Gary Clark Jr
Blues-RockBluesSoul2010s–present

Gary Clark Jr

Epiphone Casino or Gibson ES-335 into a Fender Super Reverb (clean channel) and Vox AC30 (breakup), blended. A Cry Baby wah and Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi add texture and fuzz. Clark's tone is wide-ranging — from clean jangle to full-bore fuzz — controlled by guitar volume and pick attack.

Budget Rig Breakdown

Signal Chain

WahCry Baby
FuzzThorpy FX
AmpKatana 50
Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby Wah — Wah
Boss Katana 50 MkII — Amp
Estimated total~£497

Key Tone Tips

  • Two-amp setup: clean Fender and breaking-up Vox blended gives width and harmonic complexity
  • Wah pedal rocked slowly mid-phrase — Clark uses it as a filter, not a wah-wah effect
  • Semi-hollow body resonance is essential — a solid body won't breathe the same way
  • Guitar volume at 7 for clean; open at 10 for fuzz — the pedals respond to your volume knob
  • Big Muff gain around 7–8, tone at 5 — enough fuzz without losing mid presence
  • Thumb attack (no pick for some phrases) produces a rounder, warmer note on the low strings
  • Vibrato is slow and wide, applied after the initial attack — Texan blues phrasing
  • Study "Bright Lights" and "Numb" for the range from clean funk to heavy fuzz
  • Spring reverb from the amp (not a pedal) gives the depth without washing the clarity

About Gary Clark Jr's Sound

Gary Clark Jr bridges the electric blues tradition and modern rock with a tone that spans pristine clean to wall-of-fuzz. His Epiphone Casino or ES-335 through a Fender Super Reverb and Vox AC30 delivers an expressive, wah-soaked blues-rock vocabulary that references Hendrix, SRV and BB King simultaneously.