Nickelback is a band that evokes strong opinions. While their commercial approach to rock music may not appeal to everyone, there's no denying that Chad Kroeger, the band's frontman, has a distinctive guitar tone. Let's delve into the equipment he uses to achieve that sound.
Guitars
Chad Kroeger's guitar arsenal includes his signature Gibson Blackwater Les Paul. Ryan Peake’s guitar collection features several Gibson Explorers and Flying Vs. Along with his tech, Kris Dawson, Peake gives each one a custom finish that typically involves blowtorches, chisels, and other tools of destruction. All his guitars sport EMG pickups (EMG 81 in the bridge and EMG 85 in the neck) and are strung with various gauges of Ernie Ball strings. For this tour he also brought along a Fender Jaguar (with EMG single-coils), a custom Fender Telecaster, and backup Les Paul that is branded with his family’s cattle brand.
For the acoustic songs, Peake plays an old Harmony that used to belong to his dad on “Photograph,” a Gibson J-200 on “Rockstar,” and “When We Stand Together,” and a Gibson Dove serves as a backup for the J-200.
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Amplifiers
Chad Kroeger relies on Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers for his overdrive sound. He might also have a boost of some sort in front to get those preamp tubes cooking a little and for leads.
For both guitarists’ clean sounds they rely on a Fender Super 60 rack from the mid ’80s. Described as very Twin-like, the Super 60 sports 6L6 and 12AX7 tubes.
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Live Setup
Both Chad’s (L) and Ryan’s (R) rack setups are almost identical. For Chad, his signal goes through the Shure wireless receivers into a Radial JX44 and then splits out to the Fender Super 60 for his clean tone and a pair of Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifers for his overdrive sound. Ryan keeps the same basic signal flow but inserts a Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II and a Line 6 Echo Pro.
Effects Pedals
Chad Kroeger uses a Boss BF-2 Flanger, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, and a Boss TR-2 Tremolo.
Achieving the Tone
To emulate Chad Kroeger's tone, consider these settings on your Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier:
- Channel 2 or 3 (depending on your recto)
- Vintage mode
- Vacuum tubes
- Bass: 1
- Mids: 11
- Treble: 1
- Gain: 12
- Master: 10
- Presence: 10
- Adjust output to your liking
Also keep in mind there are two guitar players usually doubling each other so Ryan and Chad may have different eq setting to compliment each other (one with more mids and one slightly scooped).
Cabinets and Speakers
The choice of cabinet and speakers is crucial. You can make a Crate GX1200 sound GREAT if you have a nice cabinet to run it into. Likewise you can make a NICE head like a Dual Rectifier sound like pure S*** if you run it into a Crate cabinet.
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According to some tech off another board who worked on the album, the recorded tone on 'All the Right Reasons' is a Triple Recto --> Marshall cab --> Shure SM57 --> Apogee preamp --> Neve console, w/ minor post-EQ and compression.
Summary of Chad Kroeger's Guitar Equipment
Here's a table summarizing the key components of Chad Kroeger's guitar equipment:
| Category | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Guitars | Gibson Les Paul (Signature Model), Gibson Explorers, Flying Vs | EMG Pickups (EMG 81/85), Ernie Ball Strings |
| Amplifiers | Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifiers, Fender Super 60 | Dual Rectifiers for overdrive, Super 60 for clean tones |
| Ryan Peake - Acoustic Guitars | Harmony, Gibson J-200, Gibson Dove | Harmony used on "Photograph", J-200 on "Rockstar", Dove as backup |
| Effects Pedals | Boss BF-2 Flanger, Boss GE-7 Equalizer, Dunlop Crybaby Wah, Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, Boss TR-2 Tremolo | Standard effects pedals for modulation and tone shaping |
| Other | Shure Wireless Receivers, Radial JX44, Fractal Audio Axe-Fx II, Line 6 Echo Pro | Wireless system, signal splitter, and effects processor (Ryan Peake) |
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