Re: What’re your toys ’02

[Mattman]

Well, my gear hasn’t really changed much since the last time, aside from an ampstand (that my amp doesn’t currently fit on, because the amp’s missing it’s missing its back. ’bout to fasion a new one for it.)

Here goes…

Guitars:

’94 USA Fender Telecaster (midnight-wine red… Pretty.)

early 90’s Fender Mexican Strat (black, and I had some decent tuners put on it awhile back.)

Yamaha A/E… This one’s actually my dad’s, but I tend to "borrow" it from him for very long periods of time (though he has it again right now.) He’s got 4 accoustics, so he doesn’t usually miss it.

Amps:

Just one amp at this time, but it’s my baby… A ’68 Fender Deluxe Reverb… Sounds sooo beautiful, but I think it might be due for a cap-job soon, it’s pretty old and starting to get muddy at the low end.

I also have a cabinet with a 15" bass speaker that I plug the amp into when I need to move a little more air. It’s still not that loud up against a drumset though.

Effects:

Onboard Reverb and Tremelo.. Built in to the amp, switched on and off by my DIY switch pedal, that I made from Radio Shack parts.

Rocktek Distortion. A cheap, plastic POS that is my all-time favorite fuzzbox ever. It’s got this over-fuzzy sound about it that I have tweaked to perfection. I get a lot of grief from other guitarists when they see it, but they can take a hike. This is my sound! Plus, they tend to shut up when they here it…

Boss DS-1 Distortion. My "other" fuzzbox (I use two). This is the one I kick on when I’m looking for more of a cruch than the Rocktek’s wall-o-fuzz. I kick ’em both on for solos though… <img>

Ibanez Soundtank TS5. A cheap, plastic version of the classic TS9. This is my experimental project pedal. I’ve modified the electronics in it a bit to emulate the even older TS808… It’s great for some loz fuzz bluesy stuff, but I can get a better blues fuzz by turning up my amp, so I don’t use this one much.

Dunlop Crybaby. My wah-wah pedal. It’s a mid 90’s one, and sounds pretty good, but I think I’d like to try out some other wah-wahs in the future.

Boss TU-2 Tuner… This is one of the best buys I’ve made in awhile. Not only is it a very good inline tuner, but it also functions as a power station for the rest of my effects. No more bateries!

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay. Don’t use this much, since I’ve been going for a much simpler sound lately (distortion, reverb, tremelo, and a little wah, only). Also, it seems to suck a little of my tone away. I might make a true switch for it in the future one day, to correct the problem.

Some kind of old Ibanez Dual Chorus thing. Yep, two chorus pedals in one box. I had to build a switchbox for this too, or I couldn’t use both sides at the same time. Haven’t been using this much lately either. It’s OK sometimes, but I’m not much of a chorus man. Found it real cheap though, a while back, so I decided to grab it.

The project:

I built a volume boost circuit a few months ago. Pretty basic, just a single knob and a switch. I did make it so it can use a battery or AC adapter though… Sounds pretty cool, but I haven’t put it in a case yet. Mostly because I don’t have a stomp switch for it. They’re pretty expensive for switches ($15) and have to be ordered through the mail… Currently have a basic toggle switch on it, that I have to flip with my hand.

Future considerations:

I’d like to get a decent bass rig some time in the near future. Nothing too expensive, but not too cheap either. I’d also like to get a drumset at some point and leard to play it. Don’t have room for one right now though.

Also plan on getting a louder amp, for when I need to jam with people, one of these days. I love my Deluxe, but it has trouble keeping up. I’d love to find, maybe, a Nice late 60’s Fender Twin Reverb for a good price. Gonna keep my eye out… <img>