Fender
'62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition
Top 5SponsoredHas said they use
“We're using the new one tonight.”
Said in Rolling Stone: Chris Stapleton on Creating New Signature Fender Amp, February 2019
No store page for this one.
Photo: Steve Kwak, Maryland GovPics · CC BY 2.0
Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Chris Stapleton. Every item links to its public source.
14 items · Last checked What guitar does Chris Stapleton play?
Chris Stapleton has said he plays Fender Jazzmasters, including a 1964 his wife gave him, through early-'60s Fender Princetons and his signature '62 Princeton. He writes on a 1950s Gibson LG-2 and has said he played his Epiphone Chris Stapleton Frontier acoustic onstage every night for a year and a half.
Top 5
Where to start with Chris Stapleton's gear.
What guitars Chris Stapleton uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Amps
Fender
'62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition
SponsoredHas said they use
“We're using the new one tonight.”
Said in Rolling Stone: Chris Stapleton on Creating New Signature Fender Amp, February 2019
No store page for this one.
Fender
Early-'60s brownface Princetons
Has said they use
“these early Sixties brown-faced Princetons have become my thing that I use”
Said in Rolling Stone: Chris Stapleton on Creating New Signature Fender Amp, February 2019
No store page for this one.
Guitars
Fender
1964 Jazzmaster (a gift from his wife)
Has said they use
“It's been a good tool, and it has served me well.”
Said in American Songwriter: Chris Stapleton Reveals Touching Back Story to Two Favorite Guitars, January 2025
Fender
'62 reissue Jazzmaster (Ocean Turquoise)
Has said they use
“I like the scale of it.”
Said in Rolling Stone: Chris Stapleton on Creating New Signature Fender Amp, February 2019
No store page for this one.
Gibson
1950s LG-2
Has said they use
Gibson
1950s LG-2“most songs that I've written have been on this guitar”
Said in American Songwriter: Chris Stapleton Reveals Touching Back Story to Two Favorite Guitars, January 2025
No store page for this one.
Epiphone
Chris Stapleton Frontier
SponsoredHas said they use
Epiphone
Chris Stapleton Frontier“I've used this particular guitar every night that I've played onstage for the last year and a half, and it gets better and better the more I play it.”
Tour bag
Filson
Canvas amp cover
Has said they love
Filson
Canvas amp cover“I adopted a taste for those because they last a long time.”
Said in Rolling Stone: Chris Stapleton on Creating New Signature Fender Amp, February 2019
No store page for this one.
What I wear
Charlie 1 Horse
Vintage hat (late '70s or early '80s)
Has said they love
Charlie 1 Horse
Vintage hat (late '70s or early '80s)Said in All Country News: Chris Stapleton shares his 10 must-haves (from his GQ essentials video), December 2023
No store page for this one.
Lucchese
Custom boots
Has said they love
Lucchese
Custom bootsSaid in All Country News: Chris Stapleton shares his 10 must-haves (from his GQ essentials video), December 2023
No store page for this one.
Filson
Wax cotton jacket
Has said they love
Filson
Wax cotton jacketSaid in All Country News: Chris Stapleton shares his 10 must-haves (from his GQ essentials video), December 2023
No store page for this one.
Recording
Seen in Vintage King: Grammy Nominees Talk Vocal Chain Secrets, February 2016
No store page for this one.
Seen in Vintage King: Grammy Nominees Talk Vocal Chain Secrets, February 2016
No store page for this one.
Esoteric Audio Research
660 compressor/limiter (vocal chain on Traveller)Seen in Vintage King: Grammy Nominees Talk Vocal Chain Secrets, February 2016
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Chris Stapleton's gear.
What guitar does Chris Stapleton play?
Mainly a Fender Jazzmaster. He told Rolling Stone his first was a '62 reissue in Ocean Turquoise, and told GQ his 1964 Jazzmaster, a gift from his wife, is in the room for everything he records.
What amp does Chris Stapleton use?
Early-'60s brownface Fender Princetons, and since 2019 his signature Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition. He told Rolling Stone that once he tried it at the Forum he used it the whole rest of the year.
What acoustic guitar does Chris Stapleton play?
He writes on a 1950s Gibson LG-2 he bought for about $380. Onstage he has said he played his Epiphone Chris Stapleton Frontier every night for a year and a half before its 2023 launch.
Does Chris Stapleton have a signature amp?
Yes, the Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition, Fender's first signature amp with a country artist, launched in 2019 with a Filson canvas cover he asked for.
What hat does Chris Stapleton wear?
His stage hat is a vintage Charlie 1 Horse from the late '70s or early '80s, one of the 10 essentials he showed GQ in 2023, along with custom Lucchese boots and a Filson wax cotton jacket.
What microphone does Chris Stapleton use?
On Traveller, engineer Vance Powell recorded his vocals live on a vintage Neumann U47 through a vintage Neve 1073 and an EAR 660, adding a Coles 4038 alongside the U47 on Either Way.
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Named in this guide
CS
Chris Stapleton
About this guide · Last checked
Chris Stapleton is the country singer, songwriter and guitarist behind Traveller and Higher. This guide covers the Jazzmasters, Gibson LG-2 and Epiphone Frontier he plays, the Fender Princeton amps he built his sound on, the vocal chain on Traveller, and the hat, boots and jacket he counts as essentials.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Chris Stapleton didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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