When Minus the Bear took the stage, David Knudson would arrive prepared to create an ensemble all his own: a pedalboard packed with four Line 6 DL4s, all awaiting to loop and transform his double-tapped melodies and countermelodies. Often, he played a variety of Paul Reed Smiths. Sometimes, some customized First Acts.
All such tools of his trade are available in The Official David Knudson of Minus The Bear Reverb Shop.
Knudson—who is not only a founding member of Seattle's Minus The Bear, but also Tacoma legends Botch—is making way for some new gear by parting with the old. Many pieces going up for sale in his official Reverb shop have been played on stages across the country and in studios throughout Minus The Bear sessions.
"I'm not touring at the moment anymore and I'm currently writing a new solo album, my first one," Knudson says. "While letting go of some of this stuff is a little hard for me to do, I realize that I don't need a lot of it and what I'd really love to do is get some new things, some new toys—guitars, pedals, software—that will help me make new music in the future."
The items include:
- No less than seven Line 6 DL4s. "Markings, labels, scratches, blood, grime, you name it are all on there," Knudson says of the DL4s. "These have been road-worn to hell and back but all still work and have tons of stories to tell."
- The first pedalboard Knudson used with Minus The Bear, which was originally owned by Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard (and still sports the original Pearl Jam stencil). "This was the first MTB pedalboard. I used it for years. I got it from Stone Gossard's studio, Studio Litho. It has a 'Pearl Jam SR' stencil on it, meaning Stone used it on lots of Pearl Jam tours before it was gifted to me," Knudson says.
- A PRS DGT Dave Grissom Signature. Knudson says: "This black DGT was one of my main guitars from 2008–2018. It was used on quite a few LPs (OMNI, Infinity Overhead, etc.) and on lots of tours. Primarily used as my standard tuning E guitar when I had others tuned to Drop D or as a backup in Drop D. Tons of history on this one. Comes in a stenciled MTB hardshell case with a handwritten 'Menos el Oso' reunion tour set list."
- Two custom-made First Act guitars, including a Custom Shop Delia "used live on a few Acoustics tours and also to play the song 'Part 2,' which followed 'Dr. L'ling' on the POI LP," according to Knudson.
- A Moogerfooger MF-107 Whitewash Wood Special Edition "used in studio but never taken on tour," Knudson says.
- A Korg Kaoss Pad that dates from Knudson's Botch years. "During the last couple years of Botch I'd split my signal to two amps using this Kaoss Pad," he says. "It was used during the cacophonous outro of 'Transitions from Persona to Object' and during the noise jam we used to end sets with that eventually became 'Micaragua.'"
- A Fender Showman Knudson used on "all the early recordings—Gigantic, Beer Commercials, Highly Refined Pirates" as well as during "all touring from 2001–2004."
"A lot of this stuff has a lot of personal meaning, and a lot of it has been all over the world, all over the country, but I feel like it's time to give it up and let some new folks have a shot at it," Knudson says.
The Official David Knudson of Minus The Bear Reverb Shop is open now.