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Posts Tagged ‘review’

Gigging Regularly Again BUT I DON’T HAVE GAS!

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , , , on January 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

As in Gear Acquisition Syndrome…

Here’s the backstory… Back in May of 2021, I got an email from the keyboardist of my former old farts classic rock band asking if I’d be willing to fill in for their lead guitarist who was going to be away on a business trip. I agreed and we set up rehearsal dates leading up to the gig. I hadn’t played with them for over six years, so I was excited to get back together with them. Rehearsals went swimmingly well. It was like we have been playing together this whole time. They went so well that at the third rehearsal, our drummer, who’s also one of the band leaders, asked me if I’d like to rejoin the band as a permanent member. I agreed and have been playing with them since.

When I was doing 250+ gigs a year back in the day, I was gobbling up some kind of gear quite often. It was compulsive behavior where I spent tens of thousands of dollars on amps, guitars, effects, sound systems, etc. It was a serious case of GAS that filled up my garage with stuff; most of which got limited use. But getting all that gear helped build this blog so I have no complaints nor regrets for getting all of it. And I have since given away or sold much of the gear I acquired all those years.

The great thing about getting back to playing regularly is that though I sold off or gave away lots of gear, I still had LOTS. So, it was easy to literally “gear up” and play. I had all the effects I needed, so I didn’t need to get any new gear. The exception was my purchase of my Fender Tone Master Deluxe, which replaced my BOSS Katana Artist that went on the fritz at a gig. But other than that, I’ve purchased strings and picks. That’s it.

I still keep up on new gear that’s coming out, but to be honest, I’ve found my sound so I’m not feeling hard-pressed to explore. The only thing I may get is a BOSS CE-2W Chorus so I can retire my 1981 BOSS CE-2. It still works great, but it is pretty beat up from the hundreds of gigs I’ve played with it over the years.

And now that I’m over 60, I’m just not interested in lugging a lot of gear. I want to make one trip from my car to the stage. Here’s my equipment list:

Guitars

  1. Taylor T5z
  2. Squier Classic Vibe Tele
  3. Gibson R8 Les Paul

The T5z is my #1 since it is so versatile. I switch between the CV Tele and the R8 depending on my mood, but lately I’ve been playing the CV Tele a lot more than my R8.

Amps

  1. Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb
  2. DV Mark Little 40 L34 / Avatar 1 X 12 with a Celestion Gold
  3. Aracom VRX22 (Plexi clone) / Aracom 1 X 12 with a Jensen Jet Falcon

All my amps are set to the edge of breakup to allow me to push it if I need to but clean it up. The exception is that I will sometimes go for maximum headroom with the Little 40 and let my OD pedals provide the dirt. It’s a mood thing for me.

My main amp is the Deluxe, but lately it has been splitting time with the Little 40. I brought it to my last two gigs and I forgot just how sweet that amp sounds. When I play the Deluxe, I use the Line Out to feed my signal into the PA. For the other amps, I hang a Sennheiser e609 in front of my cabinets, positioned halfway between the center and edge of the cone.

I set my amp volume so I can hear it, and have taken to pointing it inward so my drummer can hear it. I let the PA do all the sound reinforcement. This saves my ears but also gives the band a much more balanced presentation.

Effects

  1. Wampler Belle (Nobels ODR-1 clone)
  2. Paul Cochrane Timmy Overdrive
  3. BOSS CE-2 Chorus
  4. BOSS DM-2w Delay
  5. Pigtronix Class A Boost

Super-simple effects chain. I run everything in front of the amp. The Wampler is my primary overdrive. I prefer the flatter ODR-1 sound over a TS midrange hump. I use the Timmy almost exclusively for stacking. I use both the Chorus and Delay sparingly, though for clean tunes, I love adding that slapback sound. As for the boost, that’s for when I play leads. I don’t need a volume pedal.

Strings

  1. The T5z is strung with Elixir Electric 11-46. This provides the perfect balance between electric and acoustic. And amazingly enough, they bend so well.
  2. For my other guitars, I just use standard Ernie Ball Slinkys 10-42.

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The Common Sense Guide for Buying ALL Gear

Posted in Guitars, tagged , , on October 19, 2016| 1 Comment »

Image courtesy of Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar

Over the years, I’ve probably spent in the tens of thousands of dollars on gear; from guitars to amps and effects, to cords and power strips, to microphones and recording/PA equipment, to chairs and stands. Looking back, that stuff adds up! On top of that, when I started going on a gear-buying binge back in the early 2000’s then started writing about the gear I’d buy or potentially buy, I started to gain a keen insight on evaluating gear, so I thought I’d share how I evaluate gear for purchase.

This isn’t intended to include stuff like music/gear stands or cords or other common things like that (I know, some may argue about some cords not being common, but I’m not going to go there). It also doesn’t include things like recording hardware and software or microphones and what-not. What I want to focus on is gear that actually directly produces or affects your tone in some way, shape, or form; specifically, guitars, amps, and effects. So here goes…

The Seven Steps to Gear Nirvana

  1. Check its visual appeal
    1. Does it look good? If so, move on…
  2. Plug it in and play as is
  3. Tweak it to dial in volume and EQ (if necessary)
  4. Play it again.
    1. Play chord progressions and little solos.
    2. NOTE: Be honest, and play it how you’d normally play it. For instance, don’t try to see it does metal if you’re a blues player. That’s a distraction.
  5. Repeat 3 and 4 until you get a feel for it in all its playable range from both a sound and touch perspective. At this point, you might say it’s crap. But if you like it after playing it, move on.
  6. Check it for construction quality:
    1. Are there any loose knobs?
    2. Are there any obvious flaws?
    3. Are there open seams that you don’t expect to be there?
    4. Is it sturdy enough to withstand your intended use for it.
      1. For instance, if it’s plastic, but you’re just going to use it in your bedroom, chances are it’ll be okay.
  7. This is a late addition and a great suggestion by a reader: Check the weight.
    1. Think about what you’re lugging on stage. I gig – a lot – and it’s an issue.
  8. Finally, check your wallet.
    1. Everyone has a different budget, so what you’re willing to pay is entirely up to you.

Some might question item 1. But more often than not, I hear people say, “This thing LOOKS SO COOL!” So, visual appeal is a factor to consider. For me, I can’t stand the look of pre-worn guitars, no matter how good they might sound or play (though I did make an exception with my pre-worn ’59 Les Paul Replica). If my guitar shows scratches, dings, or wear marks, I want to be the one who does all that. But that’s me. Frankly, I prefer a nice, shiny guitar. Or take, for instance, my Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay. For goodness sake, it’s a pedal! But that blue power coat finish and the bright blue LED just look killer on my board! 🙂

At first blush, this process seems almost too simplistic. But I developed this process from reviewing gear for this blog. After all, I’d only review gear that I would consider buying. But also, since I have a regular day job and review time was at a premium, I had to find a simple, repeatable way to evaluate gear, and it had to be simple enough so that I could easily remember what I did. Turns out, I could use this process not matter where I was, and on any kind of gear.

In any case, try it out when you evaluate your next set of gear!

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