Nels Cline Guitars & Gear: Wilco Guitar Guide

He bought the guitar from Mike Watt.

“This is my main Jazzmaster, this is the first one I ever owned,” Cline said in his Premier Guitar interview. “I bought it from Mike Watt, my friend, inspiration, a fearless bass player. I’ve broken virtually everything on it at some point except for the knobs and the pickups.”

The 1959 Fender Jazzmaster that Nels Cline bought from Mike Watt — the Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist who is one of the most fearless and innovative musicians in American punk and post-punk — has been through, by Cline’s own assessment, a war. It is the guitar on the “Almost” solo from The Whole Love. Its back is covered with stippling from keys he used to wear on his pant loop while hopping around on stage with Watt. He has broken virtually everything on it at some point except the knobs and the pickups. He calls it his number one.

He is “mercilessly enabled” — his words — by Jeff Tweedy’s love of musical gear. Wilco’s leader has indulged Cline’s gear accumulation completely, to the point where Cline doesn’t know how many guitars he owns. “I swear to God I don’t even know how many guitars I own, so if I were to go to [the amount of] pedals. Whew!”

He has five vintage Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay units. Only three of them are functional. When one fails on stage, he moves to the next one. He describes finding sounds like “stumbling around a darkened room” — but it’s a room he’s deeply familiar with. He likes the room. He keeps acquiring more furniture for it.

He is one of the most eclectic, technically sophisticated, and sonically adventurous guitarists in American music. He plays in Wilco, in the Nels Cline Singers, as a duo with his wife Yuka Honda, in free jazz contexts, in classical crossover contexts, in sessions across genres. He approaches every musical situation with a different collection of gear and a completely open mind about what sounds are possible.

The 1959 Jazzmaster. The EHX 16 Second Delay. The ZVex Fuzz Factory. The Klon Centaur. The Korg KP2 Kaoss Pad. The custom Schroeder DB7 amp that blew his mind at the Wilco loft.

The darkened room. He’s always stumbling around in it. He always finds something.

Background: Los Angeles, The Geraldine Fibbers, The Nels Cline Singers, and Wilco

Nels Cline was born January 4, 1956, in Los Angeles, California. He has been playing guitar since his early teens, developing his approach through the Los Angeles experimental music scene — a world that included free jazz, avant-garde composition, noise, and the post-punk traditions that produced the Minutemen and other SST Records bands.

His twin brother Alex Cline is a percussionist who works in the same experimental traditions; the brothers have collaborated extensively. Nels’s early career was in LA’s jazz and experimental scenes — the Nels Cline Trio, the Nels Cline Singers, various collaborative projects with improvising musicians across genres.

He joined the alt-country band The Geraldine Fibbers in the 1990s — a significant expansion of his musical context, moving from purely experimental territory into song-based rock music without abandoning his experimental vocabulary. The Fibbers work showed that his approach could coexist with conventional song structures without compromising either the songs or the experimentation.

He joined Wilco in 2004, replacing the departing Leroy Bach. This was the transformative career moment: Wilco’s platform brought Cline to a much larger audience, and Jeff Tweedy’s songwriting gave him a collaborative context that consistently drew out his best and most adventurous playing. The Wilco albums from Sky Blue Sky (2007) onward — Wilco (The Album), The Whole Love, Star Wars, Schmilco, Ode to Joy — document the most visible aspect of Cline’s playing, though they represent only a fraction of his actual musical output.

He is simultaneously one of the most prolific musicians in American music (over 200 recordings as bandleader, sideman, and guest) and one of the most eclectic. His solo album Lovers (2016), featuring a large chamber ensemble, is his “most straight-ahead and downright pretty jazz-influenced playing.” His work in free jazz improvisation with various collaborators is the most experimental dimension. Wilco is the popular mainstream middle of a very wide range.

Tone note: Jeff Tweedy “mercilessly enabled” him. The leader of one of America’s most successful alternative rock bands actively supported his lead guitarist’s gear accumulation, encouraged experimentation, and gave him creative freedom in a context that reached millions of people. The specific combination of Tweedy’s willingness to enable and Cline’s willingness to experiment produced the Wilco guitar sound from Sky Blue Sky onward. Enablement as creative act: Tweedy knew what he was doing. So did Cline.

