The Guitars of Linkin Park
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Mike Shinoda's Guitars
For a guy who isn't primarily a guitarist, you wouldn't think Mike
would have as many guitars as he does, but believe it or not he's been
seen with almost as many as Brad has over the years.
*NOTE* To the best of my knowledge, all guitars listed as being in "active touring use" are current as of the end of the One More Light European Tour in July of 2017 for the B and C rigs, and the Hollywood Bowl memorial show for Chester Bennington on October 27th, 2017 for the A rig, with the exception of guitars that are currently being used on Mike's solo tours, which are noted accordingly. With the exception of images embedded from external sources, all images on this page are posted in chronological order in a single Imgur album HERE.
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG120
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2001 ("Crawling" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: The first time most people saw Mike with a guitar was in the "Crawling" music video, and the guitar he happened to use was a bit tricky for me to figure out! I originally thought this was a black RG321 that he later used on the 2003 Projekt Revolution tour (see below), but I was wrong, as the RG321 wasn't introduced until 2003! That led me to believe this was an RG220, but I realized that while this guitar has a tremolo on it, it doesn't have a locking nut! That leaves the Guitar Center-exclusive RG120 as the only model this guitar could possibly be (2001 was the year it was introduced as well), which also means that the guitar Brad smashed on Live in Texas was not the same guitar, either.
Photo Credit: Pushmeaway.com
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG2020X
Finish: Transparent Blue
Years Used: 2000 (Studio - Brad Delson), 2001
Special Features: Piezo pickup system
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used this guitar for a few performances of "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away" early in 2001, most notably at the House of Blues show in Las Vegas and the Dragon Festival in San Bernadino. I had a hard time identifying this guitar for years, but an email someone randomly sent me finally cleared that up (thanks Lloyd!). The control layout on this one is different than on most other RG models (there are 3 knobs instead of 2, as well as an extra toggle switch), which gives away that it's an RG2020X in Transparent Blue finish. Much like the S2020X Brad used on "My December" in 2004, this is a piezo-equipped guitar. I found this very odd at first, as Mike doesn't need a piezo for any of his guitar parts (particularly back in 2001 when he only played guitar on two songs!), but then I remembered that Brad used a piezo-equipped Ibanez for the "A Place for My Head" intro during the Hybrid Theory recording sessions. This is likely the same guitar. To my knowledge, Mike only used this guitar at the two previously mentioned performances, as he used a PRS guitar (see below) for all the other Street Soldier Tour performances that there are photo/video documentation of.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: 2001 Santana SE
Finish: Vintage Cherry
Years Used: 2001
Special Features: Fixed bridge
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This was the first PRS guitar that Mike used on stage. I thought for YEARS that it was a CE 22, until I happened to catch a shot of it in the footage of the Roseland Ballroom show from February of 2001 that showed the headstock logo was different from that of a normal PRS, and I realized it's actually the Santana SE that had already been on my site under the "Misc. Guitars" page for a while! This is actually a first-year Santana SE (2001 was also the first full year of the SE line), as the guitar's specs were overhauled the following year. The 2001 model has no pickguard, covered pickups, and no binding on the neck. This guitar was offered in both fixed bridge and tremolo versions, this one has a fixed bridge. Mike initially used this guitar during the Street Soldier Tour in early 2001 (the same period he used the blue Ibanez mentioned above - I believe the PRS was his primary guitar and the Ibanez was a backup), and continued using it on a semi-frequent basis throughout the first half of the year, but once he acquired the silver Standard 24 and the orange CE 24 a few months later, this guitar wasn't seen again. At some point, this guitar became a part of the makeshift recording studio in the back of the band's tour bus (Phoenix can be seen recording with it on the Frat Party DVD), but I have no idea what became of this guitar after the conclusion of the Hybrid Theory touring cycle.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2001 (One show), 2007-2017
Special Features: Sticker between pickups (2001), white pickup rings (2012-Present)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in A rig)
Notes: This guitar originally belonged to Brad (see his section for more information on this guitar's early history). Mike used it for a one-off performance of "Crawling" at the Top of the Pops 2001 appearance (first photo), but other than that, it remained in Brad's arsenal through the early part of 2003, before being retired for several years. Following the release of Minutes to Midnight in 2007, this guitar was revived as one of Mike's primary touring guitars (second photo), with the sticker between the pickups removed. It's remained a constant part of his touring rig ever since. In 2012, this guitar's pickups were replaced, and it happened to get new white pickup rings at that point (third photo). Sean Paden once jokingly told me that he changed the pickup ring colors just to mess with me and see if I'd notice (I did, and I thought it was a different guitar at first)! This guitar was used exclusively for performances of "Final Masquerade" during the tours for The Hunting Party, due to Mike playing that song in an unconventional "Drop Eb" tuning (Eb Bb Eb Ab C F). As of 2017, it's been returned to its more conventional Drop Db tuning, as a backup guitar in the A rig.
Photo Credit: LP Times (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Standard 24
Finish: Platinum Metallic
Years Used: 2001
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Unknown (Possibly on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Notes: Mike used this guitar quite a bit in the middle portion of 2001, most notably for almost the entire Ozzfest tour. Brad also played an idenitcal guitar on the same tour, which I THINK was the same instrument, but I'm not 100% certain. If it was the same guitar, it's currently on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (see Brad's page).
Photo Credit: nekosite.co.uk
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: Tortoise Shell
Years Used: 2001-2002, 2006-2008
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike first used this guitar on the fall 2001 European tour (first photo), most notably on "Crawling" from the HBO Reverb performance, and it remained his main stage guitar throughout the rest of the year, as well as the shows at the beginning of 2002. He was also pictured in a PRS advertisement with this guitar in 2002 (second photo). This guitar wasn't used during the Meteora touring cycle, but it made a return at the Summer Sonic shows in 2006 (third photo), and was subsequently used throughout the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle as well (fourth photo). It's since been retired from stage use, and is now one of Mike's guitars that he keeps at his home studio (he most recently used it during one of his songwriting live streams on Instagram in March of 2020). This guitar is kind of deceptive, as its color can look very different depending on stage lighting, but any reddish-orange CE 24 you see a picture of Mike playing from this period is the same guitar.
Photo Credit: PRS Guitars (Second photo), Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images (Fourth photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: Les Paul Standard
Finish: Heritage Cherry Sunburst
Years Used: 2001 ("Best U Can" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: One of the more obscure bits of Linkin Park-related trivia is the fact that Mike made a cameo appearance in the music video for "Best U Can" by Tha Liks in 2001. He can be seen in the middle portion of the video, playing guitar as part of a band at a house party (other members of this "band" included Chino Moreno and Abe Cunningham from Deftones, as well as Pharrell Williams, who sings the hook on the song). The guitar he's playing is clearly a Les Paul Standard (prior to 2002, the "Standard" Les Pauls had plain tops, while the "Standard Plus" models featured flamed maple). If I had to make a guess, I'd say this guitar probably belonged to Chino Moreno, since he's always been a fan of Gibsons (he plays SGs on stage a lot). Mike's never owned a sunburst Les Paul, to my knowledge, and almost certainly wouldn't have had one way back in 2001.
Brand: Takamine
Model: EG461SC
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2001 (One show)
Special Features: Snowflake inlays
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used this guitar on "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away" on the second night of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Xmas in 2001. Note that newer versions of this model have regular dot inlays instead of snowflakes.
Photo Credit: The Linkin Park Association
Brand: Pignose
Model: PGG-200
Finish: Metallic Blue
Years Used: 2002-Present (Studio)
Special Features: Tortoise shell pickguard, built-in amplifier
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This guitar has been around for a LONG time, but has rarely been photographed! You can see Chester messing around with it at Mike's home studio during one of the LPTV episodes from the Meteora recording sessions, but it wasn't seen again until I randomly spotted it sitting on the couch at Mike's home studio in one of the Making Of videos for "A Light That Never Comes" in 2013! These guitars are actually built by Aria, with the Pignose brand really applying to the built-in amplifier. The blue version of this guitar more commonly comes with a white pickguard instead of the tortoise shell style on this guitar, but I have seen a few other copies with the blue/tortoise shell combination as well.
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Honeyburst
Years Used: 2002-2003 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This bass can be seen in Mike's home studio at one point on the Making of Meteora DVD. I'm pretty sure this is one of Phoenix's basses that just happened to be around when they were filming, but it does show up in several shots, so I've decided to include it here.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2003, 2006-2017
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, X-shaped inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in A rig)
Notes: This is the oldest of several guitars Mike has painted over the years. He originally used this guitar in the music video for "Somewhere I Belong," and also used it live quite a bit in the early part of 2003 (he rotated several guitars in and out of use for the first half of the year). Mike used Ibanez guitars exclusively for the rest of the Meteora touring cycle, but this guitar made a return at the 2006 Summer Sonic performances, and has been used pretty frequently ever since. This is also one of the few PRS guitars in LP's arsenal that has a 3-way pickup selector switch instead of the more common 5-way rotary knob. If Brad's red soldier PRS is his most recognizable guitar, this is probably Mike's!
Photo Credit: kallerna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Satin Charcoal
Years Used: 2003, 2006-2007 (Studio), 2008-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in A rig)
Notes: Mike custom-ordered this guitar in early 2003 (the satin finish on it isn't normally found on PRS's Custom series instruments). He used this guitar for Eb-tuned songs on Projekt Revolution in 2003 (first photo), but it didn't see any stage use for a LONG time after that. It next appeared in a studio photo from the Minutes to Midnight recording sessions (second photo), and was finally used on stage again in 2008, serving as one of Mike's main guitars for that year's Projekt Revolution tour (third photo). Mike also posted a photo of the back of the headstock of this guitar on his blog at one point, showing the hand-written serial number and personalized "Built for Mike Shinoda" text (fourth photo). This guitar is still used occasionally on tour, most recently tuned to Eb for "Somewhere I Belong."
Photo Credit: LP Times (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second and fourth photos)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG321
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2003
Special Features: DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge pickup
Current Status: Retired/Destroyed (Smashed by Brad/Chester on 2003 Summer Sanitarium tour)
Notes: Mike used this guitar as his main guitar for at least some of the 2003 Projekt Revolution tour, but it lived a short life. It quickly met its demise on July 20th, 2003 in Montreal, Canada, when it was used by Brad to play "A Place for My Head," thrown across the stage at the end of the song, and then smashed repeatedly by Chester (this incident was captured in a series of photographs in the From the Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora book).
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG321
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2004
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, X-shaped inlays
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Here's a guitar that wasn't used much. This was the first of 3 custom-painted Ibanez RGs that Mike started using in 2003. Mike most notably used this guitar in the music video for "Faint." Unlike the other two, this was originally a stock RG321 that Mike customized, as evidenced by the stock pickup selector and inlay positions. Mike used this as his main guitar from July through October of 2003 (first photo), but it was subsequently replaced by one of his custom-ordered RGs near the end of the year. This guitar did continue to serve as a backup guitar for the remainder of the Meteora touring cycle, as it was used on a couple songs at the Los Angeles show on March 15th, 2004 (to my knowledge, that was the only time it was used in 2004). Mike posted a great close-up photo of this guitar on his blog a few years ago as well (second photo).
Photo Credit: Arrow of the LPU (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2005
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, off-center X-shaped inlays, custom pickup selector location, DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge pickup (2004), DiMarzio DP224 Andy Timmons signature model bridge pickup (2005), removed tone knob (2005)
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Mike started using this guitar at the same time as his custom-painted RG321, but this is actually a custom-ordered instrument. This guitar originally served as Mike's Eb-tuned guitar for "Somewhere I Belong" from July through October of 2003, before serving as his main guitar from November of 2003 through June of 2004. This guitar switched back to being Mike's Eb guitar from July 2004 through the Feburary 2005 Music for Relief concert, before serving as his main guitar one last time at Live 8 in July of 2005. This guitar underwent numerous modifications over the years as well. It started off with stock pickups in 2003 (first photo). Prior to the Europe/Asia tour in 2004, the bridge pickup was replaced with a DiMarzio D-Sonic (second photo). By the time Live 8 took place in 2005, this guitar's tone knob was removed, and the bridge pickup was once again replaced, this time with a "zebra" Andy Timmons humbucker (third photo). Mike also posted a photo of this guitar on his blog, which shows that the hole where the tone knob used to be was simply covered up with a piece of tape (fourth photo). Mike also used this guitar in the "From the Inside" music video.
