Equipment

Updated 9th November

Ibanez Universe Set-Up (1996 Peachy Tour and on)

Munky and Head have their Universe set up w/ the following string gauge and pickup setup:

String Gauge:

d - .010
a - .013 (Light Top, Heavy Bottom set, Dean Markley)
F - .017
C - .030
G - .042
D - .052
A - .060 (Munky and Head use a Bass string!)

Pick-Up Setup:

ALL the pickups are removed except for the Bridge Humbucker, also the TONE control is removed, leaving just a VOLUME control. 5-way Pick-up switch is removed as well. Don't know why, but ALL there Universe's are setup like that now. There's some work done on the neck as well. According to Dino from Fear Factory, he had his UV's setup like this from Ibanez, and Munky and Head bit off him, and Munk/Head were quote "bugging" Ibanez to setup there guitars like that.

Some info on when and how Munky and Head started using the Ibanez Universe

OK for one thing, I highly doubt they were using them on their demo. For one there's no high notes whatsoever (i.e no hip-hop ending on "Blind" which you need the 7 string to play, no high notes in "Daddy" after the "it's alright" part, etc). They probably just tuned down to "A" w/ their 6 strings. However, the oldest show I've seen was 10/31/93, and they ARE using the UV's. So maybe they did have them on there demo?

How they started using the Ibanez Universe?

Again there's problem, someone is lying in this band. In Guitar World Munky has stated many times he got the Universe and switched first because it's got the extra string and more sonic possibilties, etc. In Bass Player Magizine Fieldy stated that he had been using the 5 string for a long time, and told Munky and Head to switch to 7 strings. Who do you believe?

Guitar World Instructional Column

Starting this month in Guitar World (July 97), Munky and Head have there own column called "the Art of Noise" I just got the July issue, it's pretty phat, they have some transcriptions of some parts to some LIP songs, and talk about their live setup, and EFX's pedals.

Ibanez Getting pissed at Munky and Head

Ibanez has apparently refused to send Munky and Head anymore UV's for a while cause they keep breaking them. (anyone who's seen Korn live on there recent tour, knows that Munky accidently throws his guitar into the doll props at the end of "Faget"). So Munky is using his Sabre 7 string on their latest tour.

Musical Equipment companies that sponsor Korn:

Dean Markley (Strings), Dimarzio (Pickups), Hughes and Kettner (Amps), Ibanez (Uv's, Basses), Mesa/Boogie (Amps), Paiste (Cymbals), Regal Tips(?), Shure Bros. (Mics), Tama (Drums)

Lollapalooza 1997 Guitars/Basses

Munky is currently using his 1997 all black UV7 for the Lolla tour. Head is using 2 guitars for this tour. A Black Ibanez RG 7 String, and his White UV7Pw for "Good God" (w/ a new paint job on it, headstock is white, Ibanez logo has been painted over) Fieldy is currently using a Natural SR1305 for the tour.

A.D.I.D.A.S. Sitar Riff

What is Munky playing, a sitar or something? Nope, Chuck Johnson (Korn engineer) made some crazy mics for the 2nd album He put a mic inside a glass globe lamp, and hung it over the strings on a piano, but had a Gibson amp on it's back so the sound was coming from the amp through the piano strings which adds a ton of reverb, then thats mic through a lamp, that's how they get the sitar sound. For live shows Munky just uses his reverb pedal.

FX Pedal Boards (For Live Shows):

Munky's Pedal Board:

|-------------------------------------------|
|                                           |
| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |
| | 7 | | 6 | | 5 | | 4 | | 3 | | 2 | | 1 | |
| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |---| |
|                                           |           
|-------------------------------------------|
  1. Dunlop Crybaby wah
  2. Electro Harmonix Small Stone (1)
  3. Electro Harmonix Small Stone (2)
  4. Reverb pedal
  5. Ibanez bi-Chorus
  6. Ibanez Tube Screamer
  7. Electro Harmonix Big Muff

    FX Settings:

    Dunlop Wah has no settings, it's all manual (used on "Blind")

    Munky sets his E.H Small Stone's w/ the following setup:

    1. Color mode is up, and rate is set to 9 o'clock (used for "Blind", "No Place to Hide")
    2. Color mode is down, and rate is set on full (used for "Chi")

    Reverb Pedal (????) (used for "Adidas" sitar part)

    Ibanez Bi-Chorus (????) (used for "Good God")

    Head's Pedal Board

    |-------------------|
|                   |
| |---| |---| |---| |
| | 3 | | 2 | | 1 | |
| |---| |---| |---| | 
|                   |           
|-------------------|
    1. Boss Super Phaser
    2. Boss Stereo Chorus
    3. DOD Metal Distortion

    FX Settings:

    Boss Super Phaser (set similiar to Munky's Small Stone (1) used for "No Place to Hide")

    Boss Stereo Chorus (???)

