Mike is a collector with a soft spot for the late 1950s. Here's a tour of the guitars, amps and pedals most associated with his sound.
A Strat or Les Paul into a classic Fender or Marshall-style amp, pushed along by wah, boost, modulation and delay.
The illustrations below are stylized drawings, not exact portraits of Mike's instruments.
Mike's most prized guitar: a slab rosewood fingerboard Strat inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Number One." He called it a 1959 for decades, until Fender Custom Shop master builder Vincent Van Trigt discovered in 2021 that it's a 1960.
The pick of his Les Pauls, once owned by Jim Armstrong, guitarist with Van Morrison's band Them. Live, it appears on songs like "Alive," "Brain of J." and "Given to Fly."
A TV yellow, single-pickup Junior that Mike has only recently started using. He also owns Les Paul Specials, and a 1972 three-pickup Les Paul Custom he famously smashed during a TV performance with Neil Young.
He reaches for a Telecaster on live versions of "Corduroy," "World Wide Suicide" and "Marker in the Sand." His guitar tech has also mentioned a pair of '52 reissue Teles in the collection.
Mike has played left-handed Stratocasters with the strings reversed, so the slanted bridge pickup adds more treble to the lower strings, a trick Jimi Hendrix used on his right-handed guitars.
His first Stratocaster, reportedly a gift from Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament when he joined the band that became Pearl Jam. Earlier on, he cut his teeth on an inexpensive Les Paul copy.
Per Guitar Gangsters.Fan guides report a fully original 1958 three-tone sunburst Strat used on recent tours, plus a Fender Custom Shop David Gilmour Signature Stratocaster. His tech has also described a '56 hardtail, a '59 and a pair of '62 reissues.
Per Ground Guitar and Guitar FX Depot.Mike's rig has leaned on Marshall and Fender sounds since the Ten era. This setup comes from a 2013 Premier Guitar interview.
A 22-watt head played through a 65Amps open-back 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion G12H30 and Alnico Blue speakers.
A 36-watt Satellite Atom head through a Marshall closed-back 4x12 with Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.
A blonde 6G6-B Bassman running through a Savage Audio open-back 2x12 cab. Back in the Ten days, he paired Marshall heads with a Fender Bassman 4x10.
A wah for expression, an Ibanez Tube Screamer for push, and a rack of modulation and delay for color. From the 2013 Premier Guitar rundown:
On the first Pearl Jam record, Mike used a Dunlop Cry Baby wah, an Ibanez TS-9, a volume/pan pedal to switch between Marshall dirt and Fender clean, a SansAmp, a Dunlop Rotovibe and a multi-effects unit.
Want to play what Mike plays? Fender and Gibson have both built guitars based on his originals.
A limited-edition, accurate replica of his original sunburst Strat.
A more affordable, Made in Mexico signature version of his prized 1960 Strat.
A limited-edition version of his original 1959 Les Paul Standard, built to true historic specifications.
Gear details compiled from public sources including Wikipedia, Ground Guitar, Guitar FX Depot and Guitar Gangsters. Mike's rig changes from tour to tour.
