Tonight I’ll be playing the fourth shows in a week-long run of The Full Monty at the Court Theatre in Tring. It’s been great so far and I’ve settled nicely into the role.
It’s largely an electric guitar pad, although there are a couple of pretty ballads that require the use of an acoustic guitar. I’m using my Ibanez RG3120 for the electric stuff, and my Line6 Variax acoustic for the ballads.
The Ibanez has a really versatile 5-way switching combination with the two DiMarzio Evolution pickups I’ve got installed in there. It gives me access to some lovely funky and choppy sounds as well full power warmth and bite in the neck and bridge positions.
While I don’t need the versatility of the Variax for alternative sounds, it’s a very practical instrument for this application as I can run it through my electric amp with little fuss, and the sound is pretty good. This keeps things pretty simple for the tech crew and keeps me in control of my volume.
I’m using a small pedal board and making use of an Ibanez TS9 for overdrive, Zvex Distortron for distortion, and Line6 Tap Tremolo for a couple of sections in the pad. Volume and wah are provided by Ernie Ball and Morley Bad Horise 2 pedals respectively, and I switch between the acoustic and electric circuits via a Morley ABY pedal and then into my trusty Fender Blues Junior amp.
It’s quite tight in here (as usual) but it all adds to the fun I suppose!
