The sound of Yungblud through his amps and guitars: after only four albums, British artist Dominic Richard Harrison has established himself as the figurehead of the new pop-punk generation. Three number-one albums in the UK, 28 singles, hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, and lyrics that speak directly to the everyday concerns of Gen Y post-teens. Musically, Yungblud is a thoroughly contemporary artist, moving freely between genres, borrowing indiscriminately from British rock, metal, hip-hop, and cutting-edge pop, with one constant: he writes great songs with hooks that burrow into your brain and never let go. And of course, all of this is backed by massive walls of guitars – a sound we’ll be diving into here with the release of his new album, Idols.
Young Blood
From the outset, Yungblud makes his intentions clear: his music is played guitar in hand, regardless of whether the instrument had lost its mainstream appeal by 2017 compared to the 90s. In the video for his debut single, “King Charles”, we see him performing in a trio without a bassist.
His guitarist Adam Warrington plugs a black Jazzmaster into a Vox AC30 (we’ll come back to that), while Yungblud himself plays a Sunburst Fender Telecaster with a rosewood fretboard. The amp behind him is, paradoxically, a bass amplification classic – the Ampeg SVT.
Fender
Standard Tele LRL WPG 3TS
Ampeg
SVT 50th Heritage Sp.Ed.
Vox
AC30 C2
Later that same year, in “Tin Pan Boy”, he appears with a Stratocaster with a maple fretboard in a colour reminiscent of Seafoam Green.
Fender
Exclusive Ens Strat MN STN SFG
As Yungblud’s success continues to grow, the guitar gradually disappears from his music videos. You’ll have to look up the live version of “11 Minutes” to see him playing a stunning Gibson SG 61 Cherry Red with Maestro vibrato, and for “Weird!” in 2020 he brings back the Telecaster from his early days.
Gibson
SG 61 Standard Maestro VC
That same year, the video for “Strawberry Lipstick” also recalls the “King Charles” aesthetic with its two towering Marshall triple stacks (1959 Plexis), and especially his super-sexy Cardinal Red Gibson Firebird VII.
Marshall
1959 HW
Gibson
1963 Firebird V Reissue CR ULA
Amps/guitars, the sound of Yungblud – The calm between the storms
Punk as he may be, acoustic guitar holds a special place in Yungblud’s artistic approach. It offers both a more direct channel for emotion and a way to showcase the quality of his songwriting without epic production. As early as 2018, he released a second EP titled Yungblud (Unplugged), featuring acoustic versions of the tracks from his self-titled debut EP.
Gibson
J-45 Standard VS
Gibson
1942 Banner LG-2 Vintage SB
In his unplugged work, Yungblud seems to lean towards Gibson, as seen in a live acoustic version of “Loner” where he plays a J-45. In the video for “Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today (Sad Version)”, he strums an LG-2 with a capo on the eighth fret, sitting on the edge of his bed. Slight complication when identifying it: the video is in black and white! You’ll have to catch it again during the acoustic segments of Avril Lavigne’s “I’m A Mess” to see the LG-2 in colour, sporting its Cherry Sunburst finish.
Gibson
Hummingbird Standard VCS
L.R.Baggs
M1 Activ Soundhole Pickup
For the live version of the same song, Yungblud sticks with Gibson, playing a Hummingbird amplified through an L.R. Baggs M1 soundhole pickup.
The Man in the Shadows
In that same live video, a second guitarist appears in Yungblud’s shadow, also playing a Hummingbird. Adam Warrington is a songwriter, producer, bassist, and above all, guitarist on all of Yungblud’s tours from the very beginning. The Scottish musician is a hugely valuable sonic ally who, unlike Yungblud himself, is very forthcoming about his gear.
When it comes to guitars, he’s often seen with a black Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster. In “King Charles”, it has a tortoise pickguard, later replaced with a white one – but it’s the same guitar.
Fender
Player II Jazzmaster RW BLK
Generally speaking, he has a strong preference for black guitars, including a Gibson SG Standard, an ES-335, and a Gretsch Duo Jet.
Gibson
SG Standard EB
Gibson
ES-335 Dot Vintage Ebony
Gretsch
G6128T-53 VS Duo Jet BK
He also owns a sunburst Les Paul Standard featured in the “Strawberry Lipstick” video, which has had its headstock broken twice.
Gibson
Les Paul Standard 60 Fd VCS
As for amps, he blends two classics of British amplification to produce a massive sound: a Hiwatt Custom 20 head and a Marshall Bluesbreaker 1962 combo. In the studio, he also uses an Orange Tiny Terror.
Marshall
1962 Bluesbreaker
Orange
Rocker 15 Terror
And when it comes to pedals, there’s plenty to talk about. He uses many Boss multi-effects (ES-8, RV-500, DD-500, and MD-500),
Boss
RV-500 Reverb
Boss
DD-500 Digital Delay
Boss
MD-500 Modulation
as well as two JHS fuzz pedals (the Mufuletta and Crayon) and the essential DigiTech Whammy. This sonic arsenal allows him to create a wide range of textures while Yungblud focuses on the more aggressive rhythm parts.
JHS Pedals
Muffuletta
JHS Pedals
Crayon
Digitech
Whammy 5
Signed Furax
Yungblud is among the artists who’ve reignited a passion for guitars among the younger generation, so it was only a matter of time before he got his own signature model. In 2024, Epiphone announced the release of the Yungblud SG Junior.
Epiphone
YUNGBLUD SG Junior CW
This guitar pays tribute to the glorious simplicity of the vintage SG Junior, and comes at a price point accessible even to his less affluent fans. It features in the video for “I’m A Mess” with Avril Lavigne for the electric sections.
But Yungblud is already looking ahead – he’s revealed that for his next signature model, he’d like an Epiphone hollow body. For the recording of Idols, he made extensive use of his 1964 black Gibson ES-330. Adam Warrington, meanwhile, had an Epiphone Casino, and the two models share a very similar fully-hollow, P90-loaded construction.
Gibson
ES-330 Tobacco Sunburst
Epiphone
Casino Vintage Sunburst
Yungblud’s Sound – Amps and Guitars
The amps/guitars or the secrets of the one and only… Yungblud’s sound!
We’ve not seen the last of his surprises, and chances are Nashville is already at work on the next Yungblud.
Changes
Edit: Yungblud performed a powerful cover of “Changes” originally by Black Sabbath, during the “Back to the Beginning” benefit concert, centered around Ozzy Osbourne. A powerful, soulful moment that now feels even more significant; with Ozzy’s very recent passing, the performance hits even harder. A fitting tribute from one generation to another, to a legend who clearly saw something of himself in Yungblud. 🖤
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