Sturgill Simpson

Used for vocals on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

Simpson told Ferguson he likes to sing into a beyerdynamic M 160 mic, which Ferguson appreciated. “Those ribbon mics will take a lot of sound pressure and they don’t leak very much,” Ferguson says. “You get any mic in a room with a bunch of drums, bass amps, and all that sh[*]t going on, and it helps to have a mic that doesn’t leak very much but has a warm, smooth sound.” Also in Simpson’s vocal chain: the same UA 6176 pre that Ferguson used with Johnny Cash, and a rented Fairchild 660.

Used for vocals on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

Simpson told Ferguson he likes to sing into a beyerdynamic M 160 mic, which Ferguson appreciated. “Those ribbon mics will take a lot of sound pressure and they don’t leak very much,” Ferguson says. “You get any mic in a room with a bunch of drums, bass amps, and all that sh[*]t going on, and it helps to have a mic that doesn’t leak very much but has a warm, smooth sound.” Also in Simpson’s vocal chain: the same UA 6176 pre that Ferguson used with Johnny Cash, and a rented Fairchild 660.

In 2017 Simpson's longtime lead guitarist Laur Joamets left his band. Since then, Sturgill has been playing lead/electric guitar at his shows.

Source video shows Sturgil playing his white tele live. He's also been seen playing at least two other Teles, as seen in these videos (first and second video might be the same guitar, with the decal added sometime between 2011 and 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsrsrOB0zNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU19dWpeWTg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P58tvWhP8MM

In this article in the Martin Journal of Acoustic Guitars, Sturgill talks about his number one guitar, his HD-28v. He tells the story of trading for the guitar at Gruhn's Guitar's in Nashville. This is the main acoustic Sturgill used throughout the first few years of his career. Sturgill carved his name and strumming pattern into the guitar so he could never sell or trade it.

Sturgill aquired this Ditson-style dreadnaught (modeled after the origional Martins built for Ditson department stores in the 1920s) after becoming a Martin Ambasador. It has mahogany back and sides, adirondack spruce top, is 12 frets to the body, and features a slotted headstock.

In his interview for the Martin Journal of Acoustic Guitars (Vol. 5, January 2016), Sturgil talks about why he chose this particular guitar: "I like a lot of bottom end, because I'm primarily a rythm player and a singer," says Simpson. "I picked up a couple 12-fret older model Dreadnaughts in the stores, and they just felt like more resonant, louder guitars. And then I saw the Ditson in the Martin Museum when I toured the factory and just kind of fell in love with the simplicity of the aesthetic of it. No bells or whistles, just a workhorse. This one's really alive already, I can tell, and I'm excited to hear it in a couple of years. I really would like to meet the luthiers who made it, 'cause it's just an absolute tank. It sounds like a cannon." (https://issuu.com/cfmartin/docs/martinjournal_vol5_jan2016)

Sturgill Simpson LIVE: Welcome to the Earth (Pollywog) / It Ain't All Flowers / The Promise, Outlaw Country Music Festival, Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA, September 21, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx9FyWVJIZk

Sturgill Simpson plays a Gibson Les Paul Custom Florentine live on KCRW in 2016

You can see Sturgill Simpson playing a Gibson Les Paul Standard at the Special Forces Foundation Benefit in October 6, 2019

Hiwatt themselve say Sturgill uses one in their April 2018 catalog, and can be seen in his Bonnaroo set. https://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/sturgill-simpson-plays-brace-for-impact-at-bonnaroo-2018-w521453

According to the L.R. Baggs website Simpson uses this pedal.

"I’ve also been really enjoying this Black Tiger Delay by Greer, which is a really strong delay that has a function that lets you keep your delay trails when you turn the pedal on and off, so when I need to do really psychedelic, longer-note or atmospheric stuff, I use that feature. It allows me to play interesting things with a dry signal under the delay trails."

"One piece of gear that I’m really enjoying with the steel is a phaser pedal made by Mad Professor. It has a blend knob that lets you blend the phase effect in with your dry signal, which sounds a lot more organic and natural. A lot of phaser pedals can be overwhelming and I like that this one lets you fine-tune it without dialing out all of your dry signal."

"I’ve been using a Mad Professor Simble pre-driver pedal when I need to drive the amplifier a little more. I think it’s a brilliant, simple pedal. It’s just got two options—loud and louder—and a footswitch."

"I might have had a TC Electronic Hall of Fame for a little reverb, but that track is basically just those two amps and that Telecaster."

Used as a vocal mic, as stated A Sailor’s Guide to Earth producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

Simpson told Ferguson he likes to sing into a beyerdynamic M 160 mic, which Ferguson appreciated. “Those ribbon mics will take a lot of sound pressure and they don’t leak very much,” Ferguson says. “You get any mic in a room with a bunch of drums, bass amps, and all that sh[*]t going on, and it helps to have a mic that doesn’t leak very much but has a warm, smooth sound.” Also in Simpson’s vocal chain: the same UA 6176 pre that Ferguson used with Johnny Cash, and a rented Fairchild 660.

Used for the acoustic guitar on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

On the songs that include acoustic guitar, such as the second track, “Breakers Roar,” Simpson plays while he sings and Ferguson captured his guitar with an AKG 451, into a UA 2-610 preamp, and to Pro Tools HD11.

The lack of specification suggests an original E version.

Used for the acoustic guitar on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

On the songs that include acoustic guitar, such as the second track, “Breakers Roar,” Simpson plays while he sings and Ferguson captured his guitar with an AKG 451, into a UA 2-610 preamp, and to Pro Tools HD11.

Pro Tools HD11 was used to record the acoustic guitar on A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, as stated by producer David Ferguson in this May 4, 2016 Mix Online interview.

On the songs that include acoustic guitar, such as the second track, “Breakers Roar,” Simpson plays while he sings and Ferguson captured his guitar with an AKG 451, into a UA 2-610 preamp, and to Pro Tools HD11.