Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitar Amps
  • Guitar Pedals
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • You Oughta Know
  • Glasto 2025 - how to watch, who's on?
  • Wrecking Crew
  • 95k+ free music samples

Recommended reading

Uli Jon Roth wears a blue bandana as he plays a G3 date in 2018 with his Sky guitar.
Artists Uli Jon Roth says his Sky Guitar’s active pickup system was so powerful it blew up his amps
Jackson David Davidson Pro Series Warrior WR7
Guitars Jackson and Revocation’s David Davidson unveil 2025's hottest metal guitar so far, the Warrior WR7
PRS Herman Li Chloe: the new shred-ready signature model for the DragonForce guitarist comes in two finishes and features an all-new body design.
Artists PRS activates total shred mode for Herman Li of DragonForce’s feature-stacked Chloe signature guitar
Yngwie Malmsteen works his hamstrings as he takes a high kick onstage. He plays his signature Fender Stratocaster and the stage is lit up in green.
Artists Yngwie Malmsteen on classical epiphanies, modern art, and why you should embrace the cliff edge
Kane Hibberd, the photographer behind the Scale exhibition in London, poses in front of his photographs – guitars features will include Kerry King of Slayer's BC Rich and Tom Morello's Arm The Homeless S-style.
Guitars Exhibition featuring life-sized photos of 100 legendary artists' guitars to open in London
Lifeguard's Kai Slater, Isaac Lowenstein and Asher Case
Artists Lifeguard on abstract noise and pop hooks – and the creative epiphanies behind their stellar debut
Jackson Pro Plus Pure Metal Series: the new limited range strips the Soloist, Rhoads and Kelly down with a single Fishman bridge humbucker, Floyd Rose and black finishes as standard
Guitars Jackson unveils stripped down single-pickup shred classics in ltd edition Pro Plus Pure Metal range
  1. Guitars
  2. Guitar Rigs

Rig tour: Extreme's Nuno Bettencourt

News
By Matt Parker ( Total Guitar ) published 12 November 2014

Walls of amps and flaming 12-strings!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

The inimitable Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt achieved guitar hero status in the early '90s with Boston rockers Extreme. Nowadays, you’re just as likely to see the unsettingly well-maintained 48-year-old tearing up stadium stages with pop supremo Rihanna.

Making a return to his rock mainstay this summer, Nuno and the Extreme juggernaut rolled into London for two nights. TG was on hand to find out all about his famous Washburn N4s, view a stunning wall of Randall signatures and learn how the guitarist’s biggest tonal lesson came courtesy of one Eddie Van Halen.

Page 1 of 12
Page 1 of 12
Washburn N4

Washburn N4

"First off, this is the guitar that we’re using on the tour now. It’s a Washburn n4 that I’ve been playing for 300 years now and this one, specifically, is a little bit different for the tour because it’s got a carbon fibre fretboard.

"It’s a little bit of cheating I guess, because it’s a little bit faster. It’s also a little bit of a sacrifice, tonally, because it’s not as fat as my usual fretboards, but it’s got a nice feel to it and it’s just different, so I thought I’d spice things up a bit by using that.

“Other than that, the N4 is the N4. It’s always been the same pickups, the Bill Lawrence pickup [an L-500 in the bridge, partnered with a Seymour Duncan ‘59 in the neck], one volume knob, and a switch positioned on the lower horn, to not get in the way. It always gets in the way - I play a lot of rhythm right-hand stuff and the knobs as they’re normally placed on guitars always get in the way and drive me up the wall.

"And that’s it! A Floyd rose, a drop D tuner... and you can slice and dice meatballs on it.”

Page 2 of 12
Page 2 of 12
Washburn N4 backups

Washburn N4 backups

"I have a few backups on this tour. One of them is an original early 90s N4 [pictured left].

"I use that not so much as a spare, but just because it’s got a fatter tone and it’s good for the [Extreme’s mega-selling 1990 album] Pornograffitti stuff.

“I also have a white N4 with me as well. That’s definitely a backup, for both of the other N4s at this point.”

