“The Food Network couldn’t spend all day mic’ing a guitar amp. Every time I went into the studio, the engineers would say, ‘Don’t bring your amp’”: Meet Tim Rockmore, the TV and session veteran who’s recorded entire tracks with a Fender headphone amp

Tim Rockmore.

After a career playing in Manhattan jingle studios for the likes of Sprite, Sears and Pringles, Tim Rockmore began shopping for session work in Nashville – and quickly realized his demo wasn’t cutting it.

Having worked on TV soundtracks for years, he knew he had to rock less on the instrumental record he made to act as a new showreel. “I’d try not to think about how cool I could be, showing off or overplaying,” he says. “It was more about how I would fit into the song.