    James "Munky" Shaffer

    Guitars:

    • White 7str Universe UV7PW (all duct taped up, VERY damaged! now w/green humbucker in the bridge, and black pickguard)
    • Black 7str Universe UV7
    • Black 7str Universe UV7BK (ALL black, 1997 model, his CURRENT guitar used on the Lollapalooza 97 tour)
    • Black Saber S5407 (used in the "Blind" video, he's using it on their current tour, cause he's got no UV's left)
    • '56 Fender Telecaster (for recording the album "KoRn")
    • Black 7str Universe PRE-97 UV7BK (green pickups)
    • Black 7str Universe UV7BK (w/white pickguard, Munky switched the pickguards with this guitar with his white UV7PW)
    • (old) Fender Stratocaster (probably American) (for recording the sitar part of "Adidas")
    • Old Silvertone guitar (one's with the amp built right into the guitar, they put the mic right up against the guitar) (used on "Blind" intro part)

    Amps (Studio):

    • Marshall JCM 900 (only in the studio)
    • Vintage 4x12 Marshall Cabs (100w)
    • Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifiers
    • Gibson Amp (for "Adidas")

    Amps (Live):

    • 2 Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers (one set clean, and one set for distortion, he uses a channel switcher)
    • Vintage (1964) 4x12 Marshall Cabs (100w)

    FX's Pedal's (Studio)

    • (Vintage) Leslie Cabinet ("Lies", "Kill You", "Shoots and Ladders")
    • Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phaser ("Blind")
    • Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress(flange) ("No Place to Hide")
    • Mu-tron Bi phaser
    • Ibanez Bi-Chorus ("Good God")
    • Dunlop Uni-Vibe ("Swallow") ("it's like a phaser but you have control over it!"-Munky)
    • Dunlop Crybaby wah pedal ("Blind")
    • Big (Bigger) Muff pedal (modified by Richard Kaplan) ("Blind", "Shoots and Ladders", "We don't use it live cause it's too noisy"-Munky)
    • Roland Jet Phaser
    • ProCo Ratt Distortion
    • Memphis Envelope Follower (small blue box pedal, end of "Kill You", and "Kunt" verse part, but Munky broke it or lost, and doesn't use it anymore)

    FX pedals (Live)

    • Electro Harmonix Big Muff Distortion (I guess he uses it live now??)
    • 2 Electro-Harmonix Small Stone Phasers (one set-up for a wind like effects, like in "Blind", and "NPTH", and one setup w/ phase on FULL for that "flutter" sound in "Chi")
    • (original) Ibanez Tube Screamer (probably his main pedal used live)
    • Ibanez Bi-Chorus
    • Dunlop CryBaby Wah Pedal
    • Reverb Pedal (don't know what kinda, only used on clean stuff, Munk doesn't like reverb on his crunch tone, used for the "Adidas" sitar part)

    Brian "Head" Welch

    Guitars

    • Black RG 7 string (I have a feeling this is Ibanez's work, they probably asked him to switch to help promote it; Head's Lollapalooza '97 guitar)
    • White 7 string Universe UV7PW (Munky's 1st Universe apparently)
    • Gibson Les Paul (for recording the "Korn" album, "Shoots and Ladders")
    • Custom Natural Ibanez 7str Universe (Has only 1 pickup slot, a bridge humbucker, used mostly on the 96 Peachy tour, no TONE knob, just 1 VOLUME control knob, NO 5-way selector switch)

    Amps (Studio)

    • Hughes & Kettner Tri-Amp head, GC 412
    • Hughes & Kettner Attax (don't think he uses these anymore)
    • Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier Heads 150w
    • Hughes and Kettner speaker cabinets

    Amps (Live)

    • 2 Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifiers (running in Stereo)
    • Vintage 4x12 Marshall Cabs (100w)

    FX's Pedals (Studio)

