By his own admission, Chris Stapleton may not be the most technical of guitar players, but the Grammy-winning musician has cultivated a sound that is all his own. Stapleton credits his unmistakable tone in part to a potent combo: his guitar of choice, a Fender Jazzmaster, and a vintage 1962 Fender amplifier that he gingerly hauls from show to show, perpetually hoping it wont burn out.
This week, Stapleton ensured hed never lose that warm sound when he and the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation debuted his own line of signature amps: the Fender 62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition. The singer-songwriter introduced the amp the companys first signature amplifier with a country-music artist during an intimate Nashville mix-and-mingle at RCA Studio A, where Stapleton cut all three of his solo albums with producer Dave Cobb.
Despite lending his name to the project, Stapleton isnt looking to cash in hes donating all of his royalties to his charity with wife Morgane, the Outlaw State of Kind Fund. As he told Rolling Stone and reiterated during a panel discussion with Cobb and Fender reps Ben Blanc-Dumont and Shane Nicholas, he teamed up with the company simply because he wanted another 62 Princeton. I wanted to coerce them into building something they hadnt built in 60 years. Very quickly it turned from, We can build that to Can we build them and sell them? I said, Of course you can as long as I get some,' says Stapleton, who teased that he may also collaborate with the company on a signature guitar.
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As he gears up for another summer of his All-American Road Show Tour, we talked to Stapleton about his amp, the possibility of new music and how he found himself singing 9 to 5 for Dolly Parton.
This partnership started when you reached out to Fender to get a replacement amp?
Yeah. They have a custom shop and these early Sixties brown-faced Princetons have become my thing that I use. Previous to this, Ive had to scour the earth and find ones that were functioning enough to make them usable. Theyre pretty sturdy instruments, but you know, theres always a transformer thats going to go out. Its kind of a crapshoot.
Theres some trepidation there that you may be left without your rig.
Up until halfway through this year, when [Fender] brought me the final version of this [new] amp, thats what I was floating around playing, hoping that none of them went down I was always buying old ones and hoping they held up. When I got this one, I sat there at the [Los Angeles] Forum and [compared] them at soundcheck, and said, Were using the new one tonight. And thats what I used the whole rest of the year. Im so happy to have it. Its remarkable. The new one is better than 95 percent of the old ones Ive gotten ahold of.
What is it about this amp that defines your sound?
Its a really great amp for any size room and it works in a stadium just as well as it works in a club. Its dummy proof just a volume and a tone. A hundred knobs doesnt do you any good if none of it sounds good. You can find something you like just by turning a couple of knobs.
You primarily play a Fender Jazzmaster. Why that guitar?
The first one I bought was in the mid-2000s, a reissue of a 62 oddly enough. I made a rock record with that guitar [with the Jompson Brothers]. I like the scale of it. The one I bought was ocean turquoise. It wasnt a color I looked at and was going, Oh man, I need that surf guitar! But I played it and, like with a car, you can meld with things: This is my guitar. Thats how that happened. There is a great comfort in knowing what your rig is and then you dont have to fool with it anymore.
Its the attention to detail that sets apart your amp line. Like the canvas cover made by outdoor-gear company Filson.
Thats something I dreamed up and I think everybody thought I was maybe a little kooky to ask for it. Back in the day, when they made amps, they had luggage companies make covers for them. The Victoria luggage company. When I was growing up, my dad was a bird hunter and he used Filson things. I adopted a taste for those because they last a long time. Things that work is what Im looking for on the road. I used to be in charge of packing the truck and you want to conserve space, and putting everything in a big road case is not always an option.
Marcus King is a monster player and singer. Hes one of my new favorite talents.
When you write, do you pick up an acoustic or electric?
Primarily acoustic. But Ill write on electric. Or a kazoo if the spirit leads. Im not prejudiced against what to write on.
Have you been writing?
A little bit here and there. Not a whole lot. Some with other people for other projects and doing some guest spots on things. Youll hear me and see me pop up here and there this year. A lot of that is dependent on other peoples timelines.
Are you working on a new album of your own?
We did some experimentation, but we havent dove into one yet. And probably wont this year. Everybody might be sick of me I might be sick of me. So well give it a break for a minute.
The All-American Road Show gets back in full swing this summer with some interesting guests, like Marcus King Band.
I didnt know Dave made his last record [Carolina Confessions]. Dave kept saying you should take him on the road. Hes a monster player and singer. Hes one of my new favorite talents.
What else are you listening to these days?
Weve got 10-month-old twins and another one on the way, and one of my twins likes salsa music and the other likes the Cox Family, easygoing bluegrass. Who knew? Thats the great thing about being 10-months-old, you dont know what you should like or not, you just like it.
So how did you end up singing 9 to 5 at the MusiCares tribute to Dolly Parton during Grammy Week?
We had asked to do a different song, and they said they werent doing that one and by the time that got back to me, I asked, Whats left? By some anomaly, no one picked 9 to 5. Its a really cool funky song. Ive never heard a man sing it and Dolly hadnt either. It was such a huge commercial success that sometimes we can discount huge commercial successes as not poetic or something? Thats a shame. Its so engrained in your head that its always been there, but its a great piece of work too.