Kim ThayilPedalboard, 2013
Kim Thayil's King Animal touring board leans on amp gain and adds nine units: a CAE MC404 wah, a Micro POG, two CAE boosts, an Ibanez CS9 chorus, a T-Rex Tap Tone and Boss DD-5 delay, a noise gate, and a tube Rotosphere colouring one side of the rig.
King Animal wet/dry touring board
Order evidence: No source publishes this sequence; the order is reconstructed
Inside the rig · 9 units
Pedal roles & evidence
How each unit fits Kim Thayil's 2013 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
Dunlop CAE MC404 Wah
Shared path
Role in this rig
Supplies vocal filter sweeps and alternate wah colors for Thayil's leads.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Pitch & Synth
Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Adds glassy octave layers and combines with the accelerated Rotosphere for the Been Away Too Long melody.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Gain
Custom Audio Electronics Boost/Line Driver
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Maintains level and drive through Thayil's switching system and remains almost always engaged.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Gain
Custom Audio Electronics MC-402 Boost/Overdrive
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Adds extra dirt and level for solos without replacing Thayil's amplifier-based core gain.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Modulation
Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Provides the darker chorus used for dropped-tuning arpeggios, harmonics and behind-the-bridge playing.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Delay & Echo
T-Rex Tap Tone Delay
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Adds warm, bite-adjustable echoes to occasional solos.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Delay & Echo
Boss DD-5 Digital Delay
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Provides Thayil's dedicated reverse-delay texture.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Dynamics
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Switched loop
Role in this rig
Controls noise from the high-gain dual-amplifier and switched-effects system.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Modulation
Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere
Amp loop
Role in this rig
Creates the fast/slow Leslie sound central to Black Hole Sun, Hunted Down and Let Me Drown.
- Identity
- Documented
- Position
- Reconstructed
Documented equipment · Reconstructed order · Split output path
Premier Guitar documented the board with Thayil and Soundgarden's technicians, and a separate 2012 interview confirms his Rotosphere/POG combinations and song-specific rotor speeds. Guitar FX Depot's photograph identifies the Ibanez chorus as a CS9 and confirms the physical layout. The Rotosphere sits in the Electradyne effects loop so the stage blend retains one dry amplifier; the remaining loop order was not published. The Providence controller and tuner are omitted as utilities. Premier Guitar transcribes the white Boss noise suppressor as an NS-3, a model Boss did not issue; the photographed pedal is catalogued here as the visually matching NS-2 with the discrepancy preserved in its aliases and settings.
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 Kim Thayil's 2013 pedalboard
- What pedals did Kim Thayil use in 2013?
- This dated entry lists 9 units: Dunlop CAE MC404 Wah, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, Custom Audio Electronics Boost/Line Driver, Custom Audio Electronics MC-402 Boost/Overdrive, Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus, T-Rex Tap Tone Delay, Boss DD-5 Digital Delay, Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor, Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere. 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 Kim Thayil'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 Kim Thayil's full guitar rig?
- No. This dated entry covers 9 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Kim Thayil 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?
- King Animal tour, February 2013. Soundgarden King Animal tour. This is one dated setup as documented, 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, Guitar FX Depot. Among them a rig rundown, an interview and a photograph. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.