My Gear, both then and now...

Ok, ok.....being a guitarist myself, I understand the need we have as "gearpigs" to talk shop and about the gear we use (and the fact that we can go on for seemingly days talking about it!). I have owned multiple guitars and amps since starting to play just before I turned 14 (I'm 33 now...hard to believe how time flies...).

With electric guitars, I have gone from an entry-level Charvette (2 points to anyone out there who knows what those were), to a couple Ibanez's (an RG570 and an S540FMTT), to a 90's Strat Plus, to a couple of Washburn N4's (including one of the original rare Padouk models from their original Chicago custom shop - I miss that guitar sometimes, great Floyd Rose equipped axe!), to a couple of custom handmade Ed Roman Quicksilvers (these were fairly expensive, and I had to sell them both at different times for financial reasons, and more importantly, God was calling me to not make idols out of my music gear).

I now have a Schecter C-1 Classic in Antique Amber finish, with stock Duncan Jazz neck and JB bridge pickups. The string-thru body combined with maple neck-thru construction and mahogany wings really makes this axe sing unlike any other guitar I've ever played (all the others were bolt-on/bolt-in). I added a few upgrades to really make this a killer guitar:

- Earvana compensating nut - it's not a gimmick, folks, they really work! Every note on the neck is in perfect tune, and chords all over the neck are sweeter-sounding because of this too. We're talking under $50 total for parts and tech labor to have near-perfect intonation - worth every penny!
- Planet Waves Auto-Trim locking tuners - best tuners, locking or not, that I've ever used, and believe me, I've tried them all...no, really...Schaller, Sperzel, LSR, whatever - and the tuning stability of the Planet Waves is every bit as good or better. Not only that, but they automatically cut the excess string off for you when you restring and tune up - don't know why none of us thought of that a long time ago...this works great!
- I also upgraded the stock Tone Pros bridge with a Tone Pros Superbridge - gotta have those String Saver saddles, I won't own another electric without them! Not only do they help your strings last longer, but the brightness and life they breathe into your tone is just awesome!.

I string it up with Elixir 10's - there is simply no better guitar string on God's green Earth (no, I'm not a paid endorser, although that would be nice! ;) ).

I'd like to have a Strat-style guitar at some point down the road, because when you get right down to it, only a good Strat-style guitar will get those Strat-like tones authentically. Maybe a Carvin Bolt - I like their construction techniques and standard components and features a lot. Haven't heard any complaints about Carvin anything either - they seem to do a lot of things well from what I gather...

With amps, I've had entry level solid-state Peaveys and Fenders, a Johnson Millenium JM150, a Johnson J-Station, and a Mesa Boogie Road King (pre-series II) half stack - that last one was REALLY hard for me to let go, but as with the Quicksilver guitars, it was something God was calling me to do. Also, with what I do right now - playing/practicing at home, and playing direct through the PA in my local church on Sundays - it just plain wasn't practical, and God blessed me once again to help out my family finances by selling it. I now use a POD XT Live, fully loaded except for the bass expansion pack, which handles all my tonal needs just fine and sounds great.

I would love to upgrade to a new POD X3 Live, but I know that God has provided for my gear needs with what I have now, and if I'm meant to have it, He will provide the means to get one.

Acoustic guitars - I had a lower-end Jasmine (by Takamine) in the beginning, then moved to an Ovation Standard Balladeer, and finally, an early 90's Ovation Adamas II, which I still have today. To put it plainly, I will never sell it - the walnut predominance in the neck and fingerboard give it a very unique tone. Because the Earvana nut and Planet Waves locking tuners work so well on my electric, I had these put on this acoustic too. Elixir strings on this one too, I use 12's.

(/end music gear rant) ;)