15 - Josh Hutson
Josh Hutson is a 42 year old guitarist from Knoxville, Tennessee in the United States. Josh started playing guitar at the age of 13 after seeing Van Halen and Aerosmith in concert. In the almost 30 years that has passed, Josh has played in several bands that have traveled regionally and released albums along with playing at home for his own enjoyment and emotional well-being. Josh has compiled a humble collection of instruments over the past 30 years, mostly from finding good used deals and making gear trades. Josh's main goal in acquiring gear is functionality and having different sounds available to him for recording and live performance purposes. Josh currently plays guitar for the Tennessee based Alt. Country/Rock band Handsome and the Humbles who have released 2 full length albums and 2 EPs worth of material and have a 4th album titled "Alternative --> Country" due out later this year. Handsome and the Humbles' music can be found on all streaming music platforms.
Josh’s guitars:
1996 American Standard Stratocaster (This was my first "nice" guitar. I bought it off a friend in 2000 for $500)
Mid 90's Martin D16-GT (My go-to acoustic guitar for almost 25 years)
2006 Gibson SG Classic
2018 Gibson SG Standard (Once I got my SG Classic, I fell in love with that body style and knew I had to get a counterpart with Humbuckers)
2012 American Standard Telecaster
2011 Epiphone Dot (Found a monster deal on this guitar used during the pandemic. It's been hot rodded with 50's style wiring and Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups. The action is set slightly higher than the others for slide guitar)
2017 Gretsch Electromatic G5622T
2021 Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50's (I'm an SG guy, but I also love a good Les Paul. I couldn't afford to buy another Gibson, but this Epiphone plays great. I put a set of Seymour Duncan Seth Lover's in this one as well and it has 50's wiring from the factory.)
2020 Danelectro 59X12 (I really wanted an electric 12 string for a particular song that I was recording, and for recordings in the future. My wife bought me this one for my 40th birthday.)
Ibanez SGT120 Acoustic (My sister in law gave me this guitar. It's always strung in Nashville tuning style for recording purposes.)
Josh’s amps:
Vox AC30C2X (The Vox circuit is always my go-to sound. Nothing beats a Vox with Celestion Alnico Blue speakers, to my ears)
Top Hat Clube Royale Mk. 2
Knight PA Head converted by Marcus at MRB Analog Engineering to a DeArmond R5 style single ended hand wired circuit.
1954 Bell PA Head converted by Marcus at MRB Analog Engineering. Channel 1 is a Fender Tweed/Brownface hybrid style circuit and channel 2 is more of a Plexi style circuit. Tons of vintage mojo in sound and especially in the looks.
What was your first guitar and do you still have it?
My first guitar was a cheap acoustic, I can't even remember the brand, that my older sister bought, but never learned to play. I kind of stole it from her and learned cowboy chords and old timey folk songs out of a Mel Bay beginner's book. The first "real" song I remember learning on it was The Animals version of House of the Rising Sun. That guitar had horrible action and was really tough to play. My parents told me if I stuck with it, they'd help me buy an electric guitar. Once I'd shown my dedication, they held their end of the deal up and I got a mid 90's Squier Stratocaster. It was entirely white. I chose it because it looked like the Hendrix Woodstock Strat. Unfortunately, I don't have either of them anymore.
What is your favorite guitar right now and why?
My 2006 Gibson SG Classic, for sure. I loved the look and sound of the guitar Pete Townshend played during the Live at Leeds era of The Who and when this model came out in around 2000 or so, I knew I had to have one. The only problem was that I didn't have the money to buy it! That guitar haunted me for years!! Finally, in 2017, I found one used and had the money to buy it. It's been my #1 ever since. The guitar lived up to my expectations and more! I love the tonal range of P90 pickups. They can go from sparkling clean to the most rude grunt you can imagine with the turn of the guitar's volume knob. They are rock n roll personified!!
What is your newest purchase?
My 2017 Squier Deluxe Jazzmaster. I'm a sucker for Fender Candy Apple Red guitars and I didn't have an offset guitar in my collection, so when I found this guitar used for a great price, I had to jump on it. It's basically the J. Masic signature model without his name on it. Squier has come a long way since I first owned one in the 90's. Their new higher end stuff is really good. This guitar can hold it's own with my more expensive guitars, for sure. It feels great, looks great, and most importantly, it sounds great!
How often do you play?
Not as much as I'd like!!! I'm a 42 year old dude with a wife and 2 younger kids, so my playing time varies. I try to at least play for 30 minutes every 2 days or so. Weekly band rehearsals and fairly regular gigs certainly help with that.
What's the music you are creating? What's the mission behind it?
I'm not much of a songwriter myself, though I've written some instrumental pieces for myself, but I'm good at helping my musical partner in my band (singer/songwriter Josh Smith) flesh out and bring his songs to life. I try to create parts and/or solos that bring out the best in his songs. I'm not really into blazing guitar pyrotechnics on guitar if it doesn't add anything to the story that the song is trying to tell. My motto as a guitar player is to serve the song ALWAYS! Apart from that, and I hope this doesn't come off as pretentious, I just hope to enjoy what I'm doing and create music that means as much to someone as my favorite music has always meant to me.