Page 3 of 12
Page 3 of 12
Washburn EA22

Washburn EA22

"I have a six-string solid [mahogany back and sides] guitar that I’m using for Midnight Express and More Than Words as the acoustic on this tour.

"For Midnight Express, especially, it’s a little bit faster. Also, it’s what I wrote and recorded Midnight on, so I just wanted to use the same guitar.”

Page 4 of 12
Page 4 of 12
Washburn 12-string acoustic

Washburn 12-string acoustic

"Then there’s a 12-string acoustic that’s actually one of my favourite guitars.

"It’s got a big fat body and a sweet, sweet little tone for all of the 12-string stuff, like Hole Hearted, obviously. And I think that’s all of the guitars that I have!”

Page 5 of 12
Page 5 of 12
Strings

Strings

"I used to use GHS boomers, then I was with Dean Markley for a while and they did a signature string that I really liked, but we had a falling out with them, so don’t use those any more.

Those were my favourite strings. Right now, I’m bouncing between three or four different strings and the gauge has always been 0.010 to 0.052, but I think I’m using a 0.056 on my main N4, for some reason.”

Page 6 of 12
Page 6 of 12
Boss GT-8 Effects Processor

Boss GT-8 Effects Processor

“The pedalboard that I’m using... well, I’m not much on effects anyway, and with Extreme it’s always about the real minimalistic approach.

"Even though it’s a multi-effects unit, I use four patches for 90 percent of the songs. There’s just a plain one, then a little bit of chorus on another one for all the chorus hooks that I play on.

"The third patch is like a solo boost - more for the volume and adding delay for the solo. The fourth is always a flanger. I just use that to go to for ‘vibe’ when I feel like that. That’s all that I really have on there. other than a few delay changes, that’s basically it.”

Page 7 of 12
Page 7 of 12
Boss OC-2 Octave Pedal

Boss OC-2 Octave Pedal

"I have a Boss octave pedal. I use it for a few songs. I don’t know if we’re doing anything right now, as in songs, that we’re using it for.

"There are songs like Comfortably Dumb and stuff off of [2008 album] Saudades De Rock, or whatever, that I’ll use it for if the songs were written that way.”

Page 8 of 12
Page 8 of 12
Boss NS-2 Noise Gate/ TU-3 Tuner

Boss NS-2 Noise Gate/ TU-3 Tuner

"Other than that it’s just a noise gate and I think that’s it. Yeah, I think it’s just the noise gate there.”

Page 9 of 12
Page 9 of 12
Randall NB King 100 Signature Amp

Randall NB King 100 Signature Amp

"I’d never done a signature amp before and I was messing around with a friend in Australia. I don’t know shit about electronics, but he does, so we started messing with stuff and it was more for fun [than anything else].

"Then we A-B’d it to some amps that I do like and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really enjoying this,’ you know. So, Randall works with Washburn under the same umbrella and we decided to go for it and make a signature. And there it is!

“Aesthetically, I just wanted it to look how I’d always wanted it to look - like the coolest amp in the world would look! It’s got a big master knob. The VU [volume unit] meter helps me see what’s going on with the amp: where the sweet spot is and where I like it volume-wise, where it sounds the best. If something goes wrong with the tube it kind of diminishes that output as well, so I know when something’s up with it.

“There’s a clean channel on there, then just a distorted channel and obviously a boost for the solo. Like the guitar, it’s just a workhorse amp. It’s nothing fancy.”

Page 10 of 12
Page 10 of 12
Pro Co RAT

Pro Co RAT

"I always used to use a RAT back in the day, but what I did initially is instead of having it as an outboard piece, it’s kind of in the input of my Randall amp now.

It tightens up the bottom end. but if I don’t use the Randall and I use a Marshall or something, I always have to have the RAT in front. It’s always a quirky part of my sound.”

Page 11 of 12
Page 11 of 12
Gear philosophy

Gear philosophy

"[It’s quite a stripped down rig], I think too much shit gets in the way. Ninety percent of what you hear me play, there’s nothing going on. Even though it’s going through the effects, it’s on a channel that is dead - no effects.

