Buy their sound: Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck has long been one of the pantheon of greats, yet he remains an enigma. Here we look at two rigs that will give you the base for Beck’s legendary tone: one on a budget and one that will require significant saving power.

Beck has used Fender Esquires, a 1956 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet, Les Pauls; he even used a Jackson Soloist on 1985’s Flash. Yet, he’s always been synonymous with Strats, favouring his white ’93 Custom Shop above all else.

You’ll find Marshall and Fender amps in his backline, too. But remember: the gear is just a fraction of the story. The rest is in his head and hands, just out of reach for we mere mortals.

Of course, you should really do it the hard way, so also check out How to play like Jeff Beck.

BUDGET: A versatile electric with a vintage feel and plenty of attitude from its Duncan Designed pickups.

BUDGET: With heaps of onboard modelling software, the Mustang’s a versatile choice.

BUDGET: This is a great approximation of Jeff’s Klon Centaur, at barely a 10th of the price.

BUDGET: This Cry Baby wah has a similar sweep and harmonic response to the very first Cry Babys.

BUDGET: Jeff always has a bottle on stage to stop his hands from gumming up.

BLOWOUT: Jeff’s signature Strat has a fat C-shaped neck, is wired with dual-coil ceramic Noiseless pickups, and sounds incredible.

BLOWOUT: It lacks a little gain, but articulates the Strat’s tone perfectly, has reverb, and all-valve Fender soul.

BLOWOUT: This flexible wah features three modes, plus a 60s-style inductor for authentic vintage tones.

BLOWOUT: Jeff has been known to use both the M169 and a Way Huge Aqua-Puss - we’d go for the MXR.

BLOWOUT: A truly gorgeous transparent overdrive that can even be used as a volume/treble boost.

BLOWOUT: After all that effort to find an alternative to his Klon Centaur, you might as well copy his diet and go vegetarian.