The Rig: Nels Cline’s Guitars, Amps & Gear

Guitars: The Jazzmaster Family and Beyond

1959 Fender Jazzmaster — The Primary (Bought From Mike Watt)

Nels Cline’s primary guitar — used for virtually all Wilco recordings and live performances — is a 1959 Fender Jazzmaster that he bought from Mike Watt. He described it in the Premier Guitar Rig Rundown: “This is my main Jazzmaster, this is the first one I ever owned. I bought it from Mike Watt, my friend, inspiration, a fearless bass player. I’ve broken virtually everything on it at some point except for the knobs and the pickups.”

The guitar’s condition: It is easy to scratch the paint, revealing a purplish hue, much like eggplant. I used to wear my keys on my pant loop, and after hopping up and down on stage with Watt, I created an interesting and rather sizable stippling on the back of the guitar. In Guitar World’s Whole Love interview: “My go-to guitar is my ’59 Jazzmaster; it’s my number one, and it looks like it’s been through a war. I guess it has been through my own personal war. That’s the guitar on the ‘Almost’ solo.”

The 1959 Fender Jazzmaster’s specific character:

Floating tremolo system: The Jazzmaster’s unique tremolo — independent from the body, floating above the surface — has a specific feel and sound character. Cline uses it for expressive pitch manipulation
Dual-circuit electronics: The Jazzmaster has a rhythm circuit (upper bout controls) and a lead circuit (lower controls) — two independent signal chains in one guitar
Slide switch: Engages the rhythm circuit’s warmer, more muted preset tone
Single-coil pickups: The Jazzmaster’s specific single-coil design has a warm, less bright character than Stratocaster or Telecaster single coils
Mastery bridge: He adds a Mastery bridge to all of his guitars. The Mastery bridge replaces the Jazzmaster’s notorious buzz-stop and bridge assembly with a more stable, better-intonating design. This modification is standard for serious Jazzmaster players
Behind-the-bridge playing: Nels likes to play behind the bridge, so many of his unique instruments also have that feature. Playing between the bridge and the tailpiece produces harmonics and extreme pitch effects — the area behind the bridge resonates at approximately an octave above the standard pitch

He also has a second 1959 Jazzmaster as a backup — Two 1959 Fender Jazzmasters with original pickups and a Mastery bridge — both with Mastery bridges and original pickups.

Henss/BilT Rosewood Jazzmaster — The Exotic Alternative

A chambered, all-rosewood Jazzmaster-style guitar made by Bill Henss and Tim Thelen of BilT Guitars in Des Moines, Iowa. The all-rosewood construction (normally reserved for necks and fingerboards, not full guitar bodies) produces a different resonant character from the standard alder or ash body — denser, with a darker, more complex tonal character. The chambering (internal chambers cut into the body) adds acoustic resonance similar to a semi-hollow instrument.

1962 and 1969 Fender Jaguars

Cline’s Jaguar collection adds the shorter-scale Fender sibling to his Jazzmaster primary:

1962 Fender Jaguar — Vintage Jaguar; Jaguar’s shorter 24-inch scale provides a different string tension and feel from the Jazzmaster’s 25.5-inch scale
1969 Fender Jaguar (Charlie Christian neck pickup, Seymour Duncan Antiquity bridge) — Modified with a Charlie Christian bar-style pickup in the neck (the same pickup type that Christian used on his ES-150 and that appeared earlier in this series) and a Seymour Duncan Antiquity bridge pickup. The specific Charlie Christian pickup modification brings the jazz pickup tradition into the offset Fender context

Jerry Jones Neptune Guitars — The Danelectro Tradition

Jerry Jones Neptune “Shorty” Octave 12-string — A 12-string guitar with strings tuned in octaves rather than unison pairs; produces a specific chiming quality used for specific textural effects
Jerry Jones Neptune 12-string with three pickups — Standard 12-string configuration; “He made Danelectro style guitars out of Nashville,” Cline noted about Jones
Jerry Jones double-neck baritone — A unique instrument: Jerry Jones double-neck baritone with a 12-string neck and baritone 6-string neck, providing extreme tonal range from one instrument

Jerry Jones made Danelectro-style guitars in Nashville before his company closed in 2011. The Danelectro/Jones aesthetic — thin lipstick-tube pickups, unique tonal character — suits Cline’s experimental approach.

