Along with guitars, I have owned and used many amplifiers in the past. The amplifier rig I am currently using and will probably until the day I die is the Marshall JCM2000 Triple Lead Series head and two 1960 Vintage Marshall cabs.
Both head and cabinets are stock and no modifications have been made except for my custom tube setup. I have modified more amps that would span over an entire showroom at Guitar Center. I replaced the stock tubes with a perfect blend of JJ Electronics tubes which I purchased from a great comapny called EuroTubes. If you're in the market for tubes, definately check these guys out, they are great.
I get all the tones I need from this amp, my Les Pauls and pedal boards.
This Marshall has three independent channels, one clean, one crunch (distortion) and one lead (ultra distortion). My setup relies on these three in channels.
I've gone through so many types of effects over the years, starting off with pedals. then turning over to rack effects and recently I have gone back to pedals. Pedals have the warmth needed and when used correctly, the greatest tones will definitely come from pedals.
My pedal board is fairly conventional and is designed for my tonal needs for both recording and live use. It starts with the housing, everything is in a Furman SPB 8C. This is a great board because it keeps the signal nice and true to tone and is very quiet. A great feature is that it has onboard AC outlets for the pedals that need AC power.
Now Playing:
'Caffeine Blast' - from Deal With It
Gibson Les Paul Custom
1968 Natural Flametop
Gibson Les Paul Custom
'57 Black Beauty
Guild X150 Savoy
For a long time I used a Fatovich sunburst jumbo acoustic 6 string with a cut away which was handmade by a local guy in southern New Jersey named Fred Fatovich. I used this guitar for a lot of different applications from rock to Acoustic Jazz Fusion. This guitar I loved, it sounds like any Gibson or Guild out there. Ironically enough, Fred Fatovich worked for the Guild guitar company at some point in his life and the guitar is very "Guild". Which brings me to my 12 string...
yes... a Guild. A beautiful Jumbo model number JF30-12. I am a fanatic about having a 12 string somewhere in my music whether it be my rock, fusion and instrumental stuff.
Guild F50R Acoustic
with DTAR pick up system
Guild JF30-12 Jumbo 12 String Acoustic
After years of owning different guitars, I am back to the basics with Gibson Les Paul Customs as my primary electric guitars. I have owned everything from custom guitars (made exclusively for me by Renaldo guitars), and pretty much all major brands; Gibson, Fender, Yamaha, Jackson, Heritage, etc. Les Pauls suit my needs the best, they really give me all the tone I need along with my amp rig.
The alpine white Custom Les Paul and the Silverburst Custom are my two main guitars. They each have their own tone so I use them according to the sound I need. The alpine white has more of a vintage rock sound, I think due to it's lighter weight, even though they should all be the same weight, they definitely are not. Because these are handmade, each has a different weight. The Silverburst Custom has more of a solid sound which works well for real heavy modern sounds, probably because of the heavier body weight. They are both strung up with Gibson Bright Wires strings 9-42 gauge.
Each guitar is stock and no modifications have been made. I don't have time to spend thinking about how to "better them", they are what they are - great.
My 1968 Natural Flametop Custom Les Paul I use more for Fusion and some of the rock stuff. It has 57 Classic Humbucker pick ups, which gives it a smoother tone.
The Black Beauty '57 Les Paul Custom also has a great vintage tone. The mahogany top and burst bucker pickups offer a distinctive sound which I can use for various applications. I string the Natural and the Black Beauty with 9-42 Gibson Brite Wires.
My Guild X150 Savoy is my main Jazz Box. It fulfills all my Jazz needs for recording and also performing live. It's usually strung with gauge 11-50, I switch between flat and round wound.
I also use a Heritage H157 (Heritage's version of a Les Paul Custom) for recording only. It also has a very vintage crunchy sound, similar to the white Custom.
I am not as fussy with Acoustics as I am with electrics. I like big body Acoustics as opposed to the traditional dreadnought. I have been playing the same three for years.
My go to Acoustic 6 string is a jumbo sunburst Guild F50R with the DTAR pick up system. This guitar was used on most of my acoustic recordings and is my main live acoustic guitar.
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Limited Edition Silverburst
Gibson Les Paul Custom
Alpine White
Click here tThis is the pedal set up order from left to right:
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Wah
Dunlop Rotovibe
Boss PS-5 Pitch Shifter
Boss SD-1 Overdrive
Boss BF-3 Flanger
Boss DD-6 Digital Delay
Boss DD-6 Digital Delay
The signal starts off coming from my guitar to the Boss TU-2 Tuner, from there is goes to the Boss
NS-2 Noise Suppressor. Next it goes into the Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Wah pedal, this is a great pedal because I can customize just the right amount of Wah needed for my style. You can hear this Wah used on a few songs on the latest release (Deal With It) Caffeine Blast and Pleasure Thing. Next the signal goes to the Dunlop Rotovibe, this is a very lush Leslie speaker simulator. From there it goes into the Boss SD-1 Overdrive. I don't use this pedal for my main distortion / overdrive tones, I use the amps natural distortion channels for that. The SD-1 gives me a slightly distorted bluesy tone, that I use in conjunction with the clean channel of the Marshall.
At this point the signal leaves the pedal board and goes into the input of the Marshall head. All of the previous pedals need to be placed in front of the pre amp section of the amp. From there it is sent through the effects send of the amp then back to the pedal board which goes into the Boss PS-5 Pitch Shifter for guitar harmonies (live only). Next it goes into the Boss BF-3 Flanger which I use for some flanged tones and it has a really cool setting called Gate. You can hear that sound at the beginning and
the end of Caffeine Blast (Deal With It album). At this point all of my tones are ready for some delay,
first the signal goes into one of the Boss DD-6 Delay pedals for a short delay used on solos. Then into
the second Boss DD-6 Delay for long delays, used usually for slower and more melodic solos and
phrases. Now the signal leaves the pedal board and goes into the amps return jack where it is ready
to finish off in the pre amp section, slide through the power amp section and finally out the speakers.
Eight Celetion 'Vintage 30s' to be exact!
That is the order of placement... The configuration of the pedals and amp are designed for the many
styles of my music that I perform, ranging from contemporary rock, hard rock, and jazz fusion. When
recording and performing I need a variety of tones. o add text.
The Fender '72 Thinline Tele is my main guitar for live and for recording. The thin maple neck and the hollow body make it the perfect fit for me and my playing needs.
It has a very vintage sound, which is great for crunchy rhythm. It also has a warm clean tone, because of the hollow body and the pickups.
Of course, the Shell Pink vintage finish and mother of pearl pick guard just throws it way over the top for my taste!
My Gretsch hollow body I use specifically for clean rhythms, and on more creative opportunity where I can use the Bigsby. It also offers a great selection of tones due to the many pickup configurations.
Of course, it's fun to play with it's orange glow, and who isn't a sucker for a Bigsby?
My Fender Malibu Acoustic is my main acoustic. This guitar was built for me, it's a nice small size, has a great thin neck and offers a sweet natural electric acoustic sound. The block in lays are a really nice detail on this guitar and make it that much more stylish.
Oh, how I love my purple Marshall! This is a limited edition MG100 Series head and cab. It has really nice built in effects which cover pretty much everything I need live. The two channels allow me to get my clean sounds as well as a nice dirty distortion as I need them. Even though I don't use a lot of effects, if I need a little tone change here and there it's available to quickly dial in.
The Marshall covers all my needs, and then some for me as a rhythm guitarist.
