Gibson scale instruments and .11’s on the
jazz box.
I like the Dava picks. Probably more than I have
ever settled on a pick before. They feel nice in
the hands. And I don’t drop them. Well much,
that is… (laughing) The tone is different as well,
especially on acoustic guitars.
For pickups I use mostly DiMarzio 36
anniversary PAF pros and Area 67 single coils.
I do have a few guitars with Lollar blackface
pickups in them and they sound really nice. I
have a Tele with a Dan Mare Tele neck pick up
that’s just great. But mostly DiMarzio’s. Their
consistency in sound and reliability is great! I’ve
been a fan since the mid 80’s.
photo by Wade Allen
experience they’ve just had. That’s always
more they just ask me what amp I’m using and
For amps I’ve been using the Fractal Audio Axe
a good thing, other guitar players may come
where is it, because they can’t see it.
FX. At first I used the Ultra, then the Mark II,
up and comment on the gear, but most music
then XL, and now the Ax8 Floor Model. I think
lovers just come up and say that they had a
I use a Sennhieser wireless G3 series and their
it’s the pinnacle of guitar modeling and beyond.
great time, enjoyed listening to it, and really
in-ear wireless monitors.
Actually I just think it sounds great and I have a
loved my sounds. They never say, “Hey, were
ridiculous amount of sounds and textures with
you using a modeler or a real amp?” (laughing)
When not using the wireless, I’m using this very
me all the time.
Only other guitarists do that, and more and
cool guitar cable, the Morrow Audio Phoenix
I have some other very cool gear that I use. I
usually have the Tech 21 Fly Rig with me as a
back up, and sometimes I take that to jams in
clubs instead of bringing the full Fractal rig with
me. The Eventide H9 is just a gorgeous little box
of textures that, along with the Fractal Audio
Ax8, gives me a huge set of tools to create
with. Sometimes I like to put a few overdrive
and fuzz boxes in front of the Fractal. Mainly for
fun and more unplanned creativity, I have a very
cool Majik Box Body Blow over drive that’s kind
of like a very nice tube screamer. They make
a fuzz as well that is nice. I like things in the
Marshall Plexi vibe. I have a Plexi pedal from
Tech 21 and the Carl Martin Plex drive too that
are both really nice. And there’s this very cool
little box called the MDX that I don’t use with
the Fractal but with small amps, and it gives
that Plexi vibe to my small amps!
All of these are great tools. At the end of the
day, if I’ve done my job right, people come
up and never mention the tools… just the
Jul Aug 2016
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