Citation:
When first playing with Aerosmith, Brad used an old Marshall 100-watt amp and a Les Paul. The guitar’s neck finally gave up the ghost, but not before Brad recorded with it on the group’s first self-titled album. This guitar was replaced with another Les Paul. For Get Your Wings, Brad used the Les Paul, as well as a 1960 red double-cutaway one-pickup Les Paul Jr. After Aerosmith had it's Marshall gear stolen, Whitford switched to Ampeg V-4s. “All Marshalls are so different and the really early ones were much better. Then they started changing little by little.
Shortly after the band’s financial footing became more stable, Brad bought a 1957 gold-top Les Paul with a Bigsby tailpiece for $1,000.00. And as the group continued to gain in popularity, his guitar collection grew: He added more Les Pauls including a 1952, a 1955, two 1958s (gold-top and a sunburst), and a 1960 flame-top to the arsenal. Recently, he purchased a vintage Fender Broadcaster and also replaced the Ampegs with revitalized Music Man amplifiers. The interiors were altered – exact mods escape him – but with the change, Brad believes, the amps now are virtually indestructible: “You could play them for a week and they wouldn’t blow up.” Brad had the amps modified because, in their original, off-the-showroom floor condition, “They had a tendency to diminish treble response when the bass boost was on. The bass boost now adds bass without detracting any from the other ranges.”
Depending on the venue, he uses one or two Music Man tops running through four custom-made cabinets similar to Marshall except they are ported and use JBL speakers. He may soon switch to Celestion speakers, however, because he feels that the JBLs are “so damn clean that they are actually too efficient for stage work.” Live, the guitar arrangements includes two B.C. Rich Eagles (one is a spare); a Rich Bich modified by removing four of the ten strings; and a new Les Paul Custom with Bill Lawrence L-90 XL pickups. The guitars run through a rather elaborate set of pedals labeled “toyboxes” b the band. There are two sets of pedals; one resides in the middle of the stage and the second board sits off to one side. They include an AKG reverb unit, a number of MXR effects including a 10-band EQ, flanger, phaser, compressor, and a DDL with three presets.
While Brad does play a great deal of lead guitar, his main function is to provide a strong rhythm base for lead guitarist Perry. For this chore, Brad sets his guitar to the treble pickup, giving the instrument a more biting, well-defined sound.