Rig Rundown: Billy Strings

While Billy Strings spent his formative years on a Martin (or as he’d say, in front of the Martin watching his dad play), he’s been an avid user of Preston Thompson flattops that are handmade in Sisters, Oregon. He originally spent about two years on a their standard dreadnought model (with mahogany back and sides), but in 2017, he upgraded to a dread with Brazilian rosewood back and sides. He’s since added an Audio-Technica ATM350 mic taped below the soundhole and then also added a K&K Sound Pure Pickup system underneath the bridge saddle. It’s always strung up with D’Addario Phosphor Bronze Mediums (.013–.056) and prefers to play with BlueChip TD55 picks. Photo by Shelly Swanger

For most of the night, you’ll hear pure Preston Thompson tones, but when things get gnarly and Billy wants to push the headroom envelope, he engages this Fender Deluxe Reverb for a distorted signaled blended into the original DI feed.

To sculpt the Fender Deluxe Reverb’s tone, Strings will engage a Chase Bliss Brothers distortion and a Boss GE-7 Equalizer.

Things get real interesting with this flatpicker when he starts tapdancing on his board that includes a Chase Bliss Wombtone MkII, Source Audio Nemesis Delay, Eventide H9, Strymon Lex, two zany Electro-Harmonix creations—a Freeze and Pitch Fork—a Grace Design BiX DI, and a D’Addario Planet Waves Chromatic Tuner. All the stomps are controlled by the Boss ES-8 Switching System. (Not pictured: Whirlwind Micmute PP, Dunlop Volume (X) DVP3 Pedal, and an Ernie Ball Volume Pedal.)

Lurking under the board are Billy’s two secret weapons—a DigiTech Polara and Electro-Harmonix Micro POG. And everything (above and below) is powered by a Strymon Zuma.