Danny GattonPedalboard, 1978
Danny Gatton played the Redneck Jazz Explosion show on New Year's Eve 1978 with his effects backstage. The Magic Dingus Box on his 1961 Les Paul Custom worked an MXR graphic EQ, a Maestro Echoplex and Leslie rotating speakers by remote.
Redneck Jazz Explosion remote-effects rig
Order evidence: No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed
Inside the rig · 3 units
Pedal roles & evidence
How each unit fits Danny Gatton's 1978 setup. Board-specific roles and the evidence behind each identification and position.
Reconstructed orderIdentity and position are evidenced separately. Reconstructed positions are not observed connections.
Filter & EQ
MXR graphic equalizer (model unverified)
Rack insert
Role in this rig
Shapes the frequency balance of the remotely controlled effects system.
- Identity
- Reconstructed
- Position
- Reconstructed
Delay & Echo
Maestro Echoplex (revision unverified)
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Supplies remotely adjustable echo and delay textures within the Redneck Jazz rig.
- Identity
- Reconstructed
- Position
- Reconstructed
Modulation
Leslie rotating speaker cabinets (models unverified)
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Creates the organ-like rotating-horn sound central to the Redneck Jazz system.
- Identity
- Reconstructed
- Position
- Reconstructed
Reconstructed equipment · Reconstructed order · Switchable effects loops
The Telemaster Archives date the live Redneck Jazz Explosion recording to New Year's Eve 1978 at the Cellar Door and identify Gatton's 1961 Les Paul Custom with the Magic Dingus effects remote. The Audio Museum later photographed surviving Magic Dingus hardware stored with an Echoplex and MXR EQ, and its artifact account says the controller governed delay, reverb, echo and two Leslie cabinets during the 1970s Redneck Jazz Explosion era. The Humbler documentary site independently names the Echoplex, MXR EQ and Leslie control functions; Guitar.com also confirms the period Leslie system. The controller itself is omitted from the audio placements because it was mounted on the guitar and sent control commands rather than acting as a conventional inline effect. No source identifies the EQ band count, Echoplex revision, Leslie models, a separate reverb processor or the jack-to-jack route. The displayed order is therefore a functional reconstruction, and the generic six-slider illustration is not a six-band model claim.
No source publishes this sequence. The units are ordered by conventional signal-chain practice, and any documented routing zone is kept as recorded.
Cited sources
MethodologyQuestions about Danny Gatton's 1978 pedalboard
- What pedals did Danny Gatton use in 1978?
- This dated entry lists 3 units: MXR graphic equalizer (model unverified), Maestro Echoplex (revision unverified), Leslie rotating speaker cabinets (models unverified). This is the recorded inventory, not a claim that every connection or model identification is confirmed; see the evidence and routing notes.
- What order were Danny Gatton's pedals in?
- The complete order is reconstructed, not observed. The layout follows the cited routing constraints and the archive's signal-chain convention where the sources are silent. See the diagram and routing notes for the separate paths and any unconfirmed connections.
- Is this Danny Gatton's full guitar rig?
- No. This dated entry covers 3 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Danny Gatton owned or used. Floor pedals, rack units and routing devices are included only where recorded; omitted equipment and uncertain connections are explained in the notes. It is not a complete or current rig inventory.
- When and where was this pedalboard used?
- 31 December 1978. Cellar Door, Washington, D.C.. This is the rig documented for that touring period, not a career-wide gear list.
- How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard?
- 4 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including The Audio Museum, The Telemaster Archives, Guitar.com. Among them a photograph, an archive record, a written article and an official listing. The units are recorded as reconstructed equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.