Buzz Badweather
My Gear
Workhorse with a story; Gibson Les Paul Standard Faded
Including full PG modification by Larry Corsa. Manalishi pickups and a sound so beautiful I can’t put it away once I pick it up. In my collection for over three years. Build in 2004 by special order of a famous Dutch Blues Guitarist that decided to sell it one day … with some regrets I am sure! Obviously, for those that admire and love Peter Green this guitar is a must-have. If only Peter could play my Holy Grail ones …
Fender EC custom build; Blacky’s back in town
The original pickups (Vintage Noisless), active mid-boost and TBX tone circuit were modified to my likings. In my collection since 1998. The neck of this guitar (soft V profile) plays like butter!
A very ‘Wrong’ Guitar but such fun to play; Italia Maranello Classic MKII
Lots of plastic and by far the smallest investment in my collection. Original humbuckers were replaced by hand wired version taking out some of the high that comes with the standard pickups. Every now and then I need to make sure the bridge stays put; by now I have replaced the standard fitting by something more robust! In my collection since 2002 and mainly used for slide. Note the gold sparkle! I have many great pictures of this guitar and on stage, this one usually draws more attention than any of the other guitars in the racks!
Workhorse; String Wood Custom S-Series 60s Burst
Body: American Red Alder
Finish: Burst
Neck: Rosewood C Profile, 7.25" radius, 6230 frets
Pickups Hand wound 63 vintage
Electronics: CTS pots, Oak Grigsby 5-way switch, Cloth wire
In my collection since earlier this year (2018), virtually has not stopped playing since …. Wonderful guitar, easy to play no matter how long the gig takes!
My backup amp, a special design Fender Twin Reverb amp with custom 15inch speaker.
Favorite AMP; String Wood 35W combo including one 12” and one 10” speaker
When I say ‘favorite AMP’ that’s only for NOW. I must admit that the search for the perfect tone and sound continues, I am afraid it will never stop. This has led me to have owned (and sold again) quite a few AMP’s in the past. Two volume channels that I mix. The mix and the effect of the two speaker types result in a warm sound that, if needed, can be adjusted to a nice sparkling fender-like sound. 35W may not seem a whole lot but I guarantee you; this baby is loud! As a backup I have a Fender Twin Reverb AMP.
Pedalboard; well, you gotta have one …..
But in all honesty, I am not an heavy pedal user. Obviously I use a tuner (Polytune, TCE) that lights up nicely on a dark stage. The two pedals left from the tuner were designed and hand build by a famous Dutch Blues Sound Engineer and, starting with first one, include a gain pedal (Klon-based but with some -secret- special twists) followed by a clean boost. The thing with most gain pedals, in my view, is that it is always too much. And most ‘clean’ boost pedals don’t deliver a ‘clean’ boost! These two pedals are subtle! Next is the chorus (super chorus CH-1 Boss); I use it for some of our music but certainly not all. The top row on my pedal board includes a power block. Left from that a Tremolo Rotary (TR-7 Hardwire); I only use the Tremolo function and, a very little bit of it! Finally I get delay from the Hall of Fame-2 pedal (TCE). Again, Decay and Level are kept in a moderate position at all times.
