We’ve recently updated our Dave Grohl gear and pedalboard page, along with his bandmate Chris Shiflett’s pedalboard page, with a new and improved layout and better links to get the pedals you want.

For this occasion, we figured it’s apt to spend some time focusing on the essential Dave Grohl gear. How does he get that sound? What are the most important effects on his board? Let’s have a look.

Dave Grohl Gear Update

The Dave Grohl gear list is pretty simple. It does not contain any boutique pedals or hard to find discontinued pedals. It contains a limited number of pedals, perhaps only a handful if you don’t consider the non-effect pedals such as tuners and switches. What remains is essentially a delay pedal and a phase pedal (and a talk box, though it isn’t used often).

This means much of the distortion comes from his amps. Still, that phase pedal is an essential component of Dave Grohl gear. So if you’re looking for stompboxes to play certain Foo Fighters songs, the pedal you might be looking ofr is the MXR M-101 Phase 90 pedal.

Dave Grohl Gear : Essential Effect – MXR Phase 90

THe MXR Phase 90 is perhaps the most popular phase pedal. This is good news considering its accessible price and it near universal approval, as it makes this an easy buy to add to your pedalboard. It’s also really simple to use; it has toggle switch and one knob.

Dave Grohl doesn’t apply this effect to most songs, though it is essential for the song it is featured on. “Breakout” is a prime example of a Foo Fighters song dependant on this effect.

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