Other Key Guitars

Gibson Les Paul Junior (open tuning and slide) — Continuing the Les Paul Junior tradition from Leslie West; Cline uses his specifically for open tuning work and slide playing
Japanese Crown guitar (painted by Norton Wisdom) — An unusual Japanese guitar customized with artwork by artist Norton Wisdom; the visual/sonic art fusion is characteristic of Cline’s approach
1960s Hopf guitar — A German-made guitar brand from the Hopf company; unusual and rarely found in American player collections
Bill Nash Tele-style — “He makes them out of kit parts and puts Lollar pickups on them, which are really good for Telecasters, and then he relics them.” Nash guitars are assembled-and-aged instruments that suit specific tonal applications
Gibson BR-9 lap steel — Vintage Gibson lap steel for steel guitar work
National lap steel — Second lap steel; alternative for resonator-influenced slide work
Fender Nels Cline Signature Jazzmaster — Fender produced a Nels Cline signature Jazzmaster based on his primary guitars

Complete Guitar List (Key Instruments)

1959 Fender Jazzmaster ×2 (Mastery bridge, original pickups) — Primary and backup; bought from Mike Watt; “been through a war”; stippling from keys; “Almost” solo
BilT/Henss chambered rosewood Jazzmaster — All-rosewood exotic construction
1962 Fender Jaguar — Short-scale Fender offset
1969 Fender Jaguar (Charlie Christian neck, SD Antiquity bridge) — Historically modified
Gibson Les Paul Junior — Open tuning and slide
Jerry Jones Neptune octave 12-string + 3-pickup 12-string + double-neck baritone — Danelectro-tradition exotic instruments
Japanese Crown guitar (Norton Wisdom art) — Unusual and painted
1960s Hopf guitar — German oddity
Bill Nash Tele-style (Lollar pickups, relic) — Kit-built, aged
Gibson BR-9 and National lap steels — Slide instruments

Amps: The Custom Schroeder DB7 and the JTM45 from Tweedy

Custom Schroeder DB7 — The Primary Amp

Cline’s primary amplifier is a custom amp built specifically for him by Tim Schroeder of Schroeder Guitar and Amp Repair in Chicago. The description of how he found it: “Tim Schroeder brought one of his amps to the Wilco loft one day, and I played one of his 30 watt – 40 watt heads… I played this amp and it absolutely blew my mind. I’m always looking for low mids — a rich sound… it was just an amazing sounding amp.”

The custom DB7’s character: designed to Cline’s specifications for the specific “low mids — a rich sound” he was seeking, at a power level (30-40 watts) suited to his playing contexts. The custom design relationship between Cline and Schroeder produced an amplifier that is uniquely his — not a standard model that others can find in a store.

He uses the custom DB7 into a Marshall 4×12 cabinet that was once matched with a JTM45 reissue — providing the physical speaker character of the Marshall cabinet alongside the Schroeder amplifier’s specific tube topology.

Marshall JTM45 2×12 Reissue — Jeff Tweedy’s Gift

The Marshall JTM45 2×12 reissue was given to him by Jeff Tweedy. The JTM45 is Marshall’s first amplifier design — based on the original Fender Bassman but with British modifications, producing the specific character that became the foundation of British rock amplification. This is the Marshall that gives British rock guitar its specific tight low end and vocal midrange. Tweedy giving Cline this amp reflects the same enabling philosophy that characterizes their working relationship.

Pedals: The 16 Second Delay and the Darkened Room

Nels Cline’s pedalboard is one of the most extensive and most discussed in contemporary rock music. His approach: “I don’t mean to be self-congratulatory, but I seem to know how to use pedals. When I hear what a pedal does, I can generally work it into my world.”

He describes finding sounds as stumbling around a darkened room — but it’s a room he knows well.

