Mick Mars Rig

Estimated build cost: ~$71,826 (based on current listings)

Metal Mötley Crüe Mick Mars

Mick Mars is Mötley Crüe’s founding guitarist, the downtuned, blues-metal riff writer behind Too Fast for Love, Shout at the Devil, and Dr. Feelgood. In 1981–85 he cut those early records on a black 1972 Gibson Les Paul Custom into cranked Marshall Super Lead stacks, with a white B.C. Rich Warlock (and a custom Hamer Blitz Explorer) taking over when the Shout at the Devil stage show needed a more theatrical shape. He ran hot Gibson T-top-style humbuckers straight into the amp rather than a distortion pedal.

From Theatre of Pain through Dr. Feelgood he switched to lighter Kramer Barettas and KM-1 Telecasters with Floyd Rose trems, then built a multi-amp live rig of modified Marshall JCM800 2203s, a Soldano SLO-100, and a Rivera Bonehead, with an Eventide H3000 supplying the stereo micro-pitch width on the Feelgood-era tracks. After 1994 his main guitar became a Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster nicknamed Isabella (humbuckers plus a Floyd Rose), which he still used on 2024’s The Other Side of Mars through a José Arredondo-modded Marshall, a Soldano, a Dunlop Cry Baby Q Zone, and a DigiTech Whammy. He retired from Crüe touring in 2022; there is no current commercial Mars signature guitar.

~$71,826 Estimated total
14 Pieces of gear
Metal Genre / style
Affiliate Disclosure
Mick Mars Rig
Photo by Toglenn / CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Mick Mars guitars, amps and pedals

Classic / iconic era

The breakthrough pieces they are most associated with.

Gibson Les Paul Custom (1972)
Guitar
Gibson Les Paul Custom (1972)
Gibson Gibson Les Paul Custom 1955 Black Beauty 1955 - Gibson Les Paul Custom 1955 Black Beauty
Classic 1981–85: black 1972 Les Paul Custom was the main guitar on Too Fast for Love and Shout at the Devil and the instrument he auditioned with. He later sold it; it ended up in a Hard Rock Cafe.
$50,916
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
B.C. Rich Warlock
Guitar optional
B.C. Rich Warlock
B.C. Rich Warlock signature M7 2000s Mick Thomson
Classic 1983–85: white neck-through Warlock with a tremolo, used on the Shout at the Devil tour and in the Looks That Kill video when the Les Paul looked too conservative onstage.
$1,150
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Marshall Super Lead 1959
Amp
Marshall Super Lead 1959
1978 Marshall JMP Super Lead 100w MkII Model 1959 - Fully Serviced - Hendrix/ACDC/Clapton Amp
Throughout 1978–2024: late-’70s Super Lead stacks were his audition and early-Crüe amps; a José Arredondo-modded 1973 100-watt Super Lead defined Dr. Feelgood (1989); he used another José-modded Marshall as the main head on 2024’s The Other Side of Mars.
$2,181
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Heil Talk Box
Pedal
Heil Talk Box
Dunlop HT-1 Heil Talk Box 1998 - 2018 - Black
Classic/peak 1989: Heil talk box on the Kickstart My Heart solo (and live Crüe sets after). He later also ran a Rocktron Banshee, but the Heil is the production box tied to that track.
$256
Buy on Reverb Price history
AI Rig Designer
Building your own setup?

Try our free AI Rig Designer — get a custom rig matched to your budget and style, with tones inspired by Mick Mars. Answer 6 questions, get live listings.

Try It Free
Mid-career

A real in-between era or endorsement — not what they use now.

