In terms of gear, Josh Homme is understood to go for the “underdog”. And in a brand new interview with Guitar World, the Queens of the Stone Age frontman recollects the time he confirmed considered one of his rigs – a Yamaha hollowbody bass right into a Peavey Decade apply amp – to his Them Crooked Vultures bandmate, former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and his response that adopted.

“I confirmed the Decade to John Paul Jones after we have been in Them Crooked Vultures,” Homme says. “I’ve this Yamaha hollowbody bass with flatwounds on it, which I name Lame-aha. As a substitute of a pickup change, it’s a quantity knob, so that you’re on the spectrum of which pickup you’re utilizing. I stated, ‘Attempt that with the Decade and a Coles ribbon mic.’”

Jones was bewildered. “He laughed – and I like that, as a result of the seems are deceiving,” Homme explains. “You’re like, ‘What’s this complete piece-of-shit setup?’ Then he performed it. It was enjoyable to see him go from guffawing about how shitty one thing seems to finish pleasure. It’s enjoyable to try this to individuals and it’s enjoyable to try this to your self, too.”

Homme embraces the ‘shitty’ look, as a result of he is aware of how good he could make ‘shit’ sound. It’s a mindset that retains his sound distinctive, in addition to intriguing audiences and friends alike. “You’re on the lookout for any approach, visually and sonically, to do one thing that no one else is doing,” he explains. “Getting shit from individuals is the perfect factor that might occur. It made me suppose, ‘By no means once more will anybody ever say I sound like another person…’”

As Homme places it, his aim was that “inside three seconds, you understand it’s [him]”. The strategy has been a continuing by the Queens of the Stone Age’s three-decade run, even spanning again to his downtuned guitar work in Kyuss.

Using quirky gear helps the method, and Homme has labored his approach by numerous items of rogue gear. “Something is an amplifier to me,” he says. “I like taking part in out of outdated stereo tuners, outdated tape machines; something with a speaker and a jack. With a Les Paul and a Marshall I do know what’s going to occur there. Music is about matching your personal evolution.”

“It’s onerous to not need to get behind the underdog, as a result of music is about being an outcast,” he continues. “All I want is insurmountable odds and I’m in. Give me your worst guitar, a boutique amp made in somebody’s mother’s storage, and a pedal that’s not presupposed to be there, and we’ve obtained one thing. If you try this, you immediately really feel like these items are yours.”

Now, Homme has labored on reviving the Peavey Decade. The Peavey Decade Too “revives that voice and makes it accessible once more” whereas eradicating the necessity to “hunt for classic originals”.

Again in 2022, Acorn Amps remodeled Homme’s Peavey Decade right into a nifty pedal. The Strong State pedal serves as a “full circuit recreation” of the compact 10-watt apply amp.