Musician Deep Dive: Keith Urban

Who Is Keith Urban and How Did He Get Started?

Keith Urban is a New Zealand born, Australian raised country music artist and guitar legend who has torn up the playbook and changed the genre with his pop and rock influences.

Known for his virtuoso guitar playing, undenyable vocals and genre switching collabs - Urban’s music career now is over three decades long.

He started young. His father placed an advertisement for guitar lessons in the family store and Keith began learning when he was around six years old. Inspired by American country legends like Glen Campbell and Dolly Parton, he started winning talent competitions and performing in local bands as a small kid.

His big break came in 1990 when he signed with EMI Australia. This then took him to Nashville, where he formed the band called The Ranch and then launched his successful solo career. The Ranch mixed country with blues and rock and released its self-titled album in 1997. Keith’s American solo career followed and his songs gradually pushed further into pop and rock without completely leaving country behind.

He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2012 and was the first Australian inducted as a member.

That range makes sense when you listen to how he plays. He can sit behind a vocal with a clean rhythm sound and then suddenly move into a solo that sounds as though it belongs in a much heavier rock song.

What Makes Keith Urban’s Guitar Playing Different?

Keith Urban’s playing is really a great, unique blending of rock, blues and country. He is best known for his dramatic solos, fingerpicking and blending traditional country sounds into a modern pop world. The country part is still there, especially in the cleaner single coil sounds and quick picked sections, but he is not locked into one type of playing. Some solos are much more blues based. Others have the speed and attack you would expect from a rock guitarist.

Keith has also named Lindsey Buckingham as an influence. Mark Knopfler and Buckingham both make sense when you hear the way Keith moves between picked notes, fingerstyle parts and small fills underneath the vocal.

Another part of his sound comes from how much he uses the guitar controls. He has said that he prefers single-coil pickups and would rather use a lower-output single coil before turning the amplifier up. That helps explain why Stratocasters and Telecasters continue to appear throughout his different rigs.

His playing is not only about having a huge solo at the end of a song.

A lot of the interesting parts are smaller. A quick run between two vocal lines, a change in pickup position or a rhythm part that becomes heavier as the chorus begins.

That is the part I think can sometimes get missed. The solos are obviously impressive but the guitar is doing plenty before the solo even arrives.

What Gear Does Keith Urban Use?

His equipment has changed many times, so there is no single Keith Urban setup that covers his entire career.

Older rigs have included vintage Fender guitars, Gibson Les Pauls, Maton acoustics, Dumble amplifiers, Fender Tweed Twins and a very large collection of pedals. One earlier Premier Guitar rig showed a Wampler Ego Compressor, Visual Sound VS-XO, Xotic drives, an Ibanez TS808 and several other pedals.

His more recent setup is different.

In an interview that I found from this year, Keith told them about his main live amps as a Dumble Overdrive Special Reverb and Fender Dual Showman which ran together through different 2x12 cabinets.

He also spoke about the pedals that he is now using being, two BOSS SD-1 Super Overdrives, a BOSS BD-2 Blues Driver, a Klon, a vintage ProCo Rat and a Mr Black SuperMoon.

His recent guitars include a custom PRS prototype, a 1964 Stratocaster, his Telecaster known as “Clarence”, a Clapton Stratocaster and a 1952 Goldtop Les Paul.

Keith Urban’s acoustic guitar has also included the Maton EBG808, a guitar built for his percussive style.

The issue for this product guide is that many of Keith’s actual instruments are vintage, custom made or simply not sold through Amazon.

Because of that, I have separated the five products into two groups:

• Products Keith currently uses
• Current guitars and an amp that move towards the same type of setup

Nothing below is being passed off as Keith’s exact vintage instrument when it is not.

What Are the Best Keith Urban Songs to Start With?

These are my current - which, yes, always change - top five Keith Urban songs and a bit about why I like them so much.

1. Somebody Like You

It is also a good place to hear how Keith uses rhythm guitar to keep a song moving without burying the vocal.

2. Blue Ain’t Your Color

The guitar is held back here. That is part of why it works.

3. Stupid Boy

This would be my choice for someone who wants to understand why guitar players hold Keith in such high regard.

4. You’ll Think of Me

The arrangement leaves room for the vocal and does not try to turn every section into a guitar feature.

5. The Fighter

It sits much closer to pop than some of his earlier work but still sounds like Keith.