# Kevin Parker Guitar Rig 2015: Tame Impala Gear & Pedal List

> The 2015 Kevin Parker guitar rig: Small Stone Phaser, Holy Grail, BD-2 Blues Driver. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kevin-parker/core-signal-path/
- Machine-readable index of the archive: https://pedalboardarchive.com/llms.txt
- Evidence and reconstruction conventions: https://pedalboardarchive.com/methodology/

## At a glance

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Artist | Kevin Parker |
| Board | Core signal path |
| Date | 2015-01-01 — Currents era (era precision) |
| Context | Tame Impala studio and stage |
| Scope | Core signal path |
| Signal path | 3 units · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Serial path |
| Unit evidence | Tentative |
| Order evidence | Reconstructed |
| Status | Single source · partial inventory · reconstructed order |
| Audited | 2026-08-15 |
| Sources | 1 |

This partial Kevin Parker guitar-effects entry covers three units associated with Tame Impala: EHX Small Stone phaser, Holy Grail reverb and Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. It is not a complete pedalboard or a verified 2026 setup. The single source describes overdrive after modulation and ambience; the phaser-before-reverb sequence is reconstructed, and the Currents-era dating is approximate.

## Signal chain

**Order evidence — Reconstructed.** No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed. The units are evidenced; their sequence is the archive's inference from the convention below, not an observation. Do not report this order as documented.

Reconstruction convention: Tuner → Wah and filter → Compressor → Overdrive, distortion and fuzz → Modulation → Delay → Reverb → Amplifier. A documented routing zone always overrides it.

`Guitar → Small Stone Phaser → Holy Grail → BD-2 Blues Driver → amplifier`

| # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Small Stone Phaser | Supplies the phase movement that runs under much of Tame Impala's guitar. | Front of amp | Tentative | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/small-stone-phaser/ |
| 2 | Holy Grail | Provides the reverb wash that sits ahead of the overdrive rather than after it. | Front of amp | Tentative | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/holy-grail/ |
| 3 | BD-2 Blues Driver | Sits at the very end of the chain, saturating the reverb and modulation ahead of it. | Front of amp | Tentative | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/bd-2-blues-driver/ |

### Identification notes

- **1. Small Stone Phaser:** Named individually by the single source as a core Parker effect, but with no dated board photograph or rundown behind it, so the unit is recorded as tentative rather than confirmed on any particular rig.
- **2. Holy Grail:** Named individually by the single source as his core reverb, but not tied to a dated board, so it is recorded as tentative. The revision — full-size, Nano or Plus — is not specified anywhere.
- **3. BD-2 Blues Driver:** Mixdown places Parker's overdrive downstream of the time-based and modulation effects. This supports the BD-2's final position in the recorded core path, not any particular control setting or a complete inventory of the rig.

## Reconstruction note

This is deliberately recorded as a core path rather than a board, because no rundown of a specific Tame Impala pedalboard was found and the inventory here is knowingly incomplete. The single source names three effects individually and then refers only collectively to "stacks and stacks of fuzz pedals", so no fuzz unit can be identified and none is drawn. What the source does document, and the reason this entry exists, is the routing: Parker runs his overdrive at the very end, after the delay, reverb and modulation, which is the inverse of the archive's reconstruction convention and is what produces the thick, almost synthesised guitar tone. The BD-2 is therefore placed last on evidence rather than by convention, and the two effects ahead of it are ordered by convention. The Roland GR-55 used for bass parts is not a guitar-path effect and is omitted. Treat the inventory as a floor, not a ceiling.

## Questions

### What pedals did Kevin Parker use in 2015?

This dated entry lists 3 units: Small Stone Phaser, Holy Grail, BD-2 Blues Driver. 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 Kevin Parker'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 → Small Stone Phaser → Holy Grail → BD-2 Blues Driver → amplifier.

### Is this Kevin Parker's full guitar rig?

No. This dated entry covers 3 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Kevin Parker 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 guitar rig used?

Currents era. Tame Impala studio and stage. 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 guitar rig?

One cited source, listed above with the date each was read, including Mixdown Magazine. Among them a written article. The units are recorded as tentative equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-08-15.

## Sources

1 cited source across 1 independent group. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once.

1. [Gear Rundown: Kevin Parker of Tame Impala](https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/rig-rundown-kevin-parker-of-tame-impala/) — Jarrah Saunders, Mixdown Magazine (Specialist source · article), published 2025-10-20, accessed 2026-08-15, independent group `mixdown-kevin-parker-gear-rundown`. Career-spanning gear feature rather than a dated board. Names the BD-2, Small Stone and Holy Grail as core effects, refers only collectively to "stacks and stacks of fuzz pedals", and documents the signature routing: overdrive placed after all the delay, reverb and modulation.

## Related pages

- Budget rebuild of this board (editorial, priced): [Kevin Parker pedalboard on a budget](https://pedalboardarchive.com/budget/kevin-parker/core-signal-path/)
- Every documented board by Kevin Parker: [Kevin Parker board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kevin-parker/)
- [Mark Speer — Khruangbin touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/mark-speer/khruangbin-touring-board-2018/): shares Holy Grail
- [John Fogerty — Two-drawer offstage effects rack](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/john-fogerty/two-drawer-offstage-effects-rack-2015/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Reverb & Ambience, Modulation, Gain)
- [Julian Lage — View with a Room touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/julian-lage/view-with-a-room-board-2023/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Reverb & Ambience, Gain)
- [Dave Navarro — Jane's Addiction split-path board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/dave-navarro/janes-addiction-split-board-2024/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Reverb & Ambience, Modulation, Gain)
- [Thurston Moore — By the Fire interview pedalboard](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/thurston-moore/by-the-fire-interview-board-2021/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Reverb & Ambience, Modulation, Gain)
- [Stephen Stills — CSN show-day effects box](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/stephen-stills/csn-show-day-effects-box-2012/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Reverb & Ambience, Gain)
- Previous board in archive order: [Kenny Wayne Shepherd — 2012 touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kenny-wayne-shepherd/kenny-wayne-shepherd-tour-board-2012/)
- Next board in archive order: [Kevin Shields — Reunion tour three-board switching system](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kevin-shields/reunion-tour-three-board-system-2008/)