Andy Rourke's Gear

This is all the information I have been able to collect regarding Andy Rourke's instruments, amps and setup. I will add more information to this entry as it becomes available. Please email me if you have more information or want to correct an error.

Amps

Andy's early Smiths rig was a Peavey Mark III bass head with Ohm 4x10 and 1x15 cabinets. He later used Trace Elliot GP-11 heads with Trace Elliot 4x10 and 1x15 cabinets, as well as an Ampeg SVT head with Ampeg 8x10 cabinets.

Peavey Mark III bass head

Trace Elliot GP-11

Ampeg SVT

Ampeg SVT

Effects

Andy often used a Boss CE-2 chorus, and sometimes a Boss GE-10 EQ. He has said he used a Boss flanger as well, but I haven't seen one in any photos.

Boss CE-2 visible on top of amp

Boss CE-2 visible on top of Trace Elliot GP-11

Boss GE-10 equalizer

Boss GE-10 and CE-2

Tunings

Andy tuned his basses up to F# in the early days of the Smiths. In later years he would use a dedicated F# bass for older songs alongside a bass in standard E tuning. Early basses such as the Guild and various Squier's have only been seen tuned to F#. The Yamaha BB2000, as well as the '62, '64, and '66 Fender Precision basses have been seen in both F# and E tunings at different shows. He used medium-gauge Rotosound strings. A drop-D tuning was used on “How Soon Is Now” and “Shoplifters of the World Unite”.

Basses

Guild B-301

Andy's first Smiths bass. Was first seen on January 21st, 1983 at Manhattan Sound. It's last known appearance was May 6th, 1983, the same month Andy began using his P-Bass copy.

Antoria P-Bass Copy

1970's Japanese P-Bass copy, branded as Antoria. Andy's first known use of this bass was May 21st 1983, and it was last seen on June 29th.

Squier Precision Bass

This bass was first seen on July 6th at the Hacienda, shortly after Andy stopped using the Japanese P-Bass copy.

Squier Precision Bass, Black with Black Pickguard and Maple Neck

This bass is likely the same as the Squier above, but with a changed pickguard. It was first seen with the black pickguard on October 5th 1983 at the ICA. It was used in the video for This Charming Man, and was Andy's main bass for the remainder of 1983. It was last seen in this configuration on the Earsay program on March 31st, 1984.

Squier Precision Bass, Black with Black Pickguard and Rosewood Neck

Only one known known appearance: June 14th, 1984 on Top Of The Pops. It's very possible that this bass is Andy's regular Squier with another neck.

Yamaha BB2000

Described by Andy as being used "for the funky stuff", this was the bass used to record Barbarism Begins At Home. It's first known appearance was at Glastonbury in June 1984. It saw use on the Smiths Spanish tour in May of 1985, where it was used once per show, for Meat Is Murder. It was also seen on the Scottish tour in September of 1985. It was last used on a performance on The Tube on April 10th of 1987- The Smiths' second-to-last TV appearance. The bass was sold on eBay in October 2003.

Here are some photos of the bass in 2013, courtesy of the current owner.  Big thanks goes out to Gary for sending these in:

1964 Fender Precision Bass

“I got my main P-Bass when Seymour Stein from Sire took us down to Manny’s Music in New York to buy Johnny a guitar and me a bass. I picked out this old beat-up bass because its label said 1964—same year I was born. It has a really warm sound. When you crank it, it has a good growl that I don’t think you can get from any other bass." -Andy Rourke

This bass had it's first documented appearance on January 26, 1984 on a Top Of The Pops. Perhaps Andy's most iconic Smiths bass, it was heavily used throughout 1984 and continued to see use as one of his main live basses during the 1986 tours. It was last seen at the final Smiths show in December of 1986, where it was Andy's dedicated F# bass.

Here are some recent photos of the bass which were sent in by my friend Joel Perry:

1962 Fender Precision Bass, Fiesta Red

This P-Bass was first seen on February 14, 1985 on Top Of The Pops. It saw heavy use throughout 1985 and was the main bass on the Spanish tour, as a dedicated F# bass. It was last seen at the final Smiths show, where it was tuned to E.

1966 Fender Precision Bass, Olympic White(slab body)

The first known appearance of this bass was May 20th, 1986, on Whistle Test. It was used as a main bass on the 1986 tours, in both E and F# tunings. It's quite a rare instrument; it's said that less than 20 were ever made. It was last seen on February 7th, 1987 at the San Remo Festival.

Fender Jazz Bass

This was used at two TV appearances in February and April 1987. This was the last bass that Andy used with The Smiths.