Guitar Gear

I was working on a new Praise & Worship song the other day and had one of those moments where I realized that something was missing. I had just finished adding piano and organ which made the sound bigger, but I wanted it to be even more expansive. Then it hit me: A big, distorted guitar would do the trick.

And for that sound, the only thing I could think of and what was repeating inside my head was, “Plexi… plexi… plexi…” To me, and I know I’m dating myself, but that is the big guitar sound that I grew up with – it’s my archetype. So I took out my Aracom VRX18 which is an 18-watt Plexi clone and went to town. I didn’t even give it a second thought that that was the big sound I needed. Combine that with a Les Paul, and it’s just sonic goodness.

After I mixed and mastered the song, I got to thinking that there are gear sounds that I equate to archetypes. Mind you, these represent my own perspectives. Others will have their own “truth.” But here are mine:

Clean Tones

For me, doesn’t matter the guitar, but the archetypal clean tone has to be a Fender Clean; but not one of the low-wattage Fenders like a Blues Jr. (I actually can’t stand that tone). But a Deluxe Reverb or a Twin. Oooo, that clean tone is magnificent! But if I’m not using a Fender, what I look for is a deep, haunting clean.

Chorus

I have several chorus pedals, but the archetype for me is the BOSS CE-2. It was the first pedal of any kind I ever bought, and its sound sets the bar for all choruses that I consider. I’ve recently retired my CE-2 because I don’t want to ruin it. So I’m probably going to replace it with a BOSS Waza Craft repro, which sounds very, very close. The only thing that it appears to be missing is the slight gain boost that is sort of the trademark of the original CE-2. But that’s okay. The sound is right on par.

Overdriven Amp

I already mentioned that the Plexi sound was my archetype. I’ve played or owned various models from 18 Watt Blues Breakers all the way up to 100 Watt 1959. Even the low wattage amps with the right speaker have a huge sound to me. And mind you, it’s not just “Marshall” breakup. There’s a growl in these amps that’s absolutely distinctive.

Acoustic Guitar

Without any reservation, it’s the Gibson J-45. Ever since I played one a few years ago, I knew that I had to have one. I finally got the J-45 Avant-Garde that technically isn’t a true J-45 because it has a walnut body and maple neck and Richlite fingerboard, and it’s a cutaway. But it has all the mojo of the venerable J-45. I’ve played lots of different acoustics, but there is something about the J-45 that just speaks to me. For others, it’s a Martin sound; others, a Fender or Guild sound. But for me, it’s J-45 all the way.

Electric Guitar

I actually wasn’t going to add this section, because I have a bunch of electric guitars. But then I realized that unless I’m looking to get a specific tone, I always go to my ’58 Les Paul Reissue, which I have equipped with Deacci Green Faze pickups, based on Peter Green’s out of phase pickups. I always dug his sound from the early days of Fleetwood Mac. “Oh Well” still pumps me up!

But my backup – actually I shouldn’t really call it a backup because I use it a lot – is my custom Slash L that has Lollar Imperials. So with that in mind, I think

Delay

I’ve always preferred analog delay for some reason, and I like it on the darker side. So for me, the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay sets the standard. Handwired or PCB, doesn’t matter. It produces that deep, rich analog delay that I absolutely love.

Reverb

We kind of get into murky territory here because there are TONS of reverb options out there. Personally, I’m not a big fan of spring reverb, even Fender, which frankly is what I consider to be the best spring reverb out there. But let me qualify that I don’t like spring reverb slathered on, but I do like a subtle spring reverb.

I also like digital reverb models, especially the Lexicon algorithms. I’ve used those as PA board inserts and in pedals like the Hardwire RV-1 Reverb. I’m currently using the excellent TC Electronic Hall of Fame, but I will probably go to the Digitech Polara, which uses Lexicon reverb algorithms.

Are there other archetypes? Probably so, but I just can’t think of them right now, but these are the major ones that stick out for me right now.