David Bowie

David Bowie wielded gear as a tool for reinvention, moving from the crunchy Gibson Les Paul tones of Ziggy Stardust to the Harmonizer H910-processed textures of the Berlin trilogy. Mick Ronson's overdriven Les Paul defined the Spiders from Mars sound, while Bowie's own 12-string Hagstrom added jangly counterpoint to arrangements that were always more layered than they first appeared. His willingness to treat the studio as an instrument — manipulating signal chains, tape machines, and early digital effects — made each album a sonic departure from the last.