VGS 2020: Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus is what we'd call a tonehound extraordinaire; he knows his gear and he's got a spectacular collection to prove it. In fact, he was surrounded by droolsome vintage amp and electric guitars when he we spoke to him for an in-depth guitar interview.
Fortus has been recording a lot of session work during lockdown at his home studio. "It's been great because I've been able to dig through all the gear I've been collecting for the last 20 years of being on the road nonstop," he explains. "Really digging into some of this gear, and some things are just amazing."
He's not wrong. From a '59 Fender Bassman "sort of like the perfect guitar amp" and spectacular Gibson ES-335, Teles, a '62 Jazzmaster, a '66 Strat (with block inlays!) and a prototype signature Gretsch guitars.
He also talks about his tone dynamic with Slash and how they both "ride the volumes" of their guitars' controls.
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![Eric Clapton and his gold-plated Cry Baby: [Left] a black and white image of Clapton playing his Bigsby-equipped Gibson Les Paul standard live on stage with Cream.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aPowLRdfjdvVAiwU8PYuBh-1280-80.jpg.webp)
“We are honoured that our company’s relationship with the legendary guitar player continues to this day”: Dunlop salutes wah pedal pioneer Eric Clapton with a gold-plated signature Cry Baby
“It’s been road-tested, dropped on its head, kicked around, x-rayed, strummed, chicken-picked, and arpeggio swept!” Fender and Chris Shiflett team up for signature Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“We are honoured that our company’s relationship with the legendary guitar player continues to this day”: Dunlop salutes wah pedal pioneer Eric Clapton with a gold-plated signature Cry Baby
