Jeff Buckley's Guitars, Amps & Gear List

When Jeff was around 13 years old, he received a Paul guitar as a birthday present from his mother and his stepfather. The guitar was a Memphis-made Gibson Les Paul knockoff.

Then when he was about 14 (1980), for his birthday, he asked for [this part cuts of during the video, so it’s not positive that these are exact words] a guitar, a real guitar. And that’s when we all chipped in to get him the Les Paul.

Jeff Buckley – Everybody Here Wants You Documentary (5:30)

I had my first band when I was 13. I moved up to Willits, California, to spend the year with my stepfather, Ronald, and that was the same year I got my first electric guitar, a black Memphis Les Paul copy, and that wa

Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah to the Last Goodbye

This Ovation was used by Jeff sometime in the early to mid-1980s. A photo of him with the guitar appears to have been taken before his college years.

According to Jeff’s friend Jason Hamel, the guitar was purchased in 1982 as a replacement for Jeff’s old Les Paul knockoff.

The Ovation Viper was purchased at Pete’s Music. My friend Dave Judy says he sold it to him. He used that all through high school and GIT.

Jason Hamel – email

Jeff was first seen using the guitar around 1985, during his time in Los Angeles while playing in a band called Group Therapy. He continued using it through the late 1980s and was last seen with it around 1989 while performing with The Wild Blue Yonder.

This guitar is, unfortunately, a mystery. The exact model has not been identified, and until it is, all further research is on hold. The body shape somewhat resembles certain Ovation models from the 1980s, such as the Viper, but the headstock design complicates things and doesn’t match known examples.

If you have any insights or information, please feel free to leave a comment below.

This is, without a doubt, Jeff’s best-known guitar, but a little less known fact is that the guitar didn’t actually belong to him but to Janine Nichols, Program Director at St. Ann’s Warehouse, from whom he borrowed it in 1991. This happened just a couple of days after all of Jeff’s valuables were stolen from his apartment in Los Angeles, and following a Tim Buckley Tribute concert at which Jeff was invited to perform and was given the opportunity to meet Janine.

The guitar originally featured a white pickguard, but Janine later replaced it with a mirror one—allegedly inspired by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. Hynde played a similar guitar back in the day, and Fender has since released a signature model based on it.

The second modification was the replacement of the original bridge pickup with what appears to be a Seymour Duncan Hot Stack. This change was likely made by Jeff in late 1994 or early 1995, after the Grace studio sessions. This timeline is supported by photographic evidence—for example, a photo taken on August 6, 1994, shows the Telecaster with its stock bridge pickup, while most filmed performances from 1995 (such as Live in Chicago) show the guitar fitted with the suspected Seymour Duncan pickup.

This was Jeff Buckley’s second most-used guitar, perhaps best known for its use during live performances of Last Goodbye. While there has been some debate over the exact model, the rounded body edges and distinctive neck inlays clearly identify it as a Rickenbacker 360.

The guitar first appeared in mid to late 1994, around the time Grace was released. It’s reasonable to assume Jeff bought it in preparation for the tour, and that it wasn’t used during the studio sessions. If anyone has more specific information, feel free to share.

Jeff’s Rickenbacker 360 featured a carved maple body in a red sunburst finish—known as Fireglo—a three-ply maple/walnut neck with a rosewood fretboard, two Hi-Gain single-coil pickups, and an adjustable bridge. It was one of the earliest 12-string electric guitars and became iconic thanks to George Harrison of The Beatles. Interestingly, Jeff’s guitar had black masking tape wrapped around the upper horn, possibly to reinforce a strap lock or for some other practical reason.

According to a post made over at JBCommunity forums, Jeff got this guitar as a gift after a gig played in Lyon, France in October 1994, from a guy called Jean-Marc who worked at the avenue. For the full story please refer to The Story of the “Flower” Guitar.

The guitar was a cheap Korean knock-off that didn’t play particularly well, but it caught Jeff’s attention nonetheless—mainly because of the groovy flower finish on the body. He used the guitar at least a few times, most notably during a performance at MTV London on March 3, 1995.

Based on photos, the guitar Jeff used clearly had a Series 10 logo on the headstock. However, there appear to be several variations of this guitar in circulation, and not all of them were necessarily made by the same manufacturer.

Chronologically looking, this was the second Les Paul that Jeff owned and played. However, it was the first legitimate Gibson model, since the first guitar was according to most sources, a knockoff.

At this point, it is important to establish histories behind the two Les Pauls. For the longest time, people (including us) thought that the Les Paul that Jeff received for his 14th birthday was the same one that he used later on in the 90s.

However, there were some inconsistencies in that version of the story. Most importantly, it didn’t make sense that Jeff would leave a perfect Gibson Les Paul guitar at home and then buy an Ovation Viper (his second electric guitar), and then go on to borrow a Fender Telecaster (the one that he used for the most part of his career). If he had a Gibson, he would certainly use it.

Jeff was first seen playing this guitar on February 15, 1996, at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney (photo below). According to a post on the TDPRI forums, he acquired it at Manny’s Music in New York. Looking at the tour schedule, Jeff played the Roseland Ballroom in New York City in July 1995, which could very well be when the guitar was purchased.

While working at Manny’s Music in the 90s, I sold him an Ibanez Talman with P-90s. He was an incredible singer songwriter and his music still speaks to me.

