I have always been a huge Brad Paisley fan ever since I heard “Me Neither” from his first album. When I first started building pedals one of my huge goals was to work with him, with the ultimate goal of developing pedals specifically for him.
Around 2002-3 or so, Brad was in concert in my town and I had the idea to take a BOSS pedal that I had modified and throw it up on stage in the hope he’d get to play it maybe. At this time, his show was a little smaller then it is now and the venue allowed for people to come up towards the stage and take a picture during one of the songs. I snuck the pedal in my coat pocket and walked up to the stage and tossed it on the stage in front of him. He looked down at me, then at the pedal, then back at me and then looked straight over to his tech and motioned for him to come and get it. I later found out what that guitar tech’s name was (Zac Childs), found his contact information, and then got a hold of him and asked if Brad had a chance to play the pedal yet. Brad had and liked it so much they invited me out to a show the next time they were in town. I was so excited I couldn’t stop smiling for days… And so this started off my relationship with Brad Paisley.
Over the years as I’ve got to know him and his band better it’s been truly amazing experience. There’s really nothing quite like the feeling of working with someone who you respect on a creative, emotional and musical level. To be able to build on that by creating guitar pedals especially for him that helps him to do what he does best even better, build effects that help inspire him to the write songs that inspire millions of people around the world is mind blowing.
A few days ago he was near me in Indianapolis so Amanda and I went out see him and we discussed doing some special projects together – A lot of very exciting things happening soon!
So, let’s be straight about this, you want to know what gear Brad is currently using, so here goes! Brad is the type of guy that is a huge tone nut and loves switching things around and trying new things when chasing tones. He started using some Marshall Plexi’s on the road (as you can see in the pictures) and since he uses a switcher he can switch in and out different amplifier heads as well as different cabinets. He can also switch any effect that he would like in at any time. Of course he has a ton of great guitars with him on the road including some beautiful old Fenders and of course those awesome hand built Crook Guitars. Over the last few years Brad has become more and more of a big fan of delay pedals, so he takes a ton out with him to try different types of delay for different things. In particular, he prefers a very clean digital style of delay for slapback, but really loves the ambience and atmosphere that different types of delay bring to him. Of course, he just loves using overdrive, distortion and fuzz in ways that you would not think would be indicative of country music. However, he gets very good tone out of his equipment and his tone is certainly identifiable to him no matter what he plays through! Here are a few pictures from before and during the show:
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