|
On both the CD "We're inna Rude Mood"
and in live performance, guitarist Scott Carlson uses
the following gear:
 GUITARS
 |  2000
Fender Stratocaster customized with the largest possible left-handed maple neck, jumbo frets, Stringsaver saddles, Fender Texas
Special single pickups (middle/neck) and Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates
Humbucker pickup (bridge), and Buzz Feiten tuning system.
(Note: the Buzz Feiten system did not make a dramatic change in
what I heard coming from my guitar.
I guess the big change is moving the nut a little closer to the
bridge. The change is subtle,
however, well worth the cost if you play a lot of 7th, 9th and
Hendrix-type chord inversions in high neck positions because they
definitely sound more in tune with the Feiten intonation.) |
|   1998
(left/right on bottom) and 1999 (left/right on top) custom shop Fender Stevie Ray
Vaughan model Stratocasters "relic'd" to match #1.
The 1999 was my first acquisition for Rude Mood's SRV Tribute.
It features Stringsaver saddles, Buzz Feiten tuning system and was aged by
Tracy Longo of Guitar Tech Corner to replicate #1 at the time of
Texas Flood. (Note: my wife was
aghast when I paid
my favorite guitar technician
to “ruin” my brand new SRV strat in 2000, however, I had the last
laugh when I showed her the $10,000 custom-shop replica that Fender
began selling in 2004. It
probably saved my marriage because if I didn’t already own a
replica, I would be scheming to buy the $10,000 one and even I can’t
think of a good justification to pay that much money for a beat-up
strat.
Tracy Longo is an awesome guitar technician and has been featured in
many guitar magazines. He invented the Tone-O-Matic bridge that
Brian Setzer uses on all of his vintage guitars. Check out his
"Guitar Repair and Setup" DVD that is sold by Metal
Method. I'm very lucky that his repair shop is close by and he
fits me into his busy schedule.) The 1998 was a 2004 E-Bay acquisition. It has been
further refined and modified to my liking by Tracy Longo so that it is
interchangeable with the 1999. |
|  2000
Gibson ES-335, 1959 reissue, Stainless Steel Tone-O-Matic Bridge.
(Note: I could see myself playing this guitar all the time if I didn't
love all the tonal/pickup options available through my Line6 Variax.
Larger than my Les Paul but lighter, the acoustical properties and
slim neck of this guitar make it a joy to play.
The strings are set up high for aggressive slide work and it's
featured on the recording of “Spit Anxiety.”
Now I know why George Thorogood always uses big fat hollow-bodied Gibsons to achieve
his steel-driving tone. The only downside of this guitar
is that I live at the beach in southern
California
and the salt-air has corroded most of the metal hardware to a sickly
green color.) |
|  1974
Gibson Les Paul Custom, cream finish, Stainless Steel Tone-O-Matic
Bridge. (Note: this is my
Randy Rhoads guitar that didn’t seem so heavy after a few hours when
I played it as a teen. Now, I start missing my lighter guitars after gigging an hour with it. There is a lot of history with
this guitar as I spent countless hours in my youth trying to figure
out how to play my favorite guitar player's riffs and leads.