The Essential Pedals — Always Present

Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay (vintage original) — His ultimate necessity for the Wilco context; He uses it to create beds of reverse leads and chirping sci-fi mainframe computer sounds. For him, only the original will do, even if it’s falling apart onstage. Nels has five of them, but only three are functional. The EHX 16 Second Delay is one of the first digital loopers ever made — it records up to 16 seconds of audio and plays it back at normal, reverse, or different speeds. Only the original vintage unit produces the specific character he needs
ZVex Fuzz Factory — The [Z.Vex] Fuzz Factory is another one that I use. The Fuzz Factory is one of the most unstable and unpredictable fuzz pedals ever made — its silicon transistors interact with each other and with the guitar’s output in ways that produce oscillation, squeal, and feedback that cannot be controlled in the conventional sense. Cline: “which most people recognize at being really strange, and intense, and uncontrollable.”
Klon Centaur — One of the most sought-after overdrive pedals in the world; “Henry’s turned me on to some good pedals in his day; he’s the guy who first showed me the [Klon] Centaur Overdrive, which is one of my main things.” The Klon was shown to him by Henry Kaiser (the experimental guitarist). The Centaur’s specific character: transparent, warm overdrive that adds harmonic richness without drastically altering the guitar’s natural tone
Crowther Audio Hotcake — New Zealand-made overdrive; one of his consistent overdrives; warm and responsive
DigiTech Whammy — Pitch shifting from an octave down through several octaves up; produces the characteristic dive-bomb and harmonic interval effects heard throughout Wilco’s recordings. The [DigiTech] Whammy is a core Wilco Cline pedal
Boss VB-2 Vibrato — Vintage Boss vibrato pedal; produces pitch vibrato (actual pitch variation) rather than tremolo (volume variation)
Boss DD-3 Digital Delay — Standard delay; consistent presence on the board
Korg KP2 Kaoss Pad — The touchpad effects controller; produces real-time manipulation of loops, delays, and other effects through touch and gestures on the touchpad surface

Extended Pedal Arsenal (Documented in Various Interviews)

Fulltone ’69 — Silicon fuzz; documented in The Whole Love interview
ZVex Box of Metal — High-gain metal distortion; contrasts with the Fuzz Factory’s character
Jam Pedals Rattler — Fuzz/distortion; documented in Guitar World
Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man — Analog delay with chorus; warm, vintage-sounding repeats
Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer — Compression; consistent presence
Boss AB-2 2-Way Selector — Signal routing; allows switching between instruments or amp channels
DeviEver Hyperion — Boutique fuzz from the now-defunct DeviEver company
DeviEver Soda Meiser — Additional DeviEver boutique effect
EarthQuaker Devices (various) — Multiple EQD pedals documented across different periods; Cline has had an ongoing relationship with EQD
Boss volume pedal — Standard volume control
Zoom UF-01 Ultr-Fuzz — Budget fuzz for specific tonal applications; Cline is not precious about using cheap pedals

Tone note: He has five EHX 16 Second Delay units and only three of them work. He travels with the broken ones in case the working ones fail. He uses them because “only the original will do.” There is no modern reissue or digital emulation that produces exactly the same character as the vintage original. The specific audio quality of the original unit’s tape-era digital conversion — its bit depth, its aliasing character, its reverse playback peculiarities — is unique to the original hardware. He knows this and has acquired enough backups to ensure he is never without one. Five units, three working. That’s the commitment.

Strings & Setup

Mastery bridge on all guitars: The Mastery bridge — designed by John “Woody” Woodland — is Cline’s universal modification. The Jazzmaster’s original bridge is notorious for intonation and string stability issues; the Mastery replacement resolves these problems while maintaining the Jazzmaster’s character. He applies this upgrade to every guitar in his collection where it’s applicable.

Behind-the-bridge playing: One of his most distinctive techniques — playing in the area between the bridge and the tailpiece. This area resonates sympathetically with the fretted string and produces extreme harmonic effects, squealing feedback, and unusual pitch relationships. Many of his guitars are specifically designed to facilitate this technique.

The experimental approach to strings: For the specific experimental contexts he operates in, string gauge choice is subordinate to what the specific instrument’s tuning requires. His behind-the-bridge work produces different sounds with different gauge strings; his open tuning work on the Junior requires specific gauges.

Playing Style & Tone Philosophy: The Darkened Room

Nels Cline’s guitar philosophy is the most explicitly experimental and least genre-confined in this series. He approaches the guitar as a sound-producing device whose entire sonic range is available — not just the conventional “guitar sounds” of strummed chords and melodic single notes, but feedback, reverse loops, pitch manipulation, behind-the-bridge harmonics, noise, and silence.

