Generally speaking you can play any musical genre with most guitar rigs. No matter what sound you are hoping to achieve most setups will have a basic clean sound for pop and roots based music and some form of overdrive or distortion for punchier, “rockier” styles. Many entry level “bedroom” amplifiers offer so much more these days than just two basic channels with onboard effects and even connectivity to handy apps helping you to produce your desired sound.

As you develop your playing and move into more specific sounds and styles you may find you will want to personalise your rig to suit a particular genre of music. The good news is putting together a genre specific rig to suit a certain style does not have to mean spending major dollars and the advantage being not only will you get the sound you want, you will also start to feel you have invested in and connected to your chosen musical style. We assembled a panel of dedicated Musos Corner product demonstrators who are very serious about their respective musical styles and asked them to put together two rigs, one for under $1000 dollars to suit someone who is upgrading from their first basic all round set up the second is most or less a dream rig where money is no object just to see what is possible. The caveat here is we are not just spending money for the sake of it rather putting together a pro rig that will deliver the right sound, feel and aesthetics and stand up to the rigours of playing night after night.

All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication. (July - 2022)

Budget Rig

For the “budget” set up we have tried to make this as close to your first upgrade to your rig as possible, with this in mind we are not really specifying a professional rig meant for stage use. We are concentrating on getting you a rig with the sound, playability and vibe of your chosen style. As upgrading all of your rig in one go is a rare thing due to budget we suggest you swap out your equipment as necessary to your requirements. You will find depending upon the style that amp wattage (volume) will vary considerably as required by each style.  

Dream Rig

For the “dream” set up we have specified no budget, however, as specified earlier we are not just looking to burn money here like a rockstar but just meet our favourite requirements based on sound, playability, reliability, durability and vibe, this can be often achieved without just going out and buying the most expensive equipment available. As we are “the people’s music store”, you won’t find any boutique or overly exotic gear on these lists, just easily readily available classics that have stood the test of time. 

What's in a rig?

Hypothetically included in each rig:

  • We have hypothetically included all the leads and patch cables you will need for each rig
  • We have hypothetically included a clip-on tuner for the budget rigs and a pedal tuner in the dream rig. We have also included a power supply or power brick for all pedal setups.
  • The other proviso we have is we are hypothetically supplying a road crew for the Dream Rigs so space and weight is not a factor in these decisions as you don’t have to lug it so you can knock yourself out.
  • All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication.

Budget Country Rig

for under $1000 (spec’d by SS)

Guitar - SX ASH3TNA Thin-line Telecaster Style guitar ($475.00)

SX guitars offer a quality and playing experience way beyond their price point and the ASH series of guitars is certainly no exception. A telecaster style of guitar has always been the primary weapon of choice for an electric guitar in country music and a thin-line also offers a chambered body with a centre block to minimise feedback. This guitar will still retain the chime and twang required of the style yet will also be warmer and rounder with more bottom end than a traditional telecaster. The ash body will retain treble whilst also providing sustain and traditional single coil tele pickups rather than usual wide range humbuckers associated with thin-line guitars will keep us in a safe and familiar country.

Amplifier - Fender Champion 40 ($339)

Fender are renowned for their clean tone and this 40 watt no nonsense workhorse is a perfect choice for country and roots styles. Many entry level practice amps are packed with features with associated apps and menus whilst this one like good country music is stripped back, straight forward and no nonsense. The 12 inch speaker will produce a large and clean tone and the inbuilt effects are perfect for the style. Reverb, delay and tremolo are all easily accessed and shaped from the front panel and there is a tap function for delay and tremolo. If you need some drive there is also an overdrive channel which is foot-switchable. Giddy up.

Effect Pedals - MXR Dyna Comp ($145.00)

This one is one of the most popular compressor pedals ever produced and again is striped back with just an output and sensitivity control. Perfect for tightening up chicken picking lines, adding sustain to lead lines or adding a “percussive chime” to your sound the Dyna Comp is an easy solution that has stood the test the time.

The Dream Country Rig

+$1000 (spec’d by SS)

Guitar - Fender Vintage Custom 1950 Double Esquire NOS, Maple Fingerboard in Butterscotch Blonde ($6299.00)

Butterscotch blonde, maple neck with a blackguard definitely strongly ticks the country vibe. Even though labelled an Esquire which is generally associated with single pickups these two 50/51 blackguard pickups will give you all the sound variation you need from glassy, to chime to twang. The rift sawn maple neck will keep things nice and spanky and the additional resistor built into the rhythm circuit promises a sweeter tone from the neck pickup. The vintage V shaped neck and medium vintage frets complete this very pretty picture.

Amplifier - Fender 65 Twin Reverb ($2979.00)

This amplifier is truly recognised as a classic clean valve amplifier and revered as one of the best backline amps ever made. The reverb and tremolo is also legendary and foot-switchable. 85 watts into two Jensen ceramic speakers will ensure things stay clean and tidy at big volumes and this amp will take drive and colour pedals perfectly. The twin is also known as a backbreaker, coming in at 30kgs, however, luckily our hypothetical road-crew are doing the heavy lifting whilst you get to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Visual Sound Route 66 Compressor / Overdrive ($369.00)

This one is one of our favourite pedals and many staff members have purchased this for all sorts of styles. This twin effect pedal boasts a really transparent compressor with no nonsense controls which can induce a subtle boost, extra sustain or be totally slammed for a classic country effect. The overdrive is also simple yet has so much to offer in terms of variety and options such as reversing the compressor and overdrive, you basically have two entirely separate pedals in one housing.

The true bypass option will also keep the integrity of the tone of your expensive guitar and amplifier as it would be a tragedy to compromise such a wonderful rig with an unwanted coloured sound. This one will work perfectly with the Twin reverb and is necessary if you need to scuff up the tone with some drive as the Twin is single channel.