Duffy intro

[Duff]

Duffy is my name and I never intro'd myself but have been participating for a long time. An intro is in order.

I am a retired teacher, retired at 52. My main instrument was drums and I am a somewhat accomplished drummer and like to jam with guitarists and sit in with my friends bands. One of my friends is a professional quality drummer and taught me the basics many years ago.

I always had a guitar, even if it was a shame or an excuse for a guitar but I did not take lessons. I would jam along to cd's etc.

When I retired I got my first fairly decent guitar, a Schecter Omen 6 in oiled walnut stain on basswood with a strat style and twin humbuckers. It is an excellent sounding and playing guitar and it looks awesome. Shortly thereafter I got other guitars like SX's and started to take lessons which I continue to this day. I have also fortunately continued to collect guitars and amps, etc. It has been the best retirement hobby that I could have chosen. It always stays green and I practice at least two hours every day, sometime much more and have lately taken to playing myself asleep with my SCXD at the head of my bed within easy reach and I'll wake up during the night with my guitar across my chest. I am not alone in finding that playing guitar gently super late at night is very effective in helping you connect to your heart and soul. So I really like this new habit.

I'm not going to list all my equip but might mention some things during my intro.

I continue to play drums and my son is seventeen and an accomplished bassist but I recently bought him a new gloss black Epi LP studio and a nice Crate GC RFX65 solid state three channel amp. He has a mij vintage white, yellowish Fender Jazz bass from about '85 and a Peavey TNT 150 watt bass amp of the same vintage. Recently I bought him an Epi Thunderbird IV goth bass and an Epi red flammed maple LP bass along with an SWR Workingpro 15 awesome bass amp. He has wireless for his bass and is a super good singer and actor. He is in a couple bands and other ensembles or whatever you call those informal groups that play for special events. His lead guitar player is Thrash City but the rythym guitar player is into Led Zep, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.

Back to myself. I'm 58 and am talented with blues coming from my soul and I like to play rock. I have put some great Seymour Duncan pickups in my Epi LP's and other guitars, even some GFS pups. I like the JB in the bridge and the '59 in the neck for high gain pickups. I have a Hot Rod Deluxe Tweed with the Jensen P12n, awesome amp. Other awesome amps are the Vox Pathfinder 15R I take to practice a lot, the V8, Behringer gm110 analog modeling amp, VJr head and twelve inch cab, Blackheart 'Lil Giant head and the Epi four by twelve big So. Cal. cabinet that is super sweet. Playing my tele's thru the BH into the So. Cal. via an in line Korg AX5G cheap but sweet multi pedal.

I like to write some of my own music and also learn classic songs. Currently working on Whole 'Lotta Love and bought my first SRV cd two days ago, can you believe that? Need to get some actual cd's. Don't know why I didn't get into him. Getting more serious about guitar enables me to explore mucical areas that I normally wouldn't get into. I think it is kind of like getting back to my roots.

I'm letting my hair grow in the back and am balding on the top front. Been wearing hippie type beads for a few years now and just about two months ago I got my ears pierced and am wearing black cubic zirconia semi large ear rings which I like and don't care what other people think about it. I don't drink or use drugs but won't expound on the days gone by. But will say I had a lot of fun.

Grew up in a tourist town and saw lots of super great bands that never went anywhere despite their excellence.

I probably learned a lot of bad habits playing guitar without taking lessons for all those years, so my style can be anywhere from slow and laid back to hot and complicated. One advantage I have is that I can intuitively keep time and don't have to count or tap, as a result of playing drums for years. I can get into a drummers groove easily and as a drummer I always had the ability to get out of the way of the lead guitar players and singers and had the understanding to focus my skills on enhancing the performance of the stars. I can play drums very softly and rythmically as well as loud and driving to cut thru the mix. No problem playing softly though. A lot of drummers can't play softly, period. They slam. Just like Ringo had to do back in the old days when they were pioneering sound reinforcement.

