Pedalboard Archive

Peter BuckPedalboard, 1984

Peter Buck's live setup in July 1984 was one box: an Ibanez UE-400 rack multi-effects system with a remote floor controller. Which of its modules he actually used is not documented.

Board
Reckoning-era single-unit rig
Context
R.E.M. live rig
Board date
Evidence
Documented equipment · 3 cited sources
Order
Source-described
Scope
Touring-period rig
Routing
Switchable effects loops
Audited
Signal
1 unit · Guitar to amplifier

Reckoning-era single-unit rig

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InputGuitar
Ibanez UE-400 Multi-Effects System
OutputAmplifier

A source states the sequence

Inside the rig · 1 units

Pedal roles & evidence

How each unit fits Peter Buck's 1984 setup. Board-specific roles and the evidence behind each identification and position.

Cited sources

Source-described orderIdentity and position are evidenced separately. Reconstructed positions are not observed connections.

Multi-effects & Modeling

Ibanez UE-400 Multi-Effects System

Rack insert

Role in this rig

Serves as the sole live effects system reported in Buck's compact Reckoning-era rig.

Identity
Documented
Position
Documented

Documented equipment · Documented order · Switchable effects loops

Musician's July 1984 equipment sidebar reports one live effect and prints its name as "Ibanez VE400." No such production model matches the described period system; the contemporary UE-400 review documents the compressor, phaser, overdrive and combined flanger/stereo-chorus architecture, so the entry resolves the magazine's model typo to UE-400 while preserving the misprint as an alias. The source does not say which modules were active or how Insta-Patch ordered them. Buck recalled in 2016 that he used no pedals until "probably '85"; that approximate memory differs by only months from the contemporary report, so this board is anchored narrowly to July 1984 and is not projected backward onto the Murmur recordings.

Cited sources

Methodology
  1. MusicianRapid Ear Movement
  2. ReverbReverb Interview: Peter Buck of R.E.M.
  3. Electronics & Music Maker archive at Mu:zinesIbanez Multi-Effects: The UE400

Questions about Peter Buck's 1984 pedalboard

What pedals did Peter Buck use in 1984?
This dated entry lists one unit: Ibanez UE-400 Multi-Effects System. 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 Peter Buck's pedals in?
A cited source states the order. See the diagram and routing notes for the separate paths and any unconfirmed connections.
Is this Peter Buck's full guitar rig?
No. This dated entry covers one unit in the effects path, not every piece of gear Peter Buck 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 1984. R.E.M. live rig. 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?
3 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Musician, Reverb, Electronics & Music Maker archive at Mu:zines. Among them an archive record and an interview. The units are recorded as documented equipment, and the page was last audited on 2026-07-18.