Photo Credit: Chad Lee/Rock Concert Fotos (First photo), Wireimage via LP Inside Brazil (Third photo), Mike Shinoda (Fourth photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2005
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, off-center dot inlays, custom pickup selector location, unknown DiMarzio bridge pickup, no tone knob
Current Status: Retired
Notes: This is the newest of Mike's custom-painted RGs, as it didn't make its debut on stage until November of 2003. It served as his Eb-tuned guitar for "Somewhere I Belong" for most of its touring life, but became his main guitar in July 2004 for the Projekt Revolution tour, and remained in that role through the February 2005 Music for Relief concert, before being used as his Eb guitar once again at its final performance at Live 8 in 2005 (first photo). This guitar has relatively similar features to his other custom-ordered RG, but the inlays are regular dots instead of X's, and as far as I'm aware, this guitar never had a tone knob on it. It also has a DiMarzio bridge pickup, likely a Tone Zone but it's hard to say for sure. Mike also posted a close-up photo of this guitar on his blog (second photo).
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom 7-string)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: Unknown (Acquired 2003, photo circa 2007)
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, custom pickup selector location
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Had Mike not posted a photo of this guitar on his blog, I never would have even known that it existed, as it's never been used live! This is a custom Ibanez RG 7-string that Mike painted at the same time as his other 2 custom RGs in 2003. Mike still has this guitar, but it's never really been used for anything as far as I know. He has used a 7-string a few times for studio work, but he has a different 7-string at his home studio.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Egyptian Smoke
Years Used: 2004 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike can be seen playing this bass in the studio on the Collision Course DVD (he likely used it to record the bassline on "Numb/Encore"), it may be one of Phoenix's, or it may be a studio rental. I don't think it's Mike's though, as he has a Stingray 5 at home already and it's definitely not the same bass (this one has a maple neck, while Mike's has a rosewood neck).
Brand: Valley Arts
Model: Live 8 Custom Guitar
Finish: Natural
Years Used: 2005 (Promotional/signing)
Special Features: Fretless neck, gold hardware
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Valley Arts (a subdivision of Gibson at the time) made two commemorative guitars for Live 8 in 2005, which were signed by numerous artists who performed at the Philadelphia and London shows. Both guitars were made in the shape of the African continent, with the London guitar having a traditional neck and the Philadelphia guitar being fretless. Mike was one of the many people who signed the guitar in Philadelphia, and was photographed with it. The guitar from the London show was auctioned off for charity in November of 2005, but what became of the other guitar is unknown.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Brand: TakamineModel: Unknown Dragon series acoustic-electric guitar
Finish: Natural Gloss
Years Used: 2006-2007 (Studio), 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2012-2017 (Backstage), 2018-Present
Multiple Copies: 3
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - E A D G B E acoustic guitar in Mike solo tour A rig)
Notes: Mike initially used this guitar in the studio during the Minutes to Midnight recording sessions (first photo), and subsequently used it for live performances of "The Little Things Give You Away" over the next couple years (second photo). Mike continued to use this guitar for backstage warm-up/jamming purposes over the next decade, and also occasionally used it for acoustic performances at LPU Summits in 2010 and 2011. The band owns at least 6 total copies of this guitar, as Mike and Brad each had one in all 3 of their touring rigs at one point! During Mike's solo tour in 2018, Matthias Harris used one of these guitars for a few performances of "Sharp Edges" (third photo).
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster)
Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: Repainted by Mike ("Distressed" burgundy finish)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E backup Strat in B rig)
Notes: This was the first Stratocaster that Mike was seen using following the release of Minutes to Midnight. As with many of the band's Strats, I'm unsure what the exact model is. This guitar originally had a sunburst finish, but Mike painted over it with a dark purple/burgundy kind of finish. He used it in the "What I've Done" music video, as well as all "live-in-studio" performances of the song that were recorded during rehearsals in March of 2007 (Sessions@AOL, for example). Mike subsequently used this guitar for live performances of "What I've Done" and "The Little Things Give You Away" on the first leg of the Minutes to Midnight tour in May/June of 2007, but it quickly disappeared in favor of his white Strats, as Mike apparently doesn't like the neck profile on this guitar, plus the tone of the guitar suffered substantially from being repainted. Despite not being seen on stage in quite a few years, this guitar is actually still a backup in one of Mike's touring racks, and it finally started making on-stage appearances again at a few shows in 2014.
Photo Credit: SIC Radical
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2007-2014, 2017
Special Features: Bird inlays, custom artwork by Mike (added November 2007)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar became one of Mike's primary stage guitars after Minutes to Midnight came out (first photo), alongside Brad's old blue CE 24. Prior to the November 2007 show in Bangkok, Mike added some artwork to this guitar using black and silver ink markers (second photo). This guitar is usually Mike's main PRS in the B rig, but halfway through the November 2014 European tour, it was mysteriously swapped out for the white Dave Navarro signature model normally found in the C rig, and wasn't seen for the remainder of The Hunting Party's touring cycle. This guitar returned to its previous role at the start of the One More Light tour in 2017.
Photo Credit: LP Times (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Singlecut
Finish: Satin Grey Black
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in C rig)
Notes: Mike acquired 3 Singlecut-style guitars around the time of Minutes to Midnight's release, this is probably the one people are most familiar with, as it was used in the "Bleed it Out" and "Final Masquerade" music videos. Mike has used this guitar for several songs on stage (first photo), most notably "Bleed it Out," and also used it for some early performances of "Wake" and "Given Up." The satin finish on this guitar has caused the grain of the flame top to fade considerably over the years, which makes the guitar look almost like it has a black sparkle finish depending on the stage lighting (second photo).
Photo Credit: Alicia Del Bosque (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Singlecut
Finish: Platinum Metallic
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: 3 of 4 knobs removed, Mark Tremonti signature model bridge pickup, covered neck pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in A rig)
Notes: This guitar looks pretty similar to Mike's first Singlecut at first glance, but the dot inlays and covered neck pickup make them easy to tell apart. This guitar has also had 3 of its 4 knobs removed, leaving just a master volume. This guitar originally came with covered pickups, but the bridge pickup was replaced with a Mark Tremonti signature PRS pickup. This guitar is normally found in the A rig, but it randomly made a couple appearances in the B rig on the November 2014 European tour as well.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SC250
Finish: McCarty Tobacco Sunburst
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: 3 of 4 knobs removed
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar is a bit different from Mike's other two Singlecuts, as this one is actually a newer SC250 model (his other two are from 2006 or earlier, prior to PRS revamping the Singlecut line with the SC245 and SC250 models). Just like his silver Singlecut, this guitar only has a master volume knob, thanks to 3 of the 4 knobs being removed.
Finish: Olympic White
Years Used: 2007-Present
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E backup guitar in A rig, was also D A D G B E main Strat in A rig as of 2017)
Notes: This is one of several Strats that Mike started using in the post-Minutes to Midnight era (first photo). I've been told this is a Custom Shop reissue of a Strat from around 1968, but that doesn't help narrow down the specific model much, as Fender has done countless different Strat reissues over the years. This may not even be a mass-produced reissue, it could always be a custom-ordered guitar. As a late '60s reissue, this guitar has the larger-style headstock and Fender logo. This guitar has typically been Mike's main Strat in the A rig, save for a brief period during late 2014/early 2015 when it was swapped with his Shoreline Gold Strat. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his main guitar in the more frequently-used of Mike's two touring rigs during the Asian/European legs of the tour (second photo). When the tour reached the United States in the fall, Matt started playing his own Telecaster as his main guitar (see the Misc. Guitars page), and this guitar became a backup to Mike's Shoreline Gold Strat, only being used occasionally (third photo).
Photo Credit: Jo Hale/Getty Images (First photo), LPLive (Second photo)
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster - Custom Shop, early '60s reissue)
Finish: Olympic White Pearl
Years Used: 2007-2010 (Live), 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike started using this guitar at the same time as his other white Strat mentioned above, but this one is an earlier-period reissue with the smaller-style headstock and Fender logo, plus it's slightly more off-white in color. This guitar stayed in Mike's live arsenal throughout the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle, and it was also used for a few early A Thousand Suns tour shows (at least the three South American shows at the start of the tour), but it was retired by the end of the year, and is now one of Mike's main guitars at his home studio.
Brand: Squier
Model: Hello Kitty Stratocaster
Finish: Pink
Years Used: 2007 (One show), 2007-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike showed up at the 2007 KROQ Weenie Roast with this guitar, and told the crew he wanted to use it on stage that night. He wound up using it on one song, "From the Inside." As one would expect from a Squier with no modifications...it didn't sound good! Needless to say, this guitar was never used on stage again, but Mike has been photographed with it several times over the years, and it can still be seen hanging around his home studio!
Brand: Gibson
Model: SG Standard (Early '90s model)
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in A rig)
Notes: Starting on the Projekt Revolution tour in the summer of 2007, Mike made Gibson SGs his guitars of choice for certain songs - he apparently has a tonal preference for certain songs in Drop D tuning, where he uses the SG for some songs and his PRS Singlecuts for others. Anyway, this black SG was the first one Mike used on stage (first photo), and it's still part of his touring rig today. Mike posted a photo of it on his blog, claiming it was a "vintage" SG (second photo), but based on its features, it appears to be a reissue from the early 1990's. I guess that sort of qualifies as "vintage" these days...? This guitar lived in the B rig for many years, but swapped places with his red SG Special in 2015 and has been in the A rig ever since.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: 1986 SG Standard
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-2008 (Live), 2009-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This is another SG that Mike used live in 2007 and 2008, although he used it MUCH less frequently than the first one. This one is a 1986 reissue of an early 1960's SG, which was marketed as the "SG Standard" when it was released (it was essentially a "25th anniversary" model). The easiest way to identify this SG is that it has the smaller-style pickguard that was found on the '60s models. This guitar wasn't used live after 2008, and subsequently became one of Mike's go-to guitars at his home studio.
Brand: Fender
Model: Telecaster
Finish: Walnut
Years Used: 2007-Present (Studio)
Special Features: "Ashtray" bridge cover (removed for playing)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This is one of several guitars that's never been used live, but is frequently used in the studio. It's a vintage (probably 1970s) Telecaster with a maple neck. The first confirmation of this guitar's existence came from a 2007 photo Mike posted on his blog (first photo). Interestingly, Mike actually keeps the "ashtray" bridge cover on his Tele when he's not playing it - most people just get rid of them outright! He does take the bridge cover off when he actually plays the guitar though, as seen in a more recent studio photo (second photo). This guitar also made an appearance in the music video for "Burning in the Skies."
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (First photo), Dell Computers (Second photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: 2007 Les Paul Classic Custom
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-Present (Studio)
Special Features: Uncovered '57 Classic pickups
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This guitar's existence was first confirmed in a blog post by Mike, where he posted a photo of "his Les Paul" (first photo), but the photo he posted was actually a stock photo of a Les Paul Classic Custom from Gibson's website! I thought for a while that he may actually have a different, similar-looking Les Paul, but it turns out this actually is the model Mike has. It's never been photographed up close, but it can be seen in the background of several photos/videos of Mike's home studio (second photo). Gibson made 3 different versions of this guitar - one with covered humbuckers, one with uncovered humbuckers, and one with P-90 pickups. Mike's has uncovered humbuckers. Also, don't confuse this guitar with the Les Paul Classic Custom that Gibson introduced in 2012 - the specs are totally different! Gibson apparently either forgot or just didn't care that they had already released a different guitar with the same model name in 2007...
