The first Les Paul he ever got was a sunburst. He bought it brand-new at Manny’s on October 29th, 1978.
He remembers the exact date. That’s the kind of relationship Dean DeLeo has with his guitars.
After that first sunburst, every Les Paul that entered his life was also a 1978. Not because he searched for them — they just showed up. He has three 1978 Les Paul Standards. He has a 1957 Les Paul TV Special with P-90 pickups that “has been in the family awhile.” Together these instruments are the guitar foundation of one of the most distinctive and consistently underrated guitar voices in 1990s alternative rock.
When Core (1992) came out, critics called Stone Temple Pilots “Pearl Jam clones.” By the time Purple (1994) debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and “Interstate Love Song” spent fifteen weeks atop the Album Rock Tracks chart, the criticism had largely subsided. The song people were hearing every day on rock radio was built on a DeLeo riff that had more in common with Rolling Stones groove than with Pearl Jam angst — and the more they listened, the more they heard a guitarist whose range extended from blunt-force riffing to jazz-inflected chord voicings to psychedelic texture.
For Tiny Music… Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop (1996), he used no humbucking pickups at all. Not one. The entire album runs on single coils and P-90s through amps with 8- and 10-inch speakers.
“There’s a beauty in plugging a certain guitar into a certain amp,” he has said. “It can have enough power to dictate a song.”
He has been using the same basic rig since 1990. “Every time we plug in it sounds great.”
Background: Montclair, New Jersey, San Diego, and the Band They Said Sounded Like Someone Else
Dean DeLeo was born August 23, 1961, in Montclair, New Jersey. He and his younger brother Robert grew up in a household where music was taken seriously, and both became professional musicians. Dean on guitar, Robert on bass — the DeLeo brothers as a musical unit have been one of the most consistently effective rhythm sections/songwriting partnerships in alternative rock since 1990.
They moved to San Diego, California in the mid-1980s. Robert met vocalist Scott Weiland. The four musicians — Dean, Robert, Scott Weiland, and drummer Eric Kretz — formed Mighty Joe Young in 1985, which became Stone Temple Pilots after signing to Atlantic Records in 1992 (a name change required when another band had prior claim to the original name).
The recording of Core (1992) with producer Brendan O’Brien at Rumbo Recorders was made under conditions that reveal DeLeo’s gear philosophy at its starting point. He told Guitar World: “At the time I didn’t have much of a collection of amplifiers or guitars. And here’s a story: When we moved into Rumbo, we met at the studio at five o’clock the night before we were scheduled to start. Brendan met us there, with his car loaded with guitars and amps, and he and the four of us carried in all of our gear.” The producer carried in guitars and amps to supplement what the young band didn’t yet own. O’Brien brought a Pelham Blue Gibson ES-335 and a Gibson Les Paul Special. DeLeo brought his 1978 sunburst Les Paul (the main guitar on the record), a newer Telecaster, and a Yamaha FG acoustic. That was it.
The 1978 sunburst Les Paul is the guitar on which Scott Weiland sang into the pickup during the recording of Core — a story that captures both the informal, experimental atmosphere of the sessions and the instruments’ centrality to the creative process.
The subsequent albums expanded both the gear and the ambition: Purple (1994) established the band’s commercial peak; Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996) was the point where DeLeo abandoned humbuckers entirely for one record, exploring what single coils and P-90s could do through small amps.
The band has continued through the decades with interruptions — Scott Weiland’s addiction issues causing various separations and reunions, Chester Bennington serving as vocalist for a period, and ultimately Jeff Gutt taking the vocal role. Scott Weiland died in December 2015 of an overdose while on a solo tour.
Tone note: He remembers the exact date he bought his first Les Paul. October 29th, 1978. Manny’s Music in New York City. He was seventeen years old. The guitar he bought that day became the template for everything that followed — every Les Paul that subsequently entered his life was also from 1978. This is not a collecting strategy. It’s a personal mythology built around one specific year of one specific instrument.
