Nashville Royalty: Capturing the Guitar Tones of Country’s Greatest Pickers (With Neural Amp Models)
Discover how to recreate Nashville’s greatest country guitar tones with TONE3000 NAM captures.
If your wife drove off in your truck, ran over your dog, and left you with nothing but your pride and an old guitar, then you probably already know a thing or two about country music. For beginners, just knowing a few cowboy chords is all you need to start singing your own story. But to get to the next level of playing great country guitar, you need to learn from the masters. In this guide, we’ll explore the amps behind country music legends and show how you can capture their signature sounds using Neural Amp Models (NAMs) and impulse responses (IRs) from TONE3000.
Chet Atkins
The father of the “Nashville sound,” Chet Atkins is arguably the greatest country music guitarist of all time. He’s best known for his incredibly precise fingerpicking technique, but that’s only half of the story. His ability to write unbelievably complex musical arrangements—and play them with genre-defining tone—is what takes his playing to the next level. His rig often featured a Gretsch 6120 or Country Gentleman through a clean, vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb, producing warm mids and shimmering highs.
Download Neural Amp Model ➝ Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb
Download Impulse Response ➝ Fender 1x12 Jensen C12N
Pickin’ and grinnin’ with Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed
Danny Gatton
If you’ve ever heard of a head cutting content, you’ll know that Danny Gatton was the last guy you’d want to go to battle with. His blazing-fast picking and total mastery of the neck made Danny Gatton the most formidable guitar-duelist ever, regardless of genre. How good was he at winning these battles? So good that he earned himself a nickname: The Humbler. To get his tone, run a Fender Telecaster through a Fender Super Reverb (or similar vintage circuit), and prepare to shred—country style.
Download Neural Amp Model ➝ Fender Super Reverb 1977
Danny Gatton, aka “The Humbler”
Brad Paisley
Modern country has no shortage of guitar heroes, with Brad Paisley leading the pack as this era’s dominant guitar slinger. While he can channel the traditional flavor of early-era country guitarists, he really takes off when he starts chicken-pickin’ with his unmistakable high-octane twang. Paisley is practically married to the Telecaster, which he pairs with Dr. Z amps to deliver bright attack, lush mids, and an unmistakable sparkle.
Download Neural Amp Model ➝ Dr. Z Remedy
Paisley keeps it fast, clean, and 100% country
Brent Mason
His name isn’t usually on the album cover, but if you’ve heard a country music record made in the last 30 years, you’ve probably heard Nashville studio legend Brent Mason. As a child prodigy, he was discovered and mentored by Chet Atkins himself. During his long career as Nashville’s most in-demand session musician, he’s played on hundreds of hit records and been honored as "Guitarist of the Year" 12 times by the Academy of Country Music. Like many Nashville guitarists, Mason loves the Fender Telecaster for its clean-yet-biting tone that's pretty much synonymous with modern country music. Pair that with a Fender Twin Reverb and you’re ready to cut some sides with his signature tone. Just make sure to master the Nashville Number System before you hit the studio.
Download Neural Amp Model ➝ Fender Twin Reverb
Download Impulse Response ➝ Fender 2x12 Oxford 12T6
Brent Mason shows of his IRL rig (but you can download his tone—no hardware necessary)
Pickin’ the Future
From the golden age of Atkins to Paisley’s modern brilliance, country guitar has always been about feel, touch, and tone. TONE3000 lets you recreate these timeless sounds with free NAM captures and IRs. So plug in, pick clean, and let your thumb do the talkin’.
