My Rig

Taylor Acoustic Guitar

Recently-obtained in 2019, the purchase of this guitar was something I obsessed over for many years.  At over $1000, it would be the biggest purchase I would make for myself ever since starting a family.

But, in 2019 I came to the sound conclusion that I gave my family a lot already and I’m just going to go ahead and buy this for myself, guilt-trips be damned.

Owning this is amazing.  It creates a huge semi-tinny, but full sound that I love.  The cutaway makes playing upper frets much easier.  Furthermore, it is performance-ready with an instrument cable plug-in.

Original 60s Reissue Telecaster

Definitely my most expensive guitar at $1800.  One feels the value of it when it gets played.

The expense in these guitars go to the little details, from the action on the neck to it’s refined pickups.

Plus, it looks cool.  The brilliant blue nitro finish and bindings are just fun to look at.

Fender Stratocaster

In 2006, $1000 was a lot of money for me.  I was in my first job out of college and living by myself.  However, I was starting to play serious gigs at this point and my Fender Telecaster simply was not reliable enough.

My first “premium” guitar, this Fender Stratocaster is American made with a special edition mahogany body.  The result is amazing sustain and tone.  This also includes beautiful mother of pearl neck inlays.

Today, it is my choice for higher-sustain, higher-body guitar tones.

The pickups have been replaced by 2 P90s.  In my opinion, it has a great tone in between the Strat and Les Paul.

Seagull Acoustic Guitar

This Seagull was my first acoustic guitar, which I purchased used from a DePaul University student in Chicago in 2006.  I had previously borrowed other people’s acoustic guitars if I had the need.

With a solid wood top, it makes a great sound.  However, I would not say it’s a versatile sound.  It plays thick and oftentimes muddy.  Still, this was my faithful practice, recording, and live performance guitar for 15 years.

I would have to slip a pickup into the sound hole each time to play it through an amp, but that was an inconvenience I had to endure due to not having enough money at the time to do anything better.

I have it around now, but it lives outside of its case and gets beat up a bit with kids being around.

Supro Custom 10 ( 1970RK ) Tube Amp

Yes, a big boy tube amp is back.  At 25 watts, this is not nearly as powerful as the Twin Reverb I had, but with its class A tube structure, I can get a more consistent tone without having to crank the volume up to ear-splitting, noise complaint levels.

This was made with pedal platforming in mind and I’m loving the effects loop and headroom this amp gives me.

Pedalboard ( Current )

Hours of science were poured into the making of this pedal board.

No, that’s a lie.  I just thought they sounded cool in Youtube videos.  I want to change my sound from heavy guitar to precise, refined guitar over groovy synth beats.

So, I’m thinking these are the tools to get me there.  I guess we’ll see

Fender Precision Bass

I always have a bass around even though it’s not my primary instrument and I only ever use it for recording.  A real bass is simply superior to synthetic bass due to the ability to hammer and bend strings, etc.

This is actually the 5th bass I’ve owned.  Hard to believe considering how little I play it.  I received 2 of those bass guitars for free by simple chance.  One was sold while the other I gifted to a friend.

The story of this bass is a little weird.  I loaned my brother my old Fender Jazz Bass and a couple years later he returned me this Precision Bass.  WTF Bro?

Still, I don’t know enough about bass to tell the difference.  My brother’s previous ownership was obvious because he “decorated” it by scratching it up with a screwdriver.  Another WTF moment my brother is never short of providing.

BOSS DR-880 Drum Machine

I’ve used BOSS drum machines now for almost 20 years.  They sound great and are affordable.  Even though I have a drum kit, recording it is a hassle and doesn’t sound as good as this.

This is my 2nd BOSS drum machine.  My first was a  European-made BOSS TR-770 that came from Cyprus of all places.  This was super annoying due to needing a power converter.

I upgraded to the DR-880 after getting a real job and being able to afford a drum machine of quality.  The quality is much improved.

Logic Pro X

My first recording ever was on an ancient 4-track tape recorder.  As the 2000s came along, I encountered digital recording, and my broke ass pirated a copy of Cool Edit Pro.

In the 2020s, I’m amazed with how far technology has come.  I use Logic Pro X because I understand it better than other DAWs.  I know Apple will make sure it works.  Those two alone are huge, so this is my choice.

Universal Audio Apollo Solo Thunderbolt Audio Interface

I was reluctant and upset on this one as the passage of time and its effect on technology forced me into it.

My old Focusrite firewire-based audio interface, I thought, was fine but it was no longer supported by Apple and I couldn’t use it.

I pretty much had to upgrade and since I had Thunderbolt 3, I figured why not take advantage of it and be ahead of the curve technologically for once.

So, I got this.  Though the plugins were an afterthought, I realize they are very good, especially the auto-tune, and I look forward to seeing more of what it could do.

PDP Drum Kit

While I don’t record with this often, it’s here just for fun.  I like the feel of live drumming, the kids like it, and I just like to have it.  It also stirs up some conversation.  What’s wrong with that?

Line6 Bass Modulator

I got rid of a real bass amp several years ago.  It was huge, I didn’t play enough of it and I really had no need for it.

So, I picked this up and it really sounds great for my primary reason to play bass, which is recording.

Overall, I’m really happy with this unit because it’s punchy and easy to control.  You can dial in a tone and it sticks to it faithfully.

Vox Tube Amp ( former )

I don’t have this anymore, but it’s enough a part of me that I want to acknowledge all its done for me while I improved as a guitarist.

It’s loud despite its size.  It has that authentic Vox tone.  I’ve moved on to a more powerul amp, but I pay homage to this little 4-watt tube amp that could.

Pedalboard (old)

A tribute to my old pedal board.  Today, I only have the Loop Station from this first group.

I was really into the wall of guitars sound; however, I realize I need to move on with the times.

Older Stuff

Some of my older stuff can be seen here.  Most of it has been sold off due to being impractical, never-used, or simply something I didn’t like.

Fender Twin Reverb 65 – Serious amp but does not belong in a residential setting unless you want to make enemies of your neighbors or want your wife to file for divorce.

Ampeg Bass Amp – Got rid of it because I simply did not use it.  I only ever play bass when recording and decided to go the direct out with a bass amp modeler.

Digitech RP500 – An interesting multi-effects board.  However, not as good as analog pedals and I couldn’t get over the poor sound decay.