Son House Pedalboard
Full effects breakdown — core pedals, signal chain order, and budget alternatives
Son House's signal chain is built around a single essential effect: Reverb. The resulting sound: Son House's tone is bone-dry acoustic resonance: a National steel-body resonator guitar or cheap Stella acoustic, bottleneck slide on the little finger, strings tuned to open G or open A. The reverb places the guitar in an acoustic space, adding the impression of room size and distance that records and live settings both benefit from — short and controlled rather than ambient.
Essential Pedals
These effects are non-negotiable for Son House's tone. Skip any one and the signature sound is lost.
Optional / Contextual Effects
Son House uses these situationally — great to have but not required for the core sound.
£1,000 Pedalboard Breakdown
Specific gear recommendations at the £1,000 budget tier.
Pedalboard at Every Budget
The effects chain scales with budget — budget tiers keep the essential categories intact with less expensive alternatives.
- AccessoryDunlop 215 Glass Slide
- StringsD'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze 12–53
- AccessoryDunlop 215 Heavy Glass Slide
- StringsGHS Phosphor Bronze 13–56
Signal Chain Order
Reverb last: the decay of a reverb tail fed into a drive pedal creates an ever-building wash of sustained noise. Reverb after drive keeps the decay clean and controlled.
- Guitar
- Reverb (last in chain before amp)
- Amp
Related Gear
Similar Guitarists
FAQ
Son House Pedalboard — Common Questions
Son House's pedalboard includes: Dunlop 215 Heavy Glass Slide, GHS Phosphor Bronze 13–56. The core effects in Son House's sound are Reverb.
The standard signal chain for Son House's pedalboard follows the professional convention: guitar → tuner → wah (if used) → compression → overdrive/distortion → amp → modulation (chorus/flanger) → delay → reverb. Reverb last: the decay of a reverb tail fed into a drive pedal creates an ever-building wash of sustained noise. Reverb after drive keeps the decay clean and controlled.
Son House typically uses a transparent overdrive or boost to push the amp's front end rather than relying on a dedicated distortion pedal.
Building a Son House-style pedalboard depends on budget. At £200 you can cover the essentials (~£185 for the full rig). At £500 the pedalboard includes Dunlop 928 Brass Slide. At £1,000 (full rig: ~£950) all the key pedals are covered.
Son House's delay is handled by a dedicated delay pedal placed at the end of the signal chain (or in the amp's effects loop). Common choices include the Boss DD series, TC Electronic Flashback, or MXR Carbon Copy.