This is my only guitar with low action and lighter strings so that I
can play along with Eddie Van Halen and big hair 80's metal bands. Everything is stock except for installation
of Tracy's Tone-O-Matic Bridge that makes it sound even more
vintage. I’ll never part with this guitar until they pry
it from my cold dead fingers and hopefully give it to one of my sons
to enjoy.) |
|  2001
Taylor
310-CE Acoustic. (Note:
I spent a few days playing every acoustic guitar that I could
find at both
Guitar
Center
and some local music stores. I
was looking for a guitar that had a huge full sound and an excellent
balance between treble and bass. This
guitar stood up side-by-side with some of the best Martins and Fenders
that I tested. I was biased to purchase
a Martin when I started out my search, however, this guitar beat all
the competition. It also had the benefit of the cut-away
for access to higher frets and Fishman electronics for amplification
and direct recording). |
|  2004
Line6 Variax 700 Electric, red translucent, Hardtail. After
suffering from excessive string breakage at the contact point of the
metal saddles, Tracy replaced the RL Baggs saddle pickups with
Graph-Tech Ghost Saddles. The signal from the Ghost pickups was
stronger than the stock saddle pickups, but adjustments using Line6's
Workbench program evened everything out. Tracy also installed
locking tuning pegs and replaced the unmarked metal
volume/tone controls with numbered ones where I can see their status in a
glance. This is my primary gigging guitar at this pint and it
sounds outstanding with FireWire Custom Regular strings. This guitar is unique from my others in that rather
than using traditional guitar pickups to amplify string vibrations,
its uses digital technology that can model all kinds of guitar
bodies/pickups. The guitar plays well and the models
are very close to the modeled guitars that I have played. In my
hands, it feels more like a Les Paul than my Fender strat, however, it
doesn't have the weight of the Les Paul. On cover gigs, I don't have to sacrifice playing "Voodoo
Chile" with a Les Paul humbucker sound where the Variax models
both a Fender Strat single coil bridge pickup and humbucker from a Les
Paul. This is the perfect guitar for cover gigs when you want to
nail the exact tones for each song. Think about covering
"Crazy Little Thing" by Queen with the ability to
play acoustic guitar and then step on one footswitch
to switch to the Telecaster slapback echo rockabilly tone of the Lead. My
real strats sound better on the SRV songs, however, here I can save
specific tonal patches for each SRV cover and also lock in the
specific pickup combination and tone control setting used by SRV that
leaves me less things to remember while playing live.
Also, it has the ability to change tuning with the flick of the pickup
selector and yet the actual strings remain in normal tuning. Use of
Line6's Guitar Workbench software allows the user to save alternate tunings
so that you can change from regular tuning to open G, dropped D or 1/2
step down merely by stepping on a footswitch on the Line6 PODxt
Live. This additional versatility has made the variax my primary
guitar for cover gigs and eliminated the need to bring along three
guitars. When used with Line6's PODxt Live modeling
device, the guitar is connected with a computer cord that powers the
active technology as well as enabling the PODxt to control the pickup
selection and tone control position of the guitar through patches
triggered by a footswitch. After underestimating the advances
made in digital
modeling over the past few years, I have now embraced the technological advances
that allow unprecedented control over my guitar tone when played
through a Bose Personal Amplification System. Gig setup and
teardown without a guitar amplifier, pedalboard and multiple guitars
now takes me only fifteen to twenty minutes. The combination of the Variax, PODxt Live and Bose
Personal Amplification System is simply amazing. Read Scott's
review of the Bose PAS, Variax 700 and PODxt Live at Vettaville
Review
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STRINGS
FireWire Custom Regular gauged .011, .014, .018, .028,
.038, and .049 for the Vairiax. Elixir Nanoweb Medium Electrics
gauged same as foregoing for black Strat, ES-335 and Les Paul
Custom. The Elixir strings are not as durable as the FireWires (I
believe they are D'Addario strings coated with a polymer), however, they
are best used on guitars that don't get restrung every gig. Generic Bulk
Strings gauged .012, .015, .019, .034, .044 and .054 for the two SRV #1
replicas. Elixir .012s for the Taylor acoustic guitar. (Note:
guitarists typically value name brand strings over generic bulk strings
and in my experience, except for FireWires and Elixirs there is no basis for the conclusion.
The price of brand name strings must include the overhead costs
from packaging, marketing and artist endorsements, yet most of these
sellers don’t manufacture their own strings.
I have had excellent experience purchasing generic strings over the
internet (juststrings.com) and enjoy the ability to both create my own custom gauge and
change the strings frequently without seeing dollars flushed down the
drain. I have not noticed the Dean
Markley, Ernie Ball, GHS, D'Addario, etc. strings being of any higher quality than the generic strings.
The Elixir strings break similar to the non FireWire strings, however,
they are coated with a protectant that prevents rusting and remain the
best investment for use on guitars that you don't play often.
