The legendary country musician and his right-hand man, guitarist Kenny Vaughan, prove that Fender guitars through Fender amps can still take you a long way in this world.
Today, we’re excited to bring you a Rig Rundown that we’ve been chasing for years: country legend Marty Stuart, and his right-hand man in his band the Fabulous Superlatives, Kenny Vaughan. Stuart and the Superlatives hit the road this year supporting their new instrumental record, Space Junk.
PG’s John Bohlinger recently convened with Stuart and Vaughan onstage at the CMA Theater in Nashville, where the duo walked us through the most prized pieces from their bottomless tone trunks. Tune in to get the details and stories in this special Rundown!
“Clarence is like a band member,” Stuart explains of his iconic Telecaster. “Still, in my mind, it’s Clarence’s band.” Stuart procured the Tele, which belonged to guitarist Clarence White, in the 1980s while playing in Johnny Cash’s band. Stuart has only modified two things on it: He moved the “Scruggs” tuning peg from the fifth string, and added a special, Ralph Mooney-built bender for the low E string. It’s triggered by the black “button” beneath the bridge—Mooney drilled a hole in the guitar and installed the rubber footing from one of the legs of his pedal-steel guitar. The rest of the guitar is stock—well, Clarence White-stock. The Jerry Jones sitar to Clarence’s left runs through the upper Deluxe Reverb, and through the Radial PZ-DI direct to front of house.
Stuart’s backup is a 1952 Fender Esquire, which he guesses is the best electric he owns. He bought it off of dealer and friend Danny Shea in New York City; before it entered Shea’s possession, it belonged to Mick Ronson. “You can tune it and come back a week from now, and it’s still in tune,” says Stuart.
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Stuart bought this mandolin from Roland White for $650, and turned it into a guestbook of sorts. It features signatures from Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, and plenty of others. Miked with an AEA Nuvo Series N22 ribbon mic, it sounds “big as a house,” says tech Mick Conley.
California Dreamin’
The “voice” of Stuart’s guitars is a silver-panel Fender Deluxe Reverb that he acquired in California from rental company SIR. “When I plugged into that amp, I saw palm trees and sunsets, and California popped out of the speaker,” recalls Stuart. He played it for three days, then bought it from SIR when he returned.
An AmpRx Brownie powers the pair of Deluxes.
Marty Stuart’s Pedalboard
Stuart’s main tools are a Boss TU-12EX, JHS Mini A/B, Radial BigShot PB-1, and an MXR Six Band EQ, plus an AEA R92 ribbon mic on his Deluxe Reverb. A JHS Switchback effects loop can engage a Keeley Super Phat Mod for solos; the MXR Reverb is on hand in case the Deluxe’s onboard ’verb fails, and the Flamma FS06 has a Deluxe Reverb emulation that shoots to front of house.
Acoustic instruments run through the Radial PZ-DI, and the Radial BigShot ABY is used for large shows when Stuart runs two amps.
Triple Threat
Vaughan’s principle instrument is this 3Bender T-style, built by Wade Black in Arkansas. Custom-made for Vaughan, it sports a pine body, maple cap, 21 frets, and is capable of bending three strings: the A, G, and B. A Fender Stratocaster is on standby.
Dan, Rick, and Marty
This Danelectro DC-12 is tuned to an open F major 9 chord, and runs through one channel of the Vibrolux with a bit of delay and compression. Vaughan plays it with both pickups engaged, and its flat radius makes it a speedy player.
After recording with Mike Campbell’s Rickenbacker 12-string, Vaughan picked up one of his own from a music store in Berry Hill. But this one is unique: It lacks the model’s classic sound hole, has Martin-style trim down its back, and the neck dates to 1969, while the pickups are from the early ’80s. The best hypothesis so far is that it was made by an employee at a music store in Pennsylvania.
The Martin D-45 dates to 1988, and is equipped with a Fishman Matrix pickup
Special ’67
Vaughan trusts his 1967 Vibrolux Reverb, miked, like Stuart, with an AEA R92.
Kenny Vaughan’s Amp and Pedalboard
Vaughan bought his first pedal back in 1966, and from his collection of hundreds, he’s chosen these special few for his live setup. There’s a Peterson Stobostomp, Dunlop volume pedal, Xotic XW-2 wah, Keeley-modded Ibanez Tube Screamer, Xotic SP Compressor and EP Booster, MXR Smartgate and Joshua, and Keeley Magnetic Echo, Comp Mini, Zoma, and Eccos.
