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PG’s Chris Kies met with Tom Johnston, John McFee, and Patrick Simmons (above right) before their recent Nashville gig at the Ascend Amphitheater. Old-school mentality reigns with Doobie mainstays Johnston and Simmons using the same guitars for decades, but multi-instrumentalist McFee explains why he embraces the 21st-century technology.
Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for Doobie hits like “China Grove,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and “Listen to the Music,” Johnston has been a tried-and-true PRS guy since he stumbled upon one in a San Rafael music store in the ’80s. His current No. 1 is a 2009 25th Anniversary Custom 24 that rides in standard tuning. And all his guitars are equipped with Greg Sfarzo strings gauged .009–.046 and he’s been loyal the Jim Dunlop Herco .50 mm picks since the ’70s.
Johnston’s main guitar for dropped or alternate tunings is this 2007 PRS Custom 24.
Fresh out of the factory and onto the road for backup duties is this PRS McCarty SC 594.
For acoustic numbers like their mega-hit “Black Water,” Johnston will go with his signature Martin Doobie 42.
Not just leaning on PRS for 6-strings, the cofounding Doobie uses a pair of PRS Archon amps throughout the whole show—one is dedicated to rhythm guitar and the other is for soloing.
The heads feed a pair of PRS 2x12 cabinets onstage.
A single drawer in his rack houses all his stomps, which includes a MXR Carbon Copy for added depth/vibe on most parts, while the Boss DD-20 is set for “China Grove.” On most of the time—especially for the clean parts—is the JHS Pulp ‘N’ Peel compressor, crunch and boost tones are bumped up by the Xotic AC Booster, and the raunchiest distortion comes from the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver. A Boss RV-6 Digital Reverb is in the effects loop of the Archon that’s dialed for rhythm duties. All switching is handled by either Tom or his tech Chris Ledbetter who have their own Custom Audio Electronics RS-T 16 controller. Also, the “solo” Archon is routed through a Two Notes Audio Engineering Torpedo Studio Digital Loadbox/Speaker Simulator.
By far the busiest guy in the band is multi-instrumentalist John McFee who can be seen playing guitar, harmonica, violin, banjo, Dobro, and pedal steel on a nightly basis. To cover most of that ground, he tours light and lean thanks to this Line 6 Variax that allows him to cover most instruments with this single axe.
Keeping things in the Line 6 family, McFee uses a Helix for all his amps and effects, and runs no cabs onstage since he uses in-ear monitors.
Simmons main ride is this custom-built S-style constructed by his current tech and instructor at the Robero-Venn School of Luthiery, Joe Vallee. It has three active EMG pickups with an onboard mid boost that’s engaged most of the time and an old Washburn tremolo that he prefers because of how it stays in tune thanks to the rollers. For picking needs, Simmons takes a dobro thumbpick, cuts it in half (leaving just the main pick part), and marries it with a Dunlop Tortex, and then tapes it to his thumb with gaffer tape.
Another one of Simmons’ favorites was built his one-time tech Mark Brown in the late ’70s or early ’80s. Again, it comes with the EMG active pickups, mid boost, and Washburn trem.
His main backup is a another custom build by former tech Mark Brown.
Handling some of the acoustic songs is this Rick Turner Renaissance. Simmons really enjoys how this one sounds because it’s more piano than guitar and it generally sees the stage for “Clear as the Driven Snow.”
The acoustic workhorse is this Taylor 712ce that hits the stage for “Black Water.”
For all his amp needs, Simmons rolls with a single Mesa/Boogie Mark V. He uses the various channels to gain up his signal (or become Keith Richards, as he puts it) and depends on tube saturation for distortion. Simmons does have a second Mark V in the rack for backup purposes.
His pedals out front onstage include a Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble, a Boss CH-1 Super Chorus, TC Electronic Flashback Delay, Electro-Harmonix Micro POG, Pedalworx Doobie Double Drive. Simmons has one tuner for electric and another for acoustic: a Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner and a Peterson StroboFlip. Everything is powered by a single Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Special thanks to tech Chris Ledbetter.
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Chris Kies has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. He maintains the website and social media, occasionally writes an artist feature, regularly hosts Rig Rundowns, and shoots/edits video for NAMM show coverage. Other than that, he spends time with his pitbull and enjoys non-guitar-related hobbies.
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