Photo Credit: Gibson Guitars (First photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: SG Special (Mid-'90s model)
Finish: Ferrari Red
Years Used: 2008-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar debuted on the June 2008 European tour, and has been in use ever since (it basically replaced the 1986 SG once it was retired from live use). This one is a mid-1990's SG Special (easily identifiable by the dot inlays and the lack of the "crown' logo on the headstock), in a pretty rare finish called Ferrari Red that was only available for a few years.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Standard 22
Finish: Satin Vintage Mahogany
Years Used: 2008 (One show)
Special Features: Bird inlays, unknown DiMarzio bridge pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: This guitar is a bit of an oddball, it served as one of Mike's backup guitars for at least the June 2008 European tour (I'm assuming it was around for longer than that, but being a backup guitar, it's hard to say for sure without seeing photos of Mike's touring guitar rack from over the years). This guitar has a non-original bridge pickup, as the neck pickup is still covered (covered pickups became the standard on PRS's 22-fret guitars a few years ago). This guitar was seen twice on the Road to Revolution DVD, the first was when Mike used it for most of "No More Sorrow," after his main blue PRS went out of tune during the intro. The second was when it was used by Phoenix for the rhythm guitar part on "Leave Out All the Rest." This guitar subsequently became a backup guitar in Brad's rig in 2010, and has remained there ever since (even though Brad's only used it a total of four times).
Brand: Epiphone
Model: John Lennon 1965 Casino
Finish: Vintage Sunburst
Years Used: 2008-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike posted a photo of this guitar on his blog in December of 2008, saying it was a Christmas present. This guitar is easily identifiable as the John Lennon model because of the large "E" on the truss rod cover and the way the sunburst finish extends across the entire body of the guitar. The certificate of authenticity is also somewhat visible in the bottom left corner of the photo.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '60s Stratocaster
Finish: Olympic White
Years Used: 2009-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E main Strat in B rig)
Notes: Mike first started using this guitar on the 2009 European tour, and it's been a consistent part of his live rig ever since. Like all of Fender's "Road Worn" guitars, this one has a distressed/aged look to it. Mike also used this guitar in the "Castle of Glass" music video.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park Russia
Brand: GibsonModel: SG Special
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2009-Present
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in Mike solo tour B rig, was also D A D G B E guitar in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike started using this SG in 2009 after he retired his 1986 SG Standard (first photo). This one is VERY easy to mistake for his black SG Standard (I didn't notice myself until 2013!), but this one has dot inlays and no "crown" logo on the headstock. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his drop-tuned/half step down guitar in the lesser-used of Mike's two touring rigs (second photo), seeing use on "Hold It Together," "Running from My Shadow," and "Papercut." Interestingly, this guitar was never tuned down a half step at any point when Mike was using it with Linkin Park, which makes its choice for that role on the Post Traumatic tour somewhat odd.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SE One
Finish: White
Years Used: 2009, 2017
Special Features: DiMarzio P-90 Tone Zone pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in B rig)
Notes: Mike used this guitar for some performances of "Somewhere I Belong" in 2009. The stock P-90 bridge pickup on this guitar has been replaced with a Tone Zone (DiMarzio makes a P-90/soapbar-sized version of the Tone Zone, which allows a P-90 pickup to be swapped out without any additional modifications to the guitar). This guitar was used pretty sparingly after 2009, with Chester taking over use of it for a few years. As of 2017, this guitar is back in Mike's rig as a backup.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park Russia
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SE One
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: DiMarzio P-90 Tone Zone pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in B rig)
Notes: Mike used this guitar for some performances of "Somewhere I Belong" in 2009. Like the white version of the same guitar, the stock P-90 bridge pickup on this guitar has been replaced with a P-90 Tone Zone. This guitar was used pretty sparingly after 2009, but it still stuck around in Mike's touring rig as a backup guitar, and Chester also used it for some performances in 2011. Mike used this guitar on "Final Masquerade" (with its unconventional "Drop Eb" tuning) for The Hunting Party's touring cycle, and as of 2017, it's back to being in Eb tuning for "Somewhere I Belong."
Photo Credit: LP Times
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in C rig)
Notes: This is a Custom 24 that Mike started playing in 2009, it's basically identical to his other blue Custom 24, save for, obviously, the lack of the custom artwork that Mike added to the first one. This guitar hasn't been seen much since its first tour in 2009 (it was one of Mike's main guitars for that tour), having only been used for a few shows in 2011, three shows in January of 2014, and on performances of "Final Masquerade" in 2014 and 2015. As of 2017, it's serving as a backup to Mike's Dave Navarro PRS.
Photo Credit: freeraser.livejournal.com
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: McCarty Tobacco Sunburst
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: Covered/disabled neck pickup, disabled tone knob
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in C rig)
Notes: This guitar probably served as a backup guitar earlier than 2009, but its first appearance was at the 2009 Epicenter festival, as Mike's main PRS went out of tune during the intro to "No More Sorrow" again (same spot it did at Milton Keynes, which also resulted in a new guitar sighting!). This guitar saw more regular use starting in 2012, when it became one of Mike's Eb-tuned guitars for "Somewhere I Belong." The neck pickup and tone circuit on this guitar are completely disabled (the wiring is disconnected), effectively "dummy-proofing" the guitar! Based on the 3-way pickup selector, finish, and covered neck pickup, I almost thought this was one of the limited edition 1957/2008 models that came out a few years ago, but the CE's from that limited run had natural-colored headstocks, while the headstock on this guitar is black. Probably just a custom-ordered guitar with mismatched pickups (or covered pickups in both positions, the bridge pickup could have always been changed later). This guitar moved back and forth between the B and C rigs a lot in 2014-2015, before finally staying in the C rig permanently.
Photo Credit: LP Times
Brand: Fender
Model: Special Edition Lite Ash Stratocaster
Finish: Lite Ash
Years Used: 2009-Present
Special Features: Non-original rosewood American Series neck, DiMarzio pickups
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - E A D G B E guitar in Mike solo tour B rig, was also D A D G B E backup Strat in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike first used this guitar at a show in Okinawa, Japan in 2009 (first photo). Its next appearance didn't come for two years, finally showing up again at the August 2011 show in Los Angeles (second photo), and it's been used sparingly since then. This is actually a "Frankenstein" guitar, a Korean-made body with a neck from an American Standard Strat, and the pickups have been replaced as well! This guitar originally had a maple neck with abalone dot inlays, but it didn't sound very good in its original state, so they replaced the neck to make it "stage-worthy." I THINK the pickups in it are DiMarzio Virtual Solos, but I'm not 100% sure. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his main guitar in the lesser-used of Mike's two touring rigs (third photo).
Photo Credit: Forrest Brown (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)Model: Dave Navarro Signature Model
Finish: Jet White
Years Used: 2009-2010 (Studio), 2012-Present
Special Features: Non-original hardware, 3-way pickup selector replaced with 5-way rotary knob
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in Mike solo tour A rig, was also Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: This guitar was first seen being used in the studio on the Meeting of A Thousand Suns DVD (first photo), before making its live debut in 2012 (second photo). Just like Brad's white PRS, this is actually a Dave Navarro signature model that's had the gold hardware and pickup selector replaced. Mike and Brad definitely each have one of these guitars, by the way. This guitar has been swapped back and forth between the band's B and C rigs a few times since it was added to Mike's arsenal. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his drop-tuned/half step down guitar in the more frequently-used of Mike's two touring rigs (third photo), seeing use on "Hold It Together," "Running from My Shadow," and "Papercut." Mike also used this guitar on a couple occasions in 2018 as well, guesting with Sum 41 on a cover of "Faint" at the Reading and Leeds festivals (fourth photo).
Photo Credit: The Linkin Park Association (First photo), LPLive (Third photo), BBC (Fourth photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: Unknown (RG 7-string)
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: The sixth guitar in the rack at Mike's home studio seen in this picture is a black Ibanez RG series 7-string, possibly an RG7321. Given that LP hasn't used 7-string guitar parts on any studio recordings in a LONG time, this guitar likely dates back considerably farther than 2010, but this is the only picture I have of it, and it comes from the A Thousand Suns period.
Photo Credit: EMusician.com
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Sapphire Black
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: The seventh guitar in the rack at Mike's home studio seen in this picture is the only bass I'm aware of him owning, a 5-string Stingray with a rosewood neck.
Photo Credit: EMusician.com
Brand: Takamine
Model: EF250SMC
Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Chester happens to be pictured with this guitar in this particular photo, but it's one of Mike's personal guitars that he keeps at home. It's very similar to the Toby Keith signature model, but there are a couple cosmetic differences that set them apart. Mike has had this guitar since at least 2010 (it can be seen behind the Stingray bass mentioned above in the EMusician video screenshot), and possibly longer than that.
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom/Prototype (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2010 (Rehearsals)
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit, no headstock logo
Current Status: Owned by Sean Paden
Notes: Prior to GGP guitars becoming a regular sight at Linkin Park shows in 2012, Mike actually used the original GGP prototype guitar during rehearsals for the A Thousand Suns world tour in 2010! This guitar has pretty much all of the same features as the guitars Mike and Chester would start playing a couple years later, save for the lack of a headstock logo. I believe Sean Paden still has this guitar, he probably wants to hang on to the first one he built!
Brand: Fender
Model: Classic Player '50s Stratocaster
Finish: Shoreline Gold
Years Used: 2010-Present
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike (added May 2018)
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E main guitar in A rig, was also D A D G B E backup Strat in A rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike added this guitar to his rig as a backup Strat in 2010, it's one of only two Strats in his arsenal with a maple neck! The finish is also one that Fender doesn't use very often. This guitar wasn't used at all on the A Thousand Suns or Living Things tours as far as I know, but it FINALLY saw some action in support of The Hunting Party in 2014-2015, and has been in regular use ever since. All of the other guitars in this rack photo (first photo) are covered elsewhere on this page, except for the black Flying V on the far right, which is one of Chester's Hamer guitars. In 2018, shortly before Mike started performing solo shows in support of Post Traumatic, he posted a picture of a guitar with new artwork on it on his Instagram (second photo), which was confirmed to be this guitar once he started performing live in mid-May (third photo). This guitar would be the more frequently used of two Strats Mike played in support of Post Traumatic (he used two touring rigs once he started touring regularly in the summer), and at some point during the European leg of the tour, the guitar saw a further update to the artwork on it, with some touches of black spraypaint and a large white skull design added on top of the previous artwork (fourth photo).
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second and fourth photos)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Tim Mahoney SE
Finish: Baby Blue
Years Used: 2012-2017
Special Features: Custom Blue Sparkle finish, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in C rig)
Notes: When the band added the "Wall of Noise" outro to "Waiting for the End" in 2012, Mike elected to start using Fernandes Sustainer-equipped guitars on the song so he could play around with feedback in the new outro. This guitar is a refinished Tim Mahoney signature model PRS that Brad also used for one performance of "No More Sorrow" in 2011. Mike wound up using a total of 3 different guitars in this role on the Living Things tour, and this was the least-used of them, as the band's C rig sees far less touring use than the A and B rigs. I thought Mike had two copies of this guitar for a while, as Sean Paden had mentioned to me at one point that he was planning on doing a second one for him, but that apparently never happened, and I also recently found out that Mike actually doesn't have a backup Sustainer-equipped guitar in his touring rack.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24 Mahogany
Finish: Indigo
Years Used: 2012-2014
Special Features: Custom Blue Flake finish, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: In addition to the rarely-seen blue Tim Mahoney SE, Mike also "borrowed" a couple of Brad's old "No More Sorrow" guitars for performances of "Waiting for the End" starting in 2012. This one is the mahogany CE 24 with the custom blue sparkle/metal flake finish. At some point in 2014, this guitar was swapped out for the scarlet smokeburst Custom 24 in the A rig, and hasn't been seen since.
Photo Credit: SIC Radical
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24 Artist
Finish: Transparent Ruby Red
Years Used: 2012-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays, non-original hardware, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in B rig)
Notes: This is the other guitar Mike started using on "Waiting for the End" in 2012, this one is the red Custom 24 with Artist Package upgrades (the same one that was originally Brad's "Figure.09" guitar way back in 2003).
