John Hughey

[Richard Lester]

A little help here: what amplifier was John using on the song Lost in the Feeling-Conway's song? John and his wife were great people, I met them at Scotty's convention-sure miss them.

[Pete Finney]

Don't know about that particular session, but John used Evans amps for many, many years.

[Richard Lester]

Thanks Pete,
I knew he used Evans amps , like you, I don't know what he used for that recording.

[Chris Templeton]

Yes, Evans.
Buddy called playing above the 12th fret, "Hughey Land".
The pic is from the "Slide" recording session.

[Richard Lester]

Thank you Chris.

[Brett Day]

I think he also used Evans amps with Vince also and the bar he used was a BJS bar-he had Bill Stroud make his standard twelve string 15/16 bar feel lighter, building it similar to the 7/8 bar. It was John's favorite bar, so BJS named the bar after John. I'm pretty sure in John's career, he used Evans as his main amplifier, the only things he switched were his guitars, because he played JCH, Emmons, and ZumSteel. Not too long after John and I became friends, he played Zumsteel guitars, along with Evans amplifiers.

[Bobby D. Jones]

The thing that makes the John Huey's series of bars great. They were drilled out, Till they are about 1 1/2 oz lighter for diameter than a solid bar. Just that 1 1/2 oz makes a difference in the way a bar fits your hand, And how you control the bar going up and down the neck.

[J D Sauser]

I know he used JBL D130 speakers... because it was him who sent me to Woody Woodell to have mine re-coned (because that's where he had his serviced).

... J-D.

[Rick Campbell]

I don't think it mattered what gear John was using. He always sounded great from the early Conway days on. Players like John adjust their amps and effects to get the tone they want. Interesting to look into though.

RC

[J D Sauser]

It mattered a gread deal to him, I had a chance to let him try one of my prototype PSG in Dallas in 2000. Very generous gentleman. Trying a prototype we inevitably talked about “gear” (I hate that word to describe musical instuments) at length. Tom Brumley joined in later.
I never would have thought that it would be the last time I’d ever see them.
Both were very picky about their guitars, amps and down to the speakers.


But yes, he as well as many of our heros would still have sounded good on a strung up 2-by-4 thru a bakelite phone.

… JD

[Willis Vanderberg]

Whenever I was fortunate enough to be around John he was using a SE-200 Evans amp.

[Darrell Owens]

Re. John Hughey’s gear. I was fortunate enough to own one of the last ZUM Steels owned and played by John. I now own two of his JBL D130 Speakers, but despite my best efforts, I still don’t sound like John. . . The tone was in his hands.
Respectfully, to the Tone Master and the “Owner”of Hughey-land. We all miss you.

[Erv Niehaus]

I was at a gospel steel guitar show in Indianapolis, Indiana and John was there.
I caught him looking at my tabs and I said: "John, you aren't going to learn a thing from them"! He just laughed.
Such a great guy and player.

[Chris Templeton]

Buddy called anywhere above the 12 fret "Hughey land".

[Brett Day]

One of my favorite memories of John is when I was playing a show in Nashville for the NTSGA in '04. I had just started playing shows that year and was playing a 1974 Emmons GS-10 at the time. Well, they invited Russ Hicks to play onstage with me, and because they had asked me to play two instrumentals, I decided to play instrumental songs by Hank Williams and Vince Gill-"Cold Cold Heart" by Hank and "Look At Us" by Vince. After debating whether I should play "Look At Us" with John there, I decided to tell him I'm gonna play "Look At Us", but in my mind on the way to his table, I kept thinking, "Will he like it or not like it"? As I got closer to his table, I somehow felt my confidence growing, so after I walked up to John and said hello, he asked me about the songs, and I told him I was doing "Look At Us", and John said, "I want to hear you play it" . After Russ and I finished, I walked back over to John, after he stood up and clapped, and I asked him what he thought, and he said, "You nailed it, man". I couldn't really get the same sound and tone John had gotten when he played the song because John did it best.

[Chris Templeton]

A nice memory for you, Brett!