Kramer Baretta
Guitar
Kramer Baretta
Kramer Baretta special Hot rod mod by axe&hammer customs 2024 - white
Mid 1985–86: black Kramer Baretta (single humbucker, Floyd Rose) on the Theatre of Pain tour and in the Smokin’ in the Boys Room video — his first lighter Superstrat after the Les Paul/Warlock years.
$546
Buy on Reverb Price history
Guitar
Kramer KM-1 Telecaster
Mid 1987–90: custom KM-1 Tele-style Kramers (Floyd Rose, humbuckers), including the Girls, Girls, Girls tour guitars and the mirror-top used on the Dr. Feelgood tour. Kramer also issued a limited Japan Mick Mars KM-1 around 1988–90; it is not a current signature line.
Not listed
Marshall JCM800 2203
Amp
Marshall JCM800 2203
Marshall 20th Anniversary JCM800 2203 100 watt 1982 - White
Mid 1980s–2010s live: 50- and 100-watt JCM800 2203s with extra preamp gain stages (three-stage instead of two) were the core of the arena rig before and alongside the Soldano/Rivera blend. This is the finished live Marshall chapter, not the José Super Lead.
$4,499
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Amp optional
Rivera Bonehead
Mid 2000s live: Bonehead 100-watt head in the five-amp blend specifically to bring out low end, slaved into VHT and Crest power amps with the JCM800 and SLO-100. Discontinued; not what he records with now.
Not listed
Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer
Pedal
Eventide H3000 Ultra-Harmonizer
Eventide H3000 S Ultra-Harmonizer
Mid 1989–2010s: H3000 (and H3500) in the rack for the stereo micro-pitch detune that thickened Dr. Feelgood and later live tones — not a chorus pedal, left/right cents shift. Also used with Yamaha SPX-1000 and Rocktron Replifex in the same rack era.
$2,750
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Marshall 1960BV 4x12
Cabinet
Marshall 1960BV 4x12
Marshall 1960BV Vintage 280-Watt 4x12" Straight Guitar Speaker Cabinet 1990 - Present - Black
Mid 2000s–2010s live: Marshall 4x12s loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. He compared them to Greenbacks and preferred the V30s for the Soldano/VHT side of the rig.
$800
Buy on Reverb More Info
Current / most recent

What they tour or record with now, or the newest signature line.

Fender Stratocaster (Custom Shop)
Guitar
Fender Stratocaster (Custom Shop)
Mick Mars Inspired Fender Custom Shop Strat w RARE JM Rolph Pickups. Motley Crue
Current 1994–present: Fender Custom Shop Strat nicknamed Isabella (built 1996), worn white, maple board, two high-output humbuckers plus a middle single, Floyd Rose. First used on the 1994 Corabi-era Motley Crue album; still the main guitar on 2024’s The Other Side of Mars. Not a production Mars signature.
$3,895
Buy on Reverb More Info
Soldano SLO-100 Super Lead Overdrive
Amp
Soldano SLO-100 Super Lead Overdrive
Soldano SLO-100 2006 - Black
Current: SLO-100 was the high-gain side of the 2000s–2010s live tri-amp (with JCM800 and Rivera) and was still blended with the José Marshall on The Other Side of Mars (2024), depending on the part.
$5,865
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Dunlop Cry Baby Q Zone
Pedal
Dunlop Cry Baby Q Zone
Dunlop QZ1 Cry Baby Q Zone Fixed Wah 2000 - Present - Black / Chrome electric guitar pedal
Current 2023–24: fixed-wah Q Zone his wife bought him; he dialed a parked-wah midrange and used it on Loyal to the Lie. Earlier Crüe years used a standard Cry Baby / Dunlop DCR-1SR rack wah.
$120
Buy on Reverb Price history
DigiTech Whammy
Pedal optional
DigiTech Whammy
DigiTech Whammy Pitch Shift Guitar Expression Pedal
Current 2024: DigiTech Whammy on The Other Side of Mars for lower-octave thickening and odd harmonic/harmony shifts — one of the few stompboxes he named on the solo record besides the Q Zone.
$289
Buy on Reverb Compare prices
Estimated build total ~$71,826
Rig Overview
Estimated total ~$71,826
Pieces of gear 14
Genre / style Metal
Classic / iconic era 4 items
Mid-career 6 items
Current / most recent 4 items
Research This Gear
Reverb Price History Sold prices for Gibson Les Paul Custom Gear Value Lookup Market value for Gibson Les Paul Custom Deal Desk Spot flips across Reverb & eBay Gear Alerts Get notified when gear goes live
Share

Spot an inaccuracy? We research every rig carefully, but gear details can change or slip through. If you know this artist's setup better, drop us a note and we'll get it updated.

Comments

No comments yet — be the first!

First time here?

Every listing has free built-in tools — AI deal analysis and instant gear alerts. Takes 30 seconds to learn.

See how it works →