Vaughan’s Rickenbacker runs through the Radial Pro-48 to front of house. A JHS Mini A/B handles switching, and the Radial PZ-DI handles acoustics.
The legendary country musician and his right-hand man, guitarist Kenny Vaughan, prove that Fender guitars through Fender amps can still take you a long way in this world.
Today, we’re excited to bring you a Rig Rundown that we’ve been chasing for years: country legend Marty Stuart, and his right-hand man in his band the Fabulous Superlatives, Kenny Vaughan. Stuart and the Superlatives hit the road this year supporting their new instrumental record, Space Junk.
PG’s John Bohlinger recently convened with Stuart and Vaughan onstage at the CMA Theater in Nashville, where the duo walked us through the most prized pieces from their bottomless tone trunks. Tune in to get the details and stories in this special Rundown!
“Clarence is like a band member,” Stuart explains of his iconic Telecaster. “Still, in my mind, it’s Clarence’s band.” Stuart procured the Tele, which belonged to guitarist Clarence White, in the 1980s while playing in Johnny Cash’s band. Stuart has only modified two things on it: He moved the “Scruggs” tuning peg from the fifth string, and added a special, Ralph Mooney-built bender for the low E string. It’s triggered by the black “button” beneath the bridge—Mooney drilled a hole in the guitar and installed the rubber footing from one of the legs of his pedal-steel guitar. The rest of the guitar is stock—well, Clarence White-stock. The Jerry Jones sitar to Clarence’s left runs through the upper Deluxe Reverb, and through the Radial PZ-DI direct to front of house.
Stuart’s backup is a 1952 Fender Esquire, which he guesses is the best electric he owns. He bought it off of dealer and friend Danny Shea in New York City; before it entered Shea’s possession, it belonged to Mick Ronson. “You can tune it and come back a week from now, and it’s still in tune,” says Stuart.
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Stuart bought this mandolin from Roland White for $650, and turned it into a guestbook of sorts. It features signatures from Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, and plenty of others. Miked with an AEA Nuvo Series N22 ribbon mic, it sounds “big as a house,” says tech Mick Conley.
California Dreamin’
The “voice” of Stuart’s guitars is a silver-panel Fender Deluxe Reverb that he acquired in California from rental company SIR. “When I plugged into that amp, I saw palm trees and sunsets, and California popped out of the speaker,” recalls Stuart. He played it for three days, then bought it from SIR when he returned.
An AmpRx Brownie powers the pair of Deluxes.
Marty Stuart’s Pedalboard
Stuart’s main tools are a Boss TU-12EX, JHS Mini A/B, Radial BigShot PB-1, and an MXR Six Band EQ, plus an AEA R92 ribbon mic on his Deluxe Reverb. A JHS Switchback effects loop can engage a Keeley Super Phat Mod for solos; the MXR Reverb is on hand in case the Deluxe’s onboard ’verb fails, and the Flamma FS06 has a Deluxe Reverb emulation that shoots to front of house.
Acoustic instruments run through the Radial PZ-DI, and the Radial BigShot ABY is used for large shows when Stuart runs two amps.
Triple Threat
Vaughan’s principle instrument is this 3Bender T-style, built by Wade Black in Arkansas. Custom-made for Vaughan, it sports a pine body, maple cap, 21 frets, and is capable of bending three strings: the A, G, and B. A Fender Stratocaster is on standby.
Dan, Rick, and Marty
This Danelectro DC-12 is tuned to an open F major 9 chord, and runs through one channel of the Vibrolux with a bit of delay and compression. Vaughan plays it with both pickups engaged, and its flat radius makes it a speedy player.
After recording with Mike Campbell’s Rickenbacker 12-string, Vaughan picked up one of his own from a music store in Berry Hill. But this one is unique: It lacks the model’s classic sound hole, has Martin-style trim down its back, and the neck dates to 1969, while the pickups are from the early ’80s. The best hypothesis so far is that it was made by an employee at a music store in Pennsylvania.
The Martin D-45 dates to 1988, and is equipped with a Fishman Matrix pickup
Special ’67
Vaughan trusts his 1967 Vibrolux Reverb, miked, like Stuart, with an AEA R92.
Kenny Vaughan’s Amp and Pedalboard
Vaughan bought his first pedal back in 1966, and from his collection of hundreds, he’s chosen these special few for his live setup. There’s a Peterson Stobostomp, Dunlop volume pedal, Xotic XW-2 wah, Keeley-modded Ibanez Tube Screamer, Xotic SP Compressor and EP Booster, MXR Smartgate and Joshua, and Keeley Magnetic Echo, Comp Mini, Zoma, and Eccos.
