Whether in the studio or on solo gigs, the Nashville session-guitar star holds a lotta cards, with guitars and amps for everything he’s dealt.
Adam Shoenfeld has helped shape the tone of modern country guitar. How? Well, the Nashville-based session star, producer, and frontman has played on hundreds of albums and 45 No. 1 country hits, starting with Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown,” since 2005. Plus, he’s found time for several bands of his own as well as the first studio album under his own name,All the Birds Sing, which drops January 28.
Shoenfeld recently let PG’s John Bohlinger in on some of his sonic secrets, running through his session rig at East Nashville’s 3Sirens studio.
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Melody Maker Magic
Shoenfeld’s choice of guitar depends on the song, but a good deal of the time he plays his 1964-’65 Gibson Melody Maker. Before Adam got it, the guitar had been modded with a Badass bridge and the original pickup was swapped for a DiMarzio X2N engraved “1979.” All his electric guitars are strung with D’Addario NYXLs, gauged .010–.052.
It’s That Strat
People think they’re hearing humbuckers on Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown,” but it was played on this stock American-built 1998 Fender Stratocaster.
Orange Squeezer
Next in the arsenal is this Bigsby-equipped Gretsch 6120 from the early 2000s.
P-90 Powerhouse
For a P-90 tone, Shoenfeld goes with this 1964 Gibson SG Junior. Other than the bridge, the instrument is all stock.
Nashville Necessity
To cover country’s de rigueur twangy bite, Shoenfeld employs this Fender ’72 Telecaster Custom reissue, built in 2004.
Tricky Ricky
A rare, exotic gem, this all-stock 1964 Rickenbacker 330 is used by Shoenfeld for sessions and is his main guitar when he’s fronting his own project.
Morgan Workhorse
Shoenfeld describes this Morgan SW-50, modded by Joe Morgan for more headroom, as “very Bassman-ish, but a little squishier … tubier.”
First Bassman
He also relies on this racked blonde Fender Bassman from the early ’60s.
Ver-Z-tility
This jack-of-all-tones Dr. Z MAZ-38 has been modded by Nashville-based boutique amp make Ebo Customs.
Conjugatin’ Verb
Ebo Customs also made this sweet tube-driven E-Verb reverb unit. You’ll find one of these in fellow studio ace Tom Bukovac’s rack, too.
Vox Box
The Vox Cambridge was introduced in 1965. This one’s from the next year, when both tube and solid-state versions were made. Check out the video for the inside scoop on this doggie.
50 Watts of Law
The Marshall JMP combo is a truly iconic amp—with big teeth and big tone. This all-stock example was built in 1977.
Hemp Power
This Fender 2x12 Bandmaster bottom cab carries some fat: It’s loaded with a pair of Tone Tubby Hempcones.
Board, Not Bored
There’s plenty to get excited about in this pedalboard built by Nashville’s XAct Tone Solutions (XTS). First stop is an XTS buffer box, with in/out pass-throughs, an FX insert (between the Xotic AC Booster and Dyna Comp), a MIDI-in for the Line6 M9, external expression inputs, a click-in for the Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper, plus a buffer that’s always on, a ground switch, and an extra pedal power jack. Next: a Dunlop Volume (X), a ZVEX Box of Rock, the AC Booster, an MXR Dyna Comp, an EHX Pitch Fork, and Xotic X-Blender (keeping an EHX Micro-Synth and Jetpack Mods XP1000 modulation and filter pedal on tap), an original Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, a Catalinbread Teaser Stallion fuzz, the Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper tremolo, a Strymon Mobius, a Strymon El Capistan, and a Line 6 M9. Finally, there’s a versatile db Instrument Amp expression pedal with two left/right pots and two up/down pots. A Voodoo Labs Mondo supplies the juice.
On our season two finale, the country legend details his lead-guitar tricks on one of his biggest hits.
Get out the Kleenex, hankies, or whatever you use to wipe away your tears: It’s the last episode of this season of Shred With Shifty, a media event more consequential and profound than the finales of White Lotus and Severance combined. But there’ll be some tears of joy, too, because on this season two closer, Chris Shiflett talks with one of country music’s greatest players: Vince Gill.
Gill’s illustrious solo career speaks for itself, and he’s played with everyone from Reba McEntire and Patty Loveless to Ricky Skaggs and Dolly Parton. He even replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles after Frey’s death in 2017. His singing prowess is matched by his grace and precision on the fretboard, skills which are on display on the melodic solo for “One More Last Chance.” He used the same blackguard 1953 Fender Telecaster that you see in this interview to record the lead, although he might not play the solo the exact way he did back in 1992.
Tune in to learn how Gill dialed his clean tone with a tip from Roy Nichols, why he loves early blackguard Telecasters and doesn’t love shredders, and why you never want to be the best player during a studio session.
If you’re able to help, here are some charities aimed at assisting musicians affected by the fires in L.A:
https://guitarcenterfoundation.org
https://www.cciarts.org/relief.html
https://www.musiciansfoundation.org
https://fireaidla.org
https://www.musicares.org
https://www.sweetrelief.org
Credits
Producer: Jason Shadrick
Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis
Engineering Support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion
Video Editor: Addison Sauvan
Graphic Design: Megan Pralle
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
Super versatile EQ. Punchy and powerful in tracking situations. Surprisingly sweet clean tones. Useful DI features. Fun!
