John Frusciante’s Gear on Californication – Complete Breakdown

Quick Answer: On the Californication album, John Frusciante primarily used a 1954 Fender Stratocaster, paired with a Marshall JTM-45 and a Marshall Super Bass amp. Main effects included the Boss CE-1 chorus and DS-1/DS-2 distortion.

For the title track “Californication,” however, Frusciante used a 1957 Gretsch White Falcon, a hollow-body guitar that helped him come up with the song’s main riff.

If you’re here to learn more, this article breaks down all the guitars, amps, and effects John Frusciante used on the album, with detailed song-by-song notes and quotes.

Gear Used by John Frusciante on Californication

Guitars

John Frusciante’s guitars on the Californication album were: his 1954 Fender Stratocaster, 1962 Fender Stratocaster, 1957 Gretsch White Falcon, 1940s/30s Martin 0-15 (acoustic), 1961 Gibson SG/Les Paul Custom, 1960 Fender Custom Telecaster, a 1956 Gibson ES-175D, and a borrowed 1966 Fender Jaguar

Although John’s main guitar is known to be his 1962 Fender Stratocaster, on this album in particular, John said that he relied more on his second-most-used Stratocaster, the ’54 maple neck Strat. Please note that John refers to the guitar as a ’56 Strat, but it has been proven through the serial number (6793) that this is actually a ’54 Strat.

I used a ’56 Stratocaster for most of the basic tracks, and a ’62 Stratocaster – the sunburst one – on some stuff.

John Frusciatne for Guitar One (USA), September 1999

The rest of the guitars were used on a track-by-track basis, but more on this later.

Amps

John’s amp rig on Californication consisted mainly of a combination of a 1965 Marshall JTM-45 and a Marshall Super Bass, which John would combine through the use of his Boss CE-1 pedal. He split his signal through the Boss CE-1’s stereo outputs, sending it to two amps simultaneously, typically one clean and one dirty, to blend the tones.

I used a real old ’65 Marshall. I also used a 200-watt bass head that I used on Blood Sugar – I use a bass head and a guitar head at the same time; that’s how I play. I had a good sound for this album, but Louie [the band’s right-hand man] doesn’t want me to take the heads on tour because he thinks they’ll break

John Frusciatne for Guitar One (USA), September 1999

Aside from those, he also used a Fender Showman Blackface, a Marshall JCM800, and a Vox AC-30 on some specific tracks (more on this below).

As far as microphones, according to the album engineer Jim Scott, the amps were recorded with a combination of a Shure SM57 and a Neumann U87. He used one of each per cabinet.

For the guitar I used two SM57 and two U87 microphones, one of each on each cabinet — again the good‑mic/bad‑mic combination. All four went down on one track, and together they made a nice big guitar sound.

Jim Scott

Effects / Pedalboard

John’s pedalboard on Californication was a lot simpler than nowadays. It consisted of a Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, a Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion, a Boss DS-1, an Ibanez WH-10 Wah, a Boss FZ-3 Fuzz, and an MXR Phase 10/100.

Important: Whenever John used the Boss CE-1, it was strictly for its preamp and stereo output functionality. The chorus effect was not used, unless specifically mentioned.

Lastly, according to Jim Scott, the album’s sound engineer, the Universal Audio 1176 Compressor/Limiter was used to add compression.

Song-by-Song Rig Breakdown

1. “Around the World”

On the first track of the album, Around the World, John played a borrowed vintage 1966 Fender Jaguar through a Marshall JTM-45 and a Marshall Super Bass. As already noted, he connected the amps through Boss CE-1’s stereo outputs.

He used the Jaguar for the whole song, but changed the pickup to bridge on intro and verses, and used the neck pickup on the chorus.

That’s a Fender Jaguar I borrowed from our recording engineer, Jim Scott. I like Jags – they get a really cool, cheap sound. I played it through two Marshalls: a JTM 45 and a 100-watt Super Bass. That Super Bass is great. It’s so thick-sounding.

John Frusciante for Guitar Player (UK), September 1999

2. “Parallel Universe”

No exact information on the guitars used by John on Parallel Universe, but it was likely either his ’52 or his ’62 Stratocaster, played through the usual amp setup – a Marshall JTM-45 and a Marshall Super Bass.

On the outro solo on Parallel Universe, John used an MXR Phase 100, plus some distortion, likely the Boss DS-2 distortion, which is John’s main distortion pedal in general.

I borrowed an MXR Phase 100 from the people who were recording next door. I was looking for a way to approach that solo, and the Phase 100 worked out well.

