# Ry Cooder Guitar Rig 2018: Full Gear List & Setup

> Ry Cooder's 2018 core path uses no pedals: a custom Green Man tube preamp with level, EQ and a phase-correcting splitter into two matched small amps.

- Canonical page: https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/ry-cooder/green-man-dual-amp-core-2018/
- 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 | Ry Cooder |
| Board | Green Man dual-amplifier core |
| Date | 2018-05-08 — The Prodigal Son core rig, May 2018 (day precision) |
| Context | Studio, home and touring rig |
| Scope | Core signal path |
| Signal path | Direct · Guitar to amplifier |
| Routing | Not applicable |
| Unit evidence | Documented |
| Order evidence | Source-described |
| Status | Artist-described direct stereo path |
| Audited | 2026-07-18 |
| Sources | 3 |

Ry Cooder's 2018 core path uses no pedals: a custom Green Man tube preamp with level, EQ and a phase-correcting splitter into two matched small amps.

## Signal chain

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

No pedals are documented in this signal path.

## Reconstruction note

Cooder describes the route explicitly as guitar into the Green Man, then stereo outputs into two amplifiers. He says he uses the device onstage, at home and in the studio and is never without it. Fretboard Journal independently records its transformer, tube, volume, tone, dual-output and phase-switch functions, while the official album credits state that Green Man changed the record. Because Green Man is a custom preamp and splitter rather than a conventional stompbox, and no pedals are documented in this core route, the archive represents it as a direct signal path with no pedal placements instead of importing delay pedals seen in other undated images.

## Questions

### Did Ry Cooder use effects pedals in 2018?

No effects pedals are documented in this path. The archive records the guitar going straight into the amplifier, so the sound comes from the instrument, the amp and the player's hands.

### When and where was this guitar rig used?

The Prodigal Son core rig, May 2018. Studio, home and touring rig. 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 guitar rig?

3 cited sources, listed above with the date each was read, including Premier Guitar, Fretboard Journal, Concord. Among them an interview and an official listing. 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. [Ry Cooder: American Reverence](https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/guitarists/ry-cooder-strat) — Premier Guitar (Primary source · interview), published 2018-05-08, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `premier-guitar-bill-murphy-cooder-2018`
2. [Everything Is Weird: Taking Inventory of Ry Cooder's Guitar Collection](https://shop.fretboardjournal.com/blogs/dispatch/everything-is-weird-taking-inventory-of-ry-cooders-guitar-collection) — Fretboard Journal (Primary source · interview), published 2018-11-20, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `fretboard-journal-jason-verlinde-cooder-2018`
3. [The Prodigal Son Album Credits](https://mediakits.concord.com/p/prodigal-son/album-credits.html) — Concord (Primary source · official), published 2018-05-11, accessed 2026-07-18, independent group `concord-prodigal-son-official-credits-2018`

## Related pages

- Every documented board by Ry Cooder: [Ry Cooder board history](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/ry-cooder/)
- Previous board in archive order: [Roy Buchanan — Alligator comeback delay path](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/roy-buchanan/alligator-return-delay-path-1985/)
- Next board in archive order: [Scott McKeon — Tom Jones touring board](https://pedalboardarchive.com/artists/scott-mckeon/tom-jones-touring-board-2022/)