The “Stumbling Around a Darkened Room” Approach

His description of how he finds sounds — stumbling around a darkened room — is the most honest statement of the experimental approach available. He does not know what he will find before he finds it. When he finds something, he knows immediately whether it belongs in his world. This is not methodology in the conventional sense but genuine exploration: using the equipment as a vehicle for discovery rather than as a tool for reproducing a predetermined sound.

The Experimental Tradition

Cline comes from the experimental music tradition — the LA avant-garde jazz scene, the post-punk experimentation of SST Records and related artists. This tradition values the new sound over the familiar one, treats the instrument’s limits as starting points rather than destinations, and approaches music as an ongoing investigation rather than a settled practice.

His work in free jazz contexts — improvising without predetermined structures — developed the specific reflexes that inform his Wilco playing. The Wilco songs provide a structure; within that structure he improvises with the same freedom as in free jazz. The songs benefit from the freedom; the freedom is focused by the songs.

The Jazzmaster as Vehicle

The Jazzmaster is his primary guitar not just for its sound but for its specific physical affordances: the floating tremolo allows extreme pitch manipulation; the dual-circuit electronics provide tonal switching; the body shape and bridge position allow behind-the-bridge playing; the overall character is more willing to misbehave than a Stratocaster or Telecaster. A guitar that “misbehaves” in predictable ways is a better vehicle for exploration than one that always does exactly what it should.

How to Approach Nels Cline’s Style

The Guitar

Fender Jazzmaster — vintage or the Fender Nels Cline Signature. Mastery bridge installation is essential.

Fender Nels Cline Signature Jazzmaster — The most direct approach; based on his primary guitars; Mastery bridge included
Vintage Fender Jazzmaster (1958-1965) — The authentic instrument; requires Mastery bridge installation
Any Fender Jazzmaster with Mastery bridge — The core instrument character

The Amp

Custom Schroeder DB7 is the authentic choice — not commercially available. The Marshall JTM45 (reissue or vintage) is accessible and provides the British tube character he uses for the Wilco context.

Control	Setting	Notes
Volume	5–7 (moderate)	The Schroeder/JTM45 produces natural compression at working volume
Treble	5–6	Balanced; the Jazzmaster’s warmth doesn’t need excessive treble boosting
Bass	5–6	“I’m always looking for low mids — a rich sound”
Middle	6–7	Forward; the rich mid character he specifically sought from the Schroeder

The Essential Pedals

Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay (vintage) — For the looping and reverse effects; the vintage original is the authentic choice; modern alternatives include the EHX 45000 or BOSS RC-202
ZVex Fuzz Factory — The controlled chaos; use for textural noise and unpredictable sustain effects
Klon Centaur (or KTR equivalent) — Transparent overdrive; the Klon’s specific warm harmonic richness
DigiTech Whammy — Pitch shifting; essential for the octave and interval effects
Korg Kaoss Pad — Real-time effects manipulation via touchpad

Budget vs Authentic

Budget:

Guitar: Fender Player Jazzmaster with Mastery bridge installed; Fender Nels Cline Signature
Amp: Fender Blues Junior or Marshall DSL20
Core pedals: Boss DD-3 + EHX Nano Small Clone (looping approximation) + ZVex Fuzz Factory + Klon clone (e.g. Ceriatone Centura)

Authentic:

Guitar: Vintage 1959 Fender Jazzmaster + Mastery bridge
Amp: Custom Schroeder DB7 (not commercially available; contact Tim Schroeder directly) into Marshall 4×12
Core pedals: EHX 16 Second Digital Delay (vintage, multiple backup units) + ZVex Fuzz Factory + Klon Centaur (good luck) + DigiTech Whammy + Korg KP2

The Behind-the-Bridge Technique

Set up your Jazzmaster with the Mastery bridge. Play the strings in the area between the bridge and the tailpiece — bow your pick or fingers across this area at a 90-degree angle to the strings. The harmonic content produced varies with proximity to the bridge and the tailpiece. Close to the bridge produces higher harmonics; closer to the tailpiece produces lower harmonics. Experiment. Stumble around in the darkened room. Find something.

