Guitars

• Fender Stratocasters
• D'Pergo Julien Kasper model

• Gibson Les Paul (‘58 reissue)
• Gibson Korina SG
• Fender Telecaster

 

Picks

Fender Extra Heavy 347. I like a heavy pick that gives positive contact with the strings and is very responsive to slight changes in angle for timbre variations. The shape of the Fender XH 347 is a good compromise between playing with the back of a regular shaped pick but you get the added benefit of a slight point for accuracy and attack.

Strings

GHS Burnished Nickel Roundwound .011-.050.

 

Cables

I use a combination of Mogami and George L’s.

While the the George L’s are very transparent due to such low capacitance they tend to be bright with a loose low end.  Combining them with the smoother midrange, slightly attenuated highs and tighter lows of Mogami cables works well for me.

I listen critically to each cable in my signal chain and mark it for directionality. Some cables sound considerably better to me with the signal flowing in a particular direction while with others the difference is negligible.

In the studio I’ll sometimes use cheap, horrible cables, particularly for distortion sounds. Old curly cords can be great for this.

Pickups

The pickups in my main Fender Strats, my D’Pergos, and my Les Paul are stock.
Custom wound Jason Lollar pickups are in my Korina Gibson SG.

Live Pedal Board in Order of Signal Flow

I swap out my fuzz pedals to suit the amp I am using or the temperature of the venue (germanium fuzzes can freak out if they are too hot or cold).

Pedal Board as of 7/07 in order of signal flow:

JAM Rooster (Rangemaster) > MJM Sixties Vibe (Univibe) > Fulltone Soul-Bender (Tone Bender) > MJM Roctavios (Octavia) > MJM London Fuzz II (silicon diode Fuzz Face) > Occtone The JK MK2 (heavily modded DS-1) > JAM Tremolo > A/B Box to tuner or Maxon AD-900 analog delay > amp.

Other pedals that are in rotation on the board:

MJM London Fuzz (germanium Fuzz Face) , JAM Waterfall (Chorus), JAM Dancomp (compressor), Emma ReezaFratzitz (overdrive)

 

In the studio the Fulltone Soulbender and Tonebone Switchbone got quite a bit of use. I rarely use overdrive pedals in the studio. I prefer to crank amps when given the luxury to do so.

These are the pedals I took to The New Imperial recording sessions:

I ended by using the blue MJM London Fuzz 2 and Rockatavios, the Fulltone '70 and Soulbender (big early silver edition lower right),the Maxon delay, the Fulltone Dejavibe, and the Switchbone.

Amplifiers

I prefer simple amps without master volumes, channel switching, and, in most cases, reverb.

For specific amps on Flipping Time see the page Tracking Flipping Time.

For live performances I choose the amp best suited to the venue size:

Small: Fender Deluxe Reverb

Medium: Vox AC30 or the Roy Goode "JK Custom" into a Vox AC30 cabinet with two Celestion Blues. The Custom is an original design of Roy's that incorporates elements of plexi Marshall, AC 30, and the original blackface bassman which is the chassis it inhabits.

Medium to Large: Marshall Tremelo 50 watt or JK Custom into a Marshall 4x12 with four 25 watt “Greenback” speakers.

Large to Huge: Marshall 100 watt Super Lead into the same Marshall 4X12.

In the studio tracking my new CD, in addition to the amps above, my Gibson GA-6 has been getting some use. Roy Goode completely rebuilt it and made some changes in the design and it sounds particularly mean.

For practicing I like either a Fender Princeton Reverb or a beautiful little tweed Fender Champ that I pulled out of somebody's rubbish!

FAQ

How long should I practice every day?
As long as you can, just stay focused and on task. Write out a schedule and time your topics with a kitchen timer. Just fifteen minutes can be fine for some things. Use a metronome constantly and creatively (not just on quarter notes). Record yourself and listen back with critical ears to your time, intonation, tone, note choice, etc. Consider that virtually every great musician went through a period (or periods) in their lives when they practiced obsessively for eight or more hours a day. Hendrix was never without his guitar and Coltrane was known to practice during his breaks on gigs.