"It really is about the fingers. All of this stuff helps get you through what you want to do, but I learned that lesson a long time ago when I plugged into Eddie Van Halen’s rig.

“He asked me to play and I couldn’t wait: ‘Finally, I’m going to sound like one of my biggest influences! I’m using his amp, his guitar, there’s no excuse now.’ I was really disappointed when I plugged in; it sounded just like me. I thought, ‘Aha - that’s where it comes from.’ What a disappointment! The dream was over quickly!”

Want more Nuno? Watch our full video rig tour below...

Page 12 of 12
Page 12 of 12
Matt Parker
Matt Parker

Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
Uli Jon Roth wears a blue bandana as he plays a G3 date in 2018 with his Sky guitar.
Uli Jon Roth says his Sky Guitar’s active pickup system was so powerful it blew up his amps
Jackson David Davidson Pro Series Warrior WR7
Jackson and Revocation’s David Davidson unveil 2025's hottest metal guitar so far, the Warrior WR7
PRS Herman Li Chloe: the new shred-ready signature model for the DragonForce guitarist comes in two finishes and features an all-new body design.
PRS activates total shred mode for Herman Li of DragonForce’s feature-stacked Chloe signature guitar
Yngwie Malmsteen works his hamstrings as he takes a high kick onstage. He plays his signature Fender Stratocaster and the stage is lit up in green.
Yngwie Malmsteen on classical epiphanies, modern art, and why you should embrace the cliff edge
Kane Hibberd, the photographer behind the Scale exhibition in London, poses in front of his photographs – guitars features will include Kerry King of Slayer's BC Rich and Tom Morello's Arm The Homeless S-style.
Exhibition featuring life-sized photos of 100 legendary artists' guitars to open in London
Lifeguard's Kai Slater, Isaac Lowenstein and Asher Case
Lifeguard on abstract noise and pop hooks – and the creative epiphanies behind their stellar debut
Latest in Guitar Rigs
Line 6 Helix Stadium XL: The new flagship amp modeller and multi-effects unit is a dramatic expansion of the Helix framework with a suite of state-of-the-art features
Line 6 debuts all-new AI tech as it supercharges its amp modelling platform with the Helix Stadium
Kemper MK2 Series
Kemper promises more power, flexibility and effects from refreshed and souped-up Profiler Mk2 series
Neural DSP Nano Cortex
Neural DSP gives the Nano Cortex an almighty power-up with free NanOS 2.0.0 system update
Tone King Imperial Preamp: this high-end all-tube preamp pedal offers two channels, includes reverb, tremolo and attenuation, and has onboard CabSims/IR tech.
Tone King offers up boutique tube amp tones for your pedalboard with the Imperial Preamp pedal
Two Notes Audio Engineering Reload II: the new reactive load box is described as a fully featured unit that
Two Notes promises a “watershed” in tube amp control with the Torpedo Reload II reactive load box
Harley Benton PowerPlants ISO-Li05 and ISO-Li09: these high-powered, budget-friendly pedalboard power supplies have an integrated lithium-ion battery
Pedal power to go? Harley Benton unveils two high-powered budget power bricks with onboard batteries
Latest in News
Lorde
Lorde on the Frank Ocean collaborator who helped to humanise the synths on her new album, Virgin
synth one j6
"In a blind test of 100 musicians, it beat the $200 plugin 3-to-1. Not bad for a free app": AudioKit releases Synth One J6, a free Juno-inspired synth for iOS
Neil Young
BBC confirm that they won’t be showing his Glastonbury set “at the artist’s request”
Nadia Struiwigh
Tresor resident Nadia Struiwigh on why she avoids tutorials and keeps things 'loose' in the studio
Sam Ryder on a train
“The energy on there was unreal”: Sam Ryder performs an impromptu set for passengers on a Glastonbury-bound train
velvet sundown
"There's not a shred of evidence on the internet that this band has ever existed": This apparently AI-generated artist is racking up hundreds of thousands of Spotify streams

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...