John SquirePedalboard, 1989
John Squire built one of the most layered guitar sounds of its era from five pedals: a Jen Cry Baby wah, a Fuzz Face, an Ibanez TS-9, a Boss PH-2 phaser and a BF-2 flanger. The density came from stacking them, not from owning many.
Stone Roses era board
Order evidence: No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed
Inside the rig · 5 units
Pedal roles & evidence
How each unit fits John Squire's 1989 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
Jen Cry Baby Wah
Front of amp
Role in this rig
Opens the chain as the filter behind Squire's vocal lead phrasing.
- Identity
- Visually identified
- Position
- Reconstructed
Gain
Fuzz Face
Front of amp
Role in this rig
Squire's core fuzz since the band's early years, stacked with the Tube Screamer for solos.
Both sources name it. Ground Guitar: "Squire's go-to fuzz pedal since the early years is a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face", a silicon model early on with Dunlop replicas later.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Gain
TS-9 Tube Screamer
Front of amp
Role in this rig
Stacks with the Fuzz Face to thicken and sustain solo lines.
Mixdown describes the Fuzz Face and TS-9 as "stacked on top of each other at times for guitar solos".
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Modulation
PH-2 Super Phaser
Front of amp
Role in this rig
Provides the phase movement in the modulation pair.
- Identity
- Visually identified
- Position
- Reconstructed
Modulation
BF-2 Flanger
Front of amp
Role in this rig
Supplies the sweeping flange heard across the first album.
Both sources name the BF-2; its sound is identified on "Made of Stone" and "I Am the Resurrection".
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Visually identified equipment · Reconstructed order · Serial path
No rig rundown of this era exists, so the board is built from two independent editorial gear features that name the same five effects. Neither traces a cable path, so the order follows the archive's published convention. One relationship is documented rather than inferred: the Fuzz Face and the TS-9 were stacked together for solos, and they are placed adjacently to reflect that. Squire's reverb came from an Alesis Midiverb II operated from offstage by a friend rather than from a pedal at his feet, so it falls outside a pedalboard record and is omitted here, as are the Fender Twin Reverbs and the Mesa/Boogie he moved to around 1988. The inventory is marked visually identified rather than documented because only the Fuzz Face carries per-unit sourcing in both features.
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 John Squire's 1989 pedalboard
- What pedals did John Squire use in 1989?
- This dated entry lists 5 units: Jen Cry Baby Wah, Fuzz Face, TS-9 Tube Screamer, PH-2 Super Phaser, BF-2 Flanger. 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 John Squire'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 → Jen Cry Baby Wah → Fuzz Face → TS-9 Tube Screamer → PH-2 Super Phaser → BF-2 Flanger → amplifier.
- Is this John Squire's full guitar rig?
- No. This dated entry covers 5 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear John Squire 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?
- 1988–1990. The Stone Roses touring era. 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?
- 2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Mixdown Magazine, Ground Guitar. Among them a written article. The units are recorded as visually identified equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-08-15.