The Rig: Dean DeLeo’s Guitars, Amps & Gear
Guitars: The 1978 Standards and the Single-Coil Experiments
1978 Gibson Les Paul Standards — The Foundation
Dean DeLeo’s primary guitars throughout Stone Temple Pilots’ career have been 1978 Gibson Les Paul Standards — specifically three of them, in black, wine red, and sunburst. The sunburst was his first significant guitar (purchased October 29, 1978, from Manny’s Music), and it is the guitar on the Core album.
His 2001 Guitar World interview documented the attraction: “The first Les Paul I got was my sunburst, which I bought brand-new at Manny’s on October 29th, 1978. And for some reason, man, every Les Paul that stepped into my life was a ’78.”
The 1978 Les Paul Standards’ specific character: these are not the most celebrated vintage Les Pauls in the collector’s market — that distinction goes to the late-1950s “bursts” (1958-1960 Les Paul Standards with PAF humbuckers that now sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars). The 1978 examples are “Norlin era” Gibson instruments, made during the period when Gibson was owned by Norlin Musical Instruments — a period that guitar enthusiasts have historically criticised for manufacturing shortcuts. DeLeo’s response to this consensus: he doesn’t share it. The 1978 Les Pauls sound the way they sound to him, and that sound is what he needs.
His “Wino” — a 1977/1978 Les Paul nicknamed for its wine-red finish — is his primary guitar for Drop D tunings. Different Les Pauls serve different tuning and tonal functions within the overall collection.
1957 Gibson Les Paul TV Special — The P-90 Guitar
DeLeo’s other primary Les Paul is a 1957 Les Paul TV Special — an early, slab-mahogany-bodied Les Paul (before the carved maple top that defines the Standard) with P-90 single-coil pickups and a TV yellow finish. He told Guitar FX Depot: “That guitar’s been in the family awhile. I got that just prior to making the Purple album, and I used it a lot.”
The P-90’s specific character compared to humbuckers: more midrange presence, more clarity and definition, with a rawer attack and less smooth sustain. The TV Special’s combination of the mahogany body’s warmth and the P-90’s articulation produces a specific tonal character that DeLeo uses for songs requiring something different from the humbucker Les Pauls.
He confirmed his specific pairing preference: “One of my favorite pairs for tracking that I used a lot on [Talk Show] and Tiny Music… is a ’57 Les Paul TV Special that I played through a ’66 Marshall 18-watt 2×10 combo. That amp loves P-90’s. I used that combination on ‘Big Bang Baby’ and ‘Everybody Loves My Car.'”
Tiny Music — The No-Humbuckers Album
For Tiny Music… Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop (1996), DeLeo made a deliberate guitar and amp choice that defines that album’s distinct tonal character: “there isn’t a single humbucking pickup on the entire record. I used all single coils and P-90’s and mostly amps with 8- or 10-inch speakers.”
The amplifiers used on Tiny Music confirmed in Equipboard: a ’60s Supro Super 1606, Magnatone amps, a ’50s student amp, a ’59 280 Amp, Vox AC10s, “a lot of lap steel amps such as Thirties Nationals (made by Valco),” a ’64 Gretsch 6150 (his favorite on the record), a ’65 Gretsch 6154.
The Gretsch 6150 is specifically described as his favorite on the record. This amp — originally made for the accordion market — has 6×9 inch speakers that produce a specific bright, compressed character different from standard guitar amp construction. Running P-90s and single coils through accordion amps with small speakers is the specific alchemical combination that gives Tiny Music its distinctive character.
This was not an arbitrary experiment. It was a deliberate choice to create sonic variety across Stone Temple Pilots’ albums — Core had been made with whatever was available, Purple with the fully developed humbucking Les Paul sound, and Tiny Music as a specific departure in a third direction. Three albums, three distinct guitar-and-amp philosophies.
