English alt-rock pioneers Placebo are selling off their gear on Reverb

Placebo are having a spring clean and selling some of their used gear arsenal off on Reverb. The Official Placebo Reverb Shop goes live on 27 April, and will list a variety of electric and acoustic guitars, guitar amps, bass guitars and other kit that the English alt-rock band has used live and in the studio.

“Having spent years collecting some of the most interesting and creative music gear to use on studio recordings and live performances, we felt it was now time to let go and part ways with some of this gear we have amassed,” said guitarist and bassist Stefan Olsdal. “Knowing the Reverb shop has already been used by other established recording artists, we felt comfortable in the knowledge that the gear would be directed towards genuine collectors and enthusiasts.”

As Olsdal notes, Placebo are not the first to list their gear on Reverb. The online music retail giant has always been a good place to source artist-played gear, with the likes of Mike Campbell, Billie Joe Armstrong and Blink-182 alumni Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge making use of the platform to empty their garages and lockers of unwanted rare guitars and amps.

Among the highlights listed by Placebo are a couple of high-end acoustic guitars that have found themselves on some of the band’s most notable releases. There are a couple of Taylors – including a compact grand concert cutaway 612 CE  – that have seen plenty of action on Placebo acoustic sessions. 

There’s also a Takamine Santa Fe ESF-2C cutaway dreadnought acoustic electric guitar that was used to track their 1999 sophomore album, Without You I’m Nothing, and is particularly notable for appearing on breakout hit Every You Every Me.

Elsewhere, there is a particularly cool Guild hollowbody bass guitar that was played by Olsdal on MTV Unplugged. 

“If you watch videos of this session, you can see me quite clearly with this bass during the Without You I'm Nothing track,” says Olsdal. “A song very dear to me because years earlier we had re-recorded and released it as a duet with David Bowie.”

Notable electric guitars include a Gretsch Pistachio Falcon used heavily around 2006 for tracking and touring Meds, and a 12-string Fender Jaguar that found its way onto Black Market Music.

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And you can run them through one of three Marshall JCM900 heads and matching cab. Finished in white Tolex, they are a strong look, one which longtime fans might recognise from the band’s late ‘90s tours for Without You I’m Nothing.

Other non-stringed highlights include the Korg 800DV synthesizer from Pure Morning, and a Korg MS 2000 that was used on Sleeping With Ghosts.

“We’ve had a great run with this gear, but now it’s time for each piece to move on,” said Olsdal. “As well as some highly collectable vintage pieces, there are also some more accessible items for fans to get their hands on.”

The Official Placebo Reverb Shop will open on 27 April. Pop over to Reverb to sign up for an email alert as soon as it is online.