rfbooth.com :: music :: gear

I like gear. Plenty of shiny toys, that's my motto. The more the merrier. I've been very lucky with picking up gear at good prices, secondhand and otherwise, and I now have quite a bit of kit.

Guitars

I love guitars. Can't get enough of the things, especially Ibanez ones. In particular, I'm a total JEM fanboy. A cynic might think that this is connected to my Steve Vai obsession, but I assure you that this is not so. They just fit my hands properly, stay in tune, and sound great. And look outrageous, which is nice.

My main guitar is my '99 Floral JEM; I also have an '88 DY Jem, an RG450 in black and PGM30, traded from Clive, with a somewhat broken trem. In the non-Ibanez category, there's a Squier telecaster (acquired from Paul Simpson), a Crafter electroacoustic, and some legacy guitars that don't get played. I also have a couple of basses on loan; I've not committed to buying one yet. Pictures of this lot to follow.

Live gear

As far as amplification goes, I'm a rack fan. I always wanted a big rack with a shelf for pedals and lots of lights, but once I got one it only took a couple of times out to realise that I didn't want to carry it.

For all you gear freaks out there, the payload at the time these photos were taken is (top to bottom):

Samson power conditioner.
Korg DTR2 tuner
Blanking panel
TC Electronics G Major.
Behringer patchbay (mainly for getting dry signals out when direct recording).
Boss GL100 “guitar driver” preamp.
Chandler Tube Driver overdrive/preamp.
Kenton GS8 midi switcher, which changed channels on the various preamps and switched the pedals and the Chandler in and out of circuit.
SKB sliding velcro rack shelf, containing a Boss OD3, MXR Dynacomp, Ibanez SD9, and a 9v multi-out power brick.
Marshall 8008 valvestate power amp.

Now I have a much more sensible rig, based around an ADA MP1 preamp and a TC G-Major effects box.

I don't have a good picture of the rig with 4x12", but I do have one with the 2x12".

Studio gear

The heart of my studio is a Red Submarine PC, running Cubase on Windows 98 (yeah, I know, spit). Other components include a Behringer V-Amp 2 for guitar and bass modelling, a Joe Meek VC3Q voice channel, a Shure Beta 57 microphone, a Behringer 1604 mixer (for monitoring through), and various bits and pieces in a rack that now gets hardly any use. It all sits on an Ikea "Jerker" desk, which is a remarkable piece of studio furniture for the money. Monitoring is through Celestion DL6 speakers; thanks for the loan, Ade!

Photographs courtesy of James Screaton and Ross Edwards. Thanks, guys!