I
believe that you generally get what you pay for in life, but haven’t
always felt that this applied to guitar strings. For the SRV Tribute, I used the GHS 1300 Set (.011-.058) that Stevie apparently
used. But I didn't like the feel of the .058 E-string with the .038
A-string and .028 D-string. My custom set feels more balanced as the
bottom three string gauges are closer together and I no longer break the A
and D strings as I did with the GHS set. On a similar note, one of
the enduring stories about SRV is that he normally used a .013 for his E
string and only went to a lower gauge on nights when he had to superglue
his calluses onto his left hand finger tips. After spending hours
playing Texas Flood's Albert King-inspired bends with a .013 gauge E
string, I remain skeptical of the story. Let's just note for the
record that the GHS 1300 set actually comes with a .011 for the E string
and the extreme difficulty of bending the .013 three half-steps to play
Texas Flood does not produce any bigger tone than the more manageable .012
or .011)
PICKS
Dunlop USA Tortex .96mm (purple pick with while gator
graphic). (note: The heavy attack on
thick strings with my notoriously sweaty hands resulted in a flying pick
hazard to audience members until
Tracy
showed me a trick. The idea is to
create a raised texture on both sides of the pick surface so that
it's no longer slippery. I use a sharp X-Acto knife blade to
cut criss-crossing lines on both sides of the fat end of the pick.
This creates a raised uneven “sandpapery” surface to grip the
pick by and allows me to flail away with wild abandon.)
PEDALBOARD EFFECTS (in order of signal flow)
 The
true bypass wet dream “A Team”: Teese McCoy
Custom Wah RMC3 with foxrox wah retrofit; Barber Electronics Direct Drive;
Analogman Sun Face NKT275; Analogman Clone Chorus; Sweet Sound’s Mojo
Vibe; Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler; Klon Centaur; Tonebone Radial JX-2 Pro
Switchbone with mid boost gain. The two outputs of the Switchbone each
feed a guitar amplifier while the tuner output feeds a Peterson VS-1
Virtual Strobe Tuner. All
effects are secured to a Fuhrman powered SPB-8 Pedal Board and connected
with George L cables. A tube
amp with a slightly overdriven Fender tone is always connected to the
right output and a tube amp with a clean Marshall/Dumble tone is connected
to the left output. (Note: In
constant pursuit of the purest blues-rock tone, I have purchased effects
pedals like Imelda Marcos purchased shoes.
I live in constant fear that my wife, the subject of my song
"Dedicated to My Wife," will find each new UPS package before I
can squirrel it away in my rehearsal space to avoid her question of
whether I really need this latest boutique pedal.
I used many effect pedals on the CD recording and am finally
satisfied with my guitar tone, for the moment, with the foregoing live rig
that features only pedals with true bypass.
To achieve this “true bypass nirvana,” I had to replace my two
Ibanez TS-9 Tube screamers (see below) with the Klon and Tonebone’s
Switchbone mid-boost respectively.
The Klon was definitely an upgrade and the Switchbone maintained the same
TS-808 quality. I can also set my Direct Drive to get a superior
TS-808 sound rather than the ZZ Top setting it usually remains on.
I still maintain a few of my old favorites on a second pedalboard that
represents the B-team that saw limited action during the recording of
"We're Inna Rude Mood".)
 The
non-true bypass “B Team": Vox Wah;
Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer modified to 808 specs by analogman; Ibanez TS-9
Tube Screamer modified to 808 specs as well as the "silver" and
"Kenny Wayne Shepard" mods by analogman; Foxrox Captain Coconut
I (ie. the ultimate Jimi Hendrix sound tool featuring true-bypass replicas
of the Dallas Arbiter FuzzFace, Uni-Vibe, and Tycobrahe Octavia); speed
pedal to control the univibe; Fulltone Fat Boost; Boss TU-2 Tuner; SKB
PS-25 fully-powered pedalboard. (note: With this setup I also used a
Whirlwind Selector A/B box to send the guitar signal to two amps.
