John used several Ibanez guitars early on with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988 and 1989. The most recognizable one is the guitar covered in stickers, often seen in photos when you search “John Frusciante Ibanez.” Based on the timing, the sticker theme, and the guitar’s red finish, it’s likely that John got this guitar upon joining the band. These Ibanez guitars may have replaced John’s Performance Custom, which was probably the only guitar he owned when he joined the Chili Peppers.
The guitar appears to be an RG760 model, featuring two single-coil pickups, a humbucker in the bridge, and an Edge tremolo system, which was based on the original Floyd Rose design. It also had controls for volume and tone. The finish was likely Ibanez’s Lipstick Red, although it sometimes appears orange in photos.
John used the Ibanez during early live gigs, as shown in various photos. He also played it during the Mother’s Milk studio sessions, though it seems the guitar’s main role in the recordings was its Floyd Rose tremolo.
I played mostly Strats and Les Pauls on the record. I was still hung up on Floyd Rose tremolos, which Flea hated, though I didn’t care. But then I started to realize that since most guitar players use those things, none of the shit you can do with them will sound original. Now I just use a stock Strat tremolo system, and if I want to pull up, I push behind the nut.
Guitar Player (USA), April 1990
It seems the Ibanez guitars didn’t last long, as Flea and Anthony preferred John to play a Stratocaster. According to John, he smashed the Ibanez guitars on stage to please them, but kept the wah pedal, which became a staple of his sound throughout his career. All of this gear was provided by Ibanez when John joined the band.
When I first joined the Chili Peppers Ibanez was really friendly and gave me the wah pedal along with two or three guitars. I played the guitars for a while but the band—by which I mean Anthony and Flea—was totally against it, and so when I switched to playing Fender Stratocasters I smashed the Ibanez guitars on stage just to make them happy—but I definitely kept the wah pedal!
How John Frusciante Got His Red Hot Wah Tones
John used it in the studio on Mothers Milk quite a bit. You can see him using his Performance guitar throughout the November 26th, 1988 performance with DH on Drums, and then this guitar starts to appear in performances from January 1989 onwards and in studio photos from the Mothers Milk sessions. Safe to assume John got this guitar around December 1988.
He’s quoted as saying he got several guitars from Ibanez as well as some pedals (you can see his WH-10 Wah as well as a Tube Screamer in videos from early 89) but AK and Flea weren’t into the metal guitars. Here’s a great photo of John in the studio with this guitar.
Thanks for the info and the photo – pretty cool, never seen it before.
Coming back to correct myself! The November 26, 1988 show. You can see John using it for some of the show, but the Performance Guitar is still the main guitar.
https://youtu.be/3QHB5HTMAVQ?si=PtRD5ztpZ_edoh-m
Hey, the Guitar Player article seems to be gone. I’d love to read more from it. Do you think theres another scan or copy of it someone has online?
It seems the whole invisibile-movement website is gone, unfortunately. You can still access it through WayBackMachine though – see https://web.archive.org/web/20160406023407/https://invisible-movement.net/press/1990-04-guitarplayer
“When I first joined the Chili Peppers Ibanez was really friendly and gave me the wah pedal along with two or three guitars. I played the guitars for a while but the band—by which I mean Anthony and Flea—was totally against it, and so when I switched to playing Fender Stratocasters I smashed the Ibanez guitars on stage just to make them happy—but I definitely kept the wah pedal!”
John’s quote from: https://web.musicaficionado.com/main/article/how_john_frusciante_got_his_red_hot_wah_tones_by_barrycleveland
Thanks Nemanja, I added the quote. Some interesting info regarding John’s wah as well on there.