Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus shows us his vintage gear
An in-depth tone talk featuring amps and guitars galore in the studio… plus the prototype for his Gretsch signature model
VGS 2020: Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus is what we'd call a tonehound extraordinaire; he knows his gear and he's got a spectacular collection to prove it. In fact, he was surrounded by droolsome vintage amp and electric guitars when he we spoke to him for an in-depth guitar interview.
Fortus has been recording a lot of session work during lockdown at his home studio. "It's been great because I've been able to dig through all the gear I've been collecting for the last 20 years of being on the road nonstop," he explains. "Really digging into some of this gear, and some things are just amazing."
He's not wrong. From a '59 Fender Bassman "sort of like the perfect guitar amp" and spectacular Gibson ES-335, Teles, a '62 Jazzmaster, a '66 Strat (with block inlays!) and a prototype signature Gretsch guitars.
He also talks about his tone dynamic with Slash and how they both "ride the volumes" of their guitars' controls.
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