# Neil Young Pedalboard 2009: Full Gear & Pedal List > The 2009 Neil Young pedalboard, pedal by pedal: Fender Brown Tolex Reverb Unit and 4 more. Signal-chain order, settings and cited sources. - Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/neil-young/electric-tour-red-board-2009/ - 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 | Neil Young | | Board | Red board and vintage effects rig | | Date | 2009-01-01 — 2009 electric tour (year precision) | | Context | 2009 tour | | Scope | Touring-period rig | | Signal path | 5 units · Guitar to amplifier | | Routing | Switchable effects loops | | Unit evidence | Documented | | Order evidence | Reconstructed | | Status | Tech-documented inventory - order reconstructed | | Audited | 2026-07-18 | | Sources | 2 | Neil Young's 2009 tour rig is run from a red control box that calls up a Fender tube spring reverb, a Mu-Tron Octave Divider, an MXR M-118 analog delay, a Boss BF-1 flanger and an Echoplex, while the Whizzer sets his tweed Deluxe by itself. ## 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 | Fender Brown Tolex Reverb Unit | Adds Young's external spring ambience; a switch on the red board can kill its return. | Rack insert | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/fender-brown-tolex-reverb-unit/ | | 2 | Mu-Tron Octave Divider | Adds the unstable, heavy lower octave available from a switch across the top of Young's red board. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mu-tron-octave-divider/ | | 3 | MXR M-118 Analog Delay | Provides the short, dark analog repeats selected from the red board. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/mxr-m-118-analog-delay/ | | 4 | Boss BF-1 Flanger | Adds metallic sweep and moving comb-filter texture from inside the red board. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/boss-bf-1-flanger/ | | 5 | Maestro Echoplex | Provides tape repeats, preamp coloration and the final named echo voice controlled by the red board. | Integrated board | Documented | Reconstructed | https://pedalboardarchive.com/pedals/maestro-echoplex/ | ## Reconstruction note Longtime tech Larry Cragg identifies every named effect in and around the 2009 red board, the four Whizzer preset buttons, reverb kill, loop bypass, mute and an unidentified 'ugly button.' The Whizzer and utility switches are omitted because they control the amp or routing rather than process audio, and the unknown unit behind the ugly button is not guessed. The source enumerates effects but does not trace their internal connections, so the display order is reconstructed. Young's independent 1992 interview confirms that the overdrive comes from the Deluxe itself rather than a distortion pedal. ## Questions ### What pedals did Neil Young use in 2009? This dated entry lists 5 units: Fender Brown Tolex Reverb Unit, Mu-Tron Octave Divider, MXR M-118 Analog Delay, Boss BF-1 Flanger, Maestro Echoplex. 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 Neil Young'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 Neil Young's full guitar rig? No. This dated entry covers 5 units in the effects path, not every piece of gear Neil Young 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? 2009 electric tour. 2009 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? 2 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Guitar World, Guitar Player, archived by Thrasher's Wheat. Among them an interview and an archive record. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18. ## Sources 2 cited sources across 2 independent groups. Two sources sharing an independent group report the same observation and count once. 1. [Neil Young's guitar rig: from Old Black to his Fender Deluxe](https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/neil-young-live-rig) — Guitar World (Primary source · interview), published 2009-10-01, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `guitar-world-larry-cragg-2009` 2. [In The Eye Of The Hurricane](https://thrasherswheat.org/ptma/equip.htm) — Guitar Player, archived by Thrasher's Wheat (Primary source · archive), published 1992-03-01, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `guitar-player-neil-young-1992` ## Related pages - Every documented board by Neil Young: [Neil Young board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/neil-young/) - [Jerry Garcia — Wolf onboard-loop effects chain](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/jerry-garcia/wolf-obel-effects-chain-1978/): shares Mu-Tron Octave Divider - [Keith Richards — North American tour effects](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/keith-richards/north-american-tour-effects-1981/): shares MXR M-118 Analog Delay - [Jean Fossat — Ilion era rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/jean-fossat/ilion-era-rig-2024/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Pitch & Synth, Reverb & Ambience, Delay & Echo) - [St. Vincent — Nice Rack true-bypass loop system](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/st-vincent/nice-rack-loop-system-2013/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Pitch & Synth, Reverb & Ambience) - [Warren Haynes — Gov't Mule Ryman rack and floor rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/warren-haynes/govt-mule-ryman-rig-2023/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Pitch & Synth, Reverb & Ambience, Modulation, Delay & Echo) - [Lee Ranaldo — Two-board Antenna touring system](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/lee-ranaldo/sonic-youth-two-board-antenna-system-2009/): no shared unit; a comparable signal path (Pitch & Synth, Modulation, Delay & Echo) - Previous board in archive order: [Mike Campbell — Heartbreakers touring effects board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/mike-campbell/heartbreakers-touring-board-2013/) - Next board in archive order: [Nels Cline — Pelican-case travel rig](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/nels-cline/pelican-case-travel-rig-2018/)