OneRepublic - Counting Stars - Guitar Lesson

Fender Stratocaster

Drew Brown uses Stratocasters for their warmer, rounded clean tones that blend smoothly under Onerepublic's dense pop arrangements. The guitar's versatility in expressing dynamics pairs perfectly with their delay and reverb-heavy effects chain.

Fender Telecaster

Zach Filkins favors Telecasters for their bright, snappy single-coil clarity that cuts through layered pop mixes without muddiness. The lower output of these pickups responds dynamically to picking intensity, essential for their clean, effected aesthetic.

Gibson ES-335

Drew Brown's semi-hollow ES-335 provides warm, rounded PAF-style humbucker tones that occupy separate sonic space from Filkins' brighter single-coils. This tonal contrast is fundamental to how Onerepublic layers guitars in their production.

Fender Twin Reverb

The Twin Reverb's pristine clean headroom and natural reverb circuits shape Onerepublic's signature lush, spacious guitar tones. Running it clean with moderate volume keeps the focus on effects processing rather than power-tube breakup.

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Deluxe Reverb delivers the same pristine clean platform and responsive reverb as the Twin but in a more compact form for live settings. Its moderate wattage allows natural breakup when needed while maintaining clarity through dense effects chains.

Vox AC30

The AC30's chime-like clean tones and harmonic richness add texture and shimmer to Onerepublic's guitar layers. When pushed lightly, it contributes the band's signature blend of pristine cleans with subtle harmonic complexity.