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2012-2014
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike and his son Otis, reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike started using Green Guitar Project guitars on stage on the Honda Civic Tour in mid-2012. He used his GGP guitar on "Lost in the Echo" for the entire Living Thing tour. This guitar started off with a plain white finish, which Mike subsequently painted over with a bunch of "cartoony" artwork (with a little bit of help from his son Otis, according to an interview in Huffington Post). Mike stopped using this guitar by mid-2014, Chester used it for a few performances of "Iridescent" after that but otherwise, this guitar seems to have been retired.
Photo Credit: Green Guitar Project
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2012
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used Chester's white GGP guitar for performances of "Lost in the Echo" at the September 2012 shows in Mexico, as well as at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Xmas in December.
Photo Credit: Alicia Del Bosque
Brand: Gibson
Model: Les Paul Standard
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2012 (One show)
Current Status: Owned by Billy Morrison
Notes: Mike used this guitar for a performance of "One Step Closer" he and Chester did with Camp Freddy at the Dell World convention in December of 2012. This guitar doesn't belong to Mike, I believe it's one of Billy Morrison's guitars.
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2013-2014
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit, small "LP" logo on back of body
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike added a second GGP guitar to his arsenal in August of 2013 (first photo), again for performances of "Lost in the Echo." This one is very similar to Chester's white GGP guitar, except this one has a different bridge on it, and a small "LP" logo is also on the back of the guitar, near the bottom strap button (second photo). As of mid-2014, Mike isn't using this guitar on stage anymore.
Photo Credit: Green Guitar Project (Second photo)
Brand: Fender
Model: 2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2013-Present
Special Features: DiMarzio pickups
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E guitar in B rig, was also D A D G B E main Strat in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: This guitar was actually a backup guitar in Brad's rig going back as far as the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle, but it wound up being moved to Mike's rig later on, and made its live debut at the 2013 Sunset Strip Music Festival (first photo). The pickups in this guitar have been replaced with DiMarzios. This is also one of only two Strats in LP's arsenal that has a maple neck! This guitar is also one of two Strats Mike's been using on the Post Traumatic tour (second photo), this one being the lesser-used of the two (Mike is using two touring rigs for his solo shows).
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Precision Bass)
Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This is a vintage P-Bass that Mike was seen using in the studio in a 2013 photo. Phoenix has also regularly used this bass in the studio in recent years.
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Jazz Bass)
Finish: Sea Foam Green
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Current Status: Owned by Ethan Mates
Notes: An article on Sound On Sound's website in July of 2014 detailing Andy Wallace's mixing work on The Hunting Party featured this photo of Mike playing a beat-up old Jazz Bass in the studio. This bass also shows up in some of Ethan Mates' photos, so I'm guessing it's another instrument from his collection.
Photo Credit: Sound On Sound
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SC245
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This guitar showed up in a few of Mike's Instagram posts showing the band working on The Hunting Party. It's definitely not one of his existing Singlecuts, as both pickups on it are covered, and the finish is solid black. Not sure if this guitar belongs to Mike or not, but I'm leaning towards no, as it wasn't seen again after The Hunting Party was released.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Scarlet Smokeburst
Years Used: 2014-2017
Special Features: "Birds in flight" inlays, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in A rig)
Notes: Mike started using this guitar for some performances of "Waiting for the End" in 2014, like all of the other guitars Mike's been using on that song since 2012, it's one of Brad's old "No More Sorrow" guitars, this being one of the more rarely-seen ones.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park
Brand: Fender
Model: Classic '60s Stratocaster
Finish: Inca Silver
Years Used: 2014-2015
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: This was originally one of Brad's backup Strats dating back to 2008. It was moved to Mike's touring rig in mid-2014 as a backstage "jamming" guitar, but returned to being used by Brad in 2017. Also of note, the other guy in this photo is Ben Young, Brad's new guitar tech.
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '60s Stratocaster
Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst
Years Used: 2014-2015
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This is the same guitar Brad used live from 2010-2013. It was moved to Mike's touring rig in mid-2014 as a backstage "jamming" guitar, and I initially thought that this guitar may have returned to Brad's rig in 2017, but that turned out not to be the case. Not sure what's become of this guitar.
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster HSS)
Finish: Antique White
Years Used: 2014 ("Until It's Gone" music video)
Special Features: Distressed finish, maple neck
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Just like Brad, Mike used a Strat with a humbucking bridge pickup in the "Until It's Gone" video (first photo). Unlike Brad's guitar from the same video, there's actually a good shot of this guitar in color in the Making Of video (second photo)!
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '50s Precision Bass
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2014 ("Until It's Gone" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: As documented in the LPTV episode about the filming of the "Until It's Gone" video, Mike actually makes a cameo appearance on bass briefly in the video, because Phoenix had finished his individual shots for the day and went home thinking his part was done, but they ended up deciding to have someone playing bass in a group shot with Brad afterwards. This ended up being a blink-and-you-miss-it type of thing in the finished product, but it's still a funny bit of trivia! The bass used in the video was a maple-neck Road Worn series Precision Bass with a sunburst finish (this picture doesn't show the body of the bass very well, but it can also be seen in one of the two pictures on Brad's page where I talk about the Strat he used in the video).
Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2015 ("Welcome" music video), 2020-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: S2 Singlecut Standard
Finish: Black
Special Features: Bird inlays
Years Used: 2015
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: For Fort Minor's comeback performances in 2015, Mike went the "one man show" route and became an instrumentalist/DJ in addition to being an emcee/vocalist. While this primarily amounted to him playing keyboards and samples, he also played guitar on two songs - "Dolla" and "Devil's Drop." The guitar he used for those performances was one that isn't part of his LP arsenal, it's actually one of the S2 Standard series Singlecuts that PRS came out with around that time (the pickguard gives that away). I'd assume Mike still has this guitar, but it hasn't been seen since the most recent Fort Minor performance.
Brand: Fender
Model: Masterbuilt 1962 Ultimate Relic Stratocaster
Finish: Coral Pink
Years Used: 2016-2017 (Studio)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: While Mike supposedly used this guitar in the studio for some of the guitar work on The Hunting Party, my first confirmation of him using it comes from this 2016 studio photo. This is the same Jason Smith-built Custom Shop Strat that Brad's been using live since 2014.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park
Brand: Seagull
Model: Unknown Artist series acoustic guitar
Finish: Natural
Years Used: 2017 ("Good Mythical Morning" filming)
Current Status: Owned by Mythical Entertainment
Notes: When Mike and Chester filmed their appearance on "Good Mythical Morning" with Rhett and Link in April of 2017, they "played" a couple of the instruments that are typically sitting around the Mythical Entertainment studio while filming the joke songs they recorded for the segment (the instrumental parts of these songs came from stock, pre-recorded backing tracks that they had no involvement in, so they just mimed whatever instrumental parts they decided to play...VERY badly, I might add). This guitar is a Seagull Artist series instrument, I'm not sure of the exact model but it has a cutaway, a pickguard, white pearloid-looking tuning pegs with gold hardware, and it's one of the older Artist series guitars that say "Artist" on the headstock instead of "Seagull."
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Telecaster)
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2017 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike posted this photo on Instagram in June of 2017, showing him working in a studio on one of his days off in the middle of touring. He's playing a Telecaster that I've never seen him with before, but I have a feeling it was probably just a guitar that the studio had.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Precision Bass)
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2017 (One show)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Phoenix)
Notes: One of the more random sights during the Hollywood Bowl tribute show for Chester was Mike playing bass on "Shadow of the Day," the first time he's ever played bass on stage! Phoenix played an additional guitar part during the song (using Mike's white Strat), so Mike picked up this P-Bass (fittingly, one of Phoenix's) to cover the bass part. I don't know why Mike didn't just go the more traditional route and cover the additional guitar parts himself, but whatever!
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: NF3 (Custom)
Finish: Frost Blue Metallic
Years Used: 2017 (One show)
Special Features: Single-pickup model, unknown DiMarzio humbucking bridge pickup, master volume knob, ring dot inlays, non-original black pickguard
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
*NOTE* To the best of my knowledge, all guitars listed as being in "active touring use" are current as of the end of the One More Light European Tour in July of 2017 for the B and C rigs, and the Hollywood Bowl memorial show for Chester Bennington on October 27th, 2017 for the A rig, with the exception of guitars that are currently being used on Mike's solo tours, which are noted accordingly. With the exception of images embedded from external sources, all images on this page are posted in chronological order in a single Imgur album HERE.
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG120
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2001 ("Crawling" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: The first time most people saw Mike with a guitar was in the "Crawling" music video, and the guitar he happened to use was a bit tricky for me to figure out! I originally thought this was a black RG321 that he later used on the 2003 Projekt Revolution tour (see below), but I was wrong, as the RG321 wasn't introduced until 2003! That led me to believe this was an RG220, but I realized that while this guitar has a tremolo on it, it doesn't have a locking nut! That leaves the Guitar Center-exclusive RG120 as the only model this guitar could possibly be (2001 was the year it was introduced as well), which also means that the guitar Brad smashed on Live in Texas was not the same guitar, either.
Photo Credit: Pushmeaway.com
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG2020X
Finish: Transparent Blue
Years Used: 2000 (Studio - Brad Delson), 2001
Special Features: Piezo pickup system
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used this guitar for a few performances of "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away" early in 2001, most notably at the House of Blues show in Las Vegas and the Dragon Festival in San Bernadino. I had a hard time identifying this guitar for years, but an email someone randomly sent me finally cleared that up (thanks Lloyd!). The control layout on this one is different than on most other RG models (there are 3 knobs instead of 2, as well as an extra toggle switch), which gives away that it's an RG2020X in Transparent Blue finish. Much like the S2020X Brad used on "My December" in 2004, this is a piezo-equipped guitar. I found this very odd at first, as Mike doesn't need a piezo for any of his guitar parts (particularly back in 2001 when he only played guitar on two songs!), but then I remembered that Brad used a piezo-equipped Ibanez for the "A Place for My Head" intro during the Hybrid Theory recording sessions. This is likely the same guitar. To my knowledge, Mike only used this guitar at the two previously mentioned performances, as he used a PRS guitar (see below) for all the other Street Soldier Tour performances that there are photo/video documentation of.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: 2001 Santana SE
Finish: Vintage Cherry
Years Used: 2001
Special Features: Fixed bridge
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This was the first PRS guitar that Mike used on stage. I thought for YEARS that it was a CE 22, until I happened to catch a shot of it in the footage of the Roseland Ballroom show from February of 2001 that showed the headstock logo was different from that of a normal PRS, and I realized it's actually the Santana SE that had already been on my site under the "Misc. Guitars" page for a while! This is actually a first-year Santana SE (2001 was also the first full year of the SE line), as the guitar's specs were overhauled the following year. The 2001 model has no pickguard, covered pickups, and no binding on the neck. This guitar was offered in both fixed bridge and tremolo versions, this one has a fixed bridge. Mike initially used this guitar during the Street Soldier Tour in early 2001 (the same period he used the blue Ibanez mentioned above - I believe the PRS was his primary guitar and the Ibanez was a backup), and continued using it on a semi-frequent basis throughout the first half of the year, but once he acquired the silver Standard 24 and the orange CE 24 a few months later, this guitar wasn't seen again. At some point, this guitar became a part of the makeshift recording studio in the back of the band's tour bus (Phoenix can be seen recording with it on the Frat Party DVD), but I have no idea what became of this guitar after the conclusion of the Hybrid Theory touring cycle.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2001 (One show), 2007-2017
Special Features: Sticker between pickups (2001), white pickup rings (2012-Present)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in A rig)
Notes: This guitar originally belonged to Brad (see his section for more information on this guitar's early history). Mike used it for a one-off performance of "Crawling" at the Top of the Pops 2001 appearance (first photo), but other than that, it remained in Brad's arsenal through the early part of 2003, before being retired for several years. Following the release of Minutes to Midnight in 2007, this guitar was revived as one of Mike's primary touring guitars (second photo), with the sticker between the pickups removed. It's remained a constant part of his touring rig ever since. In 2012, this guitar's pickups were replaced, and it happened to get new white pickup rings at that point (third photo). Sean Paden once jokingly told me that he changed the pickup ring colors just to mess with me and see if I'd notice (I did, and I thought it was a different guitar at first)! This guitar was used exclusively for performances of "Final Masquerade" during the tours for The Hunting Party, due to Mike playing that song in an unconventional "Drop Eb" tuning (Eb Bb Eb Ab C F). As of 2017, it's been returned to its more conventional Drop Db tuning, as a backup guitar in the A rig.
