Full circle complete...

[Red_Label]

So I've had several months to live with my Ceriatone plexi clones (JTM45 and RP36) and new pedalboard (as well as my current Strat and LP lineup) and am very happy/content. I find myself GASing for very little the the way of amps and FX. I'd still like to try a Friendman BE, or maybe a Ceriatone Chupa/Yeti. But that's really all I feel any curiosity over and very little at that. (Especially considering the BE's ridiculous price tag!).

The Ceriatones provide an awesome, tone-rich platform for my pedal board. I use the Carl Martin Plexitone (V1) for my crunch and rock leads -- adding in the MXR EQ when I want to boost the mids that the Plexitone seems to cut. The Carl Martin Hot Drive & Boost is run with low gain, in combination with the MXR DynaComp for a Brad Paisley squished country lead tone. The Cusack More Louder is used as a clean boost for clean leads. Big Joe Volume, BBE Wah, MXR UniVibe, TC Chorus, Hardwire RV7 and DL8 reverb and delays all live-up to their duties most excellently. Would love to throw in an Eventide H9 at some point if I can squeeze it on my aircraft-carrier sized board (18"x36")... LOL!

With this rig, I can play anything I need/want to, and do it as well or better than with all of the high-dollar boutique amps and multi-FX that I've been through over the past several years. From country, to rock and metal (if I pull-out the 7-string)... I'm feeling very confident and content with this rig. I realize that tastes change with time (mine certainly have!), but at 46 I feel that my return home to the tones and music of where I began will more or less be the area that I will tend to remain in down the road. My curiosity drove my quest to try different styles and gear, but classic rock/blues and modern country-rock is the bedrock of my musical existence over the past 30 years.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Full circle complete...

Good stuff man. Glad your able to finally settle down and enjoy. You had some extremely nice gear.

 

[Andrew Lamprecht]

Re: Full circle complete...

Damn, nice setup dude.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Good stuff man. Glad your able to finally settle down and enjoy. You had some extremely nice gear.

Thanks bud, I did indeed. But I have no regrets about anything that I've sold/traded... except maybe the Lickliter Rage prototype and the H&K Grandmeister (I may have another one of those eventually -- most versatile amp I've ever owned!)

Added a new LP to the collection a few weeks ago. It's the red Studio Lite with the zebra Distortion in the bridge. Hadn't really been looking to add any guitars to the stable. Plan was to have 3 LPs and 3 Strats. But my buddy runs a local guitar shop and he slid both the red and black Studios my way at very good prices (and as-always, 0% interest, play-now/pay-as-I-can). It's hard to beat those kind of deals. He knows that he's got a "whale" on the hook and every time I pay-off my store tab, it's never long before he's got new bait on the hook! LOL!

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Damn, nice setup dude.

Thanks man. Throughout my GAS periods, I've always felt that there was at least one thing missing in terms of having an arena-ready touring rig. But with this rig, I feel like I could grab it and go and play anywhere in any situation. All that's missing is the actual arena gig! Ha ha ha...

Btw... my buddy has a pair of sweet Tom Anderson strats hanging in the shop and I'll admit that if I ever got the call to hit the road with a national act, I'd grab those two axes on the way out of town. Nothing wrong with my Strats (at all), but those Andersons are truly cream of the crop axes. He's got two himself with a third on the way this fall.

 

[Oinkus]

Re: Full circle complete...

Slave that little marshall lead 12 into those Ceriatones you will get some nice sounds. Was just doing it with one into a kit built champ , whole world of crazy sound.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Full circle complete...

Nice axes. How's the fr on the epi?

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Full circle complete...

Nice setup, you've always got something interesting going on.

Don't forget to head over to the Pickup Lounge, they're having a drawing for a WLH set.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Slave that little marshall lead 12 into those Ceriatones you will get some nice sounds. Was just doing it with one into a kit built champ , whole world of crazy sound.

Interesting. Will have to try that. Only thing I've ever slaved in the past was a Bogner XTC Classic into a Rocktron Velocity 300. Both were driving 4x12s and it sounded awesome.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Nice setup, you've always got something interesting going on.

Don't forget to head over to the Pickup Lounge, they're having a drawing for a WLH set.

I'll have to do that. Thanks for the heads up bud!

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Nice axes. How's the fr on the epi?

Floyd is pretty good. Bit stiff, but I haven't been playing it much. Tone is definitely not 100% LP. Sounds different somehow. Haven't played it enough to pinpoint that though. Just wanted it for the nod to Lifeson's sig.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: Full circle complete...

Floyd is pretty good. Bit stiff, but I haven't been playing it much. Tone is definitely not 100% LP. Sounds different somehow. Haven't played it enough to pinpoint that though. Just wanted it for the nod to Lifeson's sig.

That wood that they carve out for a Floyd makes a difference, but get one of those big fat brass blocks for it and it'll get you at least part way there. Floyd Rose sells them on their website now.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

That wood that they carve out for a Floyd makes a difference, but get one of those big fat brass blocks for it and it'll get you at least part way there. Floyd Rose sells them on their website now.

