In the world of guitar players, the gear often serves as an extension of personality. Try to imagine, if you will, a world where Slash doesn’t play a Les Paul Standard or Eric Clapton doesn’t play his signature black Stratocaster. Try envisioning Jimi Hendrix playing though a 5 watt boutique combo rather than a full Marshall stack or Angus Young picking up any guitar other than a Gibson SG. These images of guitarists and the tools of their trade are often as iconic as the very songs they play. Unfortunately, for those of us working musicians covering a wide array of styles stretching over a vast spectrum of tone, the versatility of our gear is critical. On any given evening, Fun DMC can be heard covering everything from ’80s pop music, old school and new hip hop, 90s rock, hot country, and even current favorite radio hits. With all of these styles to fill, it can be a daunting task as a guitar player to dial in the appropriate sounds from show to show. Even if bringing along a half-dozen guitars were an option without breaking the bank, switching up instruments from song to song is a total momentum killer. Furthermore, given the extended medleys found in the Fun DMC setlist, wide tonal swings often occur mid-song and require a flexible rig to be able to handle the changes. All of this to say that my top priority in selecting gear is finding equipment that will serve the Fun DMC set requirements both tonally and with efficiency. That said, I have complied a list of gear that I have found works best for me.

The Guitar

I would say that the majority of my shows find me playing a black Fender Stratocaster HSS. This guitar is a workhorse in every sense of the word. I’m by no means gentle on my instrument and this guitar takes a beating night after night and stays in tune. The maple neck is one of the smoothest and most playable fretboards I’ve ever touched. I did make a hard tail modification to the stock bridge which was set for a tremolo. As for the sound, the five-way pick-up selector switch and the humbucker in the bridge give this strat quite the array of tone. Neck position finds a very flat and clean setup, perfect for those quiet rhythm moments while the bridge position is perfect for crunchy rhythm and sustained leads. Each of the remaining positions retain distinct personalities for everything from pop to R&B. I also carry a Fender Thinline as a back up.

The Amplifier

When building a versatile sound, it is important to have a solid foundation of clean tone. In my opinion, nothing could match the pristine clarity of the Vox AC30 CC2. It took a few months to dial in the right amount of blend at the “Normal” and “Top Boost” inputs but once I did, I’ve never been able to find another amp that quite matches this classic British combo.

Pedalboard

Shure Wireless Unit w/ built in tuner: I never knew how much I needed a wireless unit until I started to move more on stage. Now I can’t imagine playing without one.

AMT Japanese Girl Wah: I think I use a wah wah pedal on maybe two songs. This pedal is a favorite of mine for two reasons: the bright blue LED indicator that lets me know when the pedal is actually engaged and it’s very small footprint. As much as I love the classic sound of the Jim Dunlop Cry Baby, this is a fantastic mini-version that cuts through the mix like a champ. Heard on songs “Beverly Hills,” “Don’t Stop The Sandman,” and “Here Comes The Hotstepper” mashup.

The Pearl (dual channel) by this1smyne: Without many online demos to go on, I ordered this pedal from Dan Burgess purely on faith and internet hype. Over the last 14 months I have not been disappointed a single time. The range on this pedal starts at a little dirt and saturation to full on searing hot. Like any guitarist, I’ve switched out a few OD pedals during my time with Fun DMC but this The Pearl has remained. Heard on most guitar solos and anything with an unruly amount of crunch.

Strymon El Capistan: Lush sounding tape echo by Strymon. Works great for ‘80s lead. Can be tweaked to age and stretch the “tape” sound. Heard prominently on “Boys Of Summer” and most guitar solos.

Strymon Flint: A tremolo and reverb pedal. While the tremolo side is rarely used (save for those moments when my size 12 Chuck accidentally hits the wrong button) the reverb side is just gorgeous. Selections include ‘60s. ‘70s, and ‘80s reverb and several fine tuning controls.

Strymon Blue Sky: Admittedly, for as much as this pedal costs, it is a bit of a one trick pony. But when it is engaged it creates a captivating shimmer effect that can capture the image of your sound and turn in into a heavenly string section. Heard on “Shut Up And Dance” and “99 Red Balloons.”

Korg SDD 3000: This is the latest addition to the pedal board and quite possibly my favorite. I’m only begining to see the potential this digital delay unit. Modeled after the same rack unit favored by my personal guitar here, U2’s The Edge, the SDD 3000 is a remarkable delay unit with an almost infinite amount of configurations. However, the real shining stars on this pedal are the preamps. With potentiometers at the input and output, it pairs perfectly with the AC30. One I have the Vox tone set, I tend to raise the level of the output preamp on the SDD 3000 a bit and it hits the tubes in my amp like a shot of steroids. When paired as a first stage delay with the El Capistan, the Korg SDD 3000 is quite possibly the king of all delay pedals. Heard on “Shut Up And Dance.”

BBE Sonic Stomp: I have absolutely no idea what this pedal does. But I’ve been too afraid to turn it off since Decatur celebration.