The JX-2 Pro Switchbone on the A Team is a vast improvement as it's active
technology takes care of all the potential grounding/looping problems and
sends a pure clean signal to two amps as well as a third to a tuner
outside the primary signal path. If you look closely at the picture,
you will notice that there are no cables connecting the various B team
pedals. That's because, in the constant pursuit of pure tone, I'm
attempting to adapt my wireless DSL line technology to my guitar setup and
see if I can create a virtual signal flow from guitar to amp. I'm
kidding of course; I usually keep the B team loose so that I can call them
in whenever their counterpart on the A team needs respite. I like
many of these effects, however, each has at least one major shortcoming
that will keep it on the back bench. For instance, I was happy with
my Boss tuner until I got the Peterson strobe and realized how much
difference greater tuning accuracy can make when you play a lot of 7th and
9th chords all over the neck.)
 The
"One Stop Shop Team": 2004 PODxt Live pedalboard with
Line6 Variax cable. My band recently changed from using a
traditional Mackie PA to the Bose Personal Amplification System (see
below). The theory of the Bose PAS is that each musician controls
one sound stick (24 small Bose speakers in a pole) and subwoofer(s) where
all their vocal and instrumental sound generates from. It eliminates
the need for monitors and a sound person to adjust everyone's
levels. For guitar tone, it's a vast improvement from the one
directional sound coming from a radial speaker and allows the user to fill
the room with the "sweet spot." After playing gigs with a
miked guitar cab that I increasingly turned lower, I tried one gig with my
PODxt and usual pedalboard and liked the results after some extensive
tweaking. I had never heard my guitar tones so clearly throughout
the entire stage area, not just in front of my amp. When I saw the
PODxt Live, I saw an opportunity to eliminate one more part of my setup by
combining the pedalboard and PODxt. I hooked it up to my computer
with a USB cable and used Line6's Edit software program to craft
tones for each cover song that I then saved to the PODxt Live. With
everything so visual in Edit, I didn't even need to read the manual
and was able to interact with modeled pedal controls that looked similar
to their analog counterparts. The value of this new equipment went
up even higher when I figured out how to control a Variax in each patch
(see above) and discovered that I could now exactly match multiple guitar
tones from every cover song simply by stepping on a new footswitch.
My only lingering complaint is that the wah pedal is not as adjustable as
my Teese RMC3, however, I would expect that a future upgrade to the
software will allow adjustment of the Q freqency and size of sweep. As I get older, simplicity of setup/teardown is often
the deciding factor in accepting low paying small venue gigs and the PODxt
Live, Variax and Bose PAS have combined to enable me to bring world class
guitar tones to any venue within 20 minutes of arrival. This ones a
keeper until I get my own personal roadie.
AMPLIFIERS
After years of lugging around large amps that sounded best at volume
levels impractical for a live band situation, I discovered the joys of low
wattage tube amplifiers. I also discovered the tonal variety that
only comes from the ability to separate the head from the speaker
cabinet. Let's just say that not all low wattage tube amplifiers are
created equal and that the following amps are more than enough power for
any live music situation (especially given the fact that bigger venues
don't like it when stage volumes overpower the mix from the front of house
sound system). Since SRV embraced the early version of Matchless'
boutique point-to-point wired Class A tube amps, it's safe to assume that
he would have loved all the variety available to today's player who wants
to upgrade from the mass-produced circuit board amps cranked out by the
Fender and Marshall factories.
|  Dr.
Z Maz "Junior" 18 watt head with a Dr. Z open backed 1X12
cabinet. (Note: Due to exceptional craftmanship and
point-to-point wiring, this 18 watt amp has more than enough power to
handle most venues. The definition and headroom are such that it
doesn't even need to be miked in small clubs. Once the EQ is
set, the amps "cut" knob works similarly to a Marshall
"presence" control and allows finetuning of the extent of
"edge" to cut effectively through the mix of a live
band. This amp loves strats with single coil pickups and effects
pedals on the front end. The tone center of the amp is something
between a Fender and Vox. It costs slightly more than the higher
watt Fender Vibroking, however, it leaves the Vibroking in the dust in
terms of quality construction. I sometimes use it with a closed 2X12 cabinet at
bigger venues when I want to feel the bass. There is a Weber
MASS direct input/attenuator sitting on top of the head in the picture
that provides more options than the Trainwreck Z Airbrake but does not
deliver the same quality results.) |
|  Dr.
Z Route 66 32 watt head with a Z-Best Theile Ported closed back 2X12
cabinet (tuned to 30 hertz for controlled resonance in the bottom end).
