Multi Effects Processors

I have always been the type of player who never used a lot of effects. Some Reverb a little Chorus and life was great. Well, I have a beautiful Digitech RP 355 and have been fooling around with making up my own user presets. I have to admit, having the ability to string together several effects into one preset and then putting them in the order I want for when I play and record is a really great feature. Today I was playing around with my favorite effects and came up with two new presets to cover the majority of my playing style. I have them right next to each other so now when I want to solo I just toggle up and when I want to go to rhythm I just toggle back down. This is so awesome, I no longer have to waste time switching on and off several different stomp boxes! I really love advances in gear!
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Caring for a Legacy

The reason why I play guitar is because of my brother Bill. When we were kids growing up he was my hero. Bill was popular, funny, smart, an exceptional athlete and a great musician. I always wanted my brother to think I was cool so I could hang out with him and his friends. As things would have it when I was 13 my brother bought a beautiful Ventura D30 Acoustic guitar. I remember up in our room he would work away at learning chords and playing that guitar until his hands cramped up. I was not allowed to touch it...that was Bill's pride and joy. The way I learned to play was when he would go off to work his job at the local pizza place. I would sit in our room and work as hard as I could to learn a song. The song I learned was "New Kid in Town" by the Eagles. One day Bill and a few of his friends were hanging out at our place and Bill was hacking away on his guitar when one of them said why don't you let E play. Well Bill said I couldn't play and that was that. here, finally is my opportunity to be cool so I said, "Yes, I can play" So Bill being the good egg he was handed me his guitar. I break into New Kid in Town and jaws drop. Well, as the years go by, Bill moves out to the west coast and I got involved in a few bands a couple did really well and in one I did some touring having a blast as I was growing up. Well, I joined the Army and got to see the world and found the niche I was always meant to be in. Music never really left my life. I still would noodle every now and then. One terrible October night I got a call that my brother had been killed in a car accident. Bill's fiancée Linda had the terrible task of getting all of Bill's stuff to us. She called me and said that Bill wanted me to have his guitar. I was floored. I know how much this guitar meant to him. Linda explained how impressed Bill was that night when we were kids and I played for him and his friends. She said that he felt I should have this to remember him by. Now, This guitar is old, has been around the world and needs to be refinished. As a tribute to the legacy of my brother I am going to do this myself to ensure that the job is done right. I will post pics once the job is done.

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The Joy of a Quality Guitar

Yesterday was a great day for many reasons. First I got to spend a relaxing day with my gorgeous wife A. Second I got to tie up a bunch of loose ends before my surgery this Tuesday and last but not least I go to do some amp comparisons for my next purchase. I already have some really incredible amps a Fender Champion 600,  a Fender Super Champ XD and a Fender M80 Bass combo. I went in and was looking at several different amps. The Fender Bassman 59, the Fender Blues Jr, the Fender Deluxe VM and a Peavey Classic 30. I am a huge Fender man and the first to admit it, but I was impressed with the Peavey. Fantastic sound and build. I took my favorite Tele my 2009 Honey Blonde Highway 1 Telecaster because it is just such a fantastic guitar. From the incredible ALNICO V pickups to the nitro finish this is one amazing guitar. Well, I was truly amazed at how great it sounded in the Peavey...but when I plugged into the Fender amps, I was blown away! I will be honest, I was totally drawn in by the Deluxe VM. My Tele just shines through that amp! Now alot of finding tone is in the amp the other huge part is the guitar. My Tele is just an amazing guitar. I did some minor adjustments on it based on my style and taste but Fender really hit the ball out of the park with this one!! So it is easy to play when you have a quality guitar! Play on!
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