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My frighteningly awesome sounding amp rig circa 2000-2. There have been many such combinations, but this one, taking elements of both Neil Young & Ry Cooder stage set ups, was one of the best. Certainly the most…robust.

signal chain:
60s Vox wah (modded)->80 Dyna Comp->Matchless Hotbox->Memory Man (modded)->Boss Tu2 trem->70’s EP3 echoplex (with volume pedal mod to control mix)->

1965 Princeton Reverb. The heart of it all and remains my favorite amp ever. Onstage it gets mic’d for house and has a custom made instrument level tap that comes off the speaker and travels->

1971 Hiwatt 100. Unbelievable headroom (this one rated 120 watts clean, 170 full up) and responsible for whatever stage volume needed. It fed either 2 or 4 Bell & Howell 1×12 movie cabs, often set at an angle or backwards depending on the room.

Tone matters for everything – not just guitars. Voice, drums, organ, etc. Most important, it has to work for the moment and for the composition.

I often get asked about my guitar tone. My usual response is, it’s in the fingers!

Most musicians who understand this concept don’t really need to talk about the basis of someone’s tone. Others seem to think this response is some kind of inside joke and that if they just use the right piece of gear…

Listen. The gear you are using is but a small part of the formula. It’s one thing to talk about different textures one can create by using a particular piece of gear, but far more important is how you play through and respond to that gear – the connection between your heart, your fingers, the instrument and the sound you are producing.

I have experimented with many guitars and with many amp and effects setups – vintage, non-vintage and combinations in between. It is an ongoing process. I tend to gravitate towards things that are built to last (often over-engineered) except if it provides ridiculous functionality or fucked-up sound. As Les Paul once said, “You’ve got to constantly mess around with things.”

I don’t change my basic setup around much, but little things are always in flux and there are always new discoveries!