1st Post

For my first post I thought I would talk a little about my experiences and why I think my opinion matters. You are free to agree or disagree...

Like most kids in the U.S., I started my music education in early grade school with the piano. I quickly moved onto the alto and tenor saxophone, an instrument I would go on to play for four years and delve into jazz and pop with. By high school I realized I wanted to bring "the rock." Guitar was the first instrument I was truly passionate about with which I could learn the songs I really loved. I was a huge Zepp fan and one of my first songs was Heartbreaker / Livin Lovin Maid. Of course that was after Iron Man and Smoke on the Water...but I digress. Since those early days on my rented yellow Peavey 80s electric, I have played and/or recorded in the genres of blues, modern country, rock, and gospel/contemporary worship.

I have also owned and played through quite a variety of great, OK, and really aweful gear - new and vintage, made in the U.S., Japan, Korea, China, Canada, Mexico, U.K., etc. I have learned over time that great gear is NOT confined to that which is made in the U.S. and crappy gear is no longer confined to those made in Asia. The greatest sounding amps are often not the 100 watt full stacks, but the 5 watt 6' from the 60s that costs $150. And finally, gear that has "the sound" is not always the vintage stuff.


I have sold 90s Fender American Standards and kept 80s Greco Brazen Pickers. I have sold 60's JMI Vox AC's and kept new JMI's in their place. The one thing I want to emphasize is to use your own ear. You are the only judge of what sounds good to you. You can develop your own tone, one that works for your style. We as guitar players need to stop listening to the professional magazine and online reviewers. These guys are not independent. They are, in effect, the sales force for the Fender, Gibson and Marshall. Try to find a negative review on one of these three. It's next to impossible.

Has this ever happened to you? You are watching a guitar review on youtube for one you're interested in buying and you realize by the end the guy played about 10 seconds and then talked about how great the tone was for the remaining 10 minute review? And when was the last time you saw a negative review in Guitar Player, Guitarist, or Proguitarshop.com? It doesn't happen! They are promoting the guitars they're reviewing.

Do your homework. Don't buy into the marketing. "PAF" tone is a marketing term. If you research a little bit, you'll see PAFs sounded quite different from each other. They were changed because they had problems. Some sounded truly amazing...but with the right amp and EQ'd the right way. And it is the same with today's gear. You have some that sound good, others great, and some that are garbage. But all of them can be run through the right gear, EQ'd by a decent sound guy, and will sound fine! Trust me, I'm a marketer, and this is marketing pure and simple :) Someone once said, Eric Clapton playing a Squier is going to still sound like Eric Clapton.

My last comment for the night is this...look at other brands outside of just Fender, Gibson, Martin and Taylor. There are absolute gems out there waiting to be discovered that are still a bargain. As an example I'll divulge one of my secret vintage amps. I recently picked up a 1950s 10 watt Rickenbacker M10 amp for $450. I had previously tried an M8E, which is their version of a Fender Champ, and was blown away. It was 50s Fender Tweed Tone to the max! And it was less than $200! What do 50s Fender Champs go for now? $500 to $1000...ridiculous! So I thought I would see if I could get my hands on something more powerful. I got excited when the ebayer selling it said the M10 was easily as loud as a Fender Deluxe. And it is! I had to turn it down at my last gig! And I kid you not, it sounds every bit as good, if not better, than a 50s Fender Tweed! I now gig in my blues band exclusively with it. So the lesson is to look around and try the off-brands. Who knew Rickenbacker even made amps? But what I'm learning is many of the guitars back in the day would come with an amp of the same branding. Ever seen a 60s Vox Teardrop guitar? Most of the amp makers made guitars and most of the guitarmakers made amps, or had them made for them by a 3rd party.

That is all...Good night and good luck!