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Gear Avail

Alternative rock

Matt Bellamy

Muse, 2001 onward

The Fuzz Factory is mounted inside the guitar body, which turns an unstable, barely controllable fuzz into a playable instrument: the knobs are under his hand while he is still holding a chord.

Load this board into the builder

The chain

Shown in conventional signal order rather than the order the sources list them, so it reads the way it would be wired: guitar on the left, amp on the right.

  1. 1
    Drive / fuzzNo photo available

    Z.Vex Fuzz Factory

    Drive / fuzz

    Self-oscillating and deliberately unstable, and mounted into the guitar so the squeals can be steered live.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  2. 2
    Pitch / octaveNo photo available

    DigiTech Whammy

    Pitch / octave

    Octave dives and the ascending runs on the bigger riffs.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  3. 3
    DelayNo photo available

    Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

    Delay

    Timed repeats under the arpeggiated sections.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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  4. 4
    UtilityNo photo available

    Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth

    Utility

    Synth-style filter sweeps from a guitar, which is most of why those records sound electronic.

    Not stocked by any store we track

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Documented on

  • Origin of Symmetry

    album · 2001

    • Plug In Baby
    • New Born
    • Bliss

  • Absolution

    album · 2003

    • Hysteria
    • Stockholm Syndrome

  • Black Holes and Revelations

    album · 2006

    • Knights of Cydonia
    • Supermassive Black Hole

Editorial gear history, assembled from interviews, rig rundowns, live photography and liner notes. Matt Bellamy is not affiliated with Gear Avail and nothing here is an endorsement. Rigs change between tours and between takes, so this one is scoped to 2001 onward rather than presented as a career-long setup. In most cases what is documented is that a pedal was on the board during those sessions or that tour, not that it is audible on a specific bar of a specific take.