# Kim Thayil Pedalboard 2013: Full Gear & Pedal List

> The 2013 Kim Thayil pedalboard, pedal by pedal: Dunlop CAE MC404 Wah, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and 7 more. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kim-thayil/king-animal-wet-dry-board-2013/
- 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 | Kim Thayil |
| Board | King Animal wet/dry touring board |
| Date | 2013-02-18 — King Animal tour, February 2013 (day precision) |
| Context | Soundgarden King Animal tour |
| Scope | Exact board snapshot |
| Signal path | 9 units · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Split output path |
| Unit evidence | Documented |
| Order evidence | Reconstructed |
| Status | Artist and tech documented exact board - wet/dry routing described |
| Audited | 2026-07-18 |
| Sources | 3 |

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.

## 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.

| # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Dunlop CAE MC404 Wah | Supplies vocal filter sweeps and alternate wah colors for Thayil's leads. | Shared pre-split | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/dunlop-cae-mc404-wah/ |
| 2 | Electro-Harmonix Micro POG | Adds glassy octave layers and combines with the accelerated Rotosphere for the Been Away Too Long melody. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/electro-harmonix-micro-pog/ |
| 3 | Custom Audio Electronics Boost/Line Driver | Maintains level and drive through Thayil's switching system and remains almost always engaged. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/custom-audio-electronics-boost-line-driver/ |
| 4 | Custom Audio Electronics MC-402 Boost/Overdrive | Adds extra dirt and level for solos without replacing Thayil's amplifier-based core gain. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/custom-audio-electronics-mc-402-boost-overdrive/ |
| 5 | Ibanez CS9 Stereo Chorus | Provides the darker chorus used for dropped-tuning arpeggios, harmonics and behind-the-bridge playing. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/ibanez-cs9-stereo-chorus/ |
| 6 | T-Rex Tap Tone Delay | Adds warm, bite-adjustable echoes to occasional solos. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/t-rex-tap-tone-delay/ |
| 7 | Boss DD-5 Digital Delay | Provides Thayil's dedicated reverse-delay texture. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/boss-dd-5-digital-delay/ |
| 8 | Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor | Controls noise from the high-gain dual-amplifier and switched-effects system. | Switching loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/boss-ns-2-noise-suppressor/ |
| 9 | Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere | Creates the fast/slow Leslie sound central to Black Hole Sun, Hunted Down and Let Me Drown. | Amplifier loop | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/hughes-and-kettner-tube-rotosphere/ |

## Reconstruction note

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.

## Questions

### 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.

## Sources

3 cited sources across 3 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once.

1. [Rig Rundown: Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, Chris Cornell, and Ben Shepherd](https://www.premierguitar.com/rig-rundown-soundgardens-kim-thayil-chris-cornell-and-ben-shepherd) — Premier Guitar (Primary source · rig-rundown), published 2013-02-18, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `premier-guitar-kies-thayil-rundown-2013`
2. [Interview: Soundgarden's Kim Thayil](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/interview-soundgardens-kim-thayil) — Premier Guitar (Primary source · interview), published 2012-10-08, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `premier-guitar-kies-thayil-interview-2012`
3. [Kim Thayil (Soundgarden) Guitar Rig Rundown](https://guitarfxdepot.com/rigs/kim-thayil-soundgarden-guitar-rig/) — Guitar FX Depot (Specialist source · photograph), accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `guitar-fx-depot-thayil-board-photo-2013`

## Related pages

- Every documented board by Kim Thayil: [Kim Thayil board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kim-thayil/)
- [Mark Morton — Lamb of God switched touring rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/mark-morton/lamb-of-god-rig-2026/): shares Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
- [Robert Randolph — Nashville pedal-steel board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/robert-randolph/nashville-pedal-steel-board-2017/): shares Dunlop CAE MC404 Wah
- [Billy Strings — Four-drawer MIDI touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/billy-strings/four-drawer-touring-board-2023/): shares Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
- [Joe Bonamassa — "Boomer" Time Clocks touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/joe-bonamassa/boomer-touring-board-2022/): shares Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
- [Tyler Bryant — Shakedown touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/tyler-bryant/shakedown-board-2018/): shares Electro-Harmonix Micro POG
- [Joe Walsh — Eagles Staples Center touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/joe-walsh/eagles-staples-center-board-2006/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Dynamics, Pitch & Synth, Filter & EQ, Modulation, Delay & Echo, Gain)
- Previous board in archive order: [Kevin Shields — Reunion tour three-board switching system](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kevin-shields/reunion-tour-three-board-system-2008/)
- Next board in archive order: [Kirk Fletcher — Vertex stereo board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/kirk-fletcher/vertex-board-2012/)