When required, they can bring out a volumeĪs loud as a banjo, mandolin, or fiddle. Versatile enough to help every artist achieve the exact tone and volume that Commonly used amongīluegrass musicians, including Billy Strings, these acoustic guitars are Regardless of their models, are all exceptionally designed so that none of themįail to achieve that distinct dreadnought guitar sound. Preston Thompson with his signature Dreadnought Sisters, Oregon-based acoustic guitar-makers.īilly upgraded to a Thompson dreadnaught with Indian rosewood back and sides inĢ017. Preston Thompson Dreadnought Mahogany, a standard dreadnought model from the Top choice now that he is a full-time musician and performer. Was a Martin D-93 that his father used to play when he small, Thompson is his Why it has become his “main ax” every time he plays.Īlthough Billy’s first memories of a guitar Guitar to deliver on stage, in the studio, or in a jam.” This is exactly He has also chosen Thompson guitars to be his faithful companion.Īcoustic guitars, he says, “Love is about trust. Following in the footsteps of many bluegrass artistsĪnd flatpickers before him, such as Jake Workman, Tim May, and Adam Chowning, You will see him with a Preston Thompson Dreadnought everywhere he plays.Īs a bluegrass/rock musician, the guitar isīilly’s main instrument. His acoustic guitar, and as an official endorser of Preston Thompson Guitars, Billy Strings Guitar His Signature Preston Thompson Guitarsīilly String is not Billy Strings without What makes all the difference in his music. Till today, Billy knows that picking the right strings is But all these wouldn’t have been possible had he never With so many accolades to his name, Billy Apart from topping charts and winning multiple awards, Rolling Stone has even called him one the “latest breakneck guitar pickers” that have emerged in bluegrass. 1.5 Great Alternative Guitars for a Similar Soundīilly Strings is one of the most well-known bluegrass musicians.1.4 Recommended Amplifiers to get a Billy Strings Sound.1.3 More on Billy Strings and Preston Thompson Dreadnought.1.2 Preston Thompson Dreadnought Mahogany.1.1 His Signature Preston Thompson Guitars.Of special note is a virtuosic duet between Billy and bluegrass guitarist Bryan Sutton on “Salty Sheep” that shows the speed, precision, and creative craftsmanship of bluegrass when it’s done right. Rich with special guests, Turmoil & Tinfoil shows off Billy’s East Nashville community of picking friends, among them Miss Tess, Molly Tuttle, John Mailander, Shad Cobb and Peter Madcat Ruth. Returning to his home state of Michigan, Billy enlisted acoustic roots wizard Glenn Brown (Greensky Bluegrass) as producer, and centered the music around his new band, featuring Drew Matulich on mandolin with banjo prodigy Billy Failing and much-loved Nashville bassist Brad Tucker. The tricky part of making the new album, Turmoil & Tinfoil, was translating Billy Strings’ incendiary live show into the studio. He’s one of the most beloved young bluegrass guitarists today within the bluegrass community, and his front porch in East Nashville is constantly filled up with Nashville’s best roots musicians just picking up a storm. His new album, Turmoil & Tinfoil, taps into a deep vein of psychedelia in Americana, referencing everything from the Dead to Sturgill Simpson, but all underlaid by Billy’s undeniable virtuosity and his knowledge of the roots of American music. Billy Strings plays hard and he lives hard, picking so fast and intensely that he’s known to break multiple strings per song, and basing the songs he writes on the hard lives he grew up around in the abandoned rural communities of America.