BillyG – tdpri.com

The guitar was likely used as a spare during the 1996 tour, and perhaps Jeff purchased it as a potential replacement for the Telecaster he had been using—one he was eventually expected to return to its original owner.

Jeff used this guitar frequently for acoustic parts during live performances, most notably at the Live in Chicago concert in 1995. During that show, the guitar had black tape covering the soundhole—a quick and inexpensive alternative to a proper soundhole cover, used to reduce feedback during amplified acoustic sets.

The guitar was also most likely used on the studio recording of Lover, You Should’ve Come Over, although that remains speculative.

As for how Jeff came to play this instrument, the June 2016 issue of Guitar World notes that Steve Addabbo lent Jeff his own 1967 Guild F-50 in 1993. The two met at Shelter Island Sound Studios in New York in February of that year, where they recorded several tracks later released on the 2016 compilation album You and I. While it’s not confirmed whether the Guild F-50 used during Jeff’s career is the same one Steve lent him, it seems highly likely.

Jeff was frequently photographed playing this guitar throughout 1994 and early 1995, giving us a general sense of when he acquired it.

The story of this guitar ties back to the blonde Telecaster that became Jeff’s most iconic instrument. That Telecaster was actually only borrowed to Jeff and belonged to Janine Nichols, Program Director at St. Ann’s Warehouse and Jeff’s friend, who eventually felt that he should keep it, as he used and loved it so much. They agreed she would give it to him in exchange for a Gibson L-1 acoustic.

However, after purchasing the L-1, Jeff grew too fond of it to give it away, so he chose to return the Telecaster instead. He reportedly had a custom guitar ordered to replace it, but it arrived only a few weeks before his death. He never had the chance to use it, and its identity remains unknown. [MojoPin.org]

This guitar was listed on JeffBuckley.com as part of the guitars owned and used by Jeff, but it is most likely that the Yamaha actually belonged to Michael Tighe, who played rhythm guitar for Buckley. However, just to avoid any confusion, it is probably best to list it here – and perhaps someone will even come along and point out something that we don’t know about it.

This Fender Vibroverb ’63 Reissue (Brownface) was Jeff’s main amp throughout most of his career, seen at Sin-é and during later performances, including Live in Chicago. For the Grace sessions, he used a different unit of the same model, as his own wasn’t working properly and sounded bad (see nondeplume, GearPage, Jeff Buckley Rig Research).

Used most notably during the Live in Chicago and Live at Glastonbury concerts in 1995, this Mesa Boogie combo amp appeared alongside Jeff’s Fender Vibroverb ’63 Reissue, which was his main amp even in earlier years. It’s unclear exactly how Jeff used the Mesa Boogie—whether as a dedicated “dirty sound” amp or simply as a backup in case the Vibroverb failed.

That said, considering that Michael Tighe—Jeff’s guitarist—used the exact same Mesa Boogie model along with a matching Fender Vibroverb, it’s likely the band acquired a pair of each amp for both guitarists to use throughout the Grace tour.

Jeff was seen using a Fender Twin Reverb amp alongside a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-o-verb combo on a few occasions, including the BBC Late Show gig, filmed in London, on January 17, 1995, and on MTV’s Most Wanted filmed in London, England two months later.

Him using this amp seemed to have been a rare occurrence because Jeff usually stuck with his Fender Vibroverb ’63 Reissue (Brownface).

This rack unit guitar processor likely played the biggest role in shaping what’s now considered Jeff Buckley’s signature sound. A standout example is heard on Hallelujah, where Jeff used the “Taj Mahal” reverb effect preset on the Alesis Quadraverb. He reportedly tweaked the settings, so the final sound may have been a modified version of the factory preset.

During the Grace tour, the Quadraverb was often seen positioned on top of Jeff’s Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-o-verb combo amp, suggesting he may have used it through that setup rather than his Fender Vibroverb—the amp many assume was his favorite.

According to information from the official Jeff Buckley website, Jeff used Dean Markley Blue Steel strings on his electric guitars. Unfortunately, it doesn’t specify which exact set he used.

Based purely on his tone and playing style, it’s a reasonable assumption that he used a regular light gauge set, most likely .010–.046.

According to the official Jeff Buckley website, he used Dean Markley (Brass) strings on his acoustic guitars. When they mention “brass,” they’re likely referring to 80/20 brass, which is more commonly marketed as bronze in the string industry. These strings are made from an alloy of 80% copper and 20% zinc—technically brass, but typically labeled as bronze by most manufacturers.

It’s difficult to find detailed information about the exact model or branding Dean Markley offered in the 1990s, but today, their 80/20 brass strings are sold under the Blackhawk 80/20 name. The most common set—Regular Lights—features .012–.053 gauges.

Although Jeff often played just with his fingers, when he needed a pick, it seems that the yellow .73mm Dunlop Tortex Standard picks were his main choice. If you happen to come across a photo or a video where he’s using anything else but these, please be sure to leave a comment below.

Also note that these are Tortex Standard picks with an oval edge, as opposed to something like a more modern Tortex TIII which has a sharp and pointy edge. If you’re in the market for the same exact picks that Jeff used, you can order them from Amazon for relatively cheap in a pack of 72 – Dunlop Tortex Standard, 0.73mm, Yellow Guitar Pick, 72 Pack