Photo Credit: LP Times (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Standard 24
Finish: Platinum Metallic
Years Used: 2001
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Unknown (Possibly on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Notes: Mike used this guitar quite a bit in the middle portion of 2001, most notably for almost the entire Ozzfest tour. Brad also played an idenitcal guitar on the same tour, which I THINK was the same instrument, but I'm not 100% certain. If it was the same guitar, it's currently on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (see Brad's page).
Photo Credit: nekosite.co.uk
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: Tortoise Shell
Years Used: 2001-2002, 2006-2008
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike first used this guitar on the fall 2001 European tour (first photo), most notably on "Crawling" from the HBO Reverb performance, and it remained his main stage guitar throughout the rest of the year, as well as the shows at the beginning of 2002. He was also pictured in a PRS advertisement with this guitar in 2002 (second photo). This guitar wasn't used during the Meteora touring cycle, but it made a return at the Summer Sonic shows in 2006 (third photo), and was subsequently used throughout the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle as well (fourth photo). It's since been retired from stage use, and is now one of Mike's guitars that he keeps at his home studio (he most recently used it during one of his songwriting live streams on Instagram in March of 2020). This guitar is kind of deceptive, as its color can look very different depending on stage lighting, but any reddish-orange CE 24 you see a picture of Mike playing from this period is the same guitar.
Photo Credit: PRS Guitars (Second photo), Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images (Fourth photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: Les Paul Standard
Finish: Heritage Cherry Sunburst
Years Used: 2001 ("Best U Can" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: One of the more obscure bits of Linkin Park-related trivia is the fact that Mike made a cameo appearance in the music video for "Best U Can" by Tha Liks in 2001. He can be seen in the middle portion of the video, playing guitar as part of a band at a house party (other members of this "band" included Chino Moreno and Abe Cunningham from Deftones, as well as Pharrell Williams, who sings the hook on the song). The guitar he's playing is clearly a Les Paul Standard (prior to 2002, the "Standard" Les Pauls had plain tops, while the "Standard Plus" models featured flamed maple). If I had to make a guess, I'd say this guitar probably belonged to Chino Moreno, since he's always been a fan of Gibsons (he plays SGs on stage a lot). Mike's never owned a sunburst Les Paul, to my knowledge, and almost certainly wouldn't have had one way back in 2001.
Brand: Takamine
Model: EG461SC
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2001 (One show)
Special Features: Snowflake inlays
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used this guitar on "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away" on the second night of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Xmas in 2001. Note that newer versions of this model have regular dot inlays instead of snowflakes.
Photo Credit: The Linkin Park Association
Brand: Pignose
Model: PGG-200
Finish: Metallic Blue
Years Used: 2002-Present (Studio)
Special Features: Tortoise shell pickguard, built-in amplifier
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This guitar has been around for a LONG time, but has rarely been photographed! You can see Chester messing around with it at Mike's home studio during one of the LPTV episodes from the Meteora recording sessions, but it wasn't seen again until I randomly spotted it sitting on the couch at Mike's home studio in one of the Making Of videos for "A Light That Never Comes" in 2013! These guitars are actually built by Aria, with the Pignose brand really applying to the built-in amplifier. The blue version of this guitar more commonly comes with a white pickguard instead of the tortoise shell style on this guitar, but I have seen a few other copies with the blue/tortoise shell combination as well.
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Honeyburst
Years Used: 2002-2003 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This bass can be seen in Mike's home studio at one point on the Making of Meteora DVD. I'm pretty sure this is one of Phoenix's basses that just happened to be around when they were filming, but it does show up in several shots, so I've decided to include it here.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2003, 2006-2017
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, X-shaped inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in A rig)
Notes: This is the oldest of several guitars Mike has painted over the years. He originally used this guitar in the music video for "Somewhere I Belong," and also used it live quite a bit in the early part of 2003 (he rotated several guitars in and out of use for the first half of the year). Mike used Ibanez guitars exclusively for the rest of the Meteora touring cycle, but this guitar made a return at the 2006 Summer Sonic performances, and has been used pretty frequently ever since. This is also one of the few PRS guitars in LP's arsenal that has a 3-way pickup selector switch instead of the more common 5-way rotary knob. If Brad's red soldier PRS is his most recognizable guitar, this is probably Mike's!
Photo Credit: kallerna, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Satin Charcoal
Years Used: 2003, 2006-2007 (Studio), 2008-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in A rig)
Notes: Mike custom-ordered this guitar in early 2003 (the satin finish on it isn't normally found on PRS's Custom series instruments). He used this guitar for Eb-tuned songs on Projekt Revolution in 2003 (first photo), but it didn't see any stage use for a LONG time after that. It next appeared in a studio photo from the Minutes to Midnight recording sessions (second photo), and was finally used on stage again in 2008, serving as one of Mike's main guitars for that year's Projekt Revolution tour (third photo). Mike also posted a photo of the back of the headstock of this guitar on his blog at one point, showing the hand-written serial number and personalized "Built for Mike Shinoda" text (fourth photo). This guitar is still used occasionally on tour, most recently tuned to Eb for "Somewhere I Belong."
Photo Credit: LP Times (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second and fourth photos)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG321
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2003
Special Features: DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge pickup
Current Status: Retired/Destroyed (Smashed by Brad/Chester on 2003 Summer Sanitarium tour)
Notes: Mike used this guitar as his main guitar for at least some of the 2003 Projekt Revolution tour, but it lived a short life. It quickly met its demise on July 20th, 2003 in Montreal, Canada, when it was used by Brad to play "A Place for My Head," thrown across the stage at the end of the song, and then smashed repeatedly by Chester (this incident was captured in a series of photographs in the From the Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora book).
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG321
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2004
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, X-shaped inlays
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Here's a guitar that wasn't used much. This was the first of 3 custom-painted Ibanez RGs that Mike started using in 2003. Mike most notably used this guitar in the music video for "Faint." Unlike the other two, this was originally a stock RG321 that Mike customized, as evidenced by the stock pickup selector and inlay positions. Mike used this as his main guitar from July through October of 2003 (first photo), but it was subsequently replaced by one of his custom-ordered RGs near the end of the year. This guitar did continue to serve as a backup guitar for the remainder of the Meteora touring cycle, as it was used on a couple songs at the Los Angeles show on March 15th, 2004 (to my knowledge, that was the only time it was used in 2004). Mike posted a great close-up photo of this guitar on his blog a few years ago as well (second photo).
Photo Credit: Arrow of the LPU (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2005
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, off-center X-shaped inlays, custom pickup selector location, DiMarzio D-Sonic bridge pickup (2004), DiMarzio DP224 Andy Timmons signature model bridge pickup (2005), removed tone knob (2005)
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Mike started using this guitar at the same time as his custom-painted RG321, but this is actually a custom-ordered instrument. This guitar originally served as Mike's Eb-tuned guitar for "Somewhere I Belong" from July through October of 2003, before serving as his main guitar from November of 2003 through June of 2004. This guitar switched back to being Mike's Eb guitar from July 2004 through the Feburary 2005 Music for Relief concert, before serving as his main guitar one last time at Live 8 in July of 2005. This guitar underwent numerous modifications over the years as well. It started off with stock pickups in 2003 (first photo). Prior to the Europe/Asia tour in 2004, the bridge pickup was replaced with a DiMarzio D-Sonic (second photo). By the time Live 8 took place in 2005, this guitar's tone knob was removed, and the bridge pickup was once again replaced, this time with a "zebra" Andy Timmons humbucker (third photo). Mike also posted a photo of this guitar on his blog, which shows that the hole where the tone knob used to be was simply covered up with a piece of tape (fourth photo). Mike also used this guitar in the "From the Inside" music video.
Photo Credit: Chad Lee/Rock Concert Fotos (First photo), Wireimage via LP Inside Brazil (Third photo), Mike Shinoda (Fourth photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: 2003-2005
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, off-center dot inlays, custom pickup selector location, unknown DiMarzio bridge pickup, no tone knob
Current Status: Retired
Notes: This is the newest of Mike's custom-painted RGs, as it didn't make its debut on stage until November of 2003. It served as his Eb-tuned guitar for "Somewhere I Belong" for most of its touring life, but became his main guitar in July 2004 for the Projekt Revolution tour, and remained in that role through the February 2005 Music for Relief concert, before being used as his Eb guitar once again at its final performance at Live 8 in 2005 (first photo). This guitar has relatively similar features to his other custom-ordered RG, but the inlays are regular dots instead of X's, and as far as I'm aware, this guitar never had a tone knob on it. It also has a DiMarzio bridge pickup, likely a Tone Zone but it's hard to say for sure. Mike also posted a close-up photo of this guitar on his blog (second photo).
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: RG (Custom 7-string)
Finish: Unknown
Years Used: Unknown (Acquired 2003, photo circa 2007)
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike, custom pickup selector location
Current Status: Retired
Notes: Had Mike not posted a photo of this guitar on his blog, I never would have even known that it existed, as it's never been used live! This is a custom Ibanez RG 7-string that Mike painted at the same time as his other 2 custom RGs in 2003. Mike still has this guitar, but it's never really been used for anything as far as I know. He has used a 7-string a few times for studio work, but he has a different 7-string at his home studio.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Egyptian Smoke
Years Used: 2004 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike can be seen playing this bass in the studio on the Collision Course DVD (he likely used it to record the bassline on "Numb/Encore"), it may be one of Phoenix's, or it may be a studio rental. I don't think it's Mike's though, as he has a Stingray 5 at home already and it's definitely not the same bass (this one has a maple neck, while Mike's has a rosewood neck).
Brand: Valley Arts
Model: Live 8 Custom Guitar
Finish: Natural
Years Used: 2005 (Promotional/signing)
Special Features: Fretless neck, gold hardware
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Valley Arts (a subdivision of Gibson at the time) made two commemorative guitars for Live 8 in 2005, which were signed by numerous artists who performed at the Philadelphia and London shows. Both guitars were made in the shape of the African continent, with the London guitar having a traditional neck and the Philadelphia guitar being fretless. Mike was one of the many people who signed the guitar in Philadelphia, and was photographed with it. The guitar from the London show was auctioned off for charity in November of 2005, but what became of the other guitar is unknown.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Brand: Takamine
Finish: Natural Gloss
Years Used: 2006-2007 (Studio), 2007-2008, 2010-2011, 2012-2017 (Backstage), 2018-Present
Multiple Copies: 3
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - E A D G B E acoustic guitar in Mike solo tour A rig)
Notes: Mike initially used this guitar in the studio during the Minutes to Midnight recording sessions (first photo), and subsequently used it for live performances of "The Little Things Give You Away" over the next couple years (second photo). Mike continued to use this guitar for backstage warm-up/jamming purposes over the next decade, and also occasionally used it for acoustic performances at LPU Summits in 2010 and 2011. The band owns at least 6 total copies of this guitar, as Mike and Brad each had one in all 3 of their touring rigs at one point! During Mike's solo tour in 2018, Matthias Harris used one of these guitars for a few performances of "Sharp Edges" (third photo).
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster)
Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: Repainted by Mike ("Distressed" burgundy finish)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E backup Strat in B rig)
Notes: This was the first Stratocaster that Mike was seen using following the release of Minutes to Midnight. As with many of the band's Strats, I'm unsure what the exact model is. This guitar originally had a sunburst finish, but Mike painted over it with a dark purple/burgundy kind of finish. He used it in the "What I've Done" music video, as well as all "live-in-studio" performances of the song that were recorded during rehearsals in March of 2007 (Sessions@AOL, for example). Mike subsequently used this guitar for live performances of "What I've Done" and "The Little Things Give You Away" on the first leg of the Minutes to Midnight tour in May/June of 2007, but it quickly disappeared in favor of his white Strats, as Mike apparently doesn't like the neck profile on this guitar, plus the tone of the guitar suffered substantially from being repainted. Despite not being seen on stage in quite a few years, this guitar is actually still a backup in one of Mike's touring racks, and it finally started making on-stage appearances again at a few shows in 2014.
