You should get one of these bad boys. I can fit my whole kit on this thing and load/unload it in one trip.
damn...thats a lot of equipment.... I've pared down since I dont play much anymore, all I have left is my maroon Samick 5 string bass and a little Peavey practice amp and a old Yamaha acoustic guitar. I feel so insignificant among all you real musicians...
Fine thread. 197? Gibson ES 335 196? Fender Musicmaster + added pickup 196? Hofner Beatle Bass 1??? Black Silvertone dolphin-nose bass 19?? Telecaster Style Robin with a Schecter neck (412 lb., approx) 19?? Danelectro shorthorn guitar 1993 Jerry Jones shorthorn guitar 19?? Danelectro Bass 19?? Wurlitzer Electric Piano 1968 Fender Super Reverb (in use as house amp @ Houston continental club)
Yamaha F-310 Acoustic (my first guitar, kind of starting to fall apart, but I still love it) Fender '99 Roadhouse Strat (Metallic Aquamarine w/ Pearloid Pickguard, Texas Special Pickups) Fender Cyber-Twin Amp (So, so versatile) Fender Blues Junior Amp (Celestion Greenback speaker, Tesla Tubes) Budda Bud-Wah Pedal ('96 production model, handmade) Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer (Modded by Robert Keeley)
Right now, I'm using an antique piano that has been gutted with the keys and strings removed. I put a Korg N1 keyboard into the piano so that people actually think that I'm dragging a real piano around. I use a Kurzweil Micropiano module for my piano sounds. For band gigs, I use a Yamaha S80 keyboard. I still have my first pro keyboard that is a Roland A80. That's still my favorite for the piano action, but it's a lot bigger and heavier than my other keyboards. I just can't seem to let myself get rid of it. I've also got a vintage Korg CX-3 organ rig. I used to use that a lot when I was going for the classic B3 sound. I ran it through a MotionSound Pro-3 for the leslie effect. My Dad still has one of his B-3's. I remember helping him haul that thing around as a kid.
I have that same Tama Swingstar set. That's my main set. I have an old(classic) Gretsch all wood set with a giant kick drum that's 22"-26" I can't remember which now, since that Kit is in Houston, and I'm in LA. I don't really play it anymore either, since I'm just holding on to it forever.
1 '65 Fender Twin Reverb, (reissue, though it sounds the same as the real ones.) 2 very crappy guitars (one acoustic, one electric) that I don't want to speak of any further. 1 BOSS DD6 Digital Delay 1 BOSS BF3 Flanger 1 BOSS CS3 Compression/Sustainer 1 BOSS DS1 Distortion 1 MXR Dimebag Darrell Distortion Who wants to sell me a vintage Whammy?
That works! Gear, smear , tonight I saw a three-piece band (The Tin Men) with a Sousaphone, washboard, and guitar, (and two kazoos on one song).
Jeff - I've never actually done a gig with a real B3, but I would love to someday. I grew up listening to my dad play so that's always the sound that's in my heart. I was in a blues band where I mostly used my Korg CX-3 running through the Leslie simulator. It really did sound pretty good but it didn't quite have that power of the B3.
The Korg CX-3 is used by LOTS of B3 guys in place of a traditional B3. I have a good friend in Louisiana (he used to live in Houston) who is maybe one of the greatest B3 players ever, anywhere. He's now in his 50's and lives that instrument. He is as good as any B3 player you hear in rock or blues. Unfortunately, he never was able to really get his personal life together enough to find large-scale success, but he has played with a lot of famous people and still gets a lot of session work - I'd give him more if he hadn't moved back to Lousiana. Finding people who really understand that instrument AND can also play piano, Rhodes, etc, but are under 50 years old is very tough. It's a lost art.
Jeff - that is so true. The B3 player is a dying breed. Even the old school players don't use them as much any more because of the more portable alternatives. But, with the whole set-up, pedals and everything, you can beat the real thing for raw sound. Since I grew up listening to my dad play that has helped me a lot to appreciate the sound and some of the licks that are really best played on a B3, but are not as effective on a piano or synth. I have a few Jimmy Smith records that I used to listen to constantly before I even started playing professionally. One aspect of the B3 that I never picked up was how to hold good solid chording in the background. I have a few effective background chords, but there are some real nice ones out there that I haven't really picked up. That's where I most appreciate the dynamics of the instrument run through a leslie. Being 30 years old, I am glad that I have an appreciation for the B3 since it won't be too long before many people will remember what they were in the first place. Maybe eventually I can use it to find a little niche for myself in the musician market.
bass: '98 warwick thumb bass 4 string '70 fender jazz bass (badass II bridge , antiquity pickups) guitars: '98 taylor 614 ce '01 taylor 914 ce custom '70 les paul custom '01 fender american tele '76 ibanez delux '59er (lawsuit guitar) amps: marshall jcm 900 (100 watts 2x12" combo) swr california blonde swr super redhead
Post more often!! ------ Percussion: 1 "Semi vintage" (1977) Slingerland Black Gold 5 pc Maple (literally black, and gold) with Paiste cymbals - 22" 18" 16" 14" HH 8" Splash 1 forest green Pearl Export Series 5 pc Birch with Sabian 20" Crash/Ride 16" Crash 14"HH 8" Splash 1 burgundy Starlite (crappy kit) 5 pc with tinfoil cymbals (kids' set, though full sized) Keys: Hammond B3 organ w/ Leslie Steck upright antique piano (droxford, we have something in common! It was my grandmother's) Yamaha P.O.C. 66 key w/mini crud amp Woodwind: Some antique Clarinet my wife has... ------ No axes yet, or bass axes... though I'd love to learn. This comes from playing drums.... nothing a drummer/percussionist appreciates more than a solid bassist accompanying you. Great thread.