(Note: The Route 66 is an improved design of the
Marshal JTM-45 and the non-master volume output is tamed as necessary
with a Trainwreck Z Airbrake. Eric Clapton used the JTM-45 to
achieve the outstanding tone on the Bluesbreakers John Mayall with
Eric Clapton album and Angus Young records exclusively with it for all
AC/DC albums. Guitar
Player Magazine describes the Route 66 as a blend of Marshall and Vox AC30
characteristics. This
has been the most responsive amp that I have ever used with effects
pedals and it really cuts favorably through the mix in a live band
situation. If Mark
Knopfler wants to improve his bell-like strat tone even more, he
should consider experimenting with one of these babies. Don't
look for this amp at Guitar Center, as it's only available through the
builder and a few boutique music stores [my source is Trutone Music in
Santa Monica]. As I've gotten older
with less time to fiddle with controls to find a decent tone so that I
can just enjoy playing, I've really come to appreciate products like
this amp with only a few very responsive tone controls. It lacks
a reverb effect and at first I felt naked playing my strats without
some reverb dialed in, however, now I appreciate the clear bell-like
tone and let the room create natural reverb. This amp also
responds well to humbucking pickups and distortion effects.) |
|  Dr.
Z Carmen Ghia with an open-backed 2X10 Z cabinet.
(Note: You can't just own one Dr. Z amp. This amp compares favorably with Fender’s
best tube amps yet can be driven harder on small stages due to the lower power
rating. Guitar Player
Magazine describes it as a more muscular Fender tweed Deluxe or Champ.
All I know is that it puts a huge smile on my face every time I
crank it up. The concept of
having only one tone control concerned me before I purchased the amp,
however, I was pleased to find that whatever they did to setup the
tone knob in this manner works brilliantly. I certainly haven't
found myself wishing for more tone controls and can adjust the sound
between brighter fender singles coils and darker gibson humbuckers with a twist of the
knob. Again with only two knobs, one for volume and one
for tone, I spend my time playing happily rather than fiddling to find
the elusive best tone.) |
|  Bose
Personal Amplification System with one subwoofer. Although not a
traditional guitar amplifier, when you combine the Bose PAS with the
PODxt LIve on the special "Bose PAS" output setting, you
create a guitar rig with the largest sweet spot you will ever
find. Unlike a unidirectional guitar amp speaker cabinet, you
hear the same consistent tone whether you are standing directly in
front of the PAS stick or 90 degrees to either side. I consider
myself a recovering true tube amp snob and even I need to recognize when a
technological breakthrough allows the average guitarist to enjoy
playing live more than ever. You have got to check out this
system before allowing preconceived stereotypes to deny you the pleasure
of pure consistent tone as far as the eye can see. Whether
miking a low-powered tube amp or playing direct through a digital
modeler and Variax, this new system rocks. Check out Scott's
review at Vettaville. |
|  Fender
Blues Junior 15 watt amplifier that has been hotrodded to the extent
that even it’s own mother wouldn’t recognize it (Note: I bought
this before any of the Dr. Zs and was pleased with the tones achieved until a
side-by-side comparison with the Dr Zs reduced the little Fender into
a blubbery flatulent mess. Reviewers
at Harmonycentral rave about this amp’s value for the cost but I
found it very noisy, especially with the higher gain single coil Texas
Special strat pickups. There seems to be somewhat of a
herd/group-speak quality to many of those Harmonycentral ratings and
this is a good example of where the product does not match the hype. The incredible thing about the Dr. Zs is
that there is no hiss/buzz coming from the strat pickups even when the
amps are cranked. I don't know how Dr. Z does it, and apparently
neither does Fender. I'd be happy to sell this amp to any
interested party. Beauty
is in the eye of the beerholder.) |
|  Johnson
Millenium stereo 150 watt integrated modeling amplifier; J12 Foot
Control System; additional Johnson cabinet with 2 Celestian Vintage 30
speakers (Note: This amp represents my brief flirtation with
digital modeling after I tired of the one note song from a 1980s Mesa
Boogie Mark II C and Ampeg V4 half-stack. Before I got a powered
pedalboard, I was also tired of lugging around all my effect pedals
and making sure that they each had sufficient battery power.