Photo Credit: SIC Radical
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2007-2014, 2017
Special Features: Bird inlays, custom artwork by Mike (added November 2007)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar became one of Mike's primary stage guitars after Minutes to Midnight came out (first photo), alongside Brad's old blue CE 24. Prior to the November 2007 show in Bangkok, Mike added some artwork to this guitar using black and silver ink markers (second photo). This guitar is usually Mike's main PRS in the B rig, but halfway through the November 2014 European tour, it was mysteriously swapped out for the white Dave Navarro signature model normally found in the C rig, and wasn't seen for the remainder of The Hunting Party's touring cycle. This guitar returned to its previous role at the start of the One More Light tour in 2017.
Photo Credit: LP Times (First photo), Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Singlecut
Finish: Satin Grey Black
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in C rig)
Notes: Mike acquired 3 Singlecut-style guitars around the time of Minutes to Midnight's release, this is probably the one people are most familiar with, as it was used in the "Bleed it Out" and "Final Masquerade" music videos. Mike has used this guitar for several songs on stage (first photo), most notably "Bleed it Out," and also used it for some early performances of "Wake" and "Given Up." The satin finish on this guitar has caused the grain of the flame top to fade considerably over the years, which makes the guitar look almost like it has a black sparkle finish depending on the stage lighting (second photo).
Photo Credit: Alicia Del Bosque (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Singlecut
Finish: Platinum Metallic
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: 3 of 4 knobs removed, Mark Tremonti signature model bridge pickup, covered neck pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in A rig)
Notes: This guitar looks pretty similar to Mike's first Singlecut at first glance, but the dot inlays and covered neck pickup make them easy to tell apart. This guitar has also had 3 of its 4 knobs removed, leaving just a master volume. This guitar originally came with covered pickups, but the bridge pickup was replaced with a Mark Tremonti signature PRS pickup. This guitar is normally found in the A rig, but it randomly made a couple appearances in the B rig on the November 2014 European tour as well.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SC250
Finish: McCarty Tobacco Sunburst
Years Used: 2007-2017
Special Features: 3 of 4 knobs removed
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar is a bit different from Mike's other two Singlecuts, as this one is actually a newer SC250 model (his other two are from 2006 or earlier, prior to PRS revamping the Singlecut line with the SC245 and SC250 models). Just like his silver Singlecut, this guitar only has a master volume knob, thanks to 3 of the 4 knobs being removed.
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster - Custom Shop, late '60s reissue)Finish: Olympic White
Years Used: 2007-Present
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E backup guitar in A rig, was also D A D G B E main Strat in A rig as of 2017)
Notes: This is one of several Strats that Mike started using in the post-Minutes to Midnight era (first photo). I've been told this is a Custom Shop reissue of a Strat from around 1968, but that doesn't help narrow down the specific model much, as Fender has done countless different Strat reissues over the years. This may not even be a mass-produced reissue, it could always be a custom-ordered guitar. As a late '60s reissue, this guitar has the larger-style headstock and Fender logo. This guitar has typically been Mike's main Strat in the A rig, save for a brief period during late 2014/early 2015 when it was swapped with his Shoreline Gold Strat. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his main guitar in the more frequently-used of Mike's two touring rigs during the Asian/European legs of the tour (second photo). When the tour reached the United States in the fall, Matt started playing his own Telecaster as his main guitar (see the Misc. Guitars page), and this guitar became a backup to Mike's Shoreline Gold Strat, only being used occasionally (third photo).
Photo Credit: Jo Hale/Getty Images (First photo), LPLive (Second photo)
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster - Custom Shop, early '60s reissue)
Finish: Olympic White Pearl
Years Used: 2007-2010 (Live), 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike started using this guitar at the same time as his other white Strat mentioned above, but this one is an earlier-period reissue with the smaller-style headstock and Fender logo, plus it's slightly more off-white in color. This guitar stayed in Mike's live arsenal throughout the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle, and it was also used for a few early A Thousand Suns tour shows (at least the three South American shows at the start of the tour), but it was retired by the end of the year, and is now one of Mike's main guitars at his home studio.
Brand: Squier
Model: Hello Kitty Stratocaster
Finish: Pink
Years Used: 2007 (One show), 2007-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike showed up at the 2007 KROQ Weenie Roast with this guitar, and told the crew he wanted to use it on stage that night. He wound up using it on one song, "From the Inside." As one would expect from a Squier with no modifications...it didn't sound good! Needless to say, this guitar was never used on stage again, but Mike has been photographed with it several times over the years, and it can still be seen hanging around his home studio!
Brand: Gibson
Model: SG Standard (Early '90s model)
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in A rig)
Notes: Starting on the Projekt Revolution tour in the summer of 2007, Mike made Gibson SGs his guitars of choice for certain songs - he apparently has a tonal preference for certain songs in Drop D tuning, where he uses the SG for some songs and his PRS Singlecuts for others. Anyway, this black SG was the first one Mike used on stage (first photo), and it's still part of his touring rig today. Mike posted a photo of it on his blog, claiming it was a "vintage" SG (second photo), but based on its features, it appears to be a reissue from the early 1990's. I guess that sort of qualifies as "vintage" these days...? This guitar lived in the B rig for many years, but swapped places with his red SG Special in 2015 and has been in the A rig ever since.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: 1986 SG Standard
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-2008 (Live), 2009-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Retired (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This is another SG that Mike used live in 2007 and 2008, although he used it MUCH less frequently than the first one. This one is a 1986 reissue of an early 1960's SG, which was marketed as the "SG Standard" when it was released (it was essentially a "25th anniversary" model). The easiest way to identify this SG is that it has the smaller-style pickguard that was found on the '60s models. This guitar wasn't used live after 2008, and subsequently became one of Mike's go-to guitars at his home studio.
Brand: Fender
Model: Telecaster
Finish: Walnut
Years Used: 2007-Present (Studio)
Special Features: "Ashtray" bridge cover (removed for playing)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This is one of several guitars that's never been used live, but is frequently used in the studio. It's a vintage (probably 1970s) Telecaster with a maple neck. The first confirmation of this guitar's existence came from a 2007 photo Mike posted on his blog (first photo). Interestingly, Mike actually keeps the "ashtray" bridge cover on his Tele when he's not playing it - most people just get rid of them outright! He does take the bridge cover off when he actually plays the guitar though, as seen in a more recent studio photo (second photo). This guitar also made an appearance in the music video for "Burning in the Skies."
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (First photo), Dell Computers (Second photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: 2007 Les Paul Classic Custom
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2007-Present (Studio)
Special Features: Uncovered '57 Classic pickups
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This guitar's existence was first confirmed in a blog post by Mike, where he posted a photo of "his Les Paul" (first photo), but the photo he posted was actually a stock photo of a Les Paul Classic Custom from Gibson's website! I thought for a while that he may actually have a different, similar-looking Les Paul, but it turns out this actually is the model Mike has. It's never been photographed up close, but it can be seen in the background of several photos/videos of Mike's home studio (second photo). Gibson made 3 different versions of this guitar - one with covered humbuckers, one with uncovered humbuckers, and one with P-90 pickups. Mike's has uncovered humbuckers. Also, don't confuse this guitar with the Les Paul Classic Custom that Gibson introduced in 2012 - the specs are totally different! Gibson apparently either forgot or just didn't care that they had already released a different guitar with the same model name in 2007...
Photo Credit: Gibson Guitars (First photo)
Brand: Gibson
Model: SG Special (Mid-'90s model)
Finish: Ferrari Red
Years Used: 2008-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E guitar in B rig)
Notes: This guitar debuted on the June 2008 European tour, and has been in use ever since (it basically replaced the 1986 SG once it was retired from live use). This one is a mid-1990's SG Special (easily identifiable by the dot inlays and the lack of the "crown' logo on the headstock), in a pretty rare finish called Ferrari Red that was only available for a few years.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Standard 22
Finish: Satin Vintage Mahogany
Years Used: 2008 (One show)
Special Features: Bird inlays, unknown DiMarzio bridge pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: This guitar is a bit of an oddball, it served as one of Mike's backup guitars for at least the June 2008 European tour (I'm assuming it was around for longer than that, but being a backup guitar, it's hard to say for sure without seeing photos of Mike's touring guitar rack from over the years). This guitar has a non-original bridge pickup, as the neck pickup is still covered (covered pickups became the standard on PRS's 22-fret guitars a few years ago). This guitar was seen twice on the Road to Revolution DVD, the first was when Mike used it for most of "No More Sorrow," after his main blue PRS went out of tune during the intro. The second was when it was used by Phoenix for the rhythm guitar part on "Leave Out All the Rest." This guitar subsequently became a backup guitar in Brad's rig in 2010, and has remained there ever since (even though Brad's only used it a total of four times).
Brand: Epiphone
Model: John Lennon 1965 Casino
Finish: Vintage Sunburst
Years Used: 2008-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike posted a photo of this guitar on his blog in December of 2008, saying it was a Christmas present. This guitar is easily identifiable as the John Lennon model because of the large "E" on the truss rod cover and the way the sunburst finish extends across the entire body of the guitar. The certificate of authenticity is also somewhat visible in the bottom left corner of the photo.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '60s Stratocaster
Finish: Olympic White
Years Used: 2009-2017
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E main Strat in B rig)
Notes: Mike first started using this guitar on the 2009 European tour, and it's been a consistent part of his live rig ever since. Like all of Fender's "Road Worn" guitars, this one has a distressed/aged look to it. Mike also used this guitar in the "Castle of Glass" music video.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park Russia
Brand: Gibson
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2009-Present
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in Mike solo tour B rig, was also D A D G B E guitar in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike started using this SG in 2009 after he retired his 1986 SG Standard (first photo). This one is VERY easy to mistake for his black SG Standard (I didn't notice myself until 2013!), but this one has dot inlays and no "crown" logo on the headstock. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his drop-tuned/half step down guitar in the lesser-used of Mike's two touring rigs (second photo), seeing use on "Hold It Together," "Running from My Shadow," and "Papercut." Interestingly, this guitar was never tuned down a half step at any point when Mike was using it with Linkin Park, which makes its choice for that role on the Post Traumatic tour somewhat odd.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SE One
Finish: White
Years Used: 2009, 2017
Special Features: DiMarzio P-90 Tone Zone pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in B rig)
Notes: Mike used this guitar for some performances of "Somewhere I Belong" in 2009. The stock P-90 bridge pickup on this guitar has been replaced with a Tone Zone (DiMarzio makes a P-90/soapbar-sized version of the Tone Zone, which allows a P-90 pickup to be swapped out without any additional modifications to the guitar). This guitar was used pretty sparingly after 2009, with Chester taking over use of it for a few years. As of 2017, this guitar is back in Mike's rig as a backup.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park Russia
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SE One
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: DiMarzio P-90 Tone Zone pickup
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in B rig)
Notes: Mike used this guitar for some performances of "Somewhere I Belong" in 2009. Like the white version of the same guitar, the stock P-90 bridge pickup on this guitar has been replaced with a P-90 Tone Zone. This guitar was used pretty sparingly after 2009, but it still stuck around in Mike's touring rig as a backup guitar, and Chester also used it for some performances in 2011. Mike used this guitar on "Final Masquerade" (with its unconventional "Drop Eb" tuning) for The Hunting Party's touring cycle, and as of 2017, it's back to being in Eb tuning for "Somewhere I Belong."
Photo Credit: LP Times
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Royal Blue
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb backup guitar in C rig)
Notes: This is a Custom 24 that Mike started playing in 2009, it's basically identical to his other blue Custom 24, save for, obviously, the lack of the custom artwork that Mike added to the first one. This guitar hasn't been seen much since its first tour in 2009 (it was one of Mike's main guitars for that tour), having only been used for a few shows in 2011, three shows in January of 2014, and on performances of "Final Masquerade" in 2014 and 2015. As of 2017, it's serving as a backup to Mike's Dave Navarro PRS.