Vaughan’s Rickenbacker runs through the Radial Pro-48 to front of house. A JHS Mini A/B handles switching, and the Radial PZ-DI handles acoustics.
DragonForce shred wizard’s signature SE is specialized but built for lightning speed.
The SE Chleo is the result of an intimate collaboration between PRS Guitars and award-winning guitar player Herman Li. Best known for his work as one of the lead guitar players in the power metal band DragonForce, Li is a demanding guitarist known for his fast and precise playing style. Based on the exclusive 2025 PRS Chleo Limited Edition, this SE signature model is a unique guitar in the PRS lineup designed with the modern metal guitarist in mind. The SE Chleo boasts the same Fishman Fluence Signature Series Omniforce Herman Li pickups as the Limited Edition that preceded it. With three distinct voices and a versatile switching system, the guitar offers up to 13 unique tone combinations.
“With the PRS SE Chleo, we set out to create the best affordable guitar that delivers a unique combination of effortless playability, outstanding craftsmanship, and versatile tonal range. It combines modern innovations with classic style, giving players the tools they need to create everything from classic tones to cutting edge new sounds. The SE Chleo proves that a world-class instrument doesn’t have to break the bank—it’s a guitar that brings high-end performance within reach for everyone,” said Herman Li.
In addition to the Charcoal Purple Burst and Orchid Dusk that the Limited Edition models were offered in, the SE Chleo introduces a third color, Mantis Burst.
D’Addario expands its strap lineup with the all-new Neoprene Comfort Strap, designed for musicians who need top-of-the-line instrument support and comfort for their heaviest guitars and basses. Featuring an ergonomic design and soft, breathable neoprene material, this strap molds seamlessly to the player’s body for a secure, customized fit, making it ideal for longer gigs and demanding performances.
Built for Support, Designed for Performance
The 3.5-inch-wide padded neoprene band is designed to evenly distribute the instrument's weight, significantly reducing shoulder load during long rehearsals or gigs. Its ergonomic curved profile promotes natural posture and stability, ensuring optimal back support whether standing or seated.
Players can choose between two adjustable options:
Leather End Version: Adjustable from 45” to 55” long.
Auto Lock® Version: Adjustable from 43” to 55” long, offering secure, quick-release performance.
Key Features
3.5” width for maximum comfort during standing performance
Soft, breathable neoprene padding for superior weight distribution
Ergonomic curve for added shoulder and back support
Perfect for heavier instruments and extended sessions
Available with standard leather ends or D’Addario’s Auto Lock system
Availability & Pricing
The D’Addario Neoprene Comfort Straps are available now through daddario.com and authorized retailers.
The Autumn Defense at Wolftrap, October 2025. Jim Haggerty holds it down on bass behind John Stirratt (left) and Pat Sansone.
Mark Finkelpearl
The Autumn Defense was in the zone. They had permanent smiles on their faces all night as they played on a chilly October evening at the Barns at Wolftrap, just outside Washington, D.C. It didn’t hurt that the venue’s PA, in the house and onstage, sounded terrific. However, what may have been more critical was the fact that, for Pat Sansone, John Stirratt, and their rhythm section, comprising Jim Haggerty on bass and Greg Wieczorek on drums and vocals, the band was playing music from their first new record in 11 years. Their joy was palpable, and the crowd soaked it up.
Stirratt and Sansone may be best known for their contributions to Wilco. John Stirratt is the group’s founding bass player and the only musician in the lineup to stand alongside Jeff Tweedy throughout the band's entire history. Pat Sansone joined Wilco in 2004 as a multi-instrumentalist, but he’s most fun to watch and listen to when he straps on an electric guitar. Sansone strikes rock poses, swirling around the stage like a fencer, his guitar slicing through the air like a riposting foil as he solos. These moves aren’t an affect. Legendary music producer Bob Johnston once chuckled as he said of Bob Dylan: “He can’t help what he’s doing. He’s got the Holy Spirit about him; you can look at him and tell that!” That’s Sansone with a Telecaster slung over his shoulder.
“I was affected by the proximity of cool guitars right in my house.” —John Stirratt
Few recall that Autumn Defense actually predates Sansone’s arrival in Wilco. They debuted this duet project in 2000 (Stirratt’s first name for the band was April Defense, but Sansone redirected). Their latest record, Here and Nowhere, is the band’s seventh.