Midrange focus comes at expense of airiness. Push button switches can be noisy.
$299
Peavey Joshua Homme Decade Too
The punchy and potent practice amp that propelled many classic QOTSA tracks proves surprisingly versatile thanks to a flexible EQ section and cool clean tones.
One of the reasons classic Queens of the Stone Age tracks leap from radio speakers like striking vipers is because Josh Homme is a true recording artist—an individual that chases and realizes the sounds in his mind by any means necessary. When you play the 10-watt, solid-state Peavey Decade Too with Homme and QOTSA in mind you understand why the original Peavey Decade became integral to that process. It’s feral, present, nasty, bursting with punky attitude, and when tracked and mixed with a booming bass, sounds positively menacing. But it’s also a lovely clean jangle machine that will lend energy to paisley psych pop or punch to a Bakersfield Telecaster solo.
Objectively speaking, if you’ve played an ’80s Peavey practice amp before, you will know many of these sounds well. (Many of my own early amplified experiences came courtesy of a borrowed Backstage 30, so they are etched deep in my marrow and consciousness.) Like any small amp with a little speaker and cabinet, it’s marked by an inherent, pronounced midrange honk—no doubt, an ingredient that Homme found appealing in his original Decade. The saturation is thick and surprisingly dimensional. But it’s the 3-band EQ, with added bass and top-end boost buttons, that really extends the versatility of the Decade Too. In many contexts, it made a cherished vintage Fender Champ sound like a one-trick pony. The Decade Too may not excel at cooking-tubes-style distortion, but in terms of punch, clarity, and versatility in the studio environment, it delivers the goods.
Peavey Josh Homme Decade Too 10-watt 1 x 8-inch Combo Amplifier
Decade Too 1x8" 10w Combo AmpNew RAT Sound Solution Offers a Refined Evolution of Distortion
ACT Entertainment ’s iconic RAT brand has unveiledthe Sterling Vermin, a boutique distortion guitar pedal that blends heritage tone with modernrefinement. With a new take on RAT’s unmistakable sound, Sterling Vermin delivers a new levelof precision and versatility.
“The Sterling Vermin was born from a desire for something different — something refined, withthe soul of a traditional RAT pedal, but with a voice all its own,” says Shawn Wells, MarketManager—Sound, ACT Entertainment, who designed the pedal along with his colleague MattGates. “Built in small batches and hand-soldered in ACT’s Jackson, Missouri headquarters, theSterling Vermin is a work of pure beauty that honors the brand legacy while taking a bold stepforward for creativity.”
The Sterling Vermin features the LM741 Op-Amp and a pair of selectable clipping diodes.Players can toggle between the traditional RAT silicon diode configuration for a punchy, mid-range bite, or the BAT41 option for a smoother, more balanced response. The result is a pedalthat’s equally at home delivering snarling distortion or articulate, low-gain overdrive, with a wide,usable tonal range throughout the entire gain spectrum.
The pedal also features CTS pots and oversized knobs for even, responsive control that affordsa satisfying smoothness to the rotation, with just the right amount of tension. Additionally, thepolished stainless-steel enclosure with laser-annealed graphics showcases the merging of thepedal’s vintage flavor and striking design.
“From low-gain tones reminiscent of a Klon or Bluesbreaker, to high-gain settings that flirt withBig Muff territory — yet stay tight and controlled — the Sterling Vermin is a masterclass indynamic distortion,” says Gates, an ACT Entertainment Sales Representative. “With premiumcomponents, deliberate design and a focus on feel, the Sterling Vermin is more than a pedal, it’sa new chapter for RAT.”
The RAT Sterling Vermin is available immediately and retails for $349 USD. For moreinformation about this solution, visit: actentertainment.com/rat-distortion .
Two guitars, two amps, and two people is all it takes to bring the noise.
The day before they played the coveted Blue Room at Third Man Records in Nashville, the Washington, D.C.-based garage-punk duo Teen Mortgage released their debut record, Devil Ultrasonic Dream. Not a bad couple of days for a young band.
PG’s Chris Kies caught up with guitarist and vocalist James Guile at the Blue Room to find out how he builds the band’s bombastic guitar attack.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Devilish Dunable
Guile has been known to use Telecasters and Gretsches in the past, but this time out he’s sticking with this Dunable Cyclops DE, courtesy of Gwarsenio Hall—aka Jordan Olds of metal-themed comedy talk show Two Minutes to Late Night. Guile digs the Dunable’s lightness on his shoulders, and its balance of high and low frequencies.
Storm Warning
What does Guile like about this Squier Cyclone? Simple: its color. This one is also nice and easy on the back, and Guile picked it up from Atomic Music in Beltsville, Maryland.
Crushing It
Guile also scooped this Music Man 410-HD from Atomic, which he got just for this tour for a pretty sweet deal. It runs alongside an Orange Crush Bass 100 to rumble out the low end.
James Guile’s Pedalboard
The Electro-Harmonix Micro POG and Hiwatt Filter Fuzz MkII run to the Orange, while everything else—a DigiTech Whammy, Pro Co Lil’ RAT, and Death by Audio Echo Dream 2—runs to the Music Man. A TC Helicon Mic Mechanic is on board for vocal assistance, and a TC Electronic PolyTune 3, Morley ABY, and Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 3 Plus keep the ship afloat.