The last five years or so I've gone through amps like underwear; wear them until you get a
stain, and then throw them away. I was a Mesa-Boogie guy until then, and played a rack full of gear that, for the most part, had great tones. The issue was that it required a manual and several hours of time to lower the treble if the venue was bright. I moved from midi and presets to a one channel amp, throwing the pendulum to the exact opposite side, as is my way. From there, I had a custom amp built for me... again, sounded great. This time, the amp required unusual amounts of service. It was a Jaguar. You look at it funny and it would blow a fuse or, worse yet, a set of power tubes. The custom amp hit the auction blocks and I went back to presets for a brief period.
In the meantime, I picked up this great little philly from Toronto called a Traynor Bassmaster. Traynor is the Peavey of Canada,... amps for the working man. The Bassmaster was their impression of the Fender Bassman, with a bunch of Marshall Superlead added. Many people look at these guys as the 'poor-man's plexi'. I found one in the back of the local Guitar Center and snagged it. It's got a some issues, so it's can't be my only amp, but the sound is there.
The Traynor, with her faux alligator-skin tolex head box, is currently at Voodoo Amps in Ithaca. Trace Davis is working his magic, taking the amp from someone's project amp to a fire-breathing monster. Initially, I brought the amp in to have it overhauled. I knew that the amp had been someone's pet project, and the turret board was a mess. But, the amp is hand wired, and thus is easy to retrofit... again, why people love these amps. I brought it to Trace and said, "Allmans to Van Halen, that's what I'm looking for". It's a tall order, but generically, it's the scope of an old 1969 Marshall, from clean to completel
y gained out. Voodoo Amps has a reputation for being both excellent with their workmanship and personable with their customer service... so a non-expert vocabulary is welcomed and translated with ease.
I received the head back a few weeks ago, and the tonal improvement was noticeable immediately. The amp had a spectrum now, both in eq and in gain. The more I played the amp, though, the more i noticed a fuzzy artifact behind each note. The amp also didn't respond well to any gain setting below ten. Now, i know, what self-respecting rock player is going to set their plexi below "molten death" overdrive... maybe me. Thus, the Traynor returns to Ithaca for fine-tuning and tweaking.
Here's the dilemma: It's my only gig-able amp. In 15 years of gigging, this is the only time I've been with one gig-worthy amp. I began the search for a new rig about three months ago. Research lead me to Egnater Amps and Budda Amps. The Egnater in question is a new imported deal called the Renegade. She's a 65 watt, 2 channel head designed in the states, built in China. Many cool features on the amp, smooth look, and great tone. The Budda Superdrive is a 30 watt amp and simple: 2 channels, shared eq.... very similar to the Traynor in layout. They both achieve tones I'm looking for, each with their own flavor and nuance... but each residing in the modded Marshall camp.
The timing was right... conditions were perfect... and The Budda Superdrive 30 won the day! She's one her way to me now with a matching 2x12 cab. The hope is that she will make her debut at The Lovin' Cup on Sept 12th! I'm thrilled.
(sidenote: say what you will about the purple, but I think it's hot! the knobs may need to be replaced with a more attractive "chicken head" variety, but i'd keep the pointy ones for resale, should i need them.)
The Sunday Night Shakedown
Late on sunday, I drove a copy of Marionette and a poster
for the fall shows down to The Sunday Night Shakedown on 98.9 - The Buzz. Frank DeBlase, the show's host and producer, is an avid local music fan and editor of the Arts & Music section of City Magazine. My plan was to simply drop off the poster and disc, ask them to mention the gig and play a tune (if i'm lucky). This was not to be. Frank saw me trying to get the front door of the studio open (it was locked), and invited me in. We had a brief conversation in the lobby and then he disappeared in the studio for a quick on-air piece. When he returned, he said "You wanna do an on-air. We'll chat about the show and play a tune". When someone asks you "do you want to be on the radio to promote your gigs, be interviewed and play a tune"... you say yes! So, we had a blast... chatted up the shows some and played Black Stones. The record has been added to the Shakedown's library, so call in on Sunday evenings and request some Violet Mary!!!
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