Guitarists are always on the quest for the perfect tone. If you're anything like me, you go to everyone's web site you can, probing the content for pedals they use, amplifiers they swear by, and guitars they play. There are so many manufacturers out there today, and most of them make crap (including the big-hitters). If you're a serious guitarist, you've long since given up on modeling amps (with the exception of those of us who need 50 sounds in a 1-hour casino gig), amps with printed circuit boards, Indonesian and Taiwan guitars, anything with LE, SE or LTD in the name, or pedals that cost under $30 MSRP. Most of the multi-effect pedals are great until it comes to overdrive, which negates their purpose anyway. And amps with built-in effects? Isn't that like having your keyboardist show to a gig with a Casiotone under his arm so he can do the drum beats as well?
Now, let me set the record straight for those of you ready to write me off as an elitist. I've seen and heard guys play amazingly with a wall of tone using the cheapest junk on the market. But those who master their equipment also master their craft. So the question remains: do you want to master the Wal-Mart equivalent of gear, or do you prefer the best you can get? Remember, the idea of great gear is not just a price tag. In fact, most of my custom built amplifiers through Electrosonic Amplifiers cost less than one of Fender's woeful "reissues". It's much deeper than that. The idea is that we're all individuals, and what works perfectly for one will cause another to play like a first-week student. I believe that a guitarist's skill lies in three places: his heart, his fingers and his equipment. Get all three right, and you're unstoppable.
So, the purpose of this page is to show you what I use to get my sounds. Your perfect tone could be completely different, but if you like to experiment with gear, I can give you my opinion on what I use and why I use it. I always answer questions about my gear, especially my amplifiers and hand-made guitars. I've been a long-time endorser of the now-defunct Electrosonic Amplifiers, and believe in them for ANY guitarist. I also love CMATMODS for pedals. Finally, I have used the work of King Bee Guitars and Tony DeLacugo painting. So feel free to contact me if you want to ask about the stuff I use, build or endorse.
If you'd like to see pictures of all of my gear, please click here to see my photo archive.
For a few years, I was an official endorser of Electrosonic Amplifiers. They were some of the best hand-built, point-to-point amplification available, and I am sorry to see them close their doors. If you see one on eBay or somewhere like that, buy it immediately. You won't be sorry. I've owned quite a few of their amplifiers, and still have the three that were my favorites.
THE FUSION
The Fusion was the last custom built at Electrosonic Amplifiers. This amp is the result of over a year of R&D, determining exactly what I wanted an amp to do. It's a full 80 watts, utilizing two dissimilar output tube pairs. A KT66 pair and a KT77 pair of output tubes, each with their own level controls. Switchabe Hi and Med gain preamps. 3-band tone stack. Master volume and preamp levels with gain selector. Variable sag control. Cut control on back is post-preamp to dial in highs. Metalflake-embedded purple vertical combo cabinet with a 10" custom Weber speaker and a 12" Weber Silver Bell in it. This is by far the best amp Electrosonic has made, and is one of my main gigging amplifiers.
The Thermosonic Custom
This Thermosonic is based on one of the production models. I added a three band tone stack, a single EL34 output tube for 15 watts, and a custom coned 10" Weber Thames speaker. Used mostly for small gigs or miked up at larger shows, it's extremely versatile and sounds enormous compared to other amps its size.
The Redneck
This was the first amp I ordered from Electrosonic, and it's still in my possession. Based on a 1959 Fender Tweed Twin, this amp puts out a solid 80 watts of power through 4 6L6s. Its only drawback is a Weber-designed copper cap rectifier, which is a bit stiff for my taste. Putting that aside, it has tone for DAYS. 2 channels (jumperable), 3 band tone stack with presence control. Super clean country monster. And the Western Tooled Leather covering is easy on the eyes, too.
The rest of my amps are production-line amps. But I have noteworthy items in my collection. Most of these amps were lucky scores or accidental acquisistions. I've been through a lot of amplifiers, from Ampeg to Dr. Z, and those still in my possession are here for a reason.
