name, city, instrument, years of playing, current band, gear
 #174136  by mdavich
 
Hi folks

I'm Mark and I've been playing guitar on and off since I was a kid - Met a wonderful girl in the late 80s who took me to my first Grateful Dead shows and I was blown away. I bought an Ovation acoustic that went with me to every show thereafter - without a case. I honestly can't explain how but, I still have that guitar it and still looks. sounds and plays great!

These days, I play through a modified Strat - stainless frets, Seymour Duncan Little 59s, push/push tone pots to split the coils, a treble bleed and hopefully, there's still room for the Alembic Blaster I'd like to install soon.
All that goes through a few nice pedals - Noise suppressor, T-Rex Diva, two Nobles ODR-1 natural overdrives and a digital delay into a modified vintage Fender Twin and of course, an OX Box attenuator with some cool cabinet sims in it.
A little more about the guitar: I didn't put the 59s in to play G.D. stuff - I was playing some older classic rock that was more suited to an SG or Les Paul. I was trying to create a versatile guitar so I could keep the sound of the single coil Strat but also, kill it on some old Skynard or Allman bros. I was reasonably successful but it wasn't until I pulled out an old lesson on Althea that I was shocked and nearly moved to tears.
With some reverb from the amp in the sweet-spot, I used the Diva and one of the ODR-1s together with the gains at 0 and heard something I hadn't intended. It didn't sound exactly like Jerry but, I had accidentally captured the spirit of his late 80s/90s edgy, foundational sound. What made it beautiful was the guitar's unique sustain and tone that was powerful and sweet beyond compare.
I think that at least part of Jerry's sound was simply having a setup that afforded him the ability to play as dynamically as he did. (His musical accent) - I now had that at my fingertips on a set up that melted the harshest critic I know - Me. LOL
I'm hoping the Blaster will free up some space on my pedalboard for other goodies and I won't need to use any of the drives as preamps.

Anyway, I'm here hoping to meet others as interested as I am in tone, (how it works and how to get it) the music, basic theory and of course, Jerry licks/technique.
Big shoutout to Seth over at GratefulGuitarlessons!! He has some of the most accurate and detailed, easy to follow lessons I've ever encountered AND, he's a heck of a nice guy.