Bare Bones, Low Cost Modern Country Elec. Guit Rig. TELE>then wut ?

Tele>compressor>silverface twin

 

It aint 1980!



This won't get you there for modern country.

Tele isn't even necessary.

Any generic rock set up will do just fine.

 

For the amp I would look at a Vox ac15. Low cost, and Paisley has done pretty well with AC style amps. As far as pedals, wait for the new Klon. Hard to beat a Klon.

 

Yea I feel like the last decade in country has been defined by Vox-y amps goosed still with compressors and pedals. Wampler pedals are said to be used by Brad P , Keith urban, and Brent Mason. However, At Dierks Bentleys concert Sunday I still saw Deluxe Reverbs and even an Orange. I think it can go anywhere from clean Twin goosed with pedals to B
Hot-rodded Marshalls. Heck Eric Churh must have a deal with Krank his latest stage had a ton of Krank 4X12s. His guitar players were using ESPs as well. Brent Masons youtube videos show a monster rack of different amps that had a PV. either classic 100 or 50 head. What's at the Grand Ole Opry? What's always been there and what does most everyone have to plug into? Deluxe Reverbs or Twins. They bring out their pedal board to get their dirt... but I guess who knows what back stage...
My favorite country tone is Brent Masons I believe just two Twins on The Players DVD. Im not sure which pedals he was using.

 

Red MXR compressor, less than $100.

And as said above, AC15 (I guess I am in the Brad Paisley church of country tones), $599.

 

Tech 21 Comptortion = modern country leads in a box. Just a little bit of comp, a little bit of 'tortion. Perfect for fattening the tele bridge pickup.

Another pedal, the Visual Sounds Route 66 has a tube screamer and compressor in one.

Amps; any fendery amp. Peavey Classic 50 is also great.

 

My old 'bare bones' country set up was a peavey classic 30 and 3 boss pedals....compressor, blues driver and tremelo. Buy it all used off of craigslist on the cheap.

 

Actually, for a killer Keith Urban-type modery twang/crunch tone, I gigged all over OK/TX/NM/CO with:

EMG-loaded Tele>Rt 66 comp/od>used Peavey Classic 50 (set on the drive channel with gain about noon) > DL-4 or Echo Park delay in the loop.

I played some huge festival shows with that very modest rig and always just sounded fantastic live.

The new AC15/30 sound great with this set up too, but I highly recommend an old PV classic 50 if you can find one cheap.

Tone Press is a wonderful, affordable compressor, and the Line6 Constrictor is pretty awesome sounding too.

 

A lot of touring guys have a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue . Still after all these years a good platform for pedals and clean with rev. And term. Sometimes you can get great deals on these in the $600 range. Only pedal I use is Fulldrive II but then again,I'm not strictly Country...new or old.

 

For Modern Country, I can't help you.
For classic sounds: Fender Twin or a Music Man RP100, no pedals. My $.02. The Music Man has a great built-in phaser for that 70s sound. Love it.

 

THis!



Modern Country: JCM 800 & Les Paul
Classic Country: Setup from above + Phase 90 for that "Nashville in the Can" thing.

As far as compressors, MXR Dynacomp or BOSS CS-3 are still pretty common and well under $100.

 

If you're really wanting dirt cheap, a Peavey Classic 30 will get you a long way. It's the best budget tube amp to be had for around $300.

Grab a dirt box of your choice (I think a Fulltone OCD runs around $75-100 used?) and you can get by.

 

I also use a CS3 for compression.
Not expensive. Works great.
I use my SFPR mic'd and a Tele for the few country gigs I play

 

I was playing in country bands for a while. I had a lot of fun! Here's the basic rig myself & other players seemed to use:
Tele -> Ross type compressor -> TS overdrive -> Analog Delay -> Fender or Vox Amp
The delay isn't required. You don't need expensive stuff to make it work but hey, this is TGP so go for boutique if you want!

My favorite exact rig(s) were:
ASAT or TA hollow-T -> Keeley Comp -> FDII -> AD9 -> Dr Z Z28 or Valvetrain Trenton

Sometimes I used a Vibrato to sound different than the other guitar player.

Enjoy!

 

Mesa Lonestar, Tele, Boss CS3, Baber LTD, and Phase 45