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During Tyler Childers’ 3-show sell-out run at Nashville’s Exit/In, PG’s Perry Bean swooped in for a pre-soundcheck hang with the bandleader, Jesse Wells (guitar/fiddle/baritone/mandola), James Barker (guitar/pedal steel), and Craig Burletic (bass) to cover all the gear these good ol’ boys use to spark some hoopin’ ’n’ hollerin’.
Multi-instrumentalist Dr. Jesse Wells (he teaches at Morehead State’s Kentucky Center for Traditional Music) spends most of his time on this special-made paisley (“pepperoni finish”) T-style that is equipped with a B-bender and built by Nashville’s own Forrest Lee Jr.
Here is the backside of Jesse Well’s B-bender.
When Jesse Wells isn’t bending on the custom Forrest model, he goes with this pine-bodied Fender Custom Shop 1951 Heavy Relic Telecaster that stays in standard tuning.
The lone vintage guitar Jesse Wells brings out on the road is his daughter’s 1966 Fender Mustang and gets work during “Charleston Girl.”
When it comes time for Tyler Childers’ big hit “Whitehouse Road” you’ll see Jesse Wells grab this Gretsch G5265 Jet Baritone. This one, like a few of his other more standard fares, are enhanced with an RS Guitarworks modern upgrade wiring kit that uses SoZo NextGen .022 capacitors and 500K RS Short-Shaft SuperPots. All of his instruments are equipped with various D’Addario strings.
And for “Universal Sound,” you’ll see Jesse Wells put on this lil’ booger—an Airline Mandola he scored from Chicago Music Exchange. It is loaded with a Firebird mini-humbucker.
Just before starting the 3-day run at Nashville’s Exit/In, Jesse Wells scored this 1965 Fender Twin Reverb that was once owned by fellow Rig Rundown alum JD Simo. It’s been overhauled with JBL K120s in it making it a heavy 2x12 combo.
Jesse Wells brought this Matchless Clubman 35 as a backup.
Jesse Wells carries two pedalboards with him on tour. First up, is a stomp station that is dedicated to his guitar signal. It is home to a Strymon Flint and El Capistan, JHS The Milkman, Mad Professor Tiny Orange Phaser, Sarno Music Solutions Earth Drive, Timmy Drive, Wampler Pantheon, and Origin Effects Cali76. Everything is brought to life thanks to a Truetone 1 SPOT and is kept in check with a TC Electronic PolyTune 3.
Jesse Wells’ other board colors his fiddle tone by way of a Grace Design FELiX, T-Rex Effects Octavius, MXR Phase 90, Strymon BlueSky, Boss DD-6 Digital Delay, and TC Electronic PolyTune 2 Mini. Everything is powered by the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.
Multi-instrumentalist James Barker spends time between guitar and pedal steel. His main 6-string ride is this Fender Highway One Telecaster that was modded to fit a Lollar Imperial humbucker in the neck, outfitted with compensated brass saddles, and even got a facelift with a customized leather pickguard thanks to Daniel Romano.
One of James Barker’s backups is this Fender Eric Johnson Signature Strat finished in candy apple red.
And James Barker’s other guitar riding the bench (it saw a lot of stage time during his rock ’n’ roll days) is this Gibson Les Paul Junior Special.
When it’s time to make that lonesome whippoorwill cry, James Barker sits down and tussles with this early ’80s Sho-Bud LDG.
James Barker amplifies his guitars by way of this custom-voiced Hall combo. The right channel (his prime choice) is modeled after a Trainwreck Rocket and the left channel is similar to a Gibson GA-40.
When it’s pedal-steel time, this silverface Fender Super Reverb that has the first channel’s tone stock removed (by hitting the bright switch) giving the amp a lot of volume and gain.
Unlike his multi-instrumentalist counterpart, James Barker routes everything through one board. He has a Strymon Mobius and TimeLine, Way Huge Overrated Special, JHS Double Barrel, Fulltone Full-Drive2 MOSFET, a JHS-modded Fulltone OCD, Keeley Compressor, and a JHS Haunting Mids. Everything is tuned up with a Peterson StroboStomp.
Bassist Craig Burletic keeps things extremely simple with an airplane-ready setup. His lone bass on this run was a 2011 Fender P that has La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin’ Bass Flatwound Bass Strings.
Craig Burletic’s only other piece of gear is this Trace Elliot GP12 SMX head that ignites a matching 4x10 cab. (The Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion 500 is a precautionary reserve.)
Bandleader Tyler Childers’ has been long associated with Martin flattops, but 2018 saw him shift over to primarily using this Collings DS1 with a slotted headstock.
Tyler Childers’ relies on the following boxes—a L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I., L.R. Baggs Align Series Equalizer, and a TC Electronic PolyTune. The pedals are juiced thanks to the Strymon Ojai.
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Perry cut his teeth touring and playing in punk rock and hardcore bands, before he got his start in film. He worked his way up from lowly production assistant to become a producer, art director, and most recently, a music video director nominated for ACM, CMT, and CMA awards. Premier Guitar was a perfect fit for him, combining his two favorite things, guitars and cameras. Perry doesn't have free time, but his massive dog Beef pays his rent by being Perry's intern.
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