Sturgill Simpson's country infused disco-rock project's gear gets a much needed deep dive.
Sturgill Simpson has spent his career refusing to sit still. From the psychedelic outlaw stylings of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, to the fuzzed-out, synth-driven boogie rock of Sound and Fury, to the pure acoustic bluegrass of Cuttin’ Grass, the Kentucky-born artist has always remained an enigma. These days, he’s touring in his unbelievably tight band, Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds, playing sweaty, powerful, and unrelenting three-hour sets in support of the band’s newest record, Mutiny After Midnight: an unapologetically horny “disco hedonism” record that takes unmerciful aim at the Trump administration.
So, let’s take a look at the gear JBS and his virtuoso lead guitarist Laur Joamets are using to bring these marathon sets to the masses.
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Guitars
Simpson’s main axe is his 1962 Gibson ES-335, a semi-hollow with an unusual pedigree and a “Peter Green mod” that gives it a vocal, out-of-phase character in the middle position. Alongside it sits his long-serving 1956 Fender Esquire, the kind of one-and-only workhorse that most rhythm guitarists spend a lifetime chasing. Simpson has also been spotted using a Les Paul on his current tour, potentially his 2014 Gibson Custom Shop Historic Select ’59 Sunburst.
Joamets, on the other hand, has always mostly rocked his 1974 Fender Telecaster, a family heirloom that’s been rebuilt more times than anyone can count and remains a constant headache for his guitar tech, thanks to a truss rod that barely functions. The electronics have been swapped and upgraded just as often over the years — Joamets currently runs a bridge pickup gifted to him by Simpson, said to be pulled from a ’52 reissue, alongside a Lollar Royal T in the neck position. For this run, though, he’s also reaching for a Fano Guitars PX6 as well, a swamp ash-bodied instrument loaded with a humbucker gifted by his own father in the bridge and a Lollar P-90 Staple pickup in the neck, alongside a black Fender Stratocaster for good measure.
Amps
Tone starts and ends with Magnatone on this tour. Simpson runs a pair of Magnatone Panoramic Stereo amps, chosen for the kind of genuinely immersive stereo-tremolo effect that’s hard to fake with a single cab. Magnatone has built a cult following among tone purists over the decades, best known for its distinctive pitch-shifting vibrato circuit — a warmer, more organic-sounding alternative to the standard amplitude tremolo found in most amps. The brand has gone through several eras and ownership changes since its earliest days, but has recently seen a resurgence, with a renewed focus on hand-wired, boutique-style construction that’s brought it back into favour with players chasing something distinct from the usual amp staples.
Joamets, meanwhile, splits his own signal across a Magnatone Varsity Reverb and a hand-built amp affectionately known as “the Charmer” — keeping the tonal DNA in the family while giving himself two distinct flavours to work with on stage. Joamets also uses a Stage One pedal steel, tuned to E9, for the set’s more country-leaning moments — an instrument Simpson gifted him back in 2016 specifically so his co-guitarist could pick it up, and one Joamets has said he’s still mastering to this day.
Pedals
Simpson’s board is close to nothing at all — a Peterson Stomp Classic tuner, a Fulltone True-Path ABY-ST splitter, and a LILY P4D to keep his vocal mic isolated. It’s a refreshing reminder that sometimes the best tone is the one you don’t have to chase through an elaborate setup.
Joamets takes the opposite approach entirely, with a West Coast Pedal Board-built rig packing a Peterson StroboStomp, Greer Amps Arbuckle Trem, sRossFX fuzz/overdrive, MXR Booster, T-Rex Replica, sRossFX germanium octave, TC Electronic Viscous Vibe, Dunlop EP103 Echoplex, Source Audio True Spring Reverb, and an MXR Tap for delay tempo. On his dedicated pedal steel board, Joamets also runs a Peterson StroboStomp HD, Greer Black Tiger delay, and a Goodrich Sound Company volume pedal.
Check out Mutiny After Midnight here.
Magnatone are distributed in Australia through Better Music
