Billy Gibbons

Billy Gibbons is the guitarist of ZZ Top¹, and Jim Dunlop's artist page also gives his nicknames: Rev. Willie G., BFG and The Bearded One². Dunlop says he relies on a large group of their products "to create a giant, fat tone that's as big as Texas," from his Rev. Willie Brand Strings and slides to MXR pedals².

Credits and gear

Gibbons' connection to octave fuzz goes back decades. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen writes that the octave fuzz introduced to him via Roger Mayer's Octavia in 1968 became a favorite, and that "he still uses it to this day together with a seven-band graphic EQ to sculpt the tone"³. Guitar.com's Richard Purvis reports that his pedalboard sports a Dunlop Octavio and a Boss GE-7 Equalizer⁴.

Pedals and effects reported on his board

ZVEX Effects says Gibbons uses the Nano Amp and SHO "among other ZVEX pedals he owns"⁶. Crazy Tube Circuits reports him using their Time, Stardust, Pin Up and Starlight pedals⁷. British Pedal Company says he "has been a long standing fan of our products and added one of our Rangemasters to his collection"¹⁰.

Strings, slides and other gear

• Rev. Willie Brand Strings, his signature set from Dunlop²
• Dunlop slides²

The DeArmond Tremolo Control

Bo Diddley told Gibbons about the DeArmond Tremolo Control, and Stompbox Book's William Weir calls him a late convert to the device, noting that he sometimes uses two at a time. In Gibbons' own words:

Gearnews' Jef Stone writes that Gibbons was rumoured to be seen stacking multiple Expandora units to achieve his ZZ Top tones, and that the author saw him using Marshall JMP-1 preamp racks for live tones but can neither deny nor confirm the rumours¹¹.