John 5

John 5 is a guitarist known for his work with Rob Zombie and Mötley Crüe and as a solo artist, and for his Fender Telecasters. The Fender J5 Telecaster is his signature model, which he helped design; it differs from a standard Telecaster with dual volume controls instead of volume and tone, a three-way toggle through the upper bout, a chrome pickguard and a special headstock. Versions include a Bigsby model with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails bridge pickup and a Custom Shop John 5 Bigsby model with pickups hand-picked by him. A budget version has been made under the Squier name, and in May 2023 Fender announced the "Ghost" Telecaster, an Arctic White alder model with a mirrored chrome pickguard.

MusicRadar's report on his Mötley Crüe touring rig described three Marshall JVM 100-watt heads, one in yellow Tolex with a "5" on the grille cloth, sitting in a rack with a Radial Engineering JX switcher and a Palmer PG-1 speaker simulator. All of his touring guitars were Telecasters except one acoustic, a Gibson Chet Atkins, used for Home Sweet Home.

Some gear lists from user-submitted databases are less reliable than magazine reports. Guitar Radar follows John 5's signature guitar releases and tour rigs.