Potent Pairings: How to Sound Like Jack White

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Disclaimer: Our Potent Pairing series aims to get you in the ballpark of the sounds on your favorite recordings using affordable, accessible pedals. The pedals featured are not the exact pieces of gear used on the recordings.

Growing up the youngest of ten children in Detroit, Jack White turned to music early—always listening to records, he started to play the drums in first grade and continued to branch into other instruments as he got older.

Though he began his performance career moonlighting as a drummer, mainstream success hit when he switched to guitar and started the two-piece, bluesy garage rock band The White Stripes, which rose to international acclaim with albums like White Blood Cells and Elephant.

It was with this band that White played predominantly one guitar that subsequently saw a dramatic rise in popularity (and price) because of it: a 1964 Airline Res-o-glass guitar, often called the "J.B. Hutto" or "Jetsons" model.

Beyond The White Stripes, Jack White has seen success with bands like The Raconteurs (formed in 2005 with Brendan Benson) and The Dead Weather (formed in 2009 with The Kills' Alison Mosshart), as well as with his own solo career.

His guitar playing and musical styles are most deeply rooted in the blues he grew up listening to, which he talks about in detail in the 2009 film It Might Get Loud, also featuring Jimmy Page and The Edge.

Follow along with Joe in the video above as he tries to recreate some of White's signature tones on songs like "Blue Orchid," "Icky Thump," "Sixteen Saltines," and more. Click any of the links below to get your own right here on Reverb.

Pedals Used In This Video