Keith RichardsPedalboard, 1981
Keith Richards carried two effects on the Rolling Stones' 1981 North American tour: an orange MXR Phase 100 and the large green MXR M-118 analog delay.
North American tour effects
Order evidence: No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed
Inside the rig · 2 units
Pedal roles & evidence
How each unit fits Keith Richards's 1981 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.
Modulation
MXR Phase 100
Integrated board
Role in this rig
Creates the damped, sweeping texture Richards used on Beast of Burden and one or two other 1981 tour numbers.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Delay & Echo
MXR M-118 Analog Delay
Integrated board
Role in this rig
Adds the short analog repeats Richards used on a few songs during the 1981 tour.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Documented equipment · Reconstructed order · Serial path
In the original 1983 Guitar Player interview, Richards identifies an MXR analog delay on a few 1981 tour numbers and names the phaser used for Beast of Burden as the MXR Phase 100. He does not publish a floor layout, cable trace or evidence that both effects were active together; the display therefore uses the conventional phaser-before-delay order and is marked reconstructed. Reverb independently associates the same two vintage MXR models with Stones sounds but does not establish the tour layout. This snapshot is deliberately not generalized across Richards' career: in 2015 he said that any required stage effects could be operated from behind the stage because he no longer wanted pedals underfoot.
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 Keith Richards's 1981 pedalboard
- What pedals did Keith Richards use in 1981?
- This dated entry lists 2 units: MXR Phase 100, MXR M-118 Analog Delay. 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 Keith Richards'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 → MXR Phase 100 → MXR M-118 Analog Delay → amplifier.
- Is this Keith Richards's full guitar rig?
- No. This dated entry covers 2 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Keith Richards 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?
- 1981 North American tour. 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?
- 3 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Guitar Player, Reverb, Guitar World. Among them an interview and a written article. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.