    • Ibanez Tube Screamer (old vintage "Sea-sick" green ones)
    • Big (Bigger) Muff distortion pedal ("Blind", "Shoots and Ladders")
    • Electro-Harmonix Uni-Fuzz
    • Mu-Tron Bi phaser ("Porno Creep")
    • Chorus pedal (not sure what kind? Possibly Ibanez like Munky's?)
    • ProCo Ratt Distortion

    FX's Pedals (Live)

    • Boss Super Phaser
    • DOD Metal Distortion
    • Boss Stereo Chorus

    Reginald "Fieldy Snuts" Arvizu

    Basses

    • Natural Ibanez Soundgear SR1305 5str (Lolla 97 bass)
    • Ibanez Soundgear SR1305 5str (Maroon(?), w/ sand paper scrathes on it)
    • 5 str Bass (In the "Blind" video for some clips, he's not using a Ibanez SR1305, but it's still a 5str, anyone know what kinda of bass this is?)

    Amps

    • Hughes and Kettner BC 410s
    • 2 MESA/Boogie M-2000 heads (no mids, and a HEAVILY tweaked 18-band EQ)
    • Hughes and Kettner 2x15 Cab (on tour only)
    • MESA/Boogie 4x10 Cab (on tour and studio "we don't even mic the speakers we just put the mic right in the middle of the horn" - Fieldy)

    FX

    • SansAmp Pedal (live and in the studio)("It puts a real sub-low on the bass you can't really hear - you just feel it." - Fieldy)
    • EQ Boost Pedal? (possibly used live, to get that treble boost sound on the bass intro to "No Place to Hide")
    • ????? (Fieldy has some kinda of weird pedal that makes his bass sound like it's from a Prodigy song, not used in songs yet, but between songs)

    David Silveria

    Drums

    • Pearl (?) - Metallic green finish (first album/pre Life is Peachy tours)
    • TAMA - Star Classic - green finish. (Now he uses TAMA, because he's sponsored. For those who don't know, Ibanez owns TAMA or vice versa, that's why David switched, also this is why the drums sound like shit on "Life is Peachy")

    Set-up

    • 20" Single Bass drum (w/ double bass pedal)
    • 2 tom-toms
    • 3 floor toms
    • 3 1/2" Piccolo Snare
    • Gibraltar rack system
    • DW pedals/Hardware
    • Roland Midi Module TR-808 (w/ TR-808 sounds)
    • Drum trigger set (for the thud in "Ball Tongue", "Blind", "Lies", and many others and the Kettle thing in "Ball Tongue", also probably used for drums on "Wicked", as far as it being used on "Helmet in the Bush" album version, I'm pretty sure that's a drum machine playing it, NOT David)

    Cymbals

    • 15" 2002 Rude Hi-Hat
    • (2) 18" 2002 Rude Crash/Ride
    • 18" 2002 Rude China
    • 10" 2002 Rude Splash
    • 22" 2002 Rude Power Ride
    • 14" 2002 Rude Sound edge Hi-Hat
    • 20" 2002 Rude Ride/Crash
    • 13" Sound Formula Mega cup chime

    Jonathan "HIV" Davis

    Jon has a contract with Shure mics.

    Mics

    • Shure mics (don't know which model)

    Bagpipes

    All I know is he has 2 sets of Bagpipes. One (Black/Red) his grandmother gave him when he was younger used for "Shoots and Ladders" cause they sound better outside and sound better for "traditional" songs, also they have "HIV" written on them

    He has another set he's recently bought which he used for "Low Rider".

    Thanks to:

    • The person who originaly made this FAQ (I don't know your name!?)
    • Mark Smith (for the MANY corrections)
    • 911Turbo (from the Korn mailing list, for drum info)
    • Zack S. Adcock (For the HIV mic info)
    • Greg (from the KoRn list mailing list)

    *NOTE*

    I got ALL this info from either pictures of Korn playing live, seeing Korn play live, wacthing Korn video's, magazine interviews where the guys form Korn mentioned what equipment they use, from the orginal Korn equipment FAQ, and from people e-mailing me info.

    If you find something wrong, or know of a piece of equipment (ie what kinda mics/mic stand Jon uses) that the guys from Korn use, email me and I'll add it. But please have like a decent source for this info. Also if I appear to have more info about Munky and Head then anybody, that's cause I'm a guitar player myself, and read like every guitar mag I can find trying to find out stuff about Korn's guitar players.

    Thanks,
    Bill mjluisi@worldnet.att.net
    http://home.att.net/~mjluisi/