1990s Fender Custom Shop ProSonic
This is one of the original models produced in Fender's custom shop. It was an accidental acquisition. At first, I wasn't interested in a PCB Fender 2x10 combo. I've found them to be rather beamy and directional. However, this one has an exceptional character - striking cleans with just a hint of hair. Nice and thick and full of sustain. Bruce Zwinky designed this one to be more like an old Mesa Boogie Mark I (which were, themselves, just modified Fenders anyway). The active overdrive channel is exceptional. Although I don't use it, it has two cascading gains, with the second stage acting as sort of a compressor to fatten up sustain and crunch. The amp has three rectifier settings: Total Class A, Class AB tube, and Class AB solid state. The Class AB tube is the cleanest, glassiest setting and is where I keep it. The reverb on this is the best spring verb I've ever heard. Far clearer than a Twin Reverb, and more pronounced than a Marshall. It's still the standard Accutronics tank, so it has to be in the circuitry. I did replace the Fender CS Celestions with a pair of BLB ceramics from the '80s, as the Fender speakers were quite honky and midrangey. This is also one of my main gigging amplifiers.1974 Fender Twin Reverb
I got this amp on trade. It came to me looking like a truck ran over it, and smelling like it lived in a swamp. So I took it apart and went to work cleaning and testing everything. The only things bad on it were the output tubes and fuse. I did order a new (Marsh) birch and pine cabinet for it as the particleboard was a bit heavy, and ordered replacement knobs to spruce it up a bit. This is a 100-watt beast. Fun to use live, as long as it's a larger place that can handle the volume. I gig it in rotation depending on the venue.
1963 Fender Brown Deluxe
Yup - the Fenders keep getting older. This one was given to me by a guy at a yard sale. I opened it up, and it needed a LOT of work. The guy who had it tried to swap out the output transformer and never finished the job, likely because he didn't have the right transformer installed. The speaker was long gone, and replaced with an old Utah coax speaker. Yeah - that had to go, too. The cabinet is horribly molested; the guy said it spent years in a garage used as a desk to keep things on and work on. So as a vintage original amplifier with collector's value, this thing was history. But, it's a little gem, and I wanted to try something new with it. Enter my friend TC (Tom Kissinger, amp guru). TC has had a little fun with this amp. Not only does it now work, but it is now gig-worthy as well. He replaced the output transformer with a Bandmaster transformer, recapped the entire amp, and modified the circuit to push 60 tube watts. The tremolo had to be sacrificed to make this happen, but I never use tremolo, and the collector's value of the amp is already gone. The trem circuit is still in there, just disengaged. That way if ever in the future it's decided to put back the way it was originally, the parts are still there. The speaker is now an old Fender Eminence. At 60 watts, it is now the smallest, lightest gig-volume amp I own. The volume can actually keep up with my Prosonic. It's a great little sleeper (and my coolest vintage mod) that is in regular rotation for my gigs.
1983 Marshall JCM800 2x12 Combo
This amp has been around the block, but it's the early release with the EL34 power tubes, and has "that '80s rock" tone. I've had to do a lot of work to it, cosmetically and electrically, to get it back to snuff. Yeah, it's PCB and production line, but like I said - I'm no elitist. If it sounds good and feels good, it IS good. And this amp, my friends, is good. Classic hard rock tone, full British feel. This is a lot of fun to use for rock gigs - just using the gain channel and rolling the volume knob on the guitar back for rhythm.
'80s Rock RatStack
OK, this one is just fun to put together and play through. There was a time in my career that I played through a huge rack of guitar equipment: an ADA MP1 preamp, a Rocktron Intellifex, ADA power amps, an OLD rack harmonizer (I forget the model/manufacturer, but it was the same type used on the solo of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart". BIG purple thing with four presets), a Groove Tubes STP-G rack amp, a Digitech pitch shifter, a Quadraverb, and a Laney 4x12 cabinet. Yeah... I know. Overkill. But I wanted to recreate my main tones and feel from back then for the occasional original rock projects that I take part in. So here's what I'm using. The preamp is a Rocktron Piranha. At first, I wasn't sure about replacing an MP-1 with a Piranha, as the MP-1 is what I was used to. And, as expected, when I got the Piranha home, I wasn't initially sure about it. It seemed a bit buzzsawish at higher gain settings. After a lot of research, I decided to try to swap the tubes in it with some lower-gain tubes. I used a set of JJs (12AT7 and 12AX7), and was suddenly pleasantly surprised. Nice, thick chunk without over-the-top metal fizz. It did reduce the gain enough that I've decided to use a CMAT SignaDrive to thicken up the solos, but it's a fair swap for that thick, Marshally chunk. For effects, I'm using an original blackface Rocktron Intellifex, just like the old days. I know - Rocktron makes nicer stuff nowadays, but I can't get away from the TONE of the old stuff. It just sounds better to me. The power amp is a Peavey Classic Series 50/50 tube power amp. It has eight EL84s in it, and running it in bridged mono is a HUGE sound. They are very nice and underrated power amps. I prefer it over the ADA and Rocktron power amps out there. Yeah, it's heavier, but worth it in tone and response. The cabinet WAS a freebie 4x12 Peavey from the early '80s. The tolex was shredded like a mountain lion's scratching post, and it was literally held together by 4 roofing nails. I opened it up, expecting Black Widows. To my pleasant surprise, someone had reloaded it with old Celestian Vintage 30s. Excited, I used two to load up my custom Lopo 2x12 diagonal cabinet. The thing screams now. To control the beast, I'm using an old Rocktron MidiMate that I rebuilt from a dumpster save, along with a couple of CMAT overdrives. This thing definitely tips the hat to '80s - '90s rock and progressive, and is probably my favorite toy.
