After a four month layoff, STL finally played a gig at BB's on 11/30/07. The photos and sound clips here are to show two of my Les Paul Standard Fadeds, both heavily modified, and with the PG Mod as well. I did these recordings for myself, as I wanted to compare the 2 guitars.
Recording environment: Not professional! By ANY means! The recorder is a small Marantz unit which records to a CF card. I like it because it is tiny and the CF card makes it a snap to get onto my computer. It only accepts up to 2 mics, but I only used one for this recording. The mic was placed on my side of the stage, so it is biased towards the lead guitar in all the recordings. The house PA system has 2 speakers mounted high above the stage, angled down, behind my unidirectional mike, so the vocals sound weak. My vocals were very weak anyway, not having belted out any songs for around four months. By about 4 hours into the gig (1AM), I could barely reach notes that are usually not much of a problem for me. By the end of the gig (3AM), my throat was killing me. We ended with Black Magic Woman, and it was a chore to get through. Consequently, and because no one needs to hear my crummy singing, many of the recordings I'm posting here have the vocal parts edited out. I'm thinking most people will come here to hear what Faded Standards sound like live.
The guitars: both are 2007 Standard Fadeds. I started out using a Honey Burst, with a net weight of 7lbs., 10oz., but switched to my 6lb., 10oz. Cherry Burst later on. I only have photos showing the Cherry because I forgot to have someone take photos earlier. When my friends, Rich and Susan Rilliet, showed up later, I asked them to take some photos, which they did with my camera, and their own.
Amplifier: The amp is a '67 Marshall 18 Watt Master Reverb 2X10 combo. The reverb is very tired - I had it cranked to max and, at that setting, it is just a little less than I would have been satisfied with. I suspect the springs in the onboard tank are weak and should be looked at. I love onboard reverb (one less thing to carry), but I recently bought a Vanamps Sole-Mate, which sounds awesome with my other 18 Watt Marshall. I opted to try out the Master Reverb though, and it was easier to carry than the 2X12 18 Watt and the Sole-Mate. I lectured the other band members before we started that I wanted this gig to be LOW volume. They mostly complied and I never had to turn the 18 Watter's volume up past 4. When listening to the guitar solos, bear that in mind.