Musings on music, sports, life in general from Quincy, Illinois.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

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 ......

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

man folks on Aldo have been complaining .......they say some nights all the Hood' dogs howl for no reason .........



Now we know !


Too bad we can't call the FIVE-Zero to complain


hehehe


Good to read that Aldo is kicking tunes POST 1990 when the sounds of the Clash used to shake fillings

Anonymous said...

It all started with one guitar. Within 4 years this is how it ended up.

2 Guitars
2 Basses
1 Keyboard
1 Synthesizer
1 Amp
2 Speakers
2 Mixers.
3 Microphones
...etc.

It's only just beginning. This is at a young age of 18... oh lord.

Anonymous said...

It all started with one guitar. Within 4 years this is how it ended up.

2 Guitars
2 Basses
1 Keyboard
1 Synthesizer
1 Amp
2 Speakers
2 Mixers.
3 Microphones
...etc.

It's only just beginning. This is at a young age of 18... oh lord.

Anonymous said...

Real men play straight into their amps, no effects, "BS" processors, etc. Clapton never needed any outlandish effects, neither do any of you! Blackmore using effects? Give me a break. What happened to all the real guitarists?

Angus f-ing Young using effects?

Anonymous said...

Remember Slingblade: "We don't even have any f@#@ing microphones!"

Rodney Hart said...

Well, once again, you miss the point .... when we play live, I bring my acoustic, plug it in direct to the PA and go. HELLO!

The point is that it's fun to have some stuff to play with. I know many bands and players who are more about the gear and it shows, they can't play and it's very fake.

If you think Eric Clapton just grabs a guitar and plugs it in and plays, well, you've been smoking something whacky. Go to www.fenderplayersclub.com and look him up.

Great guitar players are recognizable as soon as you hear them, and their gear (not necessarily fancy gizmos) contributes to the sound.

Rocky Cola said...

top guitarists for me....
the easy one's first...

Jimi,
Eddie,
Ted,
Carlos Santana

Your right, you could play a small sample of any of the 4, and know within 5-8 seconds who it is.

Anonymous said...

Guitar lovers -- check out Guitar Shorty (/www.guitarshorty.org). He was married to Jimi's sister. When Jimi was very young, he'd sneak into clubs to hear GS play, and learned a great deal from him. I've seen him perform live at Chicago Blues Festival and he is one INCREDIBLE performer. Not often one see's a 70 something doing front rolls without missing a lick. RB