Skip to content
Gear Avail

Progressive rock

Omar Rodríguez-López

The Mars Volta, 2003 onward

A delay pedal used as a sound-design tool rather than an echo. Half-speed, reverse and looping are the point; the actual repeats are almost incidental, and most of what you hear is the pedal being abused in real time.

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
    Wah / filterNo photo available

    Dunlop Cry Baby

    Wah / filter

    Swept hard and fast, often into the loop rather than in front of it.

    Not stocked by any store we track

    Search the site
  2. 2
    ModulationNo photo available

    MXR Phase 90

    Modulation

    Movement under the long, droning passages.

    Not stocked by any store we track

    Search the site
  3. 3
    DelayNo photo available

    Line 6 DL4

    Delay

    Reverse, half-speed and looping, switched mid-phrase so the result is unrepeatable.

    Not stocked by any store we track

    Search the site
  4. 4
    UtilityNo photo available

    Electro-Harmonix Micro Synth

    Utility

    Filter sweeps and synth textures over the top of the chaos.

    Not stocked by any store we track

    Search the site

Documented on

  • De-Loused in the Comatorium

    album · 2003

    • Inertiatic ESP
    • Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)

  • Frances the Mute

    album · 2005

    • L'Via L'Viaquez
    • The Widow

Editorial gear history, assembled from interviews, rig rundowns, live photography and liner notes. Omar Rodríguez-López 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 2003 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.