santellavision

I'm diggin' the Dualist. Very cool looking. I think you all know, I am a HUGE RS Guitarworks fanboy. I have 4 and they are all stellar. Roy and Scott are great guys. If you all are reading this post, definitely check out their classic design guitars and custom builds, they sound and play better than just about ANY boutique axes out there.

My Primary doc actually showed this to me - hahaha.

I'm happy as it is... no agent, no promoter, no record company, no band, just little 'ol me. haha.

So freakin' cool! Here's Bluesville DJ Early Times doing an intro I captured off the channel.

I think many of you know, I released a blues album last year. Ernie Santella - The Whole Shabang. https://erniesantella.bandcamp.com/album/the-whole-shabang So, just wanted to share this story of what's happened. Even though we are in the 'digital' world of on-line cloud and streaming sites, I printed up a ton of CD's. After all the work, I'm old school and wanted something tangible to actually hold in my hands, not just some digital cloud files. I printed up a couple of hundred, sent copies of it everywhere. (Amazing fact, radio stations, streaming companies, magazines etc still want physical copies and not just links) I've gotten plays all over the US, UK and Europe on radio. And, gotten messages from all over that people really like it - so cool. It's also streaming on all the major sites: Spotify, Apple music, Amazon, YouTube, Pandora etc. I get an update every month on hits from those sites. You get tenths-of-a-penny per play. Honestly, you will never get rich from that, until you get millions of streams a day. Now, the amazing-balls part. I sent it to SiriusXM. Specifically, the B.B. King's Bluesville channel. I sent it totally blind. I didn't know a sole there, just mailed it in with a nice note about myself and the record. Boom, they picked one of my songs "I Owe Myself Money" (Not even my favorite song on the album) for their 'Hot new songs of the week' and I got a ton of plays. My wife and I actually heard them intro it on the channel and I almost crashed the car. It was just like out of that Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do". Insane. Like I mentioned above, you don't get much in Royalties from streaming. I think I've gotten $100. total in a year from that. BUT, are you sitting down... For every play on SiriusXM, I get $40. You read that right, $40. (That's double as both the Artist and Songwriter) It really pays to write your own tunes and not just cover songs. I had no freakin' idea they paid that much per play. After the initial run of being on the 'Songs of the week', now, I'm down to getting played once a month, which don't get wrong, I am still HONORED they play it at all! As my wife and I just moved to Las Cruces, NM and building a house, I will start recording a follow-up soon. I already have a bunch of ideas for new songs. Thanks for reading and listening. ernie P.S. If anyone wants any info on all the stuff involved with getting your music copy-written, distributed and having a company manage your royalties etc. Message me, I'm happy to share! I had a friend help me with all that as I had no clue what to do.

Message send on the Volume pedal.

My first 'good' guitar was a '72 Gibson SG. Got it for Xmas from my dad. But, I dropped it and broke the headstock playing 'rock star'. As an interesting twist to this. My dad was good friends with the famous luthier Jimmy D'Aquisto and he repaired it. Unfortunately, I don't have it anymore.

Peeps, these OX4 Hot Duanes are the bomb. Somebody grab them. I have them in my #1 Les Paul and they are not going anywhere! You'll thank me. GLWTS!

The Wampler Tumnus beat out real Klons in shoot-outs. A great pedal. GLWTS!

Like Geoff above said, these cheapo Klon clones are so close to the original, it's scary.

Damn, If they had only left the Kahler on it, I'd be all over it... hahahaha! 🤣

I'm a big fan of Plek-ing. I've had a bunch of guitars done over the years. I used to use Joe Glaser in Nashville as he was the first to get a Plek and has trained a lot of others on how to do it right. Unfortunately, they won't ship guitars anymore, so it has to be in-person pickup only. Every guitar I had Plek'd played better than it ever had before. They usually offer to replace and cut the nut correctly too, which I recommend to get the entire setup right. If you got the moolah, then, I would recommend it highly.

UPDATE! I still really dig my Bogner Ecstacy 25 amp. It's a killer sounding, smaller size head. Makes me smile every time I fire it up. I found out some more info on it. It was designed by Reinhold Bogner and he had it built by a guy named Baskim Zuta - Zuta Amplifiers in 2017 in Europe. Zuta is now selling the same amp under their name. And, they make a rack version too. https://zutagroup.com/collections/amplifiers/products/zuta-amp-x

When I got them, I put the Dual-sound in the neck and a Super Distortion in the Bridge. They were powerful for sure over the stock Gibson pickups I had in my Les Paul Custom. I couldn't find a push-pull pot (Maybe they didn't make them yet??) So, I totally rewired the guitar and put a full size switch in one or the Tone controls holes. Even crazier, later I installed a Phase 90 inside that guitar!! The entire circuit board and battery fit inside. I was a crazy kid back then.

Actor Richardo Montalban (Khan) was actually a guitar player!

Slightly off-topic, but funny as hell. I have to tell my Larry DiMarzio story... Back in the 70's Larry had an ad in the back of GuitarPlayer magazine selling his pickups. I was 15 years old and loved 'tinkering' around with guitars. This is back in the day when there really was NO replacement pickups. He only offered two, the 'Super Distortion' and 'Dual-Sound' (4-conductor wiring which was un-heard of) He was in Staten Island, NY, I lived nearby on Long Island. I asked my Dad to drive me to his place to pickup 2 that I had called him and ordered. Larry said sure, come on over! So, we run over there. He was literally working out of his parents basement and had this tiny little shop setup. It was a dingy little basement. He was so nice, we chatted about all kinds of guitars, amps and of course, all things Italian! Now, the funny part. So, my dad asks if he can use his bathroom before we head home. Larry says... "Oh, sure, over there, we just pee in the sink." OMG, He sure has come a long way. hahaha!

This makes me moist. Wow.

Here's a very obscure little amp. The Khan PAK - 2 channel head. I picked up one up used and it totally rocks. Some of the best hot-rodded Marshall sounds I have ever heard. Just screams and crunches like a mother. Definitely worth checking out. 18 watts, but definitely loud enough for gigging. EFX Loop. Tiny! My only gripe is... it has a fan and it's fairly loud (Has two fan speed settings, but low is still noticable) Wouldn't be an issue on stage, but for home recording, it could be, unless you put the mic'd cab away from the head a bit. But, OMG, what a tone this little beast has. Check out the videos, I think you'll be impressed too!

E is Erniecaster! 🤣

Tech 21 Trademark 60 amps are really nice and usually cheap. I had one at my bands practice space for a long time and it always sounded nice (Especially with a 2x12 cab) My other sleeper amp choice would be a Quilter OD200 head. Love that tiny amp. Kicks butt and very tube-like. Always had one in the car as a backup.

$8,000. It's like $3,000 if you connect the circles in the number - haha

Someone will be really happy. These are a blast and so much fun!

Just plain great amps. Someone will be very happy rockin' that baby!

For me, RS Guitarworