Jeff’s Take on the Guitar
// February 5th, 2011 // Uncategorized
Jeff Larsen from ‘the Last Act’ here (what other band would it be I guess? haha) to explain a little bit about the guitars I use, have used, tips and techniques that I have found that work with gear and setup, and stuff like that. Let’s start at the beginning to provide some background:
When I was a 13 year old kid, I was handed my first real guitar as a gift (and what a nice gift!!). It was a 1980 Fender Stratocaster. This was after 2 years of playing on a Univox guitar that was borrowed from someone else. The Univox wonder wouldn’t stay in tune for more than 10 mins at a time and the action was terrible…strings were an inch off of the fret board. So, as I said, the Stratocaster was a huge step up for me. The only issue was the intonation was out on one string and no one seemed to be able to fix it. So after 4 years of playing it, I started looking around for something new.
One of the first mistakes I made when looking to get a new guitar was ‘pretty’ or cool looking over functional. I got a Dean Z, but it was unlike the Haymer ‘Explorer’ kind of shape that Dean says they are today. It looked like a Stratocaster, but with a great lock system (good ol’ real Floyd Rose!) and a mirror pick guard (the selling point for little Jeffie!). The only problem with this thing was it would constantly break strings. Suffice it to say I got really good at tuning up a guitar really fast as I couldn’t afford another guitar. I discovered much later on that it was most likely a combination of thin strings and heavy picks I was using that was causing the issue…c’est la vie. But by the time I found out, I had sold the guitar (for next to nothing…which I am still kicking myself for) and bought a Gibson Les Paul – Studio…which I still have today. Awesome guitar, incredible action and ease of play. I was wary of the lock system as I thought at that time the lock system was causing my issues (although it wasn’t) so I went with this guitar. I have never regretted that decision.
I used the Gibson for several years (it turned from white to a creamy white/yellow from playing in smoky rooms!) with a custom cabinet/amp that was made by a friend of mine and a combination of pedals. A Boss Delay (not Digital), Tube Distortion (by some company…can’t remember the name), a Next Flanger, a Next Chorus, and a cheap ol’ Cry Baby Wah which I think was a $20.00 wonder from the music store…but it lasted a loooong time, like 15 years or something! Before I replaced it with a Vox.
Then the time came in the mid-90’s where I figured it was time to finally upgrade my gear. After much contemplation and trying different things, I got a Peavy TransTube Supreme head (really, there is no identification on this thing!) and Peavy cabinet…at least the mid-grade/pro model at the time and a Boss ME-8 (discontinued 2000). It’s really too bad they don’t make the ME-8 anymore as it was exactly what every guitar player needs and nothing more, nothing less. I don’t know what I will do if the thing breaks because I love it so much and have no idea what I could possibly replace it with (ME-50!?!?)! And I have looked at the latest ME series by Boss: seems like it’s either just short of enough ‘stuff’ for live performance or waaaay too much (i.e. almost have a small recording studio on stage with you). Ahh well…I will cross that bridge when I get to it.
:: Part II coming in a week! Stay Tuned! ::