When I purchased this amp in 2000, it had set a new standard
that Line6 sought to achieve and eventually surpassed with the
development of their Vetta flagship line and PODxt technology.
The amp has since been discontinued, although it revealed true
value in direct recording some of the guitar parts on the CD. I
still think it's an outstanding amp for digital modeling, however,
it's not very responsive to effects pedals and needs to be cranked too
loud in order to achieve a decent tone. I'm keeping this for my son
to use when he tells me that he needs a loud stack for whatever new death
metal band that he is joining.) |
|  Line6
PODxt (Note: although not
really an amp per se, this little wonder box produces the variety of
sounds found in the Johnson Millenium and has a permanent place in my
guitar accessories bag. I primarily use a setting that I believe
gets as close to Steve Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood tone as possible with
digital technology. I run a third guitar signal to it from my
pedalboard for use in practice and band rehearsal through
headphones. Sometimes I also use it live and ask the sound
engineer to blend it into the front of house sound system along with
the tones from my two Dr. Zs. The primary benefit is the peace
of mind at gigs knowing that I will always be able to make some decent
guitar sound regardless of what awful tragedy may occur to my tube
amplifiers. I also backup all tones from my PODxt Live to it so
that it can stand in at a live gig following any malfunction.) |
DISPLAY AND PLAY: One of my favorite
pieces of "gear" is my Display And Play cases that
adorn the walls of my house. The cases enable you to decorate your
walls with your "guitar art" and then make it much more likely
that you will actually play your guitar collection. The clear
plastic covers protect the guitars like a regular guitar case and use of
Elixir strings prolongs their string life. The cases are hand built
in Texas and so far I have a Tweed59, Fender Princeton and Chrome Dome
model. Check them out below and then speak with Charlie and
Marguerite about getting your own. Their website is located at
Display and Play
  
On both the CD "We're inna Rude Mood"
and in live performance, bassist Maggi Hall uses
the following gear:
  2003
Fender Deluxe American Precision Bass Guitar.
 Alvarez Electric Bass
Guitar.
  Warwick Pro Fet IV
Amplifier with Line6 Bass Pod Pro preamp, Warwick 4X10
speaker cabinet (Note that the speaker cabinet faceplate has been upgraded
to the "Maggi" signature model that features an "M" on
the front rather than the "W."). Maggi also uses a Line6
Bass POD as a preamp for her bass amplifier or direct in to the Bose
Personal Amplification system with dual subwoofer modules In
addition, Maggi has been increasingly bringing her keyboards to gigs to
expand the trio's sonic capabilities.
Maggi's essential vanity gear includes: curling iron, hairspray and
hoop earings. (Note: although
she might be anal about many things in her musical life, you can surely
see that its' Scott who appears to have the problem with anality in
regards to equipment.)
On both the CD
"We're inna Rude Mood" and in
live performance, Ruben uses the following gear:
 5
piece Yamaha drum kit with 22” kick drum; 10”, 12”, and 14” toms;
15” snare; tama bass pedal, hi-hat and 3 cymbal stands.
(Note: Unlike his bandmates, Ruben doesn’t appear to be anal
about anything.)
The Live Performance Sound System:
When performing
at an indoor or outdoor venue with no house sound system,
the band uses three state of the art Bose Personal Amplification Systems. Each performer has their own unit that they control the
volume/tone of their vocals and instrument amplification. The
drummer and bass player each have two subwoofers to fill out the low end,
while the guitarist uses one subwoofer for a complete sound. The fidelity
from these systems is on par with the finest home stereo system and allows
the band to set a suitable volume for every venue. It's high powered
enough to fill a 700 person venue with full sound and flexible enough to
provide background dinner music during the first set at intimate venues. Check out the
details of the system here. Although
the band will use a house sound system when it's very important to the
venue, experience has shown that the sound from the Bose system will
surpass the quality of sound that can be achieved by a traditional PA
system.
Recording of CD "We're inna Rude Mood":
The CD was recorded and mastered on a Korg D160016 track digital
multi-track recorder with full-digital processing.
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