Pete Doherty and Carl Barat reunited on stage in London last Wednesday (17th Sept) giving fans hopes that reforming The Libertines could be in the cards...

The pair performed three of the band's most famous tracks – 'Horror Show', 'Time For Heroes' and 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun' – during an impromptu set.

The gig at the Prince of Wales pub had originally been billed as a solo show from Doherty but Barat arrived to join the Babyshambles singer. It's not the first time the duo has joined forces since the demise of The Libertines. In April this year, they reunited for a few songs at the Hackney Empire, London, where Pete Doherty was performing a solo set.

Whether this latest reunion is a sign that The Libertines might be planning a comeback, only time will tell...but many fans have been hoping for a proper Libertines reunion since their last gig in december 2004.

For more info and photos, visit the Gigwise.com website.

The Libertines Gear Guide:

The Libertines, whose career imploded in 2004, have proved to be one of the most influential rock bands in British music, and even The Guardian newspaper went as far as calling them "The Greatest Band In Britain Today"  back in 2003.  And it has nothing to do with hype - The Libertines never sold many records, and a whole host of new bands who took their inspiration from The Libs (The Kooks, The Fratellis, Arctic Monkeys) have achieved much more success.

Like Oasis before them, or the Arctic Monkeys after, The Libertines are one of those bands that inspired many kids to pick up a guitar and play...so whatever you think of their sound, they certainly deserve a Gear Guide! And here it is...

GUITARS:

Carl Barat and Pete Doherty always liked vintage, rare guitars. Carl’s favourite has always been and still remains his sunburst Gibson Melody Maker (singlecut version), a light, entry-level guitar that he still plays today, with new band Dirty Pretty Things.

Carl also played a double cutaway Melody Maker,in sunburst but also a red one, besides Gibson SG on a few occasions (see left) as well as a Les Paul.

Like Barat, Pete Doherty also remained faithful to his favourite guitar from the Libertines days, and can still be seen playing a 1960’s Epiphone Coronet nowadays in Babyshambles. This guitar is exremely rare to find, and very expensive too, but back in the 60’s it was also an entry level guitar. It’s simple design (just one P-90 pickup) is ideal for punk rockers, but it’s really hard to see one of those around…

Another guitar Doherty used quite often was a vintage 1960’s Wine Red Gibson ES-330, also with P-90’s pickups. This guitar is, once again, quite rare. Another guitar Pete Doherty has used was a Rickenbacker.

Early on, Doherty also played another vintage Epiphone, the Epiphone Olympic, mid sixties with one pickup. Really cool too..it’s the guitar that appears on the cover of the “I Get Along” single.

AMPS:

Pete Doherty used Marshall cabs and heads, and Barat was (and still is) an adept of the Vox AC-30.

FX Pedals:

Other than a Boss TU-2 tuner, The Libs never used many pedals. Carl Barat used a MXR Dynacomp to boost solos,sometimes a MXR Micro Amp, and that’s it.

Getting The Libertines sound:

If getting hold of the aforementioned vintage gear proves too difficult or expensive, here’s some other suggestions!

You'll need a no frills, trebly garage rocker of a guitar to get the stripped down Libertines sound. A Dano '63 is very cool and affordable and would do the job. The Vintage VR100 Les Paul Junior copy is even better - perfect, with its single P-90 pickup, just like an Epiphone Coronet!

The Vox AC-30 is the obvious choice for an amp, but the more affordable Vox AC-15 would do the job just as well. The next best thing would be the the Vox AD-50VT which seems to emulate the vintage tones very well. But, if you can’t shell the bucks for a AC-30, but want the classic Vox look on the cheap, then try the  Vox DA20-CL which looks just like a mini AC-30!

The Libertines always relied on the their amps distortion to get their punky dirty sound. You may wish to try a Fuzz pedal such as the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (with Sustain Turned down) or the Double Muff, just to get that extra little dirtyness in case your amp is not a meaty Vox (such as a Fender…)

If you want a pedal to boost solos and can’t afford the MXR Dyna Comp, you could do worse than trying the new Behringer DC9 Dynamics Compressor pedal, which is a credible copy of the MXR Dyna Comp, but at a more affordable price.

Finally…

If you don’t play guitar very well, don’t worry! The Libertines didn’t either, and it didn’t stop them did it? Here’s a cool Pete Doherty quote from the NME:

“Drive your guitar to hell and back, over drums that make your heart burst, then put a mad riff over it all. And some screaming. It’s just a case of turning up, doing that - and looking good”.