Dan Auerbach — Rig Network

Auerbach's signature early guitar — a 1960s Harmony Rocket semi-hollow with DeArmond single-coil pickups. The Harmony's lack of sustain and its slightly buzzy, resonant character define the early Black Keys lo-fi sound. It sounds wrong in the best possible way.

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Reissued 1960s-style Airline JB Hutto — similar vintage-Americana aesthetic to the Harmony. The single-coil pickups generate natural microphonic feedback and harmonic oddities that contribute to the raw character.

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The P-90-equipped Junior provides more output and sustain than the Harmony for higher-gain passages — used from Brothers onward as the Black Keys moved toward slightly more polished production.

A 1960s Supro Thunderbolt all-tube combo — 35 watts driving a single 15-inch speaker. Auerbach plays it at high volume where the power section runs hot and the transformer begins to compress and saturate naturally. The Supro's character is bright and midrange-forward with a slightly nasty quality under hard playing.

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The Silvertone 1484 twin-twelve combo was one of the original Black Keys recording amps — extremely loud for its modest wattage, with a compressed, sputtering character when driven hard.

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The tiny Champ pushed to its limit provides a focused, harmonically compressed overdrive that works well for slide passages.

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The Big Muff provides the thick, sustaining fuzz that dominates early Black Keys material — set for full saturation but with the tone control adjusted to avoid the notorious mid-scoop that makes Big Muffs muddy in a band context. The combination of Big Muff and Supro produces a warm, vocal fuzz character.

Germanium Fuzz Face for more responsive, dynamics-sensitive fuzz — cleaning up when the guitar volume is rolled back, breaking up under hard attack. Preferred for passages where tonal variation matters.

Tube Screamer from the Brothers era for cleaner, more controlled overdrive — adds midrange compression and breakup without the flat-top saturation of the Big Muff.