Paul Landers guitar model list & timeline of usage

• Tuning E & D

This was the base model that became the Axis template when it was rebranded in 1996. The last time this guitar was known of usage was March 1996's London MTV appearance. Final concert usage appears to be February that year.

• Tuning E & D
• Special note 100% a personal modified creation
• CUSTOM MODEL

This is his craziest guitar of all time. I am utterly convinced there was no silver Axis yet and he just made up his own. By the way, I suspect this is a modified monster created by Paul using the EVH model as a base and not a genuine EX base. The neck's wood type doesn't seem very EX. It's like he put a silver sticker / foil layer on, or something. Why is it creased? How do you even manage this? Later the 1998 one in proper silver shows up with a "To Paul" signature. Let me interview this man. There's a story to tell. He wanted a silver chrome Axis model so bad, it's funny.

• Tuning D
• Stage use 1998 US shows only
• Special note USA Axis

It's missing the Axis logo on the headstock. This is an exclusive trait held by EXs made in Japan. This model is unmistakably a USA Axis switch/knob layout. Getting recent confirmation on this via my high resolution scan in May 2026 has been yet another moment of "90s Paul is an enigma". It may be a production mistake I just so happened to have noted.

• Tuning E
• Special note USA Axis
• PENDING photo verification

In high res it has the USA Axis layout, logo, and one switch. I have repeatedly searched my soul of every image in 1997 and nothing, and I mean nothing, indicates it has the 'translucent' texture. The highest resolution image I have is here with a slight light reflection, and I'm not picking up the texture in any photos. "Opaque black" is a valid and viable 1997 black Axis choice. It can exist without translucency and was not available in 1996. If anyone wants to find/sell me the unknown Breakout magazine issue with this image inside so I can scan and magnify the quality of this image - please get in touch with me immediately! I also seek the magazine for this or this photo. 100% serious. I need this guitar in higher quality and I've done everything I can for years to track down 1997 print magazine images of this man solely for this purpose. Why does this matter to me so bad??? Because it would help me understand if the black Axis in 1998 is the same one with a possible secondary modded switch put on later.

• Tuning E
• Special note no pickguard yet
• Special note USA Axis
• CUSTOM MODEL

The brown color cast seen in some later images is likely caused by warm stage lighting. Earlier 1997 footage shows a visually similar black Axis without the extra switch clearly visible, raising the possibility that this may be the same guitar before modification. But the 1997 guitar has no clear enough photos to study the translucent texture for any further clues. In any case, this guitar is custom modded for him. It strikingly uses a second switch near the pickup selector, and one knob. You will not find this model like this secondhand. As for what the second switch does, I don't know precisely. The second switch was likely a custom wiring modification. The possibilities are a coil split or series/parallel option for the humbuckers. A series/parallel might fit Paul's live needs and seems very "him". It can make a humbucker sound clearer or brighter while retaining a hum canceling dual coil structure. However, the positioning of the second switch strongly suggests relating to the pickups.

• Tuning D
• Special note black written text
• Special note no pickguard yet
• Special note USA Axis
• CUSTOM MODEL

The text says "To Paul, [unreadable signature]" and was strongly likely some type of custom gift guitar. He appears to either own two of these identical silver models with and without signature, or the black text wore off eventually from being cleaned. This photo is one of the highest resolution photos of the black text that I scanned myself. Both this and the custom black one appeared at the same time and received pickguards at the same time. It highly suggests that both are custom and tailored to him. I suspect something about this color may formally be called pearl platinum. As when you view it in extreme high def, it closer resembles a platinum and pearl-like finish. But no catalogs I found offer this color on any Axis until 2001.

• Tuning D
• Special note with black pickguard
• Special note USA Axis
• CUSTOM MODEL

There is also no evidence of a black pickguard being offered in catalogs between 1997-98. I strongly suspect these are custom requests. This Axis made a surprise return in the Feuer frei video and then vanished forever.

• Tuning E
• Special note with white pickguard
• Special note USA Axis
• CUSTOM MODEL

In early 2001 and I presume during 2000 (pictures are rare), this model appeared with its original cream colored knob. From Mutter era starting onward during that spring, this knob was replaced with a black one. This photo shows a palm mute 👀 Both the silver and black received pickguard additions somewhere during the Family Values Tour. I narrowed it down to after 10/23 Missouri, and first sighted in bootleg format on New Haven's footage on 10/29. It may be earlier than 10/29 but I lack visual confirmations. The best video of this reveal is actually 10/30 at Uniondale. 2004's Reise Reise making of - Paul appears again with a black looking Axis guitar that may be the match. The switches are not visible in the footage, to my chagrin. I believe this guitar continued to be used for studio purposes in this era of 2003-2004.

• Special note with changed black knob and later pickup mods
• probable custom model

The only known white model of this type I could find was called the "Axis EX Solid". I lean far more to it being silver again but inside the EX layout. This would suggest another potential custom model. However, I have noted that the switch on it in 2004, has a definite white coloration from high resolution scan. During the 2004-05 tour, the Axis guitars appear to have been modified with black EMG humbuckers that replaced the stock DiMarzio Axis pickups. The exact EMG model cannot be confirmed. Given Paul's later comments about active pickups being useful live, an active EMG set such as an 81/85 is plausible. However, passive EMG-HZ models cannot be ruled out from blurry DVD visuals...

• Special note seemingly once per show one song; Zwitter

• Special note with black pickguard
• Special note USA Axis

It is not clear if this is the same as the 1997 black Axis, except it does have the same color and USA Axis layout. This is why I'd love to properly identify the 1997's texture/look. Are these three different black Axis totally independent? Or two black models being: one translucent from 1997 that was switch/pickguard modded, and the one black one shown here? Or is it this: one 1997 black that later was reused in 2004-05 with pickguard added, and 1998 was an independent switch modded translucent black? We may never know.

• Special note I think this was used in both Keine Lust and Benzin's videos.

• Special note used in Los

Seen in the Mann gegen Mann video. May just be a personal studio and at home guitar.

The precise model eludes me, but the closest I've seen to these markings is Taylor's 910 line and it's definitely the Taylor brand.

• Special note called "black satin" apparently

The fandom has memory holed the special black ESP Eclipse and was a rare model for him. Images of this thing on stage has me on the streets like a beggar. I ended up asking Reverb to help. Here: one | two | three. He used it in Frühling in Paris.

• Special note white variation

He has this habit of removing knobs on his guitars. So it looks odd to the promotional images.

• Special note used in the Ich tu dir weh video

Rarest photographed guitar from modern era. It's definitely a blink-and-you-miss it on stage. You can find it in Sonne on In Amerika if you squint hard.

• pick slot was dropped from the prototype
• silver volume poti changed to red in 2016
• pick slot returned in 2016
• bridge pickup changed temporarily in 2017 to another EMG model

You can view it thoroughly here, and some promo images. He is the first German to ever receive a signature model from this company which is pretty surprising. I translated an interview about the model.

• Special note Exclusively found in the flamethrower songs (Links, Stripped, Rammstein)

Has only been seen anymore in the Tech21 interview and his Du hast clip from 2023. Before we got nuked in May with drama, we had a glorious 10 days with that video and peace.

• Far left Unidentified dark/sunburst (Ibanez...?)
• Left Rickenbacker 360-like
• Middle Rickenbacker 360/12 - Mapleglo w/ white - like that
• Right Fender Jaguar, Olympic White w/ tortoise guard

I took my best guesses trying to identify these. It's not confirmed fact. But just me, staring excessively at product photos and reverb.com. (Man casually has ~10k stacked on his wall.)

This is the name of the Mein Land Fender prop/rental used for the music video.