Tone note: Not one humbucker on the entire record. The entire Tiny Music album — every guitar sound — runs on single coils and P-90s through amps with 8- or 10-inch speakers. This is a commitment to a specific tonal vision across an entire album, not just a track or two. The result sounds completely different from Purple, which sounds completely different from Core. DeLeo deliberately designed each record’s guitar sound to be distinct from its predecessor.
Fender Telecasters
Alongside the Les Pauls, DeLeo uses Telecasters regularly. He appeared in the “Vasoline” video playing a cream Telecaster with a Bigsby vibrato. He has also been seen playing a red Stratocaster on “Trippin on a Hole in a Paper Heart.” Telecasters provide the alternative single-coil character when the P-90 TV Special isn’t the right choice.
His custom Telecaster-style instruments are built by luthier Bruce Nelson — the DeLeo brothers’ tech who also builds guitars for Joe Perry. DeLeo described Nelson’s instruments: “He is just an incredible luthier. He builds really, really fine instruments like the Tele-[style]. I have three [T-style guitars] he’s built me, and he’s built me a Strat-style.” The specific advantage of custom-built instruments for studio layering: “His guitars are great because in the studio, when you start layering guitars, and sometimes you can’t get them in tune — it’s really frustrating. With newer instruments like the Nelson guitars, everything’s perfect.”
Other Notable Instruments
- 1972 Gibson ES-335 — Used live in STP’s current touring rig; for specific songs
- PRS Custom 22 — Documented in live performance; for specific songs like “Sour Girl”
- PRS hollowbody electric — Tuned G-G-D-G-D-D; used when the band played “Dancing Days” (Led Zeppelin cover)
- Danelectro 1960s double-cut — Championed for its “chime”; one of the “worst” guitars that sometimes produce the best sound
- Danelectro electric sitar — Used on “Transmissions from a Lonely Room” from Shangri-La Dee Da (2001)
- Cumbus (Turkish 12-string instrument) — “Kind of like a banjo, with a bigger, deeper body… The resonance of the metal body gives you this really Turkish sound”; used on “Regeneration”
- Guild JF65-12 12-String Acoustic — Used during the 2000 VH1 Storytellers performance
- Gibson J-50 acoustic — Piezo-equipped; regular acoustic guitar presence
- Gibson Dove acoustic — Live acoustic use
- Fernandes Jaguar copy with Sustainiac pickup — Various uses; unconventional instruments
- Toy guitars — Guitar World quoted him: “Robert and I love using toy guitars that you have to wrestle with.” The difficulty of imprecise instruments produces unpredictable sounds; DeLeo’s openness to this is characteristic of his broader experimental approach
Complete Guitar List (Key Instruments)
- 1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard (sunburst, “first Les Paul”) — Bought October 29, 1978 at Manny’s Music; Core album primary; Scott Weiland sang into its pickup during recording
- 1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard (black) — Additional standard-tuning Les Paul
- 1977/1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard (“The Wino,” wine red) — Primary Drop D tuning guitar
- 1957 Gibson Les Paul TV Special (P-90s, TV yellow) — Prior to Purple; used extensively on Tiny Music and Talk Show; paired with 1966 Marshall 18-watt 2×10; “Big Bang Baby,” “Everybody Loves My Car”
- Fender Telecasters (cream Bigsby, red, others) — Various periods; “Vasoline” video guitar
- Bruce Nelson custom Tele-style (×3) and Strat-style — Built by tech; intonation-perfect for studio layering
- Gibson ES-335 (1972) — Current touring for specific songs
- PRS Custom 22 — Live use
- PRS hollowbody (G-G-D-G-D-D tuning) — “Dancing Days” cover
- 1960s Danelectro double-cut — “Chime” character; “worst” guitar that produces something you can’t get elsewhere
- Danelectro electric sitar — “Transmissions from a Lonely Room”
- Cumbus — “Regeneration”
- Guild JF65-12 acoustic 12-string — VH1 Storytellers
- Gibson J-50 acoustic — Piezo-equipped touring acoustic
- Toy guitars — “You have to wrestle with them”
Amps: The Wet-Dry Vox-and-Marshall Rig
The Live Rig — Consistent Since 1990
“I’ve been using the same setup, the same rig since 1990,” DeLeo told MusicRadar. “Every time we plug in it sounds great.” This continuity — thirty-plus years of the same fundamental rig — is unusual even among committed gear traditionalists. It reflects both satisfaction with the sound and trust in a system that works reliably across decades of touring.