Influence & Legacy: The Most Complete Musical Mind in Alternative Guitar

Nels Cline’s influence on guitar playing is the influence of someone who demonstrates, consistently, that the guitar’s vocabulary is not closed. There are always new sounds in the instrument, always new combinations of existing sounds, always new contexts in which familiar sounds become unfamiliar.

The documented connections:

Jeff Tweedy and Wilco — The enabling relationship that gave Cline’s experimental approach a mainstream platform; the Wilco albums from Sky Blue Sky onward would sound completely different without Cline’s contributions
Mike Watt — The Minutemen bassist who sold Cline the 1959 Jazzmaster and who represents the fearless, exploratory approach that Cline cites as inspiration
Henry Kaiser — The experimental guitarist who introduced Cline to the Klon Centaur and ZVex Fuzz Factory; the community of experimental musicians who share gear knowledge and musical approaches
The Jazzmaster community — Cline’s use of vintage Jazzmasters significantly elevated the instrument’s profile in the indie and experimental rock world; the Mastery bridge’s widespread adoption partly reflects his endorsement
The guitar-as-sound-device tradition — From Hendrix’s feedback exploitation through Sonic Youth’s prepared guitar to Cline’s behind-the-bridge exploration and EHX 16 Second looping, the tradition of treating the guitar as a sound-producing machine rather than merely a melodic instrument has in Cline one of its most thoughtful contemporary practitioners

He has five EHX 16 Second Delays and only three of them work. He stumbles around a darkened room finding sounds. He plays behind the bridge. He doesn’t know how many guitars he owns. He is mercilessly enabled.

The 1959 Jazzmaster he bought from Mike Watt looks like it’s been through a war. He says it has been through his own personal war. That guitar is on the “Almost” solo.

When he finds a sound he can work it into his world. He’s been working sounds into his world for fifty years. There are still new rooms to stumble around in.

Tone note: “I swear to God I don’t even know how many guitars I own.” This is the complete inversion of the vintage-fetishism gear philosophy that dominates most of this series. Cline doesn’t know how many he has because they’re not collectibles — they’re work tools, and he keeps acquiring more tools as he finds more work to do. The guitar as accumulation of potential rather than collection of objects. Some people in this series bought one guitar and played it for fifty years. Cline keeps finding new ones. Both approaches produce extraordinary music. The guitar doesn’t care why you picked it up.

“This is my main Jazzmaster, this is the first one I ever owned. I bought it from Mike Watt, my friend, inspiration, a fearless bass player. I’ve broken virtually everything on it at some point except for the knobs and the pickups.”

The 1959 Fender Jazzmaster. The stippling from keys on his pant loop. The Mastery bridge. The behind-the-bridge playing. The Schroeder DB7 amp that blew his mind at the Wilco loft. The EHX 16 Second Delay — five of them, three functional. The ZVex Fuzz Factory that is strange and intense and uncontrollable. The Klon Centaur that Henry Kaiser showed him. The DigiTech Whammy. The Korg Kaoss Pad. Jeff Tweedy, mercilessly enabling.

The darkened room. He stumbles around in it. He always finds something. He has been doing this for fifty years and it has produced over 200 recordings and some of the most adventurous guitar playing in American music.

He doesn’t know how many guitars he owns. He might not want to count. The number isn’t the point. The sounds are.

If Nels Cline’s Jazzmaster-and-experimental-pedalboard approach — the EHX 16 Second Delay, ZVex Fuzz Factory, Klon Centaur, behind-the-bridge technique, “stumbling around a darkened room” philosophy — has you exploring the experimental guitar tradition, check our complete guide to Leslie West’s guitars and gear — the previous guitarist in this series, whose single Les Paul Junior P-90 and accidental PA head represents the opposite extreme of guitar philosophy but an equally committed relationship with finding the sound that serves the music.

And for the next guitarist in this series — whose experimental approach to the electric guitar in jazz and avant-garde contexts shares Cline’s willingness to go where the instrument leads — don’t miss our breakdown of Marc Ribot’s complete gear guide.