Photo Credit: freeraser.livejournal.com
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24
Finish: McCarty Tobacco Sunburst
Years Used: 2009-2017
Special Features: Covered/disabled neck pickup, disabled tone knob
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in C rig)
Notes: This guitar probably served as a backup guitar earlier than 2009, but its first appearance was at the 2009 Epicenter festival, as Mike's main PRS went out of tune during the intro to "No More Sorrow" again (same spot it did at Milton Keynes, which also resulted in a new guitar sighting!). This guitar saw more regular use starting in 2012, when it became one of Mike's Eb-tuned guitars for "Somewhere I Belong." The neck pickup and tone circuit on this guitar are completely disabled (the wiring is disconnected), effectively "dummy-proofing" the guitar! Based on the 3-way pickup selector, finish, and covered neck pickup, I almost thought this was one of the limited edition 1957/2008 models that came out a few years ago, but the CE's from that limited run had natural-colored headstocks, while the headstock on this guitar is black. Probably just a custom-ordered guitar with mismatched pickups (or covered pickups in both positions, the bridge pickup could have always been changed later). This guitar moved back and forth between the B and C rigs a lot in 2014-2015, before finally staying in the C rig permanently.
Photo Credit: LP Times
Brand: Fender
Model: Special Edition Lite Ash Stratocaster
Finish: Lite Ash
Years Used: 2009-Present
Special Features: Non-original rosewood American Series neck, DiMarzio pickups
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - E A D G B E guitar in Mike solo tour B rig, was also D A D G B E backup Strat in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike first used this guitar at a show in Okinawa, Japan in 2009 (first photo). Its next appearance didn't come for two years, finally showing up again at the August 2011 show in Los Angeles (second photo), and it's been used sparingly since then. This is actually a "Frankenstein" guitar, a Korean-made body with a neck from an American Standard Strat, and the pickups have been replaced as well! This guitar originally had a maple neck with abalone dot inlays, but it didn't sound very good in its original state, so they replaced the neck to make it "stage-worthy." I THINK the pickups in it are DiMarzio Virtual Solos, but I'm not 100% sure. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his main guitar in the lesser-used of Mike's two touring rigs (third photo).
Photo Credit: Forrest Brown (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Finish: Jet White
Years Used: 2009-2010 (Studio), 2012-Present
Special Features: Non-original hardware, 3-way pickup selector replaced with 5-way rotary knob
Current Status: Active touring use (Matthias Harris - Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb guitar in Mike solo tour A rig, was also Db Ab Db Gb Bb Eb main guitar in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: This guitar was first seen being used in the studio on the Meeting of A Thousand Suns DVD (first photo), before making its live debut in 2012 (second photo). Just like Brad's white PRS, this is actually a Dave Navarro signature model that's had the gold hardware and pickup selector replaced. Mike and Brad definitely each have one of these guitars, by the way. This guitar has been swapped back and forth between the band's B and C rigs a few times since it was added to Mike's arsenal. When touring guitarist/keyboardist Matthias Harris was added to Mike's solo tour in 2018, this is one of several guitars from Mike's collection he began using, this one being his drop-tuned/half step down guitar in the more frequently-used of Mike's two touring rigs (third photo), seeing use on "Hold It Together," "Running from My Shadow," and "Papercut." Mike also used this guitar on a couple occasions in 2018 as well, guesting with Sum 41 on a cover of "Faint" at the Reading and Leeds festivals (fourth photo).
Photo Credit: The Linkin Park Association (First photo), LPLive (Third photo), BBC (Fourth photo)
Brand: Ibanez
Model: Unknown (RG 7-string)
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: The sixth guitar in the rack at Mike's home studio seen in this picture is a black Ibanez RG series 7-string, possibly an RG7321. Given that LP hasn't used 7-string guitar parts on any studio recordings in a LONG time, this guitar likely dates back considerably farther than 2010, but this is the only picture I have of it, and it comes from the A Thousand Suns period.
Photo Credit: EMusician.com
Brand: Ernie Ball/Music Man
Model: Stingray 5
Finish: Sapphire Black
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: The seventh guitar in the rack at Mike's home studio seen in this picture is the only bass I'm aware of him owning, a 5-string Stingray with a rosewood neck.
Photo Credit: EMusician.com
Brand: Takamine
Model: EF250SMC
Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst
Years Used: 2010-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Chester happens to be pictured with this guitar in this particular photo, but it's one of Mike's personal guitars that he keeps at home. It's very similar to the Toby Keith signature model, but there are a couple cosmetic differences that set them apart. Mike has had this guitar since at least 2010 (it can be seen behind the Stingray bass mentioned above in the EMusician video screenshot), and possibly longer than that.
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom/Prototype (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2010 (Rehearsals)
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit, no headstock logo
Current Status: Owned by Sean Paden
Notes: Prior to GGP guitars becoming a regular sight at Linkin Park shows in 2012, Mike actually used the original GGP prototype guitar during rehearsals for the A Thousand Suns world tour in 2010! This guitar has pretty much all of the same features as the guitars Mike and Chester would start playing a couple years later, save for the lack of a headstock logo. I believe Sean Paden still has this guitar, he probably wants to hang on to the first one he built!
Photo Credit: Green Guitar Project
Brand: Fender
Finish: Shoreline Gold
Years Used: 2010-Present
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike (added May 2018)
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E main guitar in A rig, was also D A D G B E backup Strat in A rig as of 2017)
Notes: Mike added this guitar to his rig as a backup Strat in 2010, it's one of only two Strats in his arsenal with a maple neck! The finish is also one that Fender doesn't use very often. This guitar wasn't used at all on the A Thousand Suns or Living Things tours as far as I know, but it FINALLY saw some action in support of The Hunting Party in 2014-2015, and has been in regular use ever since. All of the other guitars in this rack photo (first photo) are covered elsewhere on this page, except for the black Flying V on the far right, which is one of Chester's Hamer guitars. In 2018, shortly before Mike started performing solo shows in support of Post Traumatic, he posted a picture of a guitar with new artwork on it on his Instagram (second photo), which was confirmed to be this guitar once he started performing live in mid-May (third photo). This guitar would be the more frequently used of two Strats Mike played in support of Post Traumatic (he used two touring rigs once he started touring regularly in the summer), and at some point during the European leg of the tour, the guitar saw a further update to the artwork on it, with some touches of black spraypaint and a large white skull design added on top of the previous artwork (fourth photo).
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second and fourth photos)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Tim Mahoney SE
Finish: Baby Blue
Years Used: 2012-2017
Special Features: Custom Blue Sparkle finish, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in C rig)
Notes: When the band added the "Wall of Noise" outro to "Waiting for the End" in 2012, Mike elected to start using Fernandes Sustainer-equipped guitars on the song so he could play around with feedback in the new outro. This guitar is a refinished Tim Mahoney signature model PRS that Brad also used for one performance of "No More Sorrow" in 2011. Mike wound up using a total of 3 different guitars in this role on the Living Things tour, and this was the least-used of them, as the band's C rig sees far less touring use than the A and B rigs. I thought Mike had two copies of this guitar for a while, as Sean Paden had mentioned to me at one point that he was planning on doing a second one for him, but that apparently never happened, and I also recently found out that Mike actually doesn't have a backup Sustainer-equipped guitar in his touring rack.
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: CE 24 Mahogany
Finish: Indigo
Years Used: 2012-2014
Special Features: Custom Blue Flake finish, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: In addition to the rarely-seen blue Tim Mahoney SE, Mike also "borrowed" a couple of Brad's old "No More Sorrow" guitars for performances of "Waiting for the End" starting in 2012. This one is the mahogany CE 24 with the custom blue sparkle/metal flake finish. At some point in 2014, this guitar was swapped out for the scarlet smokeburst Custom 24 in the A rig, and hasn't been seen since.
Photo Credit: SIC Radical
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24 Artist
Finish: Transparent Ruby Red
Years Used: 2012-2017
Special Features: Bird inlays, non-original hardware, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in B rig)
Notes: This is the other guitar Mike started using on "Waiting for the End" in 2012, this one is the red Custom 24 with Artist Package upgrades (the same one that was originally Brad's "Figure.09" guitar way back in 2003).
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2012-2014
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike and his son Otis, reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike started using Green Guitar Project guitars on stage on the Honda Civic Tour in mid-2012. He used his GGP guitar on "Lost in the Echo" for the entire Living Thing tour. This guitar started off with a plain white finish, which Mike subsequently painted over with a bunch of "cartoony" artwork (with a little bit of help from his son Otis, according to an interview in Huffington Post). Mike stopped using this guitar by mid-2014, Chester used it for a few performances of "Iridescent" after that but otherwise, this guitar seems to have been retired.
Photo Credit: Green Guitar Project
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2012
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike used Chester's white GGP guitar for performances of "Lost in the Echo" at the September 2012 shows in Mexico, as well as at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Xmas in December.
Photo Credit: Alicia Del Bosque
Brand: Gibson
Model: Les Paul Standard
Finish: Ebony
Years Used: 2012 (One show)
Current Status: Owned by Billy Morrison
Notes: Mike used this guitar for a performance of "One Step Closer" he and Chester did with Camp Freddy at the Dell World convention in December of 2012. This guitar doesn't belong to Mike, I believe it's one of Billy Morrison's guitars.
Brand: Green Guitar Project (GGP)
Model: Custom (Telecaster-style)
Finish: Classic Pearl
Years Used: 2013-2014
Special Features: Reversed DiMarzio Chopper T pickup, custom tone circuit, small "LP" logo on back of body
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike added a second GGP guitar to his arsenal in August of 2013 (first photo), again for performances of "Lost in the Echo." This one is very similar to Chester's white GGP guitar, except this one has a different bridge on it, and a small "LP" logo is also on the back of the guitar, near the bottom strap button (second photo). As of mid-2014, Mike isn't using this guitar on stage anymore.
Photo Credit: Green Guitar Project (Second photo)
Brand: Fender
Model: 2004 American Deluxe Stratocaster
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2013-Present
Special Features: DiMarzio pickups
Current Status: Active touring use (Mike solo tour - E A D G B E guitar in B rig, was also D A D G B E main Strat in C rig as of 2017)
Notes: This guitar was actually a backup guitar in Brad's rig going back as far as the Minutes to Midnight touring cycle, but it wound up being moved to Mike's rig later on, and made its live debut at the 2013 Sunset Strip Music Festival (first photo). The pickups in this guitar have been replaced with DiMarzios. This is also one of only two Strats in LP's arsenal that has a maple neck! This guitar is also one of two Strats Mike's been using on the Post Traumatic tour (second photo), this one being the lesser-used of the two (Mike is using two touring rigs for his solo shows).
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Black Cherry
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Special Features: Hybrid Theory soldier artwork on body, arrow-shaped inlay at 12th fret
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: In early 2020, I came across this photo I'd never seen before of Mike using Brad's "Red Soldier #3" in the studio. The photo is dated to November of 2013, while recording The Hunting Party. This is, to my knowledge, the only time Mike (or anyone other than Brad) has been spotted using one of the soldier guitars!
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Black Cherry
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Special Features: Hybrid Theory soldier artwork on body, arrow-shaped inlay at 12th fret
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: In early 2020, I came across this photo I'd never seen before of Mike using Brad's "Red Soldier #3" in the studio. The photo is dated to November of 2013, while recording The Hunting Party. This is, to my knowledge, the only time Mike (or anyone other than Brad) has been spotted using one of the soldier guitars!
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Precision Bass)
Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This is a vintage P-Bass that Mike was seen using in the studio in a 2013 photo. Phoenix has also regularly used this bass in the studio in recent years.
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Jazz Bass)
Finish: Sea Foam Green
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Current Status: Owned by Ethan Mates
Notes: An article on Sound On Sound's website in July of 2014 detailing Andy Wallace's mixing work on The Hunting Party featured this photo of Mike playing a beat-up old Jazz Bass in the studio. This bass also shows up in some of Ethan Mates' photos, so I'm guessing it's another instrument from his collection.
