Dave Cobb had a big year in 2015, having won Grammy awards for producing Chris Stapleton’s Traveller and Jason Isbell’s Something More Than Free. Cobb has moved his studio to the legendary RCA Studio A, which was opened by Chet Atkins in 1965, and has since produced projects for Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown, and a ton of other top-billing acts. Between sessions, Cobb took PG on a gear tour of his studio where we were treated to a bevy of vintage beauties.
Cobb keeps a ton of vintage gear handy for anybody recording in his studio. His arsenal of guitars includes this 1952 goldtop Les Paul. At some point it was converted to a ’57 with a neck reset, stop tailpiece, and vintage PAF pickups.
Originally, Cobb thought the red finish on this 1966 Fender Esquire was the work of an inexperienced DIY-er, but turns out that what’s left of the Fiesta Red was the original finish.
Here’s an all-stock 1957 Fender Esquire that Cobb keeps handy. It was a recent acquisition from fellow Nashville 6-stringer Tom Bukovac.
This 1960 Gibson ES-335 attracted Cobb’s eye at Guitar Center because of the faint remnants of a “Rebel” sticker on the upper bout.
This 1956 Gretsch Chet Atkins was a birthday gift from Chris Stapleton.
This Trigger-ish acoustic is Cobb’s desert-island writing guitar. This vintage Martin was used for most of the acoustic parts on Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music and has been a key writing friend for rockers Rival Sons.
Earlier this year Cobb purchased this 1959 tweed Fender Champ. According to Cobb, he never turns it past 3 or 4—“just mic it up and it sounds like a record.”
At first glance this might look like a rather standard 1965 Fender Deluxe, but the guts were revamped my famed amp mystic Alexander Dumble.
When a track calls for more of a Keith Richards-style tone that’s full of body, Cobb pulls out this 1957 Fender Tremolux.
Cobb keeps a pile of pedals around the studio, including a Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte, an MXR Phase 90, a Menatone Red Snapper, a vintage Vox Tone Bender, and a Jext Telez Dizzy Tone.
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John Bohlinger is a Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist best known for leading the band on NBC's Nashville Star, serving as music director for the CMT Awards and specials on PBS and GAC, and of course for his appearances in PG Rig Rundown, Review Demo, Axes & Artifacts, and What Bohlinger Plays videos.
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