FAQ: Nels Cline Guitars & Gear

What is Nels Cline’s main guitar?: A 1959 Fender Jazzmaster that he bought from Minutemen bassist Mike Watt. He described it: “This is my main Jazzmaster, this is the first one I ever owned. I bought it from Mike Watt, my friend, inspiration, a fearless bass player. I’ve broken virtually everything on it at some point except for the knobs and the pickups.” The guitar’s back is covered with stippling from keys he wore on his pant loop while performing with Watt. He has a second 1959 Jazzmaster as backup. Both have Mastery bridges installed (replacing the original bridge assembly for better intonation) and original pickups. He described the guitar in Guitar World’s Whole Love interview: “My go-to guitar is my ’59 Jazzmaster; it’s my number one, and it looks like it’s been through a war. I guess it has been through my own personal war. That’s the guitar on the ‘Almost’ solo.”
Why does Nels Cline have five EHX 16 Second Delays?: Because only the original vintage Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Digital Delay produces the specific character he needs for his Wilco performances, and only three of the five he owns are currently functional. He uses the 16 Second Delay to create beds of reverse leads and chirping sci-fi computer sounds. Only the original vintage unit will do — no modern reissue or digital emulation produces the same character as the original’s specific bit depth, aliasing quality, and reverse playback behavior. He keeps multiple units because the vintage units fail, and when one fails, the next one is there. Five units, three working — that’s the gear philosophy of someone who needs a specific tool and has enough of them to keep working when the tools break.
What amplifier does Nels Cline use?: A custom Schroeder DB7 built specifically for him by Tim Schroeder of Schroeder Guitar and Amp Repair in Chicago. He described finding it: “Tim Schroeder brought one of his amps to the Wilco loft one day, and I played one of his 30 watt – 40 watt heads… I played this amp and it absolutely blew my mind. I’m always looking for low mids — a rich sound… it was just an amazing sounding amp.” He also uses a Marshall JTM45 2×12 reissue given to him by Jeff Tweedy. The Schroeder feeds into a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. The custom DB7 is not commercially available.
What pedals are essential for Nels Cline’s Wilco tone?: His core Wilco pedals include: EHX 16 Second Digital Delay (vintage original, for reverse loops and sound beds), ZVex Fuzz Factory (“really strange, and intense, and uncontrollable”), Klon Centaur overdrive (introduced to him by Henry Kaiser), DigiTech Whammy (pitch shifting throughout Wilco recordings), Korg KP2 Kaoss Pad (real-time touchpad effects manipulation), Crowther Audio Hotcake overdrive, Boss DD-3 delay, Boss VB-2 Vibrato, Boss CS-3 compressor, Fulltone ’69 fuzz, ZVex Box of Metal, Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man. He has an extensive collection and not all are present at every show.
What does “playing behind the bridge” mean?: Playing the strings in the area between the bridge and the tailpiece — the section of string that normally just connects the bridge to the anchor point and doesn’t vibrate musically. This area resonates sympathetically with the fretted string at a harmonic above the normal pitch. Bowing or plucking the behind-bridge string area produces harmonics, feedback, and unusual tonal effects. Nels Cline has made this technique a signature element of his playing, and many of his guitars are specifically configured to facilitate it. It requires a guitar with a floating bridge design (like the Jazzmaster) where the behind-bridge area is accessible.
How did Nels Cline join Wilco?: He replaced Leroy Bach in 2004 when Bach left the band. Jeff Tweedy and Cline had a shared musical worldview that made the collaboration natural. Tweedy has described himself as a guitar fanatic who was “mercilessly enabling” of Cline’s gear accumulation — supporting and encouraging Cline’s experimental approach rather than constraining it. The partnership has produced the Wilco albums from Sky Blue Sky (2007) onward, with Cline’s experimental guitar work integrated into Tweedy’s songwriting framework.
How do I approach Nels Cline’s guitar style?: Start with a Fender Jazzmaster with a Mastery bridge installed. Marshall JTM45 or equivalent for amplification. Core pedals: ZVex Fuzz Factory (embrace its unpredictability), DigiTech Whammy (use for octave and interval effects), Boss DD-3 or equivalent delay, Klon Centaur or transparent clone for warm overdrive. For the looping/reverse effects: EHX 16 Second Delay or modern looper with reverse capability. The essential approach: adopt what Cline calls stumbling around a darkened room — explore sounds without knowing what you’ll find, and when you find something, learn whether it belongs in your world. Explore the behind-the-bridge area of your guitar. Use the Fuzz Factory’s instability as a feature rather than a bug. The experimental approach is not about specific sounds but about remaining open to discovering them.