John Smith Shows Us His Crazy Pedalboard For Electric & Acoustic [Plus A 3-Song Performance!]

Mesmerising playing, unbelievable tones and captivating singing from this exceptional artist

Welcome to the show. It is with great delight and pleasure that we welcome our good friend John Smith back to Schwangri-La. John last appeared on the show in 2019 and blew us away with his unique approach to playing and writing.
Ahead of his 2024 album release and tour for The Living Kind, John has brought along his frankly bonkers pedalboard to guide us through the sounds and textures he creates as a solo performer. We get to hear a wonderful Mule Resophonic electric guitar as well as a custom-made Fylde electro-acoustic and, as if that’s not enough, John even plays us three tracks live from the new record.
Grab a beverage, sit back and enjoy the episode!

Pedals & Stuff in this show
• Lehle Dual Expression pedal

• Mission SP-25M Pro Expression Pedal Might be an Aero, not sure

• Chase Bliss Audio Thermae

• Free The Tone Tri-Avatar Chorus

• Neural DSP Quad Cortex

• Hologram Electronics Microcosm

• Empress Zoia

• Eventide H9

• Strymon El Capistan V2

• Strymon Blue Sky - links to latest version

• The GigRig G3

Interesting bits & go-to sections
0:00 Intro playing
0:43 Hello & welcome
3:35 Recent pedalboard history
8:09 MIDI beckons
9:30 That weird time a few years ago
13:20 Making the new record
16:40 New sounds, new board
19:50 Amps today
20:13 Mule Resophonic Mule
21:20 John performs ‘Dividing Line’
25:30 Tuning on the electric guitar?
27:30 What’s under the board?
29:48 Inspiration for tones
32:30 John performs ‘Candle’
38:11 Electric guitar effect pedals?
41:22 Sampling and the Zoia
44:30 Metal music?!
47:43 John’s Fylde Smithcaster
54:10 Acoustic signal path
56:55 That rhythmic thing John does
58:30 What do the purists say?
1:00:50 Acoustic uses the same effects
1:04:20 Writing inspiration
1:10:10 QOTSA & Joan Baez
1:12:52 John performs ‘The World Turns’

Guitars used in today’s show
• Fylde custom-made Smithcaster

• Mule Resophonic Guitars Mulecaster

Amps
• AER Compact 60 x 2

• Benson Nathan Junior

• Fender ‘65 Princeton Reverb with Jensen C12-K speaker

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[zeroamplification]

The best unrecognized pun in TPS history: "I don't have the brain for MIDI - it just goes in and out" chef's kiss 10/10 perfect

[rupertlaycockphotography]

Omg Dan’s comment “far out I can’t pull my board apart again!” Encapsulates so much of this magic

[arthurjessop]

Great to see John back, especially for those of us who found him here!!

[markrichards]

Thanks so much for a beautiful show, made by three blokes I wish were my friends.

[briansilengo]

I'll never forget the first time I heard Joey perform "Whiskey" on TPS, and now I'll never forget the first time I heard John perform "The World Turns" on TPS. Their playing, singing, and writing are mesmerizing. Thank you D&M for supporting such genuine artists.

[GreatDaneRock]

I just discovered John through this video. I'm in awe. The rabbit hole I found....

[telebender]

Living in the US, I'd never heard of John before he came on the show the 1st time and was completely blown away. His music is now on regular rotation in the household. So happy to see him back. Such a talent.

[gbarge]

Beautiful guy. Funny how on hectic days, I've long been touching a guitar on the way upstairs to bed, just to have touched one that day. It's a comfort. Thanks, mates.

[risteardohaodha]

John has been on my horizon but this is the first time I’ve fully appreciated his mix of traditional singer-songwriter with beautiful use of atmospheric effects. Very much a modern evolution from John Martyn’s similar experiments of yore.

[Single_Songwriter]

Thank You @ThatPedalShow, , very inspirational to see how John Smith plays and creates his songs .. amazing tones and sounds .. keep the greatness coming !!! 100% Excellent Music 🎸

[StephenDawson]

One of my favorite episodes, hands down.

[spiltmilk]

The man made my eyes water. Stunning and moving. What a talent.

[johncooper]

Awesome episode. What a guy. What a creative talent. He deserves superstardom.

[jackgreenwood]

Can hear how much of an influence John Martyn had on John Smith, and I'm here for it. Stunning songs, playing and voice. Really enjoyed this one

[brianpateman]

Wonderful to have John back again. One of the most inspiring guitarists around.

[otterguitars]

I’m a huge John Smith fan and I love getting this amount of detail. Excellent episode guys. Thank you.👍👍👍

[omar_me]

What a gent John Smith is. Someone to learn from in many ways.

[dammers]

I'm frequently inspired and entertained by TPS but this episode really blew me away. It's made me completely rethink how to play my acoustic and i can't wait to get exploring. What a gem of a person and musician. Thanks gents!

[_oc]

The record is amazing and I wouldn’t have discovered it without this show. Thank you TPS! John Smith, please continue creating music and never stop.

[julianocelentano]

This is just a really wonderful episode. Super inspiring – thanks a lot, guys!