The James Dean Bradfield Guitars & Gear Interview [Classic Manics Riffs, Tones & More!]

The Manic Street Preachers frontman treats us to some fantastic tones and stories! Welcome to the show! It is our great and distinct pleasure to welcome to TPS a torchbearer for the ’90s guitar revival - not to mention penner of some timeless melodies and riffs! - Mr James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers. The Manics racked up 33 consecutive UK Top 40 singles in their former years, cementing a place in the hearts and minds of millions down the decades. 2025 finds them as vital as ever with new album release ‘Critical Thinking’ out in February 2025. To mark the occasion, James invited us to the Manics’ studio near Newport in Wales, to talk about a love for all-things guitar. We check out some classic tones and gear while getting a unique insight into the writing and composition process. It was quite the day, so please… Enjoy the show! Massive thanks to Ceri and Loz for their help in making this happen on the day. Link to the new Manic Street Preachers album: https://manicstreetpreachers.lnk.to/critical-thinking If you use these links to buy stuff - any stuff – we receive a small cut. UK & Europe: Andertons Music - https://bit.ly/3zaTX5Z USA: Sweetwater - https://sweetwater.sjv.io/5g6ALN Australia: Pedal Empire - http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf Interesting bits and go to sections… 0:00 Coming up today… 1:04 Hello & welcome 1:50 Newbridge Memorial Hall c1990? 3:00 James’ musical beginnings 5:30 Meeting Nick (y Wire) 10:55 You’ve gotta sing, but whose lyrics? 14:40 Early rock influences 16:35 How Motorcycle Emptiness happened 20:45 The famous Tele Thinline 22:25 There Motorcycle Emptiness riff 26:00 JCM900 to rise above 30:30 Closeness of the band 33:30 New album mood 37:00 The Guild on Critical Thinking 38:38 Critical Thinking riff 39:20 Live pedalboard 40:45 Gear & pedals in the early ’90s? 44:45 Tsunami accidental tuning! 47:07 Sitar guitar 48:30 The A Design For Life story 58:35 A Design For Life tone & riff 1:05:05 Live rig must haves 1:08:00 Quieter, more digital? 1:11:45 Motown Junk & the Burman story 1:15:18 The Burman amp sound 1:17:10 Guitar addiction? 1:19:15 James’ J-45 acoustic 1:12:30 An old Strat 1:23:45 If You Tolerate This filter 1:27:18 Winning a Rickenbacker in a bet 1:28:11 If You Tolerate This solo Guitars in today’s show - Gibson Les Paul Custom c1990 - Fender ’72 Thinline Telecaster - Jerry Jones Sitar Guitar - Gibson J-45 - Guild S-200 Thunderbird - Rickenbacker 360-12 - 1960s Fender Strat Amps in today’s show - Marshall JCM900 100-watt & 1960A 4x12 cab - Mesa Lone Star Classic 2x12 combo - Burman Pro501 c1978 - Fender Twin Reverb, early 1970s You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts https://www.thatpedalshowstore.com We are on Patreon – crowdfunding for creatives https://www.patreon.com/ThatPedalShow Please visit our preferred retailers! UK & Europe: Andertons Music https://bit.ly/3zaTX5Z Australia: Pedal Empire http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf