N.Y.C., New York

A day off in Manhattan.

I hadn't intended on posting anything today but thought it might be a good opportunity to address many requests I've received about the gear I'm using on this tour. If you are not a gear head you can certainly pass this entry over. There will be no mention of food, fun, booze, music, tourism or other perversions of the road.

The fact of the matter is, the longer I play and the older I get, the less of a gear head I've become, my eyes tend to glaze over when the subject comes up now. The only reason I mention it is that I cannot tell you what speakers are in which amps or what tubes power them. I don't know and don't care. As alluded to several times over the course of these 'notes' I am technologically inept and this is no joke, it's a minor miracle that I peck out these journal entries at all. I am now far more concerned with the playing of an instrument than what it is. And so, if the following seems a little lacking in detail then please forgive but there you have it.

ELECTRIC GUITARS:

  • Fender Telecaster 1954
  • Fender Stratocaster MK signature
  • Fender Stratocaster '54 Custom Shop re-issue
  • Rickenbacher Electro Hawaiian Steel Guitar 1938
  • Gibson Les Paul '58 Custom Shop re-issue

ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS:

  • Martin OM-28 2000
  • Flatiron Bouzouki 1995
  • National Hawaiian Steel Guitar Style 1 1930

AMPS:

  • Vox AC-30 mid 90's for everything except the Hawaiian guitar on Red Staggerwing which is played through a Crate 30. I know nothing about the Crate except it belongs to Glenn Saggers, MK's guitar guru. The Rick Electro didn't sound very good through the AC-30 which is too big of an amp for that, so Glenn pulled this out and it immediately fit the bill. A few knob twiddles and it was that easy. The amp I used on the record was little more than a cereal box.
  • Vox AC-30 mid-90's, a spare in case the first one should go down. I never use both of them at the same time.

EFFECTS: (This is where it gets tricky as I don't know the models or names of these things, but I'll give it a go.)

  • Boss digital delay
  • Boss digital delay (spare)
  • Dunlop tremolo pedal (it's purple with 3 knobs and 2 switches)
  • Hot Cake overdrive pedal (these are from New Zealand and sound fantastic, they don't compress in on themselves)
  • Ernie Ball volume pedal
  • Boss digital tuner in case something goes terribly wrong
  • A-B box between the two Vox amps in case something goes terribly wrong
  • ON/OFF switch box for the acoustic instruments.

Re: the effects, please don't ask, I have no idea what series this stuff is hooked up in. I scarcely use them, mainly the overdrive on the end of Speedway and I Dug Up A Diamond where it needs a little more stick, and a little delay and overdrive on Emmy's tunes, but those actually sound clean as I'm playing so quietly. Speaking of playing quietly, I do. Most of the time what is coming out of my amp on stage is what I would call living room volume or just above, though Guy F. who is on the riser above me might have a different opinion about that. It's the level at which I play in the studio as well and is a large part of the toneful nature of my playing. What can I tell you? I like guitars that sound like guitars and not electric razors.

This is SO enough, my eyes are glazed over.

So long,

Richard

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