built in — and it changes the pitch for a second . It ’ s been hard to get used to . Using those knobs and buttons in the studio is one thing , but then when you ’ re onstage it can get confusing . I ’ m getting better at that now . I really think the BilT guys make amazing guitars . I don ’ t really like most new guitars , but their guitars feel really good . I feel very comfortable playing them and the tone is great .
I brought my pedalboard and two guitars . I brought one amp , which I didn ’ t use very much . I used Les ’ little Mesa / Boogie — whatever was there — it was his Mesa / Boogie Mark II , those little ones that have the switch and the two channels .
Do you get your distortion from the amp or from pedals ? Lennon : It depends . I feel I have amp distortion just as my basic setting . I like the sound where it ’ s up to my dynamics as to how distorted it sounds . Hopefully , it is clean enough that if I play light , I can do a ballad-y moment , but if I dig in it will give you a little bit of that drive . That ’ s the ideal state for me . But I do like the boost , too . The amp is driven anyway , so when I turn on the fuzz pedal it is driving the amp from the pedalboard really hard , which I like .
What amp are you touring with ? Lennon : I ’ m touring with a Fender [ Hot Rod ] DeVille . I know it ’ s not supposed to be the greatest amp , but that ’ s what I ’ ve been touring with since I was in my 20s . I always try to move to something more whatever — bigger or better — but I don ’ t feel comfortable .
That ’ s not what I use in my studio , though . I have a ton of amps in the studio : these weird old things — just collectable weird — Hawaiian amps from the ’ 50s and a really good Fender Deluxe with the distortion I use for most solos . But on tour ,
YOUTUBE
IT
At this April 2016 concert , Lennon and Claypool explore the fertile psychedelic turf of the Beatles ’ “ Tomorrow Never Knows ,” with Lennon ’ s series of solos combusting into waves of delay , phase shifter , and feedback after four-and-a-half minutes . YouTube search term : The Claypool Lennon Delirium – Tomorrow Never Knows ( The Beatles cover live in Orlando 2016-06-04 )
in terms of an amp I can rent , that I can replace right away , that ’ s always going to be in every city in the world if I need it — the DeVille is the one I ’ m most comfortable with . I can get the sound that I like from it . I don ’ t know , I ’ m not an amp expert , maybe , but a lot of guitarists are like , “ That ’ s not a great amp .” But I like it .
There ’ s no shame in using a DeVille . Lennon : There is huge shame . I hang my head … No , I ’ m kidding [ laughs ]. I just mean in terms of a guitar magazine-worthy comment , I know it ’ s not that interesting .
Will there be any more exciting or interesting covers to look forward to as the tour rolls on ? Claypool : Oh yeah . We are pulling out covers every now and again . You just have to wait and see what happens .
premierguitar . com PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 65