Doyle Bramhall II's Texas-Sized Pedalboard

Both Doyle Bramhall II and his pedalboard have grown at a meteoric pace in recent years. Beginning with the Arcangels self titled debut album, his subsequent solo releases Doyle Bramhall II, Jellycream and Welcome, and tours with Rogers Waters and Eric Clapton, Doyle Bramhall II has always had a sizable, and admirable, reliance on guitar effects pedals. A chronology of Doyle's changing guitar pedal usage over the years would be too daunting a task for a single blog posting, so instead we're going to break it down into four separate postings from the Arcangels-era until now. Where better to start than in the middle with Doyle Bramhall II's 2oo1 solo album Welcome (Editor's note: If you enjoy blues-rock, classic rock, rock, guitars or simply breathing, buy this album!). Bramhall's tone can be described as a melange of Hendrix's "Hey Baby", Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Cold Shot", and the Southern Rock sounds of the 60s and 70s. Many factors contributed to Bramhall's phenomenal tone on the Welcome album, including the live, single take recording approach, his use of a Marshall '67 100 watt Super Bass head and 1964 Fender Stratocaster. While you may not have vintage amplifiers and guitars at your disposal, acquiring the following effects pedals behind the Welcome tone is certainly within the realm of possibility:

• a Fulltone Deja Vibe pedal - The discontinued gold colored model is highly regarded but hard to find these days. To achieve the tones heard on "Smokestack" set the rocker switches to "Chorus" and "Modern", Volume at 5 o'clock (i.e. full), Intensity at 2 o'clock, and Speed at 1 o'clock;
• a Hughes and Kettner Replex pedal - retired from Bramhall's pedalboard after recording the Welcome album;
• a Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face pedal;
• a Roger Mayer Octavia pedal;
• a Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere pedal - a fantastic Leslie-rotating speaker simulator;
• a Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler pedal with EX-1 Expression Pedal;
  
• a Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer Reissue pedal; and
• a Dunlop Cry Baby wah pedal - this was subsequently replaced with a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe wah pedal.

Update: We have prepared an update of Doyle Bramhall II's pedalboards and equipment for the Roger Waters (In the Flesh) and Eric Clapton here.