When on the road with Autumn Defense, Stirratt and Sansone keep it much simpler than they do when they’re out with their other band, Wilco. Stirratt’s 1967 Gibson Hummingbird sits at left next to Sansone’s Nash T-Style and custom Breedlove. They don’t travel with amps, so those are a pair of backline Fender Deluxe Reverbs.
Mark Finkelpearl
From the Byrds to the Beach Boys, Stirratt and Sansone have long drawn on Southern California pop as a reference point. At Wolftrap, they encored with Love’s “A House Is Not a Motel,”from their 1967 album, Forever Changes.It may be surprising, then, that these two men actually hail from deep inside what music journalist James L. Dickerson coined the Mojo Triangle: a swath of the Deep South that birthed nearly every form of American music, including blues, jazz, country, gospel, and rock ’n’ roll. These invisible boundaries —from Nashville to Memphis, down into Mississippi, over to New Orleans, then northeast up to Muscle Shoals, Alabama —form the cradle of the country’s entire musical heritage. Pat is from Meridian, Mississippi, and John was born and raised in New Orleans. As I learned when I hopped onto Zoom for a ninety-minute chat with them, they were both steeped in musical families.
Stirratt’s parents played music together around the Crescent City until they started raising children. Throughout Stirratt’s life, his father was a banjo player who gigged in Dixieland-style bands across New Orleans. “As a seven- or eight-year-old, I remember crawling around in my parents’ closet with my twin sister,” Stirratt recalls, “and they had amazing guitars in there, like an old Kay from the ’40s and a Gibson LG-0 from the late ’50s. I can still recall opening the cases and that musty smell drifting out of them. There was definitely a moment of discovery there that turned into an obsession for us. So, I was affected by the proximity of cool guitars right in my house.”
Sansone’s easy-to-carry mini board consists of a TC Electronic PolyTune 2, JHS Whitey Tighty, Wampler Tumnus, MXR Timmy, MXR Phase 95, JHS Mini Foot, and a Mr. Black Echo-Delay.
Mark Finkelpearl
Stirratt and his sister, he continues, “started playing in bands very early, in junior high school. My mom stopped playing out at some point, shortly after we were born, but our dad played his whole life, up until the week he died. Our whole lives, there was music everywhere. My dad had big fake books filled with Dixieland jazz tunes, and our mother was deep into country music. I recall a lot of Emmylou Harris playing in our house—mid-period, like Roses in the Snow. That was like a primer for me for country music. Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton were on that record, and Willie Nelson, too.”
“As a teenager in the 1980s in Meridian, in my head, I was really living in London in 1967.” —Pat Sansone
Up in Meridian, Mississippi, just west of the Alabama border and 200 miles from Stirratt, Sansone was raised in a Mojo Triangle family simmering in a cauldron of music. “Show business and performance were just central to my family's life,” he says. “Meridian is the home of Peavey Electronics and Jimmie Rodgers,” he remembers. “My mother had a great voice. When she was pregnant with me, she was doing some singing on demos for some of the studios in Muscle Shoals, and she also sang jazz. My grandmother had an incredible voice and a great ear; she could sit down and play anything after hearing it once. She was a regular on several radio shows doing Western swing and pop songs. And my dad was a concert promoter in town. One of our close family friends was Chris Etheridge, who played with the Flying Burrito Brothers and Willie Nelson.”
He continues, “I suppose every city has music in it, but Meridian had a real musical spirit about it, and I grew up in a unique situation where music and performance were celebrated. I never really questioned it; it was a normal way of life. But to really see it, I had to leave and come back. Because as a teenager in the 1980s in Meridian, in my head, I was really living in London in 1967. That was my dream world.” Sansone laughs. “The irony of that is in my career as a professional musician, I’ve met some British rockers from the ’60s who were dreaming that they were from Mississippi.
Sansone continues reflecting: “As a young kid, as soon as I could walk, I was in the Temple Theater with my dad while he was working. So it seeped inside of me from the very beginning. I have memories of standing in the wings as a child watching Ray Charles rehearse his band, and moments like Jerry Reed and Carl Perkins trading licks at a soundcheck. I do remember the first time I ever put a Stratocaster around my neck. I was onstage as Helen Reddy was getting ready to play, and her guitar player could see that I was eyeing his Fender. He was kind enough and patient enough to let me try it; I could play ‘Twist and Shout’ by that point. And when I heard and felt the power of a D chord come out of an amp, that’s a moment I’ll always remember.”
