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The Aussie star strums an Em chord on an Eric Clapton Signature Strat with Lace Sensor pickups.
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Make-up courtesy MAC Cosmetics
Asked about his ultimate tone, Urban
says he loves amps that have lots of headroom without sounding sterile. To that end,
he owns many revered amplifiers—
including a Dumble Overdrive Special and an
EL34-driven, 45-watt Trainwreck Express,
both of which feature prominently on Get
Closer. However, he’s sticking to old Fenders
and Marshalls—a purple 100-watt 1969
Marshall Super Bass head and a mid-’60s
blackface Fender Showman—on the road.
Miller says the amps are routed through
two vintage Marshall 4x12 speaker cabinets
loaded with Electro-Voice speakers and two
Alessandro open-backed 2x12s, so that each
head goes through six speakers, “as loud as I
can get them without them breaking up.”
No Vintage Snob
Despite his drool-inducing collection of
old 6-strings and amps, Urban’s arsenal also
includes some offbeat acquisitions.
“He has a thing for cheap guitars with a
funky, lo-fi vibe,” guitar tech Miller laughs.
“He owns several old Airlines and Teiscos
that were damaged in the flood and have yet
to be put back in working order. He recent-
ly got another Teisco that [Nashville tech]
Joe Glaser is improving so it can be used
during a gig—the bridge is a little dodgy.”
Urban himself ascribes the habit of
buying these overlooked instruments to a
Charlie Brown-like desire to take care of an
item everyone else ignores.
Taking It on the Road
Typically, studio versions of tunes
are rearranged and adjusted for live
