In memorium, we look at the gear used to build the legacy that Sykes left behind.
Not even a month into 2025, the music world copped a heavy blow with the loss of British guitar icon John Sykes. From inspiring the likes of Metallica with his work in Tygers Of Pan Tang and Thin Lizzy to writing one of the most acclaimed British Hard Rock Records of the 1980s with Whitesnakes 1987 album. Sykes is one of the few players in the world who can lay claim to having turned down the prestigious position of guitarist in the Ozzy Osbourne band.
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Hell, even Ozzy alumni Zakk Wylde has admitted to taking heavy influence from Johns’s world-class wide vibrato and use of aggressive pinch harmonics. Capping off an incredible career with a slew of solo albums and fronting his own band, the underrated Blue Murder, John Sykes truly did it all.
So in memoriam, let’s take a look at some of the gear that backed up a real-world guitar hero.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
The instrument most synonymous with John Sykes’s career is undoubtedly the 1978 Les Paul Custom which he donned in all of the bands he played in.
The black Les Paul Custom was adorned with a silver mirror pickguard and poker chip at the suggestion of Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott. Notably, the guitar also sported a spicy Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucker in the bridge, a brass nut, and Grover tuners.
John’s Les Paul custom is indeed so endearing that it has been copied by numerous manufacturers over the decades, with Gibson issuing an official signature model in 2006.
1959 Les Paul Sunburst
Featured on the cover of John’s 1997 solo album “Loveland” this burst was featured on most of the recording for that record in lieu of a select number of shows following its release.
Ultimately he began to question the valour of subjecting such a valuable guitar to the rigorus of the road and subsequently retired it to return to his ’78 Custom.
1961 Fender Stratocaster
Whilst most people will associate Sykes with the Gibson Les Paul he wasn’t one to shy away from a good Stratocaster, similar to fellow Thin Lizzy Axeman and soloist Gary Moore.
This Strat was used regularly in the studio for clean tones and can be heard on Whitesnake’s classic radio hit “Is This Love”.
Charvel San Dimas Custom
For all of the songs on Whitesnake 1987 requiring tremolo, John would put a Charvel San Dimas to work.
At this point in time Charvel was predominantly running as a Custom Shop operation with a select few imports coming from Japan, meaning that John’s Charvel was likely a custom order.
Mesa Boogie Coliseum
Of all the amps John used many fans associate him strongly with the Mesa Boogie Coliseum heads, Johns Boogies featured Mesa MKIII preamps and six 6L6 power amp tubes.
Keeping with the Boogie flavour John would also make use of some Rectifier models later in the 1990s.
Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis Preamp
A game changer in the world of rack-mounted preamps upon its release, John was sure to adopt the Tri-Axis in his rig for a period of time in the 1990s.
Famous for including a variety of classic Mesa tones all in one box, the Tri-Axis combined digital control parameters with a tube driven preamp section to give players in the 90s the best of both worlds.
Marshall JCM 800 50-Watt
For many of the Thin Lizzy and Sykes tours John was undertaking in the 90s and 00s he would plug directly into a JCM 800 50-watt head straight into a standard Marshall 4×12 and occasionally his own custom-built cabinets.
EVH 5150 III Stealth
More recently and prior to his passing John had been making extensive use of EVH 5150 III Stealth heads. Sometimes opting to use a combo of the 5150 III Stealth heads and the 5150 III EL34 heads. Additionally, John was pairing his EVH heads with matched EVH 4×12 cabinets.
Dunlop DCR-1SR Cry Baby
Johns effects rack held a rack-mounted Dunlop Cry Baby module, used in preference over the standard Crybaby foot pedal.
Lexicon PCM 41 Digital Delay
Over the course of his career, John’s rig would incorporate multiple Lexicon PCM 41’s, a very famous rack delay that endured just as much use by musicians in its day as it did use by studio engineers.
What attracted musicians to the PCM41 was the incorporation of a dedicated preamp into its circuit along with the aforementioned digital delay.
Lexicon PCM 70 Digital Effects Processor
Keeping up with the Lexicon tradition John also made use of the Lexicon PCM 70 for a variety of reverb and modulation effects he used both in the studio and live.
The PCM 70 has long held a reputation as a bonafide hit maker with many studio engineers still making use of this rack unit decades after it was released.
Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 10-46
John made extensive use of 10-46 gauge Ernie Balls on both his Gibson (24.75″) and Fender scale (25.5″) instruments. Additionally, he used Dunlop Tortex picks exclusively in the 1.14mm thickness.
Read more about the life and legacy of John Sykes here.
