Smokey Amps..

A few years ago when I was traveling and living out of a suitcase I began playing more guitar because of its portability.  While I began on piano in college studying Chopin, my love affair with writing came when I picked up a guitar.  After I toured during the "So Long" years, I made the "Louque the Drifter" record using mostly an acoustic parlor guitar.  Immediately after, I began the first project with "Royal Vagabonds".  Almost instantly I had an electric guitar in my hand and discovered that I had a certain sound on it.  I grew accustomed to sitting on the couch playing my new Fender Jazzmaster with no amp. I just loved the feel of it and was much easier than an acoustic.  One day while on tour, I picked up a small amp that was in an old cigarette box and was stunned when I got back to the hotel by its sound.  I quickly ran it through my Holy Grail reverb and the sound was just perfect.

Over the time spent playing on the couch and hotel rooms, I grew fond of the subtle distortion this little box produced.  When we went into the studio for the Vagabonds project, we recorded "Wildfire" with it.  Of course the engineers and techies were looking at us like we were crazy but there's no denying the sound.  

Over the course of recording "For the King's Court" we discovered that the Boss Blues Driver was the closest thing to these little beast when trying to play through the Fender Twin Amp.  I did play a solo show with this little one mic'd up.  The sound was high end but I did end up with a lot of people coming up to me asking how I got my guitar sound.  I just laughed when I left the place carrying only my guitar with amp inside the bag.  

The other night I was experimenting with some electric guitar parts and mic'd up an old Pall Mall and I just shook my head when I heard it in the mix.  There's nothing like it.  It's not muscular like a real amp but it has it's place and demands your attention in the mix.  

I often wonder how artist come up with their colors.  How much of it is intended and how much is accidental? Sometimes all of the colors we need are lying around the studio floors, or left in our guitar cases.