Dave Davies Gear Guide
Dave Davies’ Kinks guitars, Elpico-to-Vox amplifier setup, speaker distortion and later studio gear.
A period-by-period quick reference to guitars, amplification, effects and recording equipment. Specific gear varies by song, session and tour.
Guitars
| Gear / reference | Details | Era / use |
|---|---|---|
| Harmony Meteor | Early guitar used before the Kinks’ first major hits. | Early career |
| Guild Starfire | Semi-hollow electric associated with early performances. | Early years |
| Gibson Flying V | Solid-body Gibson used in later stage and studio work. | Selected years |
| Gibson Les Paul Recording | Used on solo recordings through Davies’ characteristic amp setup. | Solo era |
| Gibson Nighthawk | Guitar used on later solo album sessions. | Later period |
| Fender Telecaster | Alternative guitar voice in later performance years. | Selected use |
| Gibson acoustic guitars | Acoustic instruments for songwriting and studio arrangements. | Studio |
Amplifiers
| Gear / reference | Details | Era / use |
|---|---|---|
| Elpico AC55 “Little Green” | Small amp whose speaker Davies modified for the You Really Got Me sound. | 1964 |
| Vox AC30 | Used as the larger amp receiving the Elpico signal. | 1964 setup |
| Vox AC30 combos | Core live amp family for the early Kinks sound. | 1960s onward |
| Fender and Vox small combos | Later studio choices for clean and driven colors. | Selected albums |
| Cube amp | Small combo used in a later solo recording setup. | Later career |
Effects and signal chain
| Gear / reference | Details | Era / use |
|---|---|---|
| Slashed speaker cone | A razor-cut speaker created raw distortion before fuzz pedals were common. | You Really Got Me |
| Elpico into Vox signal chain | Small amp output drove the Vox amp to increase level and edge. | Early recording |
| Natural amp compression | Speaker and amp breakup supplied sustain and harmonic grit. | Early Kinks |
| Fuzz pedal | Later fuzz effects offered a repeatable version of the rough early sound. | Later years |
| Reverb | Studio and amp ambience varies by song. | Recording dependent |
| Power-chord attack | Hard picking and concise muting form the core sound. | Technique |
Song and era references
| Gear / reference | Details | Era / use |
|---|---|---|
| You Really Got Me | Elpico speaker distortion routed into a Vox AC30. | 1964 |
| All Day and All of the Night | Related amp/speaker distortion approach and power chords. | 1964 |
| Till the End of the Day | Riff-based guitar sound and amp breakup. | 1965 |
| Waterloo Sunset | Cleaner layered parts and studio arrangement. | 1967 |
| Lola | Later Kinks guitar tones and acoustic/electric layers. | 1970 |
| Solo albums | Gibson guitars and varied small/large amp combinations. | Later career |