Bands on the forefront of new trends or emerging genres tend to heavily influence the subsequent bands that follow. This isn’t breaking news, but it’s always interesting to look back on how certain reputations formed, especially in the gear world. Take punk for example, where Gibson guitars are very prevalent, especially Les Paul Juniors.
While there are many players who contributed to the idea that Les Paul Juniors were perfect for punk, the one who convinced me was The Clash’s Mick Jones. This sent a younger me on a quest to learn as much as I could about his gear and sound, as the raw early sound of the band was incredibly influential on me. On the off chance that any of you are also big fans of Mick Jones, here’s a collection of everything I dug up on Mick Jones’ guitar gear through the years.
Early Years & the Self-Titled Album
The first (and best) Clash album was their self-titled effort which saw the band develop their patented mix of punk, reggae, and folk. At this point, the band’s sound was very raw and relatively underproduced, as Mick Jones recorded all the guitar parts himself using a simple, but effective setup. The whole first album was recorded using a Les Paul Junior Doublecut running into a cranked Vox AC30. Some sources claim that an Ampeg V4 was also used during this era, though I found less evidence for this than the AC30. No pedals (yet) and not even a hint of Joe’s Telecaster was supposedly found on the band’s first album.
Following the success of the debut album and the band’s rise to prominence in the local scene, Jones earned himself a bit of an upgrade. He’d moved on from the simplicity of the Les Paul Junior to a Les Paul Custom, a much more ornate and powerful guitar in many respects. This, paired with the addition of producer Sandy Pearlman, led to a much thicker and focused guitar tone on the subsequent album “Give ‘Em Enough Rope”.
At this point, Jones also moved on from the AC30, using a Mesa/Boogie Mark I Combo amplifier. Tracks from this era have a lot more polish, especially for a punk band’s second album, but I think you can really hear the upgraded rig shine on “Safe European Home” or “Stay Free”.
As the band’s success and musical prowess continued to grow, so too did Jones’ rig. During the iconic “London Calling” recording sessions, Mick added several new pieces of gear to the mix. He still played the Les Paul Custom, but used a Fender Strat and Gibson ES-295 to record tracks like “London Calling” (ES-295) and “Jimmy Jazz” (Strat). The Strat was generally used much more than many would have expected, particularly as the band experimented with new textures.
While there was also a Mark II Mesa/Boogie added to the mix, it was the expansion of pedal use that really changed during this time. Gear like the MXR Phase 90/100 and the Roland Space Echo and Chorus became closely associated with the liquidy lead tones of songs like “Jimmy Jazz”, “Rudy Can’t Fail”, and “Death Or Glory”.
One of the most frustrating aspects of studying Mick Jones guitar gear is how little is known about the later albums relative to the first three albums. At this point in time, in late 1980 through 1982, Mick’s rig stabilized around the Mesa/Boogie Mark II and he continued to use Les Paul Customs primarily. There’s no evidence that he continued to use a Stratocaster, and the Les Paul Junior made some brief reappearances, most notably in the “Rock The Casbah” music video.
It’s easy to tell from the recorded work that he still relied on pedals like the MXR Phase 100 and Flanger, as well as the Roland Space Echo and Chorus effects. However, the guitar definitely became a slightly less featured part of the band’s sound on “Sandinista” and “Combat Rock,” outside of a handful of notable songs. Thus, it makes some sense that it was tougher for fans to identify everything going on with Mick’s rig. As the band progressed, Joe Strummer’s guitar playing was also included more and more in the recording process, and songs like the springy, reverb-drenched “The Leader” make me wonder if Mick ever recorded with Joe’s Tele himself.
As Mick’s tenure and the band’s existence would both come to an end shortly after “Combat Rock,” he would move on to shed his use of the Les Paul with his next band, Big Audio Dynamite. Ironically, he’d fall in love with Fender Thinline Telecasters, which is why I often wonder if he got hooked while messing around with Joe’s.
You do not need to have any of this gear to necessarily sound like The Clash. The point of this article is not to tell you that a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Telecaster is a requirement, but hopefully it is a fun trip down memory lane for some of you. I think there’s a lot to learn from discussing the gear used by your favorite players.
Whether you spend time trying to recreate sounds with what you have or what you can assemble yourself, Mick Jones is an interesting example of punk rock creativity. Both he and The Clash had a wide range of influences and styles that they brought into the genre, and I think he’s got a much more complex and complicated rig than most punk bands of the era. The most important aspect of their creative sound was Mick, Joe, Paul, and Topper. They’d still be The Clash even if he played a Gretsch and never found the MXR Phase 100.
