Gear
I research all my gear very carefully before I buy it. I have been known to spend hours reading reviews and researching specs. If you have any questions about stuff I've owned, let me know!
Guitars
I traded a lot of guitars around during 2008-9 (see this blog post for details on most of them). I ended up with two electrics I really love. Other than that I have an old classical, the guitar I started on in eighth grade. I don't own an acoustic right now.
Michael Kelly Patriot Custom - Les Paul style but with many great features. Also way cheaper than a LP. Coil tap for nice single-coil sound, abalone inlays, pickups mounted direct to body, neck through body. I love this guitar!
Parker Fly Classic - This sweet guitar was made in the 90's when Ken Parker (the designer) was still at the company ensuring quality. I like it for lots of reasons. It's got two built-in humbuckers, a piezo pickup, a carbon fiber fretboard, steel frets, sperzel locking tuners, a coil tap on both pickups, and an adjustable tremolo system that goes from fixed to floating. It's FOUR pounds, about as heavy as a classical guitar. The fretboard is flat and extremely fast with the steel frets and composite material. Finally, it has a neat modern look that I disliked at first but have grown to like.
Effects and Amps
I've also traded guitar effects and amps a lot in the past couple years. I've owned the following:
- Digitech RP5 (had this for years)
- POD XT Live
- Tech21 PowerEngine 60 - 1x12 amp with little sound coloration
- Rack setup with a Tech21 PSA-1, TC Electronics G-Sharp, ISP Decimator, Behringer rack tuner, Behringer MDX2200 Compressor
- Floor-based pedal setup - Furman SPC-8C, VooDoo Labs Pedal Power II, Tech21 Tri-AC, Rocktron Big Crush, Eventide Timefactor, Morley wah, ISP Decimator
- Boss GT-10
- FBT Maxx4a
Currently I use the following:
Fractal Axe-Fx - The best guitar processor I've ever used. It's expensive, but I can't see myself ever needing anything else. It models tube amps and cabs perfectly, and has lots of effects. It's so tweakable that I've spent hours customizing sounds for a single preset.
EV ZXA1 - A compact 8'' PA speaker. Louder and smaller than most guitar cabs out there and designed for full-range response. I use this in conjunction with my Axe-Fx because it takes care of all the amp and cab modeling. This system is great for sound systems too - the sound I hear from my PA speaker is the same as what goes to the mixer. It's also light (18 pounds) and much easier to lug around than a guitar cab.
Recording
I started recording in high school using a four-track I'd borrowed from my friend Dan Byler. Using it was pretty educational - I learned how to EQ, ping-pong tracks, mix, pan, and program drums. Ever since then I've been recording. In the past, I've used:
- POD XT Live - This had a USB out, which was very handy for recording direct to GarageBand or Logic. I used it for bass, guitar, and vocals.
- Presonus Inspire - Great little firewire interface. I fried the XLR in channel one by turning on phantom power before plugging in the mic, but otherwise it worked fine.
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Presonus Firepod - You can record up to eight tracks at once with this thing. I bought it because I wanted a compact interface that could double as a mixer. I like travelling light and being compact. It doesn't have the options a real mixer has (like EQ, for instance), but usually that kind of thing can be handled by effects units before it gets to the Firepod.
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Alesis MultiMix 8 USB 2.0 - Like the Firepod (above), I bought this to double as a recording interface and mixer for playing live shows. Unlike the Firepod, it has some extra options for playing out such as built-in effects and EQ. It isn't rack-mounted, but I prefer to keep my guitar effects rack separate anyway - otherwise it gets too heavy, and I like to travel light.
Currently I use:
Alesis iO2 Express - A compact interface. USB powered, two inputs, XLR and line in for both. MIDI in/out. I love how it's so small and functional!
Other Gear
Rocktron Midi Mate - A good MIDI controller that can be phantom powered with my Axe-Fx. I've also owned the Tech21 Midi Moose and Midi Mouse.
Korg NanoKey - Basic MIDI keyboard. I use this for recording. It has a very small footprint. I've also owned an M-Audio Keystation49e and a AKAI LPK25.
Samson Airline 77 - Nice, small wireless unit with a tiny transmitter instead of body packs typical of wireless systems.
Gator GR-4S - Shallow four-space rack case
Samson PowerBrite PB15 - A powerstrip on steroids. Comes with geeky lights in front and back.
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