Musical Toys

The average musician is careful about the money he spends and the equipment he buys. An awful lot of thought must go into getting the latest gadget or instrument.

This ain't a cheap jones.

Today in the mail I got my Digitech Model Guitar Processor from Musician's Friend. It's a lot of fun to play with and I got a great deal on it, and of course I don't really need it. But .... might be able to plug it right into the PA for electric guitar.

When I play with the full Funions band, I just bring my trusty Cort jumbo acoustic with the awesome Fishman pickup. Howard and JB make all the noise on guitar we really need. I add some rhythmn and it's actually a lot of fun to just put the guitar and sing and be a fool on the stage.

But we have some shows coming up where either Howard or JB won't be there, so I might have to play my Highway Strat.

First of all, I try to buy local when I do purchase instruments and gear. I bought my Cort from Al Barnard at The Guitar Shop on South 12th. I bought my Alvararez acoustic from Pat Cornwell at Vegas Music a few years ago and it's my "beater bring it to the beach" or Aldo Blvd deck guitar. I also have two Crate amps I bought from Pat that are awesome.

I bought a Peavey guitar and amp from Scott Smith at Smith Music two years ago, but I sold both. The Peavey was just too heavy and Larry Flavell bought my Peavey when he started playing with The Funions. I've bought two more guitars from Scott, one which I traded back in for a cheap Peavy guitar that JB is playing right and loves because it has a high action and his slide sounds really good on it.

When my mom passed away, I put most of my inheritance away for future use, then invested in a Boss digital recorder and the Strat. I've always dreamed of playing a Strat and I couldn't be happier. There are no Strat dealers around here so I ordered it from Musician's Friend. Then I had Scott Smith replace two of the three pickups with Seymour Duncans to put a little more umphh into it while also quieting it down some.

So now I look around and yes, I have some stuff. Add the Boss chromatic tuner, my Nady guitar wireless system (the greatest thing ever invented) and my Samson wireless microphone (a gift from the church) and I realize I've got some stuff.

Do I need it? No.

Is it more fun to play with than should be allowed?

C'mon ......