Paul Leary digs them so they gotta be cool. Can’t justify one but I want one!
Category Archives: Gear
Rock Prodigy
Trying to decide whether this app is worth $20…
Fender Blacktop Telecaster HH
Check out my Craigslist score. It was purchased new at American Music nine months ago and never played. I already switched out the tone and volume knobs. I’d like to reverse the control plate back to “normal” but it’s a bit involved. Anyway, super cool guitar. Dig the humbuckers!
Ultimate Guitar Tabs
Here’s another great one for your phone. It’s $2.99 in the iTunes store, though you can get the tabs from the Ultimate Guitar site for free. I like having stuff on the phone cause I can just have it next to me on the couch while I’m playing. Anyway, well worth it, and great to have alongside your YouTube lesson or your Riffmaster Pro.
RiffMaster Pro
This is the single best learning tool I have found so far. Find a song you like, look up the tabs, then play it on your phone or iPad or whatever at a speed you can handle. The pitch stays the same. $4.99 at the iTunes store but totally worth it.
Boss Heavy Metal Pedal
I always wanted a Boss Heavy Metal pedal but never got one until recently. Boss stopped making these a while ago so I had to pick it up on eBay (I think I paid around $40). It sounds amazing with everything turned to the max. My brother tells me this is the “Swedish sound” you can hear on early Entombed records. Definitely nice and crunchy.
My New Setup
I’d always wanted a Telecaster. Back in the 80s they were too expensive, which is why I ended up with the Mustang. So when I started playing guitar again, I decided I needed a Telecaster. But since I didn’t know if I’d stick with it, I got a cheap one. I got this Austin knockoff at Leading Tone in Seattle for $150, which included a full setup.
Fender had just come out with this amp when I was looking. I really have no idea how you could find a better amp, or a better anything, for $100. When I went to get one at American Music, they told me that they couldn’t keep them in stock.
My Old Setup
Here’s my old setup. Well, most of it. My old Fender 4×12 is still in my parents’ shed, along with the 100 watt Yamaha head.
The Mustang was my first guitar. Actually, it was my second guitar. I owned one of those aluminum neck Kramers for like a week or something. Sold it for $100. What are they worth now?
I never liked the neck on the Mustang–it is too narrow. I liked the sound, though, and loved the color. I think I got it at Starving Musician in San Jose for around $200 in 1987. It’s not for sale. I already promised it to my kid.
