a big guy might not like the small guitar body.

i feel it is easy to dial in the beatles and the woman tone with the wilshire and if you get those two, you are likely to get all in between. i don’t play them, but sixties psychedelic poppop (peppermint) i believe would be easy.

i chose the wilshire’s to have something different; plus i think the one guy had mini humbuckers on his guitar during the concert for bangledesh.

i have also been moving toward guyatone micro pedals . . . for a hobbyist they are simple so you can dial in a great tone. the sustain is quiet. the over drive is fairly transparent. the harmonic overdrive is glam rock nailed playing intervals with a les paul w/burstbuckers. i also have the noise supressor.

recently, i bought their reverb just because it is so rare, and i read raves on it. i don’t own a reverb . . . i won’t buy their delay because i do have one, and i want everything analog . . . currently i use a vox pathfinder and a marshall 15r . . . i can’t get rid of the marshall 15r because it has an actual spring reverb. i’ve been playing mostly out of the pathfinder.

as far as a tube amp . . . there is a lot i’d like, but i’m an apt. dweller therefore, solid state . . . but the black star h-5 is interesting; i may even have to go for the h-1.

If you want an alternative sound (and really, an incredibly versatile guitar) you can’t go wrong with a Jazzmaster or Jag. The Mustang is a fun one to mess with, because it’s not quite like anything. I like the out-of-phase pickup position for a Smiths-esque twang and jangle (with a slapback and some reverb? so good!).

Unless, of course, you’re Mark Farner. For primo filtery/sweepy wah-after-fuzz sounds, give a listen to Grand Funk Railroad’s “Live Album.”

Glad to hear others appreciate unison-bend king Glen Buxton.

1. Read the first paragraph.

2. Telling someone how to set the knobs on their amp to get their own sound would seem to defeat the purpose of finding one’s own sound entirely.

3. Many classic low-wattage tube amps naturally compress when cranked. Hot output tubes clip harmonically. Speakers also react differently to fully cranked amps. This speficic effect is impossible to model or emulate with a pedal, and using volume knob adjustments and your hands and picking attack allows a player’s individuality to emerge in a way that playing through a Line 6 or high-gain, high wattage rig will not.

4. Write a constructive response addressing your solutions to the concerns you have with the article. Example:

“You may want to start developing your own sound by trying to emulate the sound of some players you respect or have influenced you, and go from there”

“Try radical tone knob adjustments. Turn your midrange or presence knobs all the way up, or down, and see what you think. Experiment with metal picks or compressor pedals.”

Or you could just be crabby and critical.

Also use Eastwood Breadwinner, Michael Kelly Patriot Custom, Rickenbacker 360/12 and a Gretsch Country Gentleman.

Take the time, tweak and listen.