Gear the Pros Use!
Todd Kennedy - Lead Guitar for SMASHING ALICE
I picked up my first guitar at age 11 in 1972. I made a living playing music
through most of the 1980's, during which I spend a lot of time on the road. I exited
the music scene in the early 90's to focus on career goals, but I returned back to the
music scene in 2009 after making my riches in the real world. Now I’m just having fun
with it and enjoying playing for the sake of playing. I have over 30 guitars currently
in my stable (I think) I’ve never really count them and they come and go on a regular
basis.
Guitars
My main gigging guitar that has been with me for many years is a 1959 Gibson Les
Paul Replica built by a well-respected Luthier and former vintage Guitar Magazine
Editor. It has a slight twist though; it’s built with Korina (or more correctly, Limba)
instead of Mohogany. It’s a little lighter and to me has a little more mid-range
warmth. This, however, is all negated by its current set of pickups, which are an EMG
81/85 active set. They make every guitar basically sound the same but give great
clarity and tightness with drop tunings, and 3/4 of our set is drop tuning.
My #2 is A Gibson Les Paul custom shop 1968 re-issue in Alpine White with a 50's fat
neck. Pickups are stock 57 classics. I prefer lower ouput pickups and use these and
Lollar imperials in most of my gigging guitars. The fat necks are harder to play but
definitely have a different sound compared to a thin neck guitar. All that extra wood
stiffens up the neck and gives a fatter and more sustained sound.
Pedals
I try to keep my pedals to a minimum and don't use distortion pedals. I do have various pedals on my board however to replicate various song requirements. After going through dozens of wahs the Fulltone
Deluxe Clyde Wah was hands down my favorite and has been the only constant on my board for many years. For effects I do
prefer individual analogue pedals over EFX units but for gigging it was just more convenient to use a digital modeler -"Line 6
- m9"; I run that in the loop and it has over a 100 stomp boxes in it. I mostly use it for timed effects, chorus, delay, reverb etc.
The other two pedals I run are line drivers "MXR Custom Audio Electronics MC-401 Boost Pedal". One in the front for a gain
boost and one in the loop for volume boost for leads. They are extremely clean and do not
color the amp tone at all. Next is my Diggitech whammy pedal which is a necessity for the
5 Rage Against the Machine songs that we cover. Last, a tuner and Line 6 G30 digital
wireless. I've had many wireless systems, and it was always a compromise to go wireless
until I got the "Line 6 G30". I don't hear any signal degradation with it whatsoever.
Amps
My work horse is a Marshall DSL 100 watt. Not the greatest amp in the world but a git-r
-done no frills amp. Lately my Baron custom single channel Marshall flavored 60 watt
head has been seeing a lot of stage action. I grew up on Marshall Super leads and any amp
I play has to get in that sonic range or it ain’t for me. The super lead is just too loud before
it hits the sweet spot so is just impractical in the modern era . I have gravitated to 18 to 30
watts amps and have really liked the results. My new favorite "65 amps-Producer" may be
my last and main gigging amp. Sounds really close to my old Marshall Super Lead and
does it at a manageable volume, which is something I have been searching for a long
time . Also has a stellar Fender clean which is a nice bonus.
Strings
I buy in bulk, 25 sets per box from D'Addario, 10-46 gauge.
Picks
V-picks 1.5 mm or Tortex III 1.5mm. I like my picks pointy and I don't like to have any flex
at all. For a time I used steel picks but found they were too hard on strings and guitars.
When I do my Pete Townsend windmill imitation and drag a steel pick across the entire
front of the guitar it can leave some pretty nasty gouges and scratches. LOL