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Billy Strings, Photo: Filberthockey (a.k.a. Forrest L. Smith, III) (Wikimedia Commons)

Photo: Filberthockey (a.k.a. Forrest L. Smith, III) (Wikimedia Commons) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Billy Strings. Every item links to its public source.
50 items · Last checked

What guitar does Billy Strings play?

Billy Strings uses a 2018 Preston Thompson signature model as his main live guitar. Premier Guitar's 2023 Rig Rundown showed Thompson DBA dreadnoughts called Frankenstein and The Bride, 1940 and 1945 Martin D-28s and a custom D-45, plus a 21 pedal board, a Grace Design BiX and a Kemper Profiler.

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What gear Billy Strings uses: a sourced gear guide

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

Guitars

11 items

Stage

9 items

Pickups and mics

4 items

Amps

1 item

Pedalboard

22 items

Strings and picks

3 items
Questions

About Billy Strings's gear.

What guitar does Billy Strings play?

His main live guitar is a 2018 Preston Thompson signature model. The 2023 Rig Rundown showed his 2017 Thompson DBA dreadnought Frankenstein, a matching DBA called The Bride, 1940 and 1945 Martin D-28s and a custom D-45. In 2025 Martin launched his D-28 Billy Strings and D-X2E Billy Strings.

What is on Billy Strings' pedalboard?

The 2023 Rig Rundown showed 21 pedals run from an RJM Mastermind GT, including a Strymon Lex, Chase Bliss Mood and Wombtone, Eventide H9, Source Audio C4 Synth and Nemesis, Boss SY-1 and DD-8, EHX Pitch Fork, Freeze and Micro POG, Red Panda Raster and DigiTech Polara.

What pickups does Billy Strings use?

He has said he runs a K&K pickup into a Grace Design BiX. The 2023 Rig Rundown also showed a K&K Double Helix soundhole pickup and a Shure WB98H/C mic inside his main Thompson, feeding front of house and his in-ears. In 2019 he had an Audio-Technica ATM350 taped below the soundhole.

What strings does Billy Strings use?

D'Addario XS Phosphor Bronze .013 to .056. He has said he needs medium gauge and coated strings because they sweat so much onstage.

Does Billy Strings use an amp?

The 2019 Rig Rundown showed a Fender Deluxe Reverb blended with his DI feed for distorted sounds. By 2023 his acoustic signal ran through a Grace Design BiX and a Kemper Profiler with an SLO-100 profile.

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Billy Strings
About this guide · Last checked

Billy Strings is a Grammy-winning bluegrass guitarist and singer from Michigan who tours with a heavily effected acoustic rig. This guide covers his Preston Thompson and Martin guitars, strings, pickups, amp and pedalboard from Premier Guitar's 2019 and 2023 Rig Rundowns, plus his Martin signature models.

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

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