John Frusciante for Guitar Player (UK), September 1999

3. “Scar Tissue”

On the third track, Scar Tissue, John Frusciante played his 1954 maple neck Stratocaster on most of the song, aside from the solo. On the solos, John played the 1960 Fender Custom Telecaster. The first solo was recorded clean, and on the second solo, John used a Boss FZ-3 Fuzz.

The guitars were recorded through a Fender Showman amp.

That was my ’55 Strat with the maple neck – most of the basic tracks were recorded with that guitar. I think I ran it through the Showman because the Marshall wasn’t clean enough.

John Frusciante for Guitar Player (UK), September 1999

4. “Otherside”

Otherside was recorded almost completely on John’s 1957 Gretsch White Falcon played through a Fender Showman and a Marshall cabinet. For the solo/breakdown section on Otherside, John used a 1961 Gibson SG/Les Paul Custom played through a Marshall JCM 800 amp for more distortion.

That was a ’55 Gretsch White Falcon through the Showman and a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. For the breakdown section, I used a ’61 Gibson SG Custom into a cranked Marshall JCM 800. I think that’s the best kind of distortion – a humbucker into a Marshall, like Eddie Van Halen.

John Frusciante for Guitar Player (UK), September 1999

5. “Get on Top”

On Get on Top, John played his 1954 Stratocaster. In the intro, he used an Ibanez WH-10, which is John’s main wah pedal to this day. The wah has a dedicated switch that toggles between guitar and bass modes, and in this song in particular, John used the bass mode.

For the solo section on Get on Top, Frusciante used his 1956 Gibson ES-175D.

I ended up playing that solo with a ’56 Gibson ES-175 that had .013s on it. I didn’t use the 175 for too many things, only Porcelain and this solo.

John Frusciante for Guitar Player (UK), September 1999

6. “Californication”

On the song Californication, John Frusciante played a 1957 Gretsch White Falcon for the whole track, most likely recorded through a Fender Showman amp, like he did on Otherside. The Gretsch was strung with heavier gauge strings, specifically .012 to .054.

7. “Easily”

On the song Easily, John most likely used his standard setup – his 1954 and his 1962 Stratocaster guitars plugged into the Marshall JTM-45 and the Marshall Super Bass amps.

In the outro of the song, John did a lot of multi-tracking, which may have included some other guitars like the Telecaster and the Jaguar, but there’s no real information on this.

8. “Porcelain”

To record Porcelain, Frusciante used a 1956 Gibson ES-175D hollowbody electric guitar, strung with .013 gauge strings.

The tremolo effect on Porcelain was achieved by splitting the output through a Boss CE-1, one going to a Marshall amp, and the other to the vibrato channel of an old Vox AC30.

9. “Emit Remmus”

The song Emit Remmus (Summer Time backwards) was recorded in one take on John’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster that was tuned down a whole step. In this song, he relied heavily on the amp feedback to create that sustain, playing directly in front of the amp, and probably used a distortion pedal to beef up his tone – either the Boss DS-1 or the DS-2.

10. “I Like Dirt”

On the song I Like Dirt John used either his 1954 or his 1962 Fender Stratocaster. During the solo, he used the Ibanez WH-10 wah pedal in the guitar mode, and most likely the Boss FZ-3 fuzz pedal to create that Hendrix-y sound.

11. “This Velvet Glove”

Song This Velvet Glove was recorded on a number of different guitars. The borrowed 1966 Fender Jaguar was used on the verse parts and choruses (the quick strumming parts) while the 1957 Gretsch White Falcon was used by John on the melody sections between verses.

This Velvet Glove is also one of the two songs on the album that has an acoustic guitar in it. Based on the information available, the acoustic parts were recorded on Frusciante’s favorite acoustic guitar – the Martin 0-15.

12. “Savior”

On the twelfth track, Savior, John played his 1954 Fender Stratocaster guitar. The delay effect during the solo was accomplished with an Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth pedal set on a 16-second delay time.

13. “Purple Stain”

Purple Stain was recorded on John’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster, with the pickup selector set on the bridge pickup. The guitar was played through the Boss CE-1‘s preamp section and the Marshall JTM-45/Super Bass amp combination.

14. “Right on Time”

Right on Time was recorded either on John’s 1954 Fender Stratocaster or on the 1962 Fender Stratocaster. The amp setup was exactly the same as on most other songs on the album and consisted of a Marshall JTM-45/Super Bass amp combination.

15. “Road Trippin'”

The last song of the album, Road Trippin’, is the only all-acoustic song on Californication. It was played on John’s vintage Martin 0-15 guitar, miked with a Neumann U87 and an AKG C452.

Californication Gear Recap (Track-by-Track)

Here’s a quick overview of the guitars, amps, and effects John Frusciante used on each track from the Californication album.

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