truerecs
Explore truerecs
Log inFor artists
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Big Country.Are you Big Country? Claim this page
b
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Big Country. Every item links to its public source.
19 items · Last checked

What guitar does Big Country play?

Bruce Watson uses a Fender Japan 50th Anniversary Telecaster converted to an Esquire and a Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has said he played a Yamaha SG500 on the first two Big Country albums, through HH VS Musician, Music Man and Marshall amps, with MXR pitch transposers and an EBow.

Shop the gear
AllTop 5Bruce Watson (guitar)Stuart Adamson (guitar and vocals)
Top 5

Where to start with Big Country's gear.

01
02
03
04
05

What guitars Big Country uses: a sourced gear guide

Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.

Bruce Watson (guitar)

18 items

Stuart Adamson (guitar and vocals)

1 item
Questions

About Big Country's gear.

What guitar does Bruce Watson play?

In 2026 he told Guitarist and Guitar World that his main guitars are a Fender Japan 50th Anniversary Telecaster his tech converted to an Esquire and a Gibson Les Paul Junior. A custom Antigua Burst Stratocaster is his main studio guitar.

What guitar did Bruce Watson use on The Crossing?

He has said his Yamaha SG500 was used on all the early tours and the first two Big Country albums. It now has Ghost pickups by Wilf Vissenga.

How did Big Country get the bagpipe guitar sound?

Watson has said they used rack effects rather than pedals, including MXR M-129 Analog Pitch Transposers and echo units, plus an EBow, with no distortion pedals, just amp gain.

What amps did Big Country use?

Watson has said he used HH VS Musician and IC 100 combos, a Marshall 800 and a Music Man amp bought from Damian O'Neill of The Undertones. Early on the band also used a Carlsbro Stingray.

What guitar did Stuart Adamson play?

Bruce Watson has said Adamson played a 1978 or 1979 Fender Stratocaster with an Antigua finish on In a Big Country.

BC
Big Country
About this guide · Last checked

Big Country are the Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline in 1981 by Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson, known for In a Big Country and Fields of Fire. This guide covers Bruce Watson's guitars and amps from his 2026 Guitarist gear tour and Guitar World interview, plus the gear behind the band's bagpipe-like twin guitars.

truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Big Country didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.

Report an error or ask for removal. We fix or remove within 72 hours. You don't need to sign up.

Are you Big Country?

Claim this page to make it yours: verify with your Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, keep what's right, drop what isn't, and add your own.

Claim this page
truerecs gear guides are independent research from public sources, not made or approved by the artist. Store buttons on this page may be affiliate links: truerecs may earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Big Country isn't paid for them. Report an error or ask for removal. Full disclosure.