The core of his live signal chain: the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (since replaced by a more reliable equivalent) splits into two paths:
- Path 1: One CE-1 output → S.I.B. Varidrive Tube Preamp pedal → Vox AC30 amplifier
- Path 2: Other CE-1 output → Demeter TGP-3 three-channel preamp → Rocktron Intelliverb → VHT Classic 50-watt stereo power amp → two Marshall 4×12 cabinets
The result: a wet-dry-wet configuration where the clean Vox provides the dry, unprocessed signal, and the Demeter/VHT combination through Marshall cabinets provides the wet processed signal. His tech has described the result: “His rig allows him to take advantage of the clarity of the VOX and the crunch of the Demeter.” Four mics on the combined system allow the FOH engineer to blend the signals for a “two guitar player” impression from one guitarist.
The CE-1 Leslie Technique
His use of the Boss CE-1 (and its replacement) is specifically not for a traditional chorus effect. He told MusicRadar: “I was using a CE-1, that old Roland thing, forever and ever. They were original from back in the day but there was just too much stuff to break getting moved around. I finally succumbed to [another] pedal. But I’m not using it for a chorus, I’m trying to emulate a Leslie. I’ve got it really cranked up and it’s the pedal that I found that wouldn’t give me that detuned chorusy thing, I just wanted that fast Leslie sound.”
The Leslie rotating speaker effect — originally designed for the Hammond organ — produces a specific Doppler-based modulation at specific rates that suggests physical rotation. DeLeo uses the CE-1 set for a fast Leslie character rather than the slower, more detuned quality of conventional chorus. The difference is subtle but characteristic: a rotating, animated quality that enhances the guitar’s stereo presence without the obvious pitch-shifting of heavy chorus.
The Recording Amps — Album by Album
DeLeo’s studio approach is more eclectic than his live rig. Each album has a specific guitar-and-amp philosophy:
- Core (1992): 1978 Les Paul sunburst through Brendan O’Brien’s and DeLeo’s combined resources; Marshall amplification; the foundation
- Purple (1994): Les Pauls and vintage Marshalls; the classic Les Paul/Marshall setup of classic rock applied to 1990s alternative
- Tiny Music (1996) and Talk Show (1996): All single coils and P-90s, amps with 8- and 10-inch speakers exclusively — the full list documented above (Supro, Magnatone, Vox AC10s, vintage Nationals, Gretsch 6150, Gretsch 6154, etc.)
- Shangri-La Dee Da (2001): Vintage Gretsch with 6×9 speakers, late-1960s Marshall combos (18-watt 2×10, 18-watt 1×12, 20-watt 2×10), Ampeg B212, Sovtek MIG50, various Vox models
The consistent pattern: each album deliberately uses a different combination of guitars and amps to produce a distinct tonal character. DeLeo is self-consciously constructing a sonic identity for each record, not simply plugging in and playing.
Pedals & Signal Chain: Simple and Effective
Dean and Robert DeLeo have articulated a shared philosophy: “there’s a beauty in plugging a certain guitar into a certain amp. It can have enough power to dictate a song.” This philosophy produces a live pedal setup that is deliberately minimal.
The Guitar FX Depot documentation of his live rig noted: “Dean’s only got five patches on it. And the chorus pedal is used very sparingly, only on ‘Piece of Pie’ and at the very beginning of ‘Trippin.’ The Varidrive is heard only on the intro to ‘Interstate Love Song.'”
