Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle) Guitar Rig

Billy Howerdel is one of my all time favourite musicians and guitarists. Before he formed A Perfect Circle, Howerdel worked as a guitar tech for Faith No More, Fishbone, David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Queen, and Guns N’ Roses.

2004

Here’s a run down of his guitar rig, taken from the Guitar World column ‘A Vulgar Display of Power’ in 2004.

1978 Marshall JMP 100-Watt Superlead head modded for by Dave Friedman for master volume, channel switching and FX loop.

Two VHT 4×12 cabinets, one loaded with Celestion 25-watt Greenbacks and one with Celestion 60-watt vintage 30’s.

2013

My main guitar is a 1960 reissue that is actually a happy accident. I was a guitar tech for Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails on their Downward Spiral Tour in 1994 or 1995. I went through a ton of guitars; let’s say 137 Les Pauls I had gone through. This was, by far, the best-sounding and playing one. I usually repaired all the guitars coming through. This guitar, the headstock got ripped off when it was thrown into the crowd, so I was trying to find a donor headstock for it. So, I got to put it back together, and it got put back together at the wrong angle for some reason, and the two woods didn’t match up. But, it was definitely a happy accident, and it lent itself to being more playable. It’s my favorite guitar. Anyone who has ever played it knows it’s something special.

‘Interview: Guitar Talk with A Perfect Circle’s Billy Howerdel, Part 2’, Gibson, 20 November 2013.

2017

Billy Howerdel with his 2017 rack including the Fractal Audio AX-FX II and the Digitech GSP 2101

Here’s the complete Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with Howerdel from 2017. Skip to just after the 26min mark for the interview.

Edit: This is still very much a work in progress. I accidentally deleted the original I’d started years ago. I’ve started to put the bones back together but may take a while.