# Lou Reed Pedalboard 1997: Full Gear & Pedal List

> The 1997 Lou Reed board ran one pedal: Pete Cornish 2 Channel Feedbucker. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/lou-reed/perfect-night-feedbucker-path-1997/
- 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 | Lou Reed |
| Board | Perfect Night acoustic feedback-control path |
| Date | 1997-07-03 — July 3, 1997 (day precision) |
| Context | Royal Festival Hall, Meltdown Festival, London |
| Scope | Core signal path |
| Signal path | 1 unit · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Serial path |
| Unit evidence | Documented |
| Order evidence | Source-described |
| Status | Artist-described acoustic effects path |
| Audited | 2026-07-18 |
| Sources | 3 |

Lou Reed's amplified acoustic set at Meltdown in July 1997 ran an Olson guitar with a Sunrise pickup through one box: a custom two-channel Pete Cornish Feedbucker, into a Tone King amp.

## Signal chain

**Order evidence — Source-described.** A source states the sequence.

`Guitar → Pete Cornish 2 Channel Feedbucker → amplifier`

| # | Unit | Role | Zone | Unit evidence | Position evidence | Catalog page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Pete Cornish 2 Channel Feedbucker | Kept the Olson acoustic and Tone King amplifier usable at concert level without replacing the character Reed wanted from that combination. | Front of amp | Documented | Documented | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/pete-cornish-2-channel-feedbucker/ |

## Reconstruction note

In the September 1998 Guitar World interview, Reed describes the Olson, Sunrise pickup and Tone King combination, then explains that Pete Cornish built a two-knob Feedbucker after the same setup fed back at New York's Supper Club. The interview presents that device as the solution that enabled the subsequent amplified-acoustic project, while Cornish's client register independently records both a two-channel Feedbucker and acoustic-guitar preamp in 1997. The Royal Festival Hall recording date comes from the Perfect Night archive. Only the source-described feedback processor is drawn: the separate preamp is omitted because the interview does not establish whether it was in this concert path, and no source exposes the box's internal filter order or exact frequency settings.

## Questions

### What pedals did Lou Reed use in 1997?

This dated entry lists one unit: Pete Cornish 2 Channel Feedbucker. 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 Lou Reed's pedals in?

A cited source states the order: Guitar → Pete Cornish 2 Channel Feedbucker → amplifier.

### Is this Lou Reed's full guitar rig?

No. This dated entry covers one unit in the effects path, not every piece of gear Lou Reed 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?

July 3, 1997. Royal Festival Hall, Meltdown Festival, London. 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?

3 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Guitar World, Pete Cornish, AllMusic. Among them an interview, an official listing and an archive record. 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. [Lou Reed talks about the Velvet Underground, songwriting and gear](https://www.guitarworld.com/magazine/lou-reed-talks-about-velvet-underground-songwriting-and-gear-1998-guitar-world-interview) — Guitar World (Primary source · interview), published 2013-11-06, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `guitar-world-lou-reed-interview`
2. [Pete Cornish client list: Lou Reed 1997 systems](https://petecornish.co.uk/client.html) — Pete Cornish (Primary source · official), accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `pete-cornish-client-archive`
3. [Perfect Night: Live in London - recording date and location](https://www.allmusic.com/album/perfect-night-live-in-london-mw0000034770) — AllMusic (Specialist source · archive), accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `allmusic-perfect-night-archive`

## Related pages

- Every documented board by Lou Reed: [Lou Reed board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/lou-reed/)
- Previous board in archive order: [Lindsey Buckingham — Three-path solo touring rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/lindsey-buckingham/three-path-solo-tour-rig-2012/)
- Next board in archive order: [Madison Cunningham — Ace tour board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/madison-cunningham/ace-tour-board-2026/)