How Did I Do It?

When I was a teen playing guitar, I was always plug in to play and I think I was pretty good at controlling the gain in the amp (the gain was always turned up as high as possible). I was playing all sorts of punk and thrash and never had a problem with unwanted noise or anything like that.

Now when I plug in and turn up the gain there’s all SORTS of noise and I need to relearn how to control it (and get my metal tone back up to where it used to be).

I just think back to then and I can’t think of anything special that I was doing. So what’s different? Well, I’m paying a lot more attention to details that used to not concern me at all. The type of guitar I play has changed (the physical guitar has gone from Les Paul to Gretsch hollowbody). I’ve broadened the spectrum of music I’m trying to play.

As far as the guitar goes, it is most comfortable to me. I’m unwilling to change my main guitar back to a solid body. They feel awkward to me. I’m sure I could get used to them enough again, but I’m comfortable with the big hollowbody and it gives a very different and refreshing (IMO) attitude when cranked up. It’s more raw if you will. I DO want to change the pickups to a TV Jones Classic + in the bridge and a Powertron in the neck. I think this will help out in my goal quite a bit, while still retaining that “Great Gretsch Sound.”

As far as amps, I’m still looking for a good base amp and then I’ll be adding pedals to the front of it to change channels so to speak from the amp’s jazzy clean, to a rockabilly “just a bit of hair” to a raunchy AC/DC kind of tone, to a thrash-tastic metal tone. Four tones, three distortion pedals, and a delay.

I need to play through my amps a lot more too.

I can’t wait to move.