Are your solos improvised or do you “write” them?
All of my solos are improvised. I may conceptualize an approach, usually based around tone and/or style but each time I play a solo, live or in the studio, I am improvising.

Improvisation is becoming a lost art in rock guitar, particularly in high level instrumental music in which the technical demands are such that players feel solos have to be worked out in order to execute them and meet the expectations of their audience. Working out a solo so that it can be played perfectly and/or as fast as humanly possible is about athleticism not musical expression. Improvising a great solo used to be a point of pride among rock guitarists much as it is with jazz musicians. I would love to see a return to that aesthetic among players and listeners.

You are a schooled player. Did you learn to play that way in college?
No. When I went to school I had already played professionally for ten years and knew what I wanted to do as a guitarist. I went to college to learn to be a complete musician - to study jazz improvisation, composition, orchestration, and ear training, not guitar.

In the late ‘80s when I went to University of Miami the opportunities for learning to play jazz on the gig in the traditional way were already diminishing dramatically (gigs are almost nonexistent now). I wanted be in an intense environment with great faculty and student players who were going to kick my ass. Most of my learning was done at after hour jam sessions. As I got better I picked up jazz gigs and ended by getting the on the job training I was seeking all along. It has only been in the last few years that my teenage vision of raw psychedelic ‘60s rock guitar tones coexisting with jazz knowledge and musical command has truly taken shape in my own music.

Did you take private lessons as a child?
A few here and there but they were, for the most part, discouraging. I had one teacher who was convinced he was tormented by ghosts and I believe he may have been correct. I took a few classical lessons at age 12. My teacher was obsessed with my manicure and the position of my feet but not that concerned about the actual music. This was not particularly productive for an adolescent. However, his girlfriend had absolutely enormous breasts which fascinated me and kept me coming to lessons for a little while.

Have you had other private teachers outside of school?
My first great teacher was Peter Mayer in St. Louis, MO. When I was 18 I quit my band and moved up to St. Louis to live with my parents and practice for six months. My mother found Peter for me and he started me on the quest to becoming a musician, not just a guitar player. He exposed me to so much great music - Miles, Coltrane, Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter. Peter was a beautiful and elegant guitar player who played jazz on an old Strat. I have to say the inspiration he gave me completely changed my life. I was shocked to find out recently that he has been in Jimmy Buffet’s band for years and has been nurturing a career as an acoustic singer/songwriter. I’m sure, despite his change in direction, that he is as great a musician as ever.

When I lived in Austin, TX in the ‘80s I studied with a great jazz player named Clay Moore. Clay was tremendously helpful at nurturing my jazz vocabulary, forcing me to work on my reading, and exposing my musical weaknesses. Clay also got me a teaching gig at the New School in Austin and recommended me for quite a few playing gigs. We became good friends and drove all over Mexico in his ancient VW van. Clay now lives in Minneapolis, MN where he dominates the jazz guitar scene and teaches at Music Tech.

Are there any “new” guitar players that you admire?
Yes but they are not widely known. Originality is not rewarded with recognition in this day and age so you really have to seek these people out. Tim Miller is a good friend who also teaches at Berklee and, even if he wasn’t, he would be one of my favorite players. David Tronzo is an amazing slide player (also on the Berklee faculty) and a creative musician. Kurt Rosenwinkel is an amazing improviser and very unique player. For traditional George Benson/Grant Green type playing I’ve been enjoying listening to Rodney Jones lately.

Who makes the best effects?
For vintage style "Hendrix-y" pedals I like MJM - they always sound good. I use a lot of Fulltone stuff too. It may be coincidental but the Fulltone pedals I prefer tend to be fairly early editions. Certain Maxon pedals are good too.

What kind of speaker is in your Deluxe Reverb?
A Celestion “Blue” Alnico.

Is that a stock tremelo on your Strat?
Yes. See the link to Keeping Stratocasters in Tune.

Who are your favorite guitarists?
Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, mid ‘60s BB King, Wes Montgomery, ‘60s Clapton, T-Bone Walker.