Photo Credit: Sound On Sound
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: SC245
Finish: Black
Years Used: 2013-2014 (Studio)
Special Features: Bird inlays
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This guitar showed up in a few of Mike's Instagram posts showing the band working on The Hunting Party. It's definitely not one of his existing Singlecuts, as both pickups on it are covered, and the finish is solid black. Not sure if this guitar belongs to Mike or not, but I'm leaning towards no, as it wasn't seen again after The Hunting Party was released.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: Custom 24
Finish: Scarlet Smokeburst
Years Used: 2014-2017
Special Features: "Birds in flight" inlays, Fernandes FSK-401 Sustainer modification
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - D A D G B E Sustainer guitar in A rig)
Notes: Mike started using this guitar for some performances of "Waiting for the End" in 2014, like all of the other guitars Mike's been using on that song since 2012, it's one of Brad's old "No More Sorrow" guitars, this being one of the more rarely-seen ones.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park
Brand: Fender
Model: Classic '60s Stratocaster
Finish: Inca Silver
Years Used: 2014-2015
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: This was originally one of Brad's backup Strats dating back to 2008. It was moved to Mike's touring rig in mid-2014 as a backstage "jamming" guitar, but returned to being used by Brad in 2017. Also of note, the other guy in this photo is Ben Young, Brad's new guitar tech.
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '60s Stratocaster
Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst
Years Used: 2014-2015
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: This is the same guitar Brad used live from 2010-2013. It was moved to Mike's touring rig in mid-2014 as a backstage "jamming" guitar, and I initially thought that this guitar may have returned to Brad's rig in 2017, but that turned out not to be the case. Not sure what's become of this guitar.
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Stratocaster HSS)
Finish: Antique White
Years Used: 2014 ("Until It's Gone" music video)
Special Features: Distressed finish, maple neck
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Just like Brad, Mike used a Strat with a humbucking bridge pickup in the "Until It's Gone" video (first photo). Unlike Brad's guitar from the same video, there's actually a good shot of this guitar in color in the Making Of video (second photo)!
Brand: Fender
Model: Road Worn '50s Precision Bass
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2014 ("Until It's Gone" music video)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: As documented in the LPTV episode about the filming of the "Until It's Gone" video, Mike actually makes a cameo appearance on bass briefly in the video, because Phoenix had finished his individual shots for the day and went home thinking his part was done, but they ended up deciding to have someone playing bass in a group shot with Brad afterwards. This ended up being a blink-and-you-miss-it type of thing in the finished product, but it's still a funny bit of trivia! The bass used in the video was a maple-neck Road Worn series Precision Bass with a sunburst finish (this picture doesn't show the body of the bass very well, but it can also be seen in one of the two pictures on Brad's page where I talk about the Strat he used in the video).
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Precision Bass)Finish: 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2015 ("Welcome" music video), 2020-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Mike used this bass in the music video for Fort Minor's comeback song "Welcome" in 2015 (first photo). It's a sunburst P-Bass, not sure what exact model. I thought for a long time that this was just a one-off rented instrument for a video shoot, but it unexpectedly showed up again in an Instagram video from Mike's home studio in March of 2020 (second photo), when he and Joe Hahn did their silly "My Corona" parody of "My Sharona." Presumably either Mike or Phoenix had this bass in their possession during the interim 5-year period, but I can't say either way for sure.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda (Second photo)
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: S2 Singlecut Standard
Finish: Black
Special Features: Bird inlays
Years Used: 2015
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: For Fort Minor's comeback performances in 2015, Mike went the "one man show" route and became an instrumentalist/DJ in addition to being an emcee/vocalist. While this primarily amounted to him playing keyboards and samples, he also played guitar on two songs - "Dolla" and "Devil's Drop." The guitar he used for those performances was one that isn't part of his LP arsenal, it's actually one of the S2 Standard series Singlecuts that PRS came out with around that time (the pickguard gives that away). I'd assume Mike still has this guitar, but it hasn't been seen since the most recent Fort Minor performance.
Brand: Fender
Model: Masterbuilt 1962 Ultimate Relic Stratocaster
Finish: Coral Pink
Years Used: 2016-2017 (Studio)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: While Mike supposedly used this guitar in the studio for some of the guitar work on The Hunting Party, my first confirmation of him using it comes from this 2016 studio photo. This is the same Jason Smith-built Custom Shop Strat that Brad's been using live since 2014.
Photo Credit: Linkin Park
Brand: Seagull
Model: Unknown Artist series acoustic guitar
Finish: Natural
Years Used: 2017 ("Good Mythical Morning" filming)
Current Status: Owned by Mythical Entertainment
Notes: When Mike and Chester filmed their appearance on "Good Mythical Morning" with Rhett and Link in April of 2017, they "played" a couple of the instruments that are typically sitting around the Mythical Entertainment studio while filming the joke songs they recorded for the segment (the instrumental parts of these songs came from stock, pre-recorded backing tracks that they had no involvement in, so they just mimed whatever instrumental parts they decided to play...VERY badly, I might add). This guitar is a Seagull Artist series instrument, I'm not sure of the exact model but it has a cutaway, a pickguard, white pearloid-looking tuning pegs with gold hardware, and it's one of the older Artist series guitars that say "Artist" on the headstock instead of "Seagull."
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Telecaster)
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2017 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike posted this photo on Instagram in June of 2017, showing him working in a studio on one of his days off in the middle of touring. He's playing a Telecaster that I've never seen him with before, but I have a feeling it was probably just a guitar that the studio had.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Precision Bass)
Finish: 2-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2017 (One show)
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Phoenix)
Notes: One of the more random sights during the Hollywood Bowl tribute show for Chester was Mike playing bass on "Shadow of the Day," the first time he's ever played bass on stage! Phoenix played an additional guitar part during the song (using Mike's white Strat), so Mike picked up this P-Bass (fittingly, one of Phoenix's) to cover the bass part. I don't know why Mike didn't just go the more traditional route and cover the additional guitar parts himself, but whatever!
Brand: Paul Reed Smith (PRS)
Model: NF3 (Custom)
Finish: Frost Blue Metallic
Years Used: 2017 (One show)
Special Features: Single-pickup model, unknown DiMarzio humbucking bridge pickup, master volume knob, ring dot inlays, non-original black pickguard
Current Status: Active touring use (As of 2017 - Brad Delson)
Notes: As I mentioned in the entry for Brad's black DC3, "Crawling" was performed a whole step down from its usual key at the Hollywood Bowl tribute show for Chester, to help accomodate the vocal range of guest singer Oli Sykes. Mike played his part using Brad's customized blue NF3, tuned to B F# B E G# C# instead of the guitar's usual B-to-B tuning reserved for use on "With You" and "Runaway."
Brand: Squier
Model: Bullet Stratocaster
Finish: Arctic White
Years Used: 2018 (Charity auction)
Special Features: Custom artwork by Mike
Current Status: Sold at auction
Current Status: Sold at auction
Notes: In late November/early December of 2018, a Squier Bullet Strat with custom artwork by Mike was auctioned off to benefit Give an Hour, a mental health-related charity.
Photo Credit: Give an Hour
Photo Credit: Give an Hour
Brand: Fender
Model: Bass VI
Model: Bass VI
Finish: Sherwood Green
Years Used: 2018 (Studio)
Special Features: Matching headstock
Special Features: Matching headstock
Current Status: Owned by Ethan Mates
Notes: K.Flay and Mike spent some more time together in the studio in December of 2018, for a currently-unknown project. She posted this photo of Mike on her Instagram story, showing him playing a cool vintage (likely mid-1960's) Fender Bass VI! If you're not familiar with this instrument, it's somewhere between a bass and a guitar scale-wise, it's basically like a 6-string bass with regular guitar string spacing, and it's tuned E to E (a full octave below a guitar). This is another instrument from Ethan Mates' collection, it can be seen in his Instagram photos as far back as 2013 or so. Cool to know he's working with Mike again!
Photo Credit: K.Flay
Photo Credit: K.Flay
Brand: Fender
Model: Unknown (Telecaster)
Finish: Inca Silver
Finish: Inca Silver
Years Used: 2019 (Studio)
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike was one of several artists who took part in writing/recording different versions of the Mastercard jingle in early 2019, and a video on Mastercard's YouTube channel features him in the studio working on it. He's seen playing this Telecaster a few times, which is one he hasn't previously been seen with. The studio he's in isn't one I'm aware of him recording in before, so it's highly likely that this guitar belongs to whatever studio he was at.
Current Status: Unknown
Notes: Mike was one of several artists who took part in writing/recording different versions of the Mastercard jingle in early 2019, and a video on Mastercard's YouTube channel features him in the studio working on it. He's seen playing this Telecaster a few times, which is one he hasn't previously been seen with. The studio he's in isn't one I'm aware of him recording in before, so it's highly likely that this guitar belongs to whatever studio he was at.
Brand: Fender
Model: Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster
Finish: Worn 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2019-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: One of Brad's Rory Gallagher Strats started being seen hanging around Mike's home studio in late 2019, prompting some speculation about Linkin Park perhaps working on new material. While nothing's come of that so far, Mike has also been using this guitar himself lately, most notably to record the guitar work on "Open Door" and in several other writing/recording sessions he livestreamed on his Instagram beginning in March of 2020.
Photo Credit: Mike ShinodaModel: Rory Gallagher Signature Stratocaster
Finish: Worn 3-Color Sunburst
Years Used: 2019-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: One of Brad's Rory Gallagher Strats started being seen hanging around Mike's home studio in late 2019, prompting some speculation about Linkin Park perhaps working on new material. While nothing's come of that so far, Mike has also been using this guitar himself lately, most notably to record the guitar work on "Open Door" and in several other writing/recording sessions he livestreamed on his Instagram beginning in March of 2020.
Brand: D'Angelico
Model: Premier Ludlow
Finish: Army Green
Years Used: 2020-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Tal Cooperman posted an Instagram story from Mike's home studio in March of 2020 that showed off a lot of Mike's gear, including his guitar rack, which featured one guitar I'd never seen before, this oddly-shaped D'Angelico. It's entirely possible Mike's had this guitar for several years (the Premier Ludlow isn't a currently-produced model as of 2020, and Chester acquired several guitars from D'Angelico in early 2017, so this one may date back that far), but this is the first time it's been photographed.
Photo Credit: Tal Cooperman
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: Tal Cooperman posted an Instagram story from Mike's home studio in March of 2020 that showed off a lot of Mike's gear, including his guitar rack, which featured one guitar I'd never seen before, this oddly-shaped D'Angelico. It's entirely possible Mike's had this guitar for several years (the Premier Ludlow isn't a currently-produced model as of 2020, and Chester acquired several guitars from D'Angelico in early 2017, so this one may date back that far), but this is the first time it's been photographed.
Photo Credit: Tal Cooperman
Brand: Fender
Model: Blacktop Baritone Telecaster
Finish: Classic Copper
Years Used: 2020-Present (Studio)
Current Status: Studio use (Mike's home studio)
Notes: This guitar is actually in the front of the guitar rack in the above photo I used for Mike's D'Angelico Premier Ludlow, but I initially missed it because I thought it was Mike's vintage Walnut-finished Telecaster at first glance (the finish is similar, it's easy to miss that this guitar has a humbucker in the bridge position based on the above photo, and I honestly just forgot that his old Telecaster has a maple neck). However, as luck would have it, he used this guitar in one of his livestreams from the studio in late March of 2020 where he mentioned that it's a baritone Tele. Much like the D'Angelico, it's possible, even likely, that Mike's had this guitar for much longer (it's a model that was only produced for a couple years between 2012-2014), but this is the first time I've been aware of it.
Notes: This guitar is actually in the front of the guitar rack in the above photo I used for Mike's D'Angelico Premier Ludlow, but I initially missed it because I thought it was Mike's vintage Walnut-finished Telecaster at first glance (the finish is similar, it's easy to miss that this guitar has a humbucker in the bridge position based on the above photo, and I honestly just forgot that his old Telecaster has a maple neck). However, as luck would have it, he used this guitar in one of his livestreams from the studio in late March of 2020 where he mentioned that it's a baritone Tele. Much like the D'Angelico, it's possible, even likely, that Mike's had this guitar for much longer (it's a model that was only produced for a couple years between 2012-2014), but this is the first time I've been aware of it.
Photo Credit: Mike Shinoda
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