I love playing guitar and like to play rythyms and leads. I like to go into long blues grooves and follow where the music takes me. I have a Lexicon Omega hooked up to my computer and a Digitech RP350 with usb or firewire that enables me to record and burn cd's using Sony Acid. I'm hooked into a Kustom Profile one 100 watt super sweet portable pa that I got at GC brand new with the roller case for 199, can you believe that? One of those big sale days. I have a Seagull acoustic twentieth aniv. S6 with spruce solid top and cherry sides and back covered with blonde flamed maple and this is one sweet looking guitar that I have posted pictures of. I use a Dean Markley sound hole humbucker and outboard DM preamp into the pa of my new Crate 60 watt Gunnison. When I play my Schecter C1 E/A stereo guitar thru the acoustic amp and the guitar amp, HRDx or another, it sounds super awesome. U can play the Schecter through just a regular guitar amp only if you want but it doesn't shine like it does when you play it stereo. The humbuckers are the JB in the bridge and the '59 in the neck. That was a job that required a specially talented and confident tech to do since there are no access panels on the back. I also had the tone pots changed to audio pots or whatever type that lets you adjust the tone over a wide sweep.

I'm going to continue to collect guitars and amps but will sell some of my lesser quality items, selectively, as I go. I want to get a point to point amp like a bassman or something else. I played a not antique, black tolex fixed up bassman at Downtown Sound in Harrisburg and don't think I've heard a nicer, sweeter sounding amp.

I live in Pa. but have lived in Colorado for eight years straight and grew up in the Lake George area of Northern New York and in Northern Minnesota on the Mississippi River in a small river city called Little Falls, not far from Brainerd or St. Cloud. Since then I lived down South a lot and love the South, especially South Carolina and Florida during the off season.

My favorite bands are the Allman Bro's, Marshall Tucker, Dylan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Crowes, Jethro Tull, Neil Young, CSNY, Elton John, The Band, Sara McLaughlin, Janis Joplin, Albert King, Tom Petty, etc.

My favorite individual musicians include: John Lennon, Paul McCartey, the rest of the Beatles, the Stones, Jimi Hendrix. Led Zeplin, Annie Lennox and her main guitar player something Stewart, Rod Stewart, Van the Man, Dr. John, etc.

I believe moderate internet music file sharing should be a protected right, within specific limits, such as in sharing with you friends in the same way we did with cassettes. I enjoy the internet and hope that they don't clamp down on Youtube, it is such a great thing.

I like living in small towns and in the country but have lived in big cities like Denver, etc.

Guitars, more so than drums, allow me to connect with my heart and soul and express my emotions. I can communicate with my guitars. I can work things out, relax, connect with myself. Just getting into a blues groove or letting it rock and roll is very rewarding to me. I love to listen to others play and go to concerts. It blows my mind to watch my son perform with his band in a show. He played piano and took lessons for ten years and this has given him a music understanding that he quickly transferred to the bass and now his LP studio. I like watching the other kids in the band too and I'm impressed at how serious they take it. And of course the babes their age are hordeing around just like in the old days. My son is a young gentleman and gets along with girls and guys and gets along with his bandmates.

I have to laugh to myself when I see his bandmates arguing about some small aspect of a song and my son is maintaining his cool, keeping his mouth shut, flexing, and going with the flow. That is a characteristic that is priceless.

Back to myself. I will continue to play guitar for the rest of my life or as long as I have the ability to do so. I think a lot of muscians are that way and that many of them continue to get better into their old age, such as B. B. King and his lead guitar player who is even older. Listen to Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton; probably better than ever. McCartney, etc.

Maybe I'll update this sometime because this doesn't even tell much about me.

Duffy
Winfield, Pa
mbolduc@dejazzd.com

[just strum]

Duffy, a late welcome to suit the late intro. Did you teach writing?

I won't get into anything lengthy just the formal welcome. You know enough about the place and since you've been here awhile, you obviously like it.

Look forward to more chat.

[street music]

Welcome Duffy, enjoy retirement.

[warren0728]

welcome duffy....this is a great forum....i think you will like it here....

ww :

note: this welcome copyrighted 2008...no unauthorized use of this welcome will be tolerated

[mrmudcat]

Welcome duffster although ive seen ya around

[Spudman***]

Hey Duff. Welcome to thefret.

[peachhead***]

Hey Duff good to see another Tull fan. Good intro- great read! :

[sunvalleylaw]

Welcome Duff! Thanks for the great intro!

[Robert****]

Welcome Duff, thanks for that informative intro! Good to get to know you.

[luvmyshiner]

Welcome aboard Duff!

[Brian Krashpad]

Welcome Duff!

[SuperSwede]

Thanks for the intro Duff.. we love Duff here...

[Cal]

Nice intro Duffy, thanks for that and good to get to know you.

... and welcome! But I'm confused, I joined a month ago and you joined A YEAR AGO! So if I'm a newbie does that make you and oldbie? :

[magoo]

Welcome Duff.

[oldguy]

Welcome to TheFret!