Sweden’s Ghost have been captivating the imaginations of Rock and Metal fans worldwide since their critically acclaimed debut “Opus Eponymous” made waves in the music industry way back in 2010.
Effectively carving out their place within the modern rock landscape by combining visceral imagery with their penchant for sonic excess, all members of Ghost are referred to as Nameless Ghouls with the exception of frontman Papa Emeritus.
Collectively, the group are known for keeping their pool of musical influences broad, drawing inspiration from a plethora of sources ranging from underground extreme metal acts of the 80s and 90s, all the way through to contemporary Pop music.
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Putting the spotlight on a group as intriguing as Ghost will surely highlight some interesting revelations in terms of the equipment the band has utilised both on stage and in the studio.
Gibson RD Artist
Gibson RD models have been synonymous with Ghost since the early days, with Gibson’s German branch conducting an interview with the band that revolved around these models specifically back in 2015.
Evidently, Nameless Ghouls have often equipped their RD guitars with Seymour Duncan pickups and coil tap switches, making them more than versatile enough to cover the palette of tones required to perform Ghost’s music.
Hagstrom Fantomen Custom
Bearing a striking resemblance to the aforementioned RD, the Fantomen Custom is essentially a signature model designed by Hagstrom in collaboration with the band.
This instrument boasts a sturdy 3-piece maple neck-through construction joined with two mahogany body wings. This wood combination works to provide the Fantomen Custom with a wonderful growl and bite, further accentuated by the guitars Lundgren designed Alnico humbuckers.
Fender American Performer Stratocaster
Even though Ghost is strongly associated with Gibson and Hagstrom guitars, a modified American Performer Stratocaster has been a mainstay instrument with a Nameless Ghoul (nicknamed “Sodo”) for quite some time.
This guitar was a stock Snow White American Performer that has been modified to house a Floyd Rose Tremolo system and locking nut, presumably for increased tuning stability when using the tremolo system.
Additionally, the Strat has been equipped with Seymour Duncan Hot Rails pickups in both the bridge and neck positions as well as locking tuners, essentially converting this traditional Fender into a Superstrat.
Fender American Special Precision Bass
A white American Special Precision Bass has been seen on stage with Ghost many times, with no significant modifications, meaning that it’s safe to assume that this P-Bass is totally stock.
Orange Amplifiers
Despite not keeping an official endorsement, Ghost have made heavy use of a variety of Orange Amplifiers over the course of their career. Notable models include the Orange Rockerverb MKII, Thunderverb 200, OR 50 and Tiny Terror heads. Given this wide range of use, it wouldn’t be a jump to assume that the band are fans of the signature dark crunch and smooth saturation associated with Orange Guitar amplifiers.
Additionally, Ghost have also been spotted using Orange AD200B bass heads paired with matching OBC140 bass cabinets, letting the British boutique back them up on the lower end of the frequency spectrum as well as up top.
Marshall JCM900 4100
Evidently, Nameless Ghouls are no strangers to the allure of pure British crunch tones, having been spotted using a 2-channel JCM900 4100 in a number of live performances, including Fortarock Nijmegen.
The JCM900 is a popular choice amongst rock and metal guitarists due to its signature midrange push and reliable build quality.
Tech21 Sansamp GED 2112
Ghost has made notable use of the Sansamp GED 2112 bass preamp, particularly live, where its presence has been noted within the band’s stage setup.
Designed by the New York amp builders in collaboration with Rush bassist Geddy Lee, this preamp packs two preamps into a single rack space. Providing a flexible EQ section tailored to the needs and requirements of Geddy Lee himself.
This, combined with an abundance of flexible routing options, makes for an extremely versatile bass preamp geared towards the working professional.
Pigtronix Fat Drive
With Ghost boasting an official endorsement from Pigtronix, the Fat Drive is a boutique overdrive that incorporates cascading gain stages and a unique low-pass filter to redefine modern guitar tones.
CMOS Clipping technology works to mimic the natural saturation of a tube amp at break-up, pairing fantastic tones with an intuitive control layout.
MXR M169 Carbon Copy
A mainstay on the pedal of many working guitarists, the Carbon Copy is a dark-voiced analogue delay that incorporates a very pleasing and subtle modulation feature into its circuit.
This pedal’s fantastic sound, combined with its availability and modest price point, are no doubt all factors that have contributed to it being spotted on Nameless Ghouls pedalboards over the years.
Pigtronix Disnortion
Another Pigtronix pedal that has seen steady use by the band is the Disnortion, a multi-effects unit that works to merge high quality overdrive, fuzz and octave circuits into a single compact unit.
Electro Harmonix POG2 Polyphonic Octave Generator
Another Octave unit regularly used by Ghost, the POG2 is a classic pedal that enables users to blend up to 5 polyphonic Octave Harmonics to sculpt a pantheon of electric guitar tones from sub bass rumbles through to sparkly chimes.
If this wasn’t enough, Electro Harmonix have taken the time to implement an advanced algorithm into the design of the POG2, ensuring that it always tracks accurately and efficiently in even the most demanding of circumstances.
Keep up with the GHOST and their new record Skeletá here.