Key Pedals
- Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (original; now replaced) — The signal splitter and Leslie emulator; not used for standard chorus but for the fast rotating-speaker effect; runs continuously as the wet/dry rig’s splitting point
- S.I.B. Varidrive Tube Preamp pedal — On the Vox path; tube preamp adding warmth and drive; specifically audible on the intro to “Interstate Love Song”
- Demeter TGP-3 three-channel preamp — The Marshall-path preamp; three channels allowing different tonal characters within the same rig
- Rockman MIDI Octopus — Live MIDI controller (in the rack, not a standard pedal)
- RJM Mastermind MIDI Controller — Replaced the older Rockman MIDIPedal; feeds the Rockman MIDI Octopus
Studio pedals (more varied):
- Ampeg Scrambler Fuzz — Documented in a Robert DeLeo description of a studio setup
- 1960s Vox Wah — Used on “John” and “Hello Hello” from Talk Show
- Dunlop Rotovibe — Used on “Hide” from Talk Show; “for the solo on that”
- Boss DS-1 Distortion — Also used on “Hide” solo
- Boss Chorus — Used on “Behind” from Talk Show
Tone note: Five patches on the live rig. The chorus appears in only two songs, used very sparingly. The Varidrive is heard on only one song’s intro. The entire elaborate wet-dry-wet rig with Vox and Marshall and Demeter and VHT — all of it controlled through five patches and used minimally. The complexity of the hardware serves the simplicity of the approach. Most of the time, the guitar goes into the amp and the amp makes the sound.
Strings, Picks & Setup
Strings: The Premier Guitar rig rundown documented specific string gauges for different tunings and instruments: Ernie Ball Power Slinkys (.011-.048) for standard-tuning guitars; heavier gauges for Drop D and lower-tuned instruments. The specific gauges vary by guitar and tuning requirement.
Picks: Not specifically documented as a primary identity element in DeLeo’s gear narrative — his philosophy of guitar-into-amp minimalism extends to not making picks a central issue.
Drop D guitar: “The Wino” — the wine-red 1978 Les Paul — is specifically set up for and dedicated to Drop D tuning. Having a guitar permanently maintained in an alternate tuning is the same approach as Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, and the broader alternate-tuning contingent of the 1990s — one guitar per tuning, avoid retuning live.
The P-90 philosophy: For the Talk Show and Tiny Music period, DeLeo specifically established that the ’57 TV Special “loves P-90’s” when paired with a vintage 18-watt Marshall combo. This pickup-and-amp matching philosophy — knowing which specific instruments produce the right response with which specific amplifiers — is the guitar player’s equivalent of knowing which wines match which foods. The knowledge requires experimentation and experience. DeLeo has done both.
Playing Style & Tone Philosophy: Architecture and Versatility
Dean DeLeo’s guitar playing has been described as “architectural” — a word that captures his approach to building guitar parts that serve the song’s structure rather than showcasing individual technique. This doesn’t mean the technique isn’t there; “Geek USA” would impress shredders, and “Interstate Love Song” would satisfy any classic-rock purist. It means the technique is always in service of the song rather than the reverse.
The Range
Stone Temple Pilots’ catalog demonstrates a guitarist who can do genuinely different things on different records:
- Core: Heavy riffing (“Sex Type Thing,” “Wicked Garden”), acoustic balladry (“Creep”), funk-adjacent groove (“Plush”)
- Purple: Sophisticated chord voicings (“Interstate Love Song,” “Lounge Fly”), outright heaviness (“Unsung”), classic-rock textures (“Pretty Penny”)
- Tiny Music: Psychedelic single-coil shimmer throughout; the album sounds like a different band’s record because the guitar philosophy changed
- Shangri-La Dee Da: Exotic instrument experiments alongside standard rock guitar
This album-to-album variety — achieved through conscious gear choices as much as through playing approach — is one of the reasons DeLeo is described as “underrated” within his era. He was more consistently interesting than his commercial profile suggested.