I use (almost exclusively) CMATMODS pedals. I highly recommend his pedals. You can't beat them for quality and sound. I currently rotate the following:
CMAT MODS makes astounding little pedals, really. I also have a closet full of other current and vintage pedals, from many purchases, trades, or acquisitions. Many of these pedals are mostly in my hands for collector's reasons, but I frequently buy/sell/trade pedals for items I can currently use.
Now, for my RatStack, I use a completely different pedalboard. On it, I have a Rocktron MidiMate, CMAT Brownie and Butah, a Boss TU-2 Tuner, and a boutique tru-bypass wah.
My guitar collection changes frequently, as I build my own guitars as well as hunt out production guitars that I enjoy for their individuality. I frequently sell the guitars I've built to working musicians, and as such, the list changes regularly.
PK Guitars
I've built many guitars. Some I sell, some I keep. I try to keep this list current as a list of guitars I've built and use myself. Pictures are available on the photos page.
Model 1 (Blackie) is my favorite beater. It's a black bound Japanese Tele body that I rerouted for a humbucker in the bridge, a Strat-style neck pickup, and an OLD Warmoth reverse headstock neck. All the parts were dumpster parts, and while it doesn't play as well as some of the others, its tone and mojo can't be beat.
Model 2 (Tiger) is a semi-hollow Tele-style body with f-hole, Wilkinson trem, reverse headstock, jumbo frets, rosewood board, and flame maple top. It took 3 weeks to get the 4 colors of the flame to come out the way I liked them (I used varying dilutions of two colors of dye before painting it).
I call Model 3 The Stacked Blonde. The Tele-style body has a Mary Kay Blonde paint, fat neck with jumbo frets, Seymour Duncan vintage/classic stack pickups, a red tortoise guard, and Sperzel locking tuners.
Model 4 was originally dubbed "Lee", as it was a slight return to Jake E. Lee's cream Strat in the '90s. Creme paint, black pickguard, hardware and pickups, birdseye maple neck and fretboard. Now, in need of more traditional tone and look, I've made upgrades including a Wilkinson trem, a traditional B/W/B pickguard, and a set of DiMarzio stack pickups to give it a more traditional sound while remaining hum-free. Now called The Classic.
Model 5 is called Bender, because I have little creativity, and it's a B-Bender Tele-style. It has a Duncan stack bridge pickup and two DiMarzio Strat stack pickups, a custom-wired 3-way switch, 3-tone sunburst paint, an authentic Fender B-Bender installed, rosewood fretboard and locking tuners. This is my favorite by far, and my main guitar at shows.
Model 6 is named The Patriot because of its striking metalflake American flag paint job. The paint was done by Tony DeLacugo (famous for his chopper paint as well as award-winning guitar paint jobs - google his name to see some of his great work). DiMarzio pickups, coil tap switch, 3-way pickup selector, 12" radius rosewood fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, standard D profile, Sperzel graduated locking tuners. Neck is finished in Tru-Oil gunstock finish for a smooth unfinished feel, headstock in gloss lacquer to protect the decal. Can YOU say Rockabilly?
Model 7 (Vegas), is a gold metalflake Strat-style. I originally wanted a Dick Dale repro, but things got out of hand as always. C-profile neck with jumbo frets and a compound radius. Full steel American trem, hotrod wiring to put tones on bridge and neck pickups. Traditional 5-way switching. Maple neck and ebony fingerboard. To save on costs, I had this one done in a poly finish, so it's gonna be brittle paint. However, that should help it age quickly and authentically. After a few months, this will be a really cool relic. Recent upgrades include a full Vai wiring setup - HSH pickups to make it more of a rocker.
Production Guitars
I also use some production-line guitars. They are still in possession because of usability, sentimental value, or coolness factor. Usually it's a combination of all three. These guitars currently are:
As you can see, each guitar has its own unique purpose and use. So while you can call me a gear hoarder (which I guess is true by definition), you can also see where I'm going with this. Yeah, I've got a little bit of everything, I know. It pleases me and I demand more.
I have lots of other scattered items: power amps, PA heads, live and recording mixers, a computer recording station, multi-input sound cards, outboard processors, various software titles, PA speakers, microphones, blah blah blah. In all honesty, if you got this far, you're likely just me or my mother. I can't imagine any other human being getting all the way to the end of this ridiculously long rambling. In fact, I think I've even bored myself. So I don't think I'll continue with all this other useless junk I own. Just know that I have it. Because I demand it so.
