Question:
I am just curious what kind of players we got visiting the board. I
guess because I use the site as a resource quite regularly, though I
don't post a whole lot, I want to know why I should trust you folks.
Local gigging professionals; regular touring professionals;
electricians; hobbyists; recent graduates of GIT who will now spend
years of their life in home studios trying to develop the perfect
sound, but can't play with others because no one shares their vision?
Who are you? Call me nosy or a nerd or something, but I think it would
be fun to hear a little bit about everybody's backgrounds, careers,
rigs.
Here's my story:
I'm a 28yo dot-com professional who plays redneck punk rock & roll for
fun, chicks, and hopefully soon, profit. Play a 1999 Paul Standard into
a CryBaby 535q into a Boss SD-1 through an Orange OR80 head with, for
now, a Galien Krueger 4x12, soon to be a Marshall. I love my tone for
the rock and roll. When my current band comes up with a name you'll
surely hear of me (ha ha).
Answer:
I'm a 47 y.o. tech living in Bellingham, WA. Recently separated, I have
a 12yo daughter. I've been beating (er...expertly coaxing) amps into
submission as a meager living for nearly 5 years. In previous lives
I've been a biochemist and a cabinetmaker. Talk about being downwardly
mobile....but loving it! :-)
After putting the cabinet shop in mothballs, I went thru a 2 year tech
school program in electronics, but for practical tube audio stuff, books
and resources like AGA have been far more enlightening. You just have
to be able to recognize the difference between useful info and BS.
Still, for you folks just getting into this, tech school is a good place
to start. You really do need to know some theory in the field...it's
not just cookbook mechanics. Like the saying goes..."do the math".
My "real" (i.e. gigging) instrument is the fiddle (Old-time, Celtoid and
Bluegrass) and Cajun accordion. (For a good time, subscribe to
Fiddle-L). I've also played guitar for 35 years. Current guitar gear
includes a Martin 000-16, '93 Am Std Tele (rosewood fb), Princeton
Reverb, Tweed 5E3 deluxe of my own construct (using Hoffman trannies,
Weber P12N, Weber chassis and a BEAUTIFUL cab from AGA's Rick Sisney
(thanks, rick!). On electric, I like rockabilly, blues and pseudo-swing.
Other music toys (er....gear) include a 1919 Gibson A mandolin, 3 or 4
fiddles, 1920 May Bell (Slingerland) tenor banjo, 3 Cajun accordions and
a couple Hohner 3-row button boxes), a 1916 Kimball upright piano, and a
bunch of PA gear.
Nice thread. After all, 2000 is a census year. I just hope folks don't
embelish the truth TOO much (yeah, that means you too,