The Jazz Influence
DeLeo’s guitar style includes jazz-influenced chord voicings that appear throughout STP’s catalog. Songs like “Lounge Fly” and “Tumble in the Rough” use chord movements that would not be out of place in a jazz context — ninth chords, suspended voicings, chromatic passing chords. These come from a musical education broader than standard rock guitar training and contribute the sophistication that distinguishes STP’s most interesting moments from straightforward alternative rock.
The Toy Guitar Philosophy
Guitar World’s interview documented one of DeLeo’s most revealing philosophical statements: “Robert and I love using toy guitars that you have to wrestle with.” The idea that difficulty and imprecision can produce musical value — that a guitar you have to fight produces sounds you wouldn’t get from a perfectly set-up instrument — connects to the same principle that drove his Tiny Music experiments with vintage lap steel amps and accordion amplifiers. The “wrong” tool sometimes makes the right sound.
The Brother Partnership
The DeLeo brothers’ specific complementary relationship — Dean on guitar, Robert on bass — is one of the more documented sibling musical partnerships in rock. Premier Guitar quoted Dean: “Dean and I complementing one other is really a mutual respect for each other’s talents and playing. I think it’s a matter of when to say something and when not to say something. That comes from years and years of playing together and just trying to put our best foot forward, artistically, with each other.” The trust between them allows each to occupy their sonic space without conflict.
How to Sound Like Dean DeLeo: The STP Guitar Tone
DeLeo’s core live tone is achievable with Les Paul, vintage-voiced amp, and minimal effects. The album-specific tones require more specific equipment.
The Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Standard (humbucker-equipped) for the Core and Purple era. Gibson Les Paul TV Special or any P-90-equipped guitar for the Tiny Music era. The specific Norlin-era 1978 Les Pauls he prefers are widely available used at more accessible prices than late-1950s bursts.
- Gibson Les Paul Standard — Any production Les Paul Standard provides the humbucker foundation
- Gibson Les Paul Special or TV (P-90s) — For the Tiny Music-era sound
- Fender Telecaster — For the single-coil alternative
The Amp
The wet-dry rig is the authentic choice but complex to set up. A simpler approach: Vox AC30 for the characteristic British clean-to-driven character; or Marshall for the crunch side.
| Control | Setting (Vox Path) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | 6–7 (edge of breakup) | The Vox provides the clean clarity; the Demeter/Marshall path provides the crunch |
| Treble | 6 | Les Paul’s natural warmth; moderate treble maintains character |
| Middle | 5–6 | The Les Paul’s humbucker midrange is naturally present |
| Bass | 4–5 | Controlled; the dual-guitar impression comes from frequency balance, not bass excess |
| Top Cut (Vox) | Minimal | Allow the full Vox frequency character through |
The Leslie/Chorus Trick
Set a chorus pedal (Boss CE-2 or CE-2W) to a fast rate and minimal depth — enough to produce the rotating character without obvious detuning. This is the “Leslie emulation” DeLeo describes rather than conventional chorus use.
Budget vs Authentic
Budget:
- Guitar: Epiphone Les Paul Standard (affordable Les Paul character)
- Amp: Vox AC15 (or AC30 if available) for the clean/edge-of-breakup Vox character
- Effects: Boss CE-2W at fast rate/low depth for the Leslie effect; minimal additional pedals
Authentic (Core/Purple era):
- Guitar: 1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Norlin era; available used at reasonable prices)
- Amp: Vox AC30 + Demeter TGP-3 preamp + VHT power amp + Marshall 4×12 cab (full wet-dry rig)
Authentic (Tiny Music era):
- Guitar: 1957 Gibson Les Paul TV Special with P-90s, or any P-90-equipped guitar
- Amp: Vintage amp with 8- or 10-inch speaker (Vox AC10, vintage Supro, Gretsch 6150 if available)
- No humbuckers anywhere
Influence & Legacy: The Architect Everyone Overlooked
Dean DeLeo’s influence on 1990s alternative rock is one of the more quietly extensive in the era. Stone Temple Pilots sold over 30 million albums across their career. “Interstate Love Song” was one of the most-played rock radio songs of the 1990s. The specific DeLeo guitar approach — humbucker Les Pauls into Marshall and Vox, with the wet-dry rig providing a more dimensional sound than simple guitar-into-amp — became a reference point for alternative rock production in the mid-1990s.
