stedge

Well, I have my wife all set to have Steve send out a PSS-9 for my Christmas present and have the local guru install it, and I begin thinking about a guitar amp. A nice little Mesa Boogie combo (Recto-verb, probably). Which would you do? Both the car and music are passions... The car right now runs perfectly and looks beautiful, though it does need to be lowered, while my Rick 360 is sitting there, getting played quietly without appropriate amplification.

I have to admit, my wife is great. She has given her stamp of approval to either, though I think anything related to music outranks car stuff in her mind!

TheOtherEric

Stedge,
Would you get much enjoyment out of PSS-9s in the winter? On the other hand, winter is perfect guitar-playing season, IMHO. Plus it's something you can keep inside and enjoy/admire frequently. I had GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) a year or two ago and decided on a Rivera (Fandango), the Porsche of amps. I hear great things about their lower-priced Chubster, too. Do some searching on the FDP (though I warn you it'll give you GAS): http://www.fenderforum.com/

stedge

Eric

What was it about the Rivera? I have been researching them, too, but I cannot seem to find any locally to play with.

stedge

Silver Bullet:

If your boogie is for sale, let me know. As far as the guitar, someday I'll get a Strat. Right now I play a Rick 360, though, and satisfied (at least temporarily).

GratefulJED

You say "appropriate" amplification - what do you have - a Pignose?? To me that sounds like having a Porsche sitting in the garage without a battery. I would definately go for the amp...

TheOtherEric

Yup, Riveras are hard to find, but worth it. They're extremely versatile and have more ***** than you'll know what to do with. Granted, their "Fender clean" isn't quite as clean as a Fender, nor is their Marshal crunch quite as crunchy as a Marshal, nor is its Boogie chug quite as chug-a-chug as a Boogie, but Rivera still does all this very very well. The main compromise you make in getting that versatility is in price $$.

stedge

Right now, a piece of crap Laney w/ a 10" - sounds very.... dry/solid state. Bought it years ago as a practice amp (my old Fender Twin had gone past the point of repair!), but feel now like getting back into it a bit more.

Always thought those little pignose amps were kind of fun.

It does seem there is a bit of consenus here, despite it being a 993 board. Very interesting!

User 4621

It depends on what kind of music you like to play. I have a Seymour Duncan Convertible for my 335 and pre-CBS Strat and boxful of vintage Electro-Harmonix stomp boxes. It's like an amp version of PSS-9's, because the tube modules are adjustable.

Can't go wrong with the Boogie or Rivera. If you can find a Dumble out there, those are the holy grail. They were used by Eric Johnson in the Tones and Ah Via Musicom era for his clean tone. Also, listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn on Texas Flood, that's a Strat into a Dumble, no effects or other processing. They are very highly sought and run $12K+ though. Fuchs makes a well reviewed clone for a more reasonable price.

Good luck,

Rick Lee

I have a Fender Twin Reverb Silverface in my living room and my Les Paul, Strat and EVH Music Man hang on the walls like in a music store. But when I have to take gear with me in the 993, I'm always happy I kept my Gallien-Krueger 250ML, which I bought in 1988. That amp will blow the windows out of my house and is the size of a small boom box. I've seen Eric Johnson many times, met him once and will someday build a rig just like his - after I build my RS clone. I also saw SRV on his last tour. No one sounds better than EJ - just unreal. But it's more in his hands than in his gear.

stedge

Actually, I play bass in a parttime band, and our lead guitarist, who is FAR better than me, can play it beautifully. And Van Halen, and SRV (BTW - Texas Flood is a favorite, and my children were indoctrinated before birth with "Mary Had a Little Lamb"), and jazz, and country, etc. Nakes me sick, but I want to learn from him.

User 4621

Cool, EJ fans!

He's a great guy, I've seen him play since the Electromagnets days, probably 50 times and hung out with him a few times too when I lived in College Station and Austin. For pure technique probably the best guitarist in the world.

Saw SRV many times also, my favorite time was an Auditorium Shores gig during a massive rainstorm, Stevie sat on a stool and played a Robin doubleneck, then Jimmie came up behind him, wrapped his arms around Stevie and played the top neck at the same time. Then they'd switch necks and play some more. They were both SMOKING, some kind of wild 2-headed 4-armed guitar playing monster. What a night.

Rick Lee

When I saw Stevie Ray, Jeff Beck came out and jammed with him for the encore. I've seen VH many times and spent way too much of my youth learning every note Eddie ever played. Then I discovered EJ and that changed everything for me. I can play a lot of his stuff, but just when I think I know what I'm doing, I catch him live and realize what an amateur I'll always be. That guy is just from another planet. BTW, anyone ever see Stanley Jordan? I caught him a few mos. ago at a club in DC. And I got to see John McLaughlan with Dennis Chambers. I've seen Rush about 20 times, got to watch them do a soundcheck, got my CD signed, even handed Alex a demo of my band, which I'm sure was tossed. Ha ha.

stedge

I grew up in Princeton where Stanley was in grad school (?undergrad?). He used to play free concerts across teh street from the Community Park pool. Used to sit there on the grass, 10 feet from teh guy, and watch him play 2 guitars. One on a stand and one on a strap, he'd hammer out the lead on one, the low end on the other. Just remarkable. I never heard so many notes coming from one person.

I have not seen Eric Johnson, but I have clearly missed something. I grew up listening to Townsend and learned to play by ear with the Who and the video of The Kids are Allright (Betamax!), etc. I was to see Stevie on his last tour, but he died not far from where I was living at the time when his helicopter hit the side of a low hill. I was - and still am - so bummed. Got his Austin City Limits videos to watch for the fun of it.

Rick Lee

Hey Stedge, I went to the Lawrenceville School, but I think it was after Stanley had left Princeton. I had tix to see him at McCarter Theatre long ago, but couldn't make it. I grew up playing by ear too, but now I'm so lazy since I can find any TAB on the Internet.

stedge

I graduated from L'ville in '83. Kennedy House. Do I know you?! I am laughing as I remember Andrew Dice Clay utter those words to the woman in line at the bank, the dirtbag!