It's been a while since I've stopped in here (shame on me). How has everyone been?

The band is still together, and still not gigging (and I'm still okay with that at the moment). The good news on the band front is that after nagging them for about a year, we're finally delving into doing some original work. It's off to a slow start, due in part to our mismatched summer schedules, but we do have one song in the works. It's rough at the moment, but it's something. I hope to add more in the next few months, so wish me luck!

On the equipment front, I now have a "Big Boy Amph": A Bugera 333XLi. It's an all-tube, 120-watt, three-channel monster. I've been extremely pleased with what I can get out of the three channels: The Clean channel is good, and seems to have enough headroom for me, the Crunch channel is very Marshall-like, and the Lead channel has a more modern flavor, akin to a Mesa-Boogie. With that kind of variety on tap, I've done away with all my dirt pedals (for the band stuff, but not for home). Here's a pic of the cosmetically modified amp and cab that I use for band practice:



My guitar stable has rotated a bit, and I now have a few "super-Strats" in the stable. They work well for the band stuff, and I guess I have returned slightly (or more than slightly) to my Metal roots. Here's my current favorite player, a Schecter Blood Moon. I have changed the pickups out for some EMG Hetfields, as seen in the second photo. I love this guitar and these pickups!




I'm glad to see that there are still names here I recognize! What's up with you folks?