My gear has evolved over the years. After many years spent looking and many MANY dollars spent trying, I've finally found what works for me. By looking at the photo, you can tell I'm a "vintage sound" guy. Modern sounds don't hold as much appeal, I think ol' Leo Finder got a great many things right the first time and by 1959, he'd done his greatest work.
I caught the amp-building bug a few years ago. I was inspired, in part, by Clay Hullett, the song of Nashville session ace Bill Hullett, who built my '59 Deluxe clone.
My first amp was the Champ you see in the photo. I built it three years ago and it's a great amp for rehearsing and recording. It's a little small for gigging unless you're not using a drummer. I have played no-drummer gigs with it.
The bigger amp behind the three Fender guitars is my clone of a '59 Super. It's my favorite amp and it's the best amp I've ever heard or played.
Here are brief descriptions of my stuff:
Guitars:
- 1999 Fender Japan TL52 (a '52RI) with T2 pickups
- 2000 Fender Japan ST54 (a '54RI) with Fred Stuart Vintage '54 pickups
- 2002 MIM Telecaster with a Guitar Mill swamp ash body, a T2 bridge pickup and a Fred Stuart Blackguard™ neck pickup
- 1983 Epiphone USA Spirit guitar with a Lindy Fralin P90 pickup and a stop-bar bridge
- 2000 Bone-stock reissue Danelectro Baritone guitar
Effects: I'm not big on effects for live performance, but I use an RGW Bad Bob pedal for clean boost. In clubs where volume is really an issue, I use a Nobels ODR-1 pedal or a Fulldrive 2.