your board are somewhat old school. How do don’t have to have a $500 reverb pedal to get is probably one of the only people who cared,
you balance between using the old and the new inspired. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice guitar in that particular camp, but we loved it and had
without chasing trends or losing your sound? pedals. But I don’t need that. I’m more inspired a good time trying things out and listening to
by how to mess up sounds with interesting something different and new. I asked our FOH
[James] I have a lot of staple pedals that I use filters and with other weird ideas. It’s easy for guy what he thought, and he wanted to dive
all of the time, and then mix in some new stuff everyone to be obsessed with all of the same into it much more deeply, like bringing it to the
to go along with it. It’s really important to me to gear, but that’s also how everything can end studio to do some A/B testing with it. It was
have a core sound where I know exactly what up sounding the same. I’ve always been more definitely a fun experience - it is a solid guitar!
it’s going to sound like all of the time. If you’re interested in trying to have a different take flying into gigs a lot and using different amps, on a classic sound, or even a new, popular and having to use in-ears on different systems, sound. I’m more experimental in my approach you can eliminate a lot of troubleshooting if you to sounds rather than just trying to follow the [James] I was playing a new Gretsch Penguin
know exactly what certain pedals should sound popular trends. I don’t really care about those. that I just got, so I didn’t plug it in. I just took a
like with your guitar. If something sounds off,
[WM] James, did you plug it into your rig?
picture with it, sorry! (laughs)
figuring it out is a lot quicker that way. [WM] Jeffrey, you brought a pretty special There are some very classic sounds for guitar guitar with you to church on Sunday – probably [WM] That Penguin! Do you have an
that are never going to get old. For example, the first time one was used for worship – tell endorsement relationship with Gretsch?
a single coil guitar into a Tube Screamer, that’s us about it! (see Jeffrey’s Product Review in just a classic guitar sound, and it sounds this issue)
[Jeffrey] Yeah, I do. I’ve played Gretsch
awesome! I like to have some staple sounds
guitars for a long time. I got my first one, which
that are classic, universal, and work with a lot [Jeffrey] It’s the new Silver Sky, from PRS. was a 6118, Cadillac green 2-tone hollow body
of different kinds of music, because I play a lot Over the last several years I have been into probably fifteen years ago. It took my playing,
of different styles of music. Then, I’ll add in all humbucker guitars, so to foray back into single a nd everything about my musical guitar journey,
of the weird stuff and crazy sounding things coil territory was a little interesting for me. But and flipped it upside down in a really cool way.
and I’ll have a little bit more context for how to when James Duke strapped on that guitar and That guitar inspired a lot of cool music that I was
use stuff. posted it on the Internet, I think something involved with at the time, like stuff with John
broke in me! I definitely enjoyed playing Mark McMillan. I’ve loved Gretsch guitars ever
something new and trying out that guitar. James since then, because I’ve always been primarily
As far as new sounds and getting inspired, I
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May 2018
WorshipMusician.com