Gear

Not much happening bandwise this week. I had my 10 year high school reunion this week. It was a lot of fun. I talked to my good friend Lyn, and he told me Schroeder was a no-go. Oh well, maybe next year.

Keith and I are still playing Bret's birthday this weekend. Should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you all there at Josie's in POC.

I bought a PA to use for the gig this weekend. I had seen a decent set up in a Guitar Center Xmas mailout that I wanted to take a look at. The guy in the live sound department was extremely helpful. The setup I looked at first was $300, and was comprised of an 80 watt 4 channel mixer and 2 12" detached speakers. The guy asked me questions about how I would be using it and then recommended what essentially is a powered speaker. It's a 15" woofer with a 4" high end speaker powered by a built in 200 watt amp with 4 adjustable inputs. It cost $200. Basically, by saving $100, I got a much more powerful amp that can still take 4 inputs and EQ them. What I lost was the option to have sterio sound on 2 speakers that are not attached to the amp. Because likely the only time I will ever use this is when we play gigs at PA-less venues, all I'll ever be miking is my vocals. In the rare instance that we need to mic the drums and guitar as well, I can still do it, it will just all come out of one speaker. Totally worth it.

I'm slowly trying to accumulate all the equipment I will ever need for my music hobby. Here's a list of all the crap I have:

Electron Blue Standard Fender Telecaster (Made in Mexico)- I don't think I'll ever need a nicer electric guitar than this. I played the (more expensive) American made version and couldn't tell the difference. I know the Tele is my guitar of choice. I wouldn't mind adding a Gibson SG to play as well, but for my purposes and unless music becomes more than just a hobby, the Tele works fine.

Gibson CJ165 Acoustic/Electric- I know I'll never own a nicer acoustic than this one. I bought this on a sort of whim at Guitar Center about a year ago. It cost over $2000. There are definitely more expensive guitars available, but I played many Martins, Gibsons, Taylors, and Takamines before settling on this one. I knew once I got back from overseas I would buy a nice acoustic guitar that would last my lifetime. I knew I wanted it to be a dark stain and I knew I didn't want it to have a pick guard. I'll know I'm satisfied with my guitar ability when I've played so much I wear a hole where the pick guard should be. This guitar is extremely well made and the action is perfect. The tone, especially when it has new strings, is beautiful. I'll own this guitar for the rest of my life and the only thing I think I could add as far as acoustic guitars go would be a cheap Spanish style nylon string and a deep toned 12 string.

I also own a Fender Standard Mandolin; it was given to me as a college graduation gift from my brothers. I know how to play The Gourds version of "Gin and Juice" and a poorly done version of Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried"; I'm deeply ashamed at how long I've owned it without mastering it at the most elementary level. I also own a Jay Turser brand Resonator guitar. It's basically a stratocaster-style body with a banjo-style tone. It looks like a guitar with a pie tin in the middle. I got it for like $80 at a pawn shop, mostly because I just thought it looked cool. I have 2 Hohner harmonicas that I can't play worth a crap. One in the key of C and one in G. I like to bust them out every once in awhile and blow into them while I play a song in the key of the harmonica. It makes me feel like Bob Dylan. I play my guitars through either an old British brand solid-state amp whose name escapes me or a small 8" Marshall practice amp. Eventually I want to get rid of them and buy a Vox AC15 tube amp. I've also been looking at acquiring an upright piano. There are always at least a half dozen of them available on Craigslist for under $300. Many times there are people giving them away just so they can get them out of their homes. If I learned how to play piano, my head would probably explode with awesomeness.

Besides the various mics and whatnot that I need for recording, that's all I would ever need to tote to whatever gig we'll ever get. My desire for musical equipment is kind of like how some dudes get with cars; I could walk into any large music store and easily drop several hundred thousand dollars and still not be completely satisfied. I'm not wealthy and I don't plan on ever being so, but if I ever do by some miracle become rich, I would own many, many guitars, amps, and the like.

That's enough blathering for now. Have a great week. See y'all in POC.