Good point man. It's got a JB/59 pickup combo in there, so it SHOULD sound all LP. The Floyd/route deal is definitely the most obvious difference. BTW... when I first got it I didn't care for the tone, so I ripped-out the pups to swap them out and look on the back and found that they were exactly what I was already planning to put in there! LOL.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Full circle complete...

That is a nice rig, and some beautiful guitars. Congrats!

I found Mesa amps back in the mid-'90s after years of using a SS SUNN, vintage Fenders, and Marshalls. There was this little light that went on, and to finally have found the "perfect" amp for me was so satisfying. My playing got a lot better in a very short time. I went from being "merely" the rhythm guitar player in the band, to pissing off my ego-maniacal "lead" player, because I started being the guy that people would come up and compliment, on both my tone and my solos. It was very heady feeling. I still have that first Mark III half-stack, and it is still a joy to use.

That endless search for the "holy grail" is hard, and for some people it never ends. I can tell you that from my perspective, there is a certain calm and assuredness that comes when you find the right gear. I still go into the stores and try out new things, but the desperation is gone--and that alone is a great feeling. And my guitar playing buddy? He never did find it; he never did find the one guitar and the one amp that would become his soul-mates. He was a charter member of the guitar of the week and the amp of the month club, and he never found something he could be happy with. Part of the problem was--he was looking in the wrong place.

Back in the '80s, I started doing affirmations--that I loved my guitar. And it always seemed to me that the more I loved it, the better it sounded, and on and on. I love it when I get that big goofy smile on my face from the sheer joy of playing...and that can come whether it's an arena or Joe's Bar. It is within ME. The guitar just IS; it is a tool through which I express myself, and that's all it is. I'm the one that has the power to change, and I did. It made a huge difference, and led to my growth as a person, as a player, as an entertainer, and in my professional music career. I did the same thing with my amps, but the Mesa was the final piece for me. It brought it all together, but it was the mental changes I went through that were the key.

So congrats on finding...happiness. Enjoy the new-found confidence. I have no doubt that you just might make it on tour very soon with these new gifts! And don't forget to smile!

Bill

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

Thanks Bill. I totally agree with what you said. I've been through a lot in my 30 years of playing and gigging. From riding around in a bus, playing bars across the northwest 5-7 nights a week in the late 80s and early 90s... to doing my solo acoustic stuff around the area.

Heck, I was even called twice this year at the last minute to do lead work for local musical productions that my daughter was starring-in. One of them was a Broadway musical called "All Shook Up" where I had to learn (they didn't have music scores for my parts) 26 Elvis tunes "show style" over a weekend before dress rehearsals and 4 performances. That was one of the biggest challenges that I've faced. I worked my tail-off about 16 hours a day for a week straight. Spent the first two days just charting it all out from sun-up to sun-down.

Anyways... I made-do with cheap, crap gear night after night (like when I was on the road) for the first 15 years of my live playing career. So I've been a bit of a gear whore this past decade or so as my day job (and understanding 2nd wife) allowed me to explore the finer gear in life. I remember lusting after Bogner amps for about a decade before I was ever able to buy one. Then I ended-up with two Bogners in two years. They were great amps, but in the end... they weren't "home" for me. Went through several other great amps (VHT, Engl, H&K, etc) as well. But Marshall style amps will always be home. Now that I realize that, I'm free to focus more on PLAYING again than on scoring that next piece of gear. GASing can be quite distracting to the actual goal of making inspired music.

I'm feeling very content with my current rig. I'm pretty angst-free about gear right now. So it's time to make some more music with new people! I've got a local original classic rock band (think Black Crowes) interested in my services at the moment. They just finished auditioning bass players over the past few weeks and will pick one by this weekend. Then we'll get together to see if we're on the same page. I know the other lead player and have his vote, so our meeting will be more about finding-out if we're all on the same page regarding style and gigging schedule. But if my lucky lotto number were to come-up and a big fish came calling, I'd drop everything and give that a go for sure. We'll make do with the small local fish in the meantime. Never give-up your dreams!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Full circle complete...

You'd think being a gear head for a long time would make a player more picky, but for me it's actually the opposite......I think. I care less about what a piece of gear is, probably because I have more choices than I need. So I just use my old standby's or whatever's newest.

One thing I'm glad about is that I hung on to my favorite guitars, amps, and pedals. It makes it really easy to choose, because I know that stuff inside out. Getting to know key gear is more important than the quantity or price.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Full circle complete...

You'd think being a gear head for a long time would make a player more picky, but for me it's actually the opposite......I think. I care less about what a piece of gear is, probably because I have more choices than I need. So I just use my old standby's or whatever's newest.

One thing I'm glad about is that I hung on to my favorite guitars, amps, and pedals. It makes it really easy to choose, because I know that stuff inside out. Getting to know key gear is more important than the quantity or price.

I totally hear what you're saying Joe. I actually used to be very picky about my gear. Especially things like guitar neck profile. But I find myself not caring about that at all. The guitar has to play well for sure... but outside that all that matters to me in terms of gear any more is TONE, TONE, TONE. That I am picky about. I have no interest in playing through a buzz-saw sound amp. Gotta have that sweet tube overdrive (or some decent facsimile).