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From issue 338 of Guitarist:

You might think you know country guitar tone. That twangy Telecaster-into-a-Blackface-Fender deal? Well do yourself a favour and listen to the genre's biggest current name: Brad Paisley.

Fans will already know his trademark tones, but our issue 332 cover star's choice of vintage-Vox inspired amps and Celestion alnico speakers adds up to a more gainy, harmonically rich and rocky collection of sounds, compared with classic Bakersfield twang.

An Ibanez TS-808 Tube Screamer fan of some magnitude, Brad has nevertheless been wanting something more from his mainstay gain stomper. And for that, he turned to highly renowned US high-end stompbox company, Wampler.

Here are five soundclips that pair the Paisley Drive with a Fender Highway 1 Texas Telecaster, an Orange Tiny Terror head and a 1 x 12 cabinet loaded with a Celestion Alnico Blue 12-inch speaker.

We mic'ed the cab with a Shure SM57 and an Electro Harmonix ribbon mic, adding a touch of spring reverb simulation from Apple Logic Pro's Pedalboard plug in. Here we go then…

Reference tone (pedal turned off)

Reference tone

Tone 1 (settings above)

Tone 2 (settings above)

Tone 3 (settings above)

Tone 4 (settings above)

Tone 5 (settings above)

Read the full review in Guitarist issue 338, February 2011. You can buy a single physical copy or subscribe here

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