GEAR
Guitars, amps and pedals that have managed to stay the course!
Electric Guitars
Acoustic Guitars
Amps
Fender Princeton '65 Reissue
Went through a lot of different amps before finding the Princeton. For my money, it's the perfect guitar amp — usable at small gigs but playable at home at lower volumes as well. Gorgeous, fender chime — somehow sweeter than the rest of the lineup. Unlike the deluxe which needs turning up, the Princeton still retains its character and musicality at bedroom volumes. Also note how much better the lovely bias tremolo of the Princeton is compared to the choppy optical tremolo of the deluxe.
Vox Pathfinder 15r
We need tubes in an amp, right? Well this amp doesn't have any. Made from 1999 to 2013 these are completely solid state with 15 loud watts of power. Real spring reverb, great tremolo that goes slower than the Princeton. Highly responsive and accurate re note attack. Tom Bukovac made a video on the Jazz Chorus the other day, another solid state classic, commenting on the headroom and clarity. The best thing — you can get these cheap! Like $100 cheap. Grab one used and try it.
Fender Deluxe Reverb '65
One of the classics for studio recording and gigging. The sound of many records. For home playing I find the noise floor noticeable on occasion when playing dynamically — something that you don't get with the Princeton. The amp is crying out to be turned up to 4.5, this is when the magic happens. It's loud magic though, and not always possible. Great reverb, don't use the opto tremolo. Only advantage over the Princeton is the extra punch on account of the 12" and the standby switch.
Pedals
Have bought countless pedals and these are the ones I have stuck with. If you're learning slide and looking for suggestions, get yourself a freeze or looper pedal first — it's something to practice against. A volume next. Some sort of modulation is great, tremolo of course but why not try a phaser? Get a gain stage in addition to the volume on the guitar. Compressor down the road, maybe. No delay here at the moment and there damn well should be!
