Eddie HazelPedalboard, 1970

Eddie Hazel recorded the ten-minute Maggot Brain solo with a wah and a fuzz in the guitar path; neither model is documented. George Clinton added most of the track's echo later, at mixdown.

Board
Maggot Brain performance effects
Context
United Sound Systems, Detroit
Board date
Evidence
Reconstructed equipment · 3 cited sources
Order
Reconstructed
Scope
Core signal path
Routing
Serial path
Audited
Signal
2 units · Guitar to amplifier

Maggot Brain performance effects

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Order evidence: No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed

Inside the rig · 2 units

Pedal roles & evidence

How each unit fits Eddie Hazel's 1970 setup. Board-specific roles and the evidence behind each identification and position.

Cited sources

Reconstructed orderIdentity and position are evidenced separately. Reconstructed positions are not observed connections.

Reconstructed equipment · Reconstructed order · Serial path

Fender's track history identifies both wah and fuzz in Hazel's recorded performance and quotes Clinton explaining that he added the Echoplex repeats and other effects during mixdown. Clinton separately told Premier Guitar that Hazel learned wah, Big Muff and phaser pedals from the beginning, but that broader rig memory does not prove which fuzz model was on this session. NPR's interview confirms that the band played live before Clinton stripped back the arrangement and layered the echo. The two performance effects are therefore shown with deliberately unverified model names. Their display order follows a common Hendrix-derived wah-into-fuzz layout and is not presented as a cable trace; Echoplex, phaser and flanger are excluded from Hazel's floor path.

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

Methodology
  1. Premier GuitarParliament Funkadelic: a funk guitar roundtable
  2. FenderOne-Track Mind: the passion of Eddie Hazel and Funkadelic's Maggot Brain
  3. NPR / CapRadioMaggot Brain at 50: R&B, psychedelic rock and a Black guitarist's cry

Questions about Eddie Hazel's 1970 pedalboard

What pedals did Eddie Hazel use in 1970?
This dated entry lists 2 units: Wah pedal - model unverified, Fuzz unit - model 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 Eddie Hazel'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: Guitar → Wah pedal - model unverified → Fuzz unit - model unverified → amplifier.
Is this Eddie Hazel's full guitar rig?
No. This dated entry covers 2 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Eddie Hazel 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?
Late 1970 - early 1971 sessions. United Sound Systems, Detroit. This is the core signal path documented for that period, not a career-wide gear list.
How does the archive know what was on this pedalboard?
3 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Premier Guitar, Fender, NPR / CapRadio. Among them an interview and a written article. The units are recorded as reconstructed equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.