GEAR DATABASE

The Manic Street Preachers frontman treats us to some fantastic tones and stories!

Welcome to the show! It is our great and distinct pleasure to welcome to TPS a torchbearer for the ’90s guitar revival - not to mention penner of some timeless melodies and riffs! - Mr James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers. The Manics racked up 33 consecutive UK Top 40 singles in their former years, cementing a place in the hearts and minds of millions down the decades.
2025 finds them as vital as ever with new album release ‘Critical Thinking’ out in February 2025. To mark the occasion, James invited us to the Manics’ studio near Newport in Wales, to talk about a love for all-things guitar. We check out some classic tones and gear while getting a unique insight into the writing and composition process. It was quite the day, so please…
Enjoy the show!

Massive thanks to Ceri and Loz for their help in making this happen on the day.

Link to the new Manic Street Preachers album: https://manicstreetpreachers.lnk.to/critical-thinking

If you use these links to buy stuff - any stuff – we receive a small cut.
UK & Europe: Andertons Music - https://bit.ly/3zaTX5Z
USA: Sweetwater - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/5g6ALN
Australia: Pedal Empire - http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf

Interesting bits and go to sections…
0:00 Coming up today…
1:04 Hello & welcome
1:50 Newbridge Memorial Hall c1990?
3:00 James’ musical beginnings
5:30 Meeting Nick (y Wire)
10:55 You’ve gotta sing, but whose lyrics?
14:40 Early rock influences
16:35 How Motorcycle Emptiness happened
20:45 The famous Tele Thinline
22:25 There Motorcycle Emptiness riff
26:00 JCM900 to rise above
30:30 Closeness of the band
33:30 New album mood
37:00 The Guild on Critical Thinking
38:38 Critical Thinking riff
39:20 Live pedalboard
40:45 Gear & pedals in the early ’90s?
44:45 Tsunami accidental tuning!
47:07 Sitar guitar
48:30 The A Design For Life story
58:35 A Design For Life tone & riff
1:05:05 Live rig must haves
1:08:00 Quieter, more digital?
1:11:45 Motown Junk & the Burman story
1:15:18 The Burman amp sound
1:17:10 Guitar addiction?
1:19:15 James’ J-45 acoustic
1:12:30 An old Strat
1:23:45 If You Tolerate This filter
1:27:18 Winning a Rickenbacker in a bet
1:28:11 If You Tolerate This solo

Guitars in today’s show
Gibson Les Paul Custom c1990
Fender ’72 Thinline Telecaster
Jerry Jones Sitar Guitar
Gibson J-45
Guild S-200 Thunderbird
Rickenbacker 360-12
1960s Fender Strat

Amps in today’s show
Marshall JCM900 100-watt & 1960A 4x12 cab
Mesa Lone Star Classic 2x12 combo
Burman Pro501 c1978
Fender Twin Reverb, early 1970s

You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts https://www.thatpedalshowstore.com