His influence is frequently described as underrated relative to his contemporaries. While Billy Corgan’s Siamese Dream tone is extensively analyzed and imitated, and Kurt Cobain’s Nevermind distortion is iconically associated with a generation, DeLeo’s work occupies a space that is harder to reduce to a single sonic signature — because he deliberately varied his approach across albums, which makes him less immediately recognisable but more musically interesting over time.
His openness to “wrong” instruments — toy guitars, accordion amps, Turkish cumbus, lap steel amps — places him in a tradition of practical experimentation that produces sounds conventional gear selection cannot. The Tiny Music decision to eliminate humbuckers from an entire album is the most visible expression of this: a commercially successful guitarist deliberately making himself harder to imitate for one record, then moving on to something else.
“There’s a beauty in plugging a certain guitar into a certain amp. It can have enough power to dictate a song.”
Thirty years of finding those combinations is the complete Dean DeLeo gear philosophy.
Tone note: He bought his first Les Paul on October 29th, 1978, from Manny’s in New York City. He still has it. He still plays it. Scott Weiland sang into its pickup during the recording of Core. That guitar — bought new as a seventeen-year-old, at a price that must have been a significant commitment — is still his primary instrument on the album that started everything. The guitar and the career began on the same day. The guitar is still going. The career is still going.
At Manny’s Music in New York City, on October 29th, 1978, seventeen-year-old Dean DeLeo bought a sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, brand-new. He remembers the exact date. Every Les Paul that subsequently entered his life was also a 1978. He now has three of them.
He brought that sunburst to Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles in 1992, along with a newer Telecaster and a Yamaha acoustic. Brendan O’Brien loaded in his own guitars and amps to supplement what the young band didn’t yet own. Scott Weiland sang into the pickup of the sunburst during the sessions. The album they made was Core.
For Purple, he developed the Les Paul-and-Marshall sound that produced “Interstate Love Song” and fifteen weeks at the top of the rock charts. For Tiny Music, he eliminated every humbucker from the record and ran everything through amps with 8- and 10-inch speakers, his favorite being a ’64 Gretsch 6150 accordion amp. For Shangri-La Dee Da, he used a Turkish cumbus on a song about regeneration.
He has been using the same basic live rig since 1990. Every time they plug in, it sounds great.
There’s a beauty in plugging a certain guitar into a certain amp. It can have enough power to dictate a song.
If Dean DeLeo’s architectural guitar approach — the 1978 Les Pauls, the Vox-and-Marshall wet-dry rig, the Tiny Music single-coil experiment — has you exploring the 1990s alternative rock guitar tradition, check out our complete guide to Billy Corgan’s guitars and gear — whose Bat Strat and Op-Amp Big Muff defined a different but parallel corner of the same era’s guitar sound.
And for the guitarist who shared the 1990s alternative rock landscape as DeLeo’s contemporary — operating through the same mainstream rock radio channels — don’t miss our breakdown of Mike McCready’s complete gear guide, the next guitarist in this series.
FAQ: Dean DeLeo Guitars & Gear
- What guitars does Dean DeLeo play?
- His primary guitars are three 1978 Gibson Les Paul Standards — in sunburst (his first Les Paul, bought brand-new from Manny’s Music in New York on October 29th, 1978), black, and wine red (the “Wino,” used for Drop D tunings). He also plays a 1957 Gibson Les Paul TV Special with P-90 pickups (his primary guitar for Tiny Music and Talk Show recordings), various Fender Telecasters (including a cream model with Bigsby seen in the “Vasoline” video), custom Telecaster-style and Stratocaster-style instruments built by luthier Bruce Nelson, a 1972 Gibson ES-335, PRS Custom 22, and a PRS hollowbody. He has also used Danelectro electric sitars, a Turkish cumbus, and “toy guitars” that he and his brother Robert deliberately wrestle with for unconventional sounds.
