Badger1

[Nightliner]

How long you been playing the blues, and what do you play?
I've been playing guitar around 37 years. I've got a custom Taylor accoustic electric, and an old strat I just finished painting (now I've got to put it back together , lol). Also I just finished rebuilding an Ibanez from around the 70's I think, but I'm not sure; it's old though.
I've been playing with this other guy for around 8 years, and we just got a drummer so we're kind of excited about getting away from the more mellow type music, and getting a chance to rock out again.
I'm a big fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, Jeff Beck, and some of the old blues guys, like around Robert Johnson style, and time.

[badger1]

Mark, I've been playing guitar seriously for about the last 27 years....(would you believe...I had to grab a calculator!)....Anyway, I'm pretty much a Fender guy. My main ax is a '78 black Tele with a maple neck, and my second is an American Standard Strat plus. I have a (are you ready for this?) a pink paisley Tele also. I run a tweed Blues Deluxe for my tube blues, and a Roc Pro half stack for classic rock. Accoustics are a Fender Catalina and a vintage Hofner 12 string that has an adjustable neck. Let me know if you need any wiring diagrams for your strat. I happen to have every diagram for every electric guitar Fender ever made. I like all the blues players you mentioned especially the older cats...Howlin' Wolf and that crowd...I don't play the clubs anymore, (got tired of it), except I stand in once in a while at open jams once in a while!

[Nightliner]

For amps, right now I'm using am ampeg with a 12" celestion speaker for smaller gigs, and a fender ultimate chorus for other stuff. I use a roland gp 100 effect rack mount with a midi controller.
I'm thinking about getting a mesa boogie, and selling the other amps. What do you think of mesa boogie amps? I used one a little while ago, and I thought it was great, but I'm a little out of touch with all the new stuff that's out there these days. Seems like technology went crazy over the past few years, and I just haven't kept up with it.

[badger1]

I owned an Ultimate Chorus for awhile, and I liked it a lot. I traded it off for the half stack. Mesa Boogie is a great amp, except I've heard that if you want one, you should get an older one. I haven't really been able to acid test one of the new ones yet, so my opinion may be bias. The original "Boogie" was made for Carlos Santana, and was put into a Fender Princeton Reverb cab as was the first several hundred. This was because that cab was the smallest cab you could fit a 12" speaker into. Those little cabs are heavy, but they sure do rock! For consistency, a Fender Twin Reverb is perfect to build your effects around. Lots of folks used 'em, (including Stevie Ray), because they always sound the same and are very consistent. I ('er) sold mine (big mistake!), and have regretted it ever since.
But for the bucks, I'd stick with something that has tubes in it. Just my preference.