and comes jam-packed full of features, including a maple body and fretboard, 22 frets, a bridge with titanium saddles, a 57 classic humbucker, and much more. The guitar has a 628 mm scale and a nut width of 42.8 mm. This guitar is known for its classic, timeless design and is a great instrument for you to use.
Line6 DL4
One of O’Brien’s most frequently used pedals is Line6 DL4, which includes16 vintage delay and echo effects including: Tube Echoplex, Space Echo, Deluxe Memory Man, Analog Delay, Reverse and many more, 3 user programmable channels, loop sampler, tap tempo control, true bypass switching and much more.
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier
Ed has used the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb on tour, according to The King of Gear. The Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Reborn is a new take on this classic amp, with loads of features that you'll love. It's available with eight different modes, a tube and transistor rectifier switch, six-way footswitch and cover, serial EFX loop and more.
Boss DD-7
Boss DD-7 belongs to Ed's new pedalboard for Radiohead’s 2016 Tour. It has a heavy-duty aluminum die casting body, rubber pedal for comfortable play and non-slip action, convenient tuner-output jack, control for minimum volume.
With these six pieces of equipment, you could be well on your way to sounding like just Radiohead's Ed O'Brien.
About George Katsanos
George is the bassist of Mobvibe and a avid fan of Rock music and Fender Telecasters. When not practicing his bass lines he is busy writing code for web applications.
Contact George Katsanos at georgekatsanos@musicngear.com
In this section of the Musicngear blog you can find reviews, how-tos, buying guides & comparisons across a wife range of music gear.
Are you interested in writing a story for this section as a guest or joining the Musicngear team as a Contributing Author? Contact us at info@musicngear.com
Would you like to send us sample gear for reviews? Reach out to Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com