- What is the Tiny Music guitar setup?
- For Tiny Music… Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop (1996), DeLeo made a deliberate choice: “there isn’t a single humbucking pickup on the entire record. I used all single coils and P-90’s and mostly amps with 8- or 10-inch speakers.” The amps used included a ’60s Supro Super 1606, Magnatone amps, vintage Vox AC10s, lap steel amps from the 1930s (National/Valco), and his favorite on the record: a 1964 Gretsch 6150 — an amplifier originally designed for accordion players. His favorite guitar-and-amp pairing for that record: the 1957 Les Paul TV Special (P-90s) through a 1966 Marshall 18-watt 2×10 combo.
- What is Dean DeLeo’s live rig?
- He has been using the same basic setup since 1990. The signal chain: guitar → Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble (or equivalent) splits into two paths. Path 1: CE-1 output → S.I.B. Varidrive Tube Preamp → Vox AC30. Path 2: CE-1 other output → Demeter TGP-3 preamp → Rocktron Intelliverb → VHT Classic 50W stereo power amp → two Marshall 4×12 cabinets. The result is a wet-dry rig where the Vox provides clarity and the Demeter/VHT/Marshall path provides crunch. Live, four microphones on the system allow the FOH engineer to create the impression of two guitarists from one player.
- How does Dean DeLeo use chorus?
- Not for conventional chorus effect. He told MusicRadar: “I’m not using it for a chorus, I’m trying to emulate a Leslie… I’ve got it really cranked up and it’s the pedal that I found that wouldn’t give me that detuned chorusy thing, I just wanted that fast Leslie sound.” He uses the Boss CE-1 (or its replacement) set to a fast rate to produce a rotating speaker (Leslie) character rather than the slower detuned quality of standard chorus. The chorus pedal also serves as the signal splitter for his wet-dry rig.
- What amplifiers did Dean DeLeo use on Core?
- DeLeo had a limited collection at the time of recording Core (1992). He brought his 1978 sunburst Les Paul, a newer Telecaster, and a Yamaha FG acoustic. Producer Brendan O’Brien supplemented the band’s gear from his own collection, including a Pelham Blue Gibson ES-335 and a Gibson Les Paul Special. The specific amplifiers used on Core are not as precisely documented as those on later albums, though Marshall amplification was the foundation. DeLeo described O’Brien as arriving at the studio with “his car loaded with guitars and amps” to supplement what the young band didn’t own.
- Why does Dean DeLeo use 1978 Gibson Les Pauls?
- The first Les Paul he ever bought was a sunburst 1978 model, purchased brand-new from Manny’s Music in New York on October 29th, 1978. He has said: “And for some reason, man, every Les Paul that stepped into my life was a ’78.” This is not a collector’s calculated strategy (1978 Gibsons are Norlin-era instruments often dismissed by vintage guitar purists) but an organic affinity — instruments from that specific year kept appearing in his life and sounding right to him. He now has three 1978 Les Paul Standards and considers the 1978 sunburst his foundational guitar.
- How do I get Dean DeLeo’s guitar tone?
- For the Core/Purple era: Gibson Les Paul Standard (or equivalent) into a Vox AC30 for the clarity and a Marshall (or Demeter preamp into power amp) for the crunch, run in a wet-dry configuration. Boss CE-2W set to fast rate with minimal depth for the Leslie character rather than conventional chorus. For the Tiny Music era: P-90-equipped guitar (Gibson TV Special or any P-90 guitar) through a small vintage amp with 8- or 10-inch speakers (vintage Vox AC10, small vintage combo). No humbuckers — the entire Tiny Music tonal character depends on this constraint. The minimal pedal approach: “there’s a beauty in plugging a certain guitar into a certain amp. It can have enough power to dictate a song.”