Their early days of acquiring gear were a very local affair. “My teen years were the glory days, when you could walk into a pawn shop and pick up a Marshall or a Peavey very cheaply,” Stirratt remembers. “There was no vintage market yet. My first amp was a Peavey Musician with the silver knobs; it was loud and powerful.”
Stirratt’s simple stomp lineup includes a Boss TU-2, Catilinbread Karma Sutra, Catalinbread Echorec, and a Union Tube & Transistor Tone Druid.
Mark Finkelpearl
Sansone concurs, “My dad took me down to Peavey in Meridian and I picked out a Peavey guitar and a Peavey Renown amp straight from the factory floor. My dad knew Hartley Peavey. When dad first started promoting shows, he had purchased one of Peavey’s first PA systems out of Hartley’s garage. Here’s the funny thing: I was such a Who freak that I recall a photograph of Townshend when he was recording Rough Mix with Ronnie Lane, and it looks like Pete is playing through a Fender tweed Bassman, but it’s actually a Peavey amp. Supposedly, one of Townshend’s main studio amps at that time was a Peavey. When I discovered that, I just about shouted with joy. I couldn’t believe it.”
“I have memories of standing in the wings as a child watching Ray Charles rehearse his band, and moments like Jerry Reed and Carl Perkins trading licks at a soundcheck.” —Pat Sansone
That passion carries over into the guitars they play. Sansone is quick to tell me that Autumn Defense doesn’t set out to make ’70s-sounding music. But they don’t shy away from it either, especially because it fits their voices and writing styles. That means old guitars, too. “We have an appreciation for the past musically and sonically,” Sansone says. “So using vintage guitars and mics has always been part of that process.”
On the road, Stirratt travels with his trusty 1967 Gibson Hummingbird. “I bought it in 1995 at Gruhn’s in Nashville the week that Wilco’s first record, AM, came out,” he tells me. “I love the sound of a Gibson. It’s been my mainstay, and since I mostly only play acoustic in this band, it fits nicely into the mix. We can sculpt it so it doesn’t have too much bottom end like a J-200 might.”
Sansone’s Nash T-style has been with him for about 15 years. “It’s based on a 1961 neck,” he says, “like a soft V shape. It feels nice and the pickups sound nice, it just does what I need it to do.”
Mark Finkelpearl
Sansone mainly uses a 20-year-old Breedlove for his acoustic work during Autumn Defense shows. “It’s based on a Martin OM that Breedlove built to my specs, and we kept it super simple. It’s a great all-purpose guitar; it just kind of does everything, perfect for fingerpicking, and it’s a great strummer. In Autumn Defense, we don’t have roadies or even a tour manager, so we have to travel light and keep our live situation pretty tight. So that’s the one [acoustic] guitar I take.”
For an electric, Sansone travels with a Bill Nash T-Style that he has owned for about 15 years, featuring a rosewood fingerboard and a sonic blue finish. “It’s based on a 1961 neck,” he says, “like a soft V shape. It feels nice and the pickups sound nice, it just does what I need it to do.”
The recording studio is where the vintage gear really matters. Stirratt didn’t want to bring any of his old guitars from his home in Maine to Tennessee, so he recorded with axes already in the Nashville studio where they laid down the tracks. “That’s the thing about Nashville,” quips Sansone, who lives in Music City. “They’re everywhere. My HVAC guy has great guitars!”
Stirratt purchased this Gibson Hummingbird after recording Wilco's debut, AM.
Mark Finkelpearl
Since Sansone is a local, he brought his 1956 Gibson Country Western and a vintage Martin D-18, both of which “record wonderfully.” There’s a lot of nylon-string guitar on Here and Nowhere, and it comes courtesy of “a $150 Takamine that I bought 15 years ago,” Sansone says. “I have some other, more expensive nylon-string guitars, but I keep coming back to that Takamine. It sounds incredible.”
The musicians draw a straight line between the kind of guitars they first discovered during their childhoods and the sonic vibe they strive to capture in Autumn Defense. “Our big influences came from sitting around playing songs from Love, America, Scott Walker, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and David Crosby’s first solo album,” Sansone says. “That kind of stuff is the sonic framework that we love. It’s specific, but it’s also very broad. We want to be authentically expressive in our songwriting and our record-making.”
Stirratt jumps in, “Those records all have a shared atmosphere. And listening to that stuff, that’s generally when I’m inspired, and want to pick up an old guitar and try to write a song. I may not be actively chasing what those records are doing, but it’s where I’m going to go—into a warm atmosphere of, perhaps, potential longing or something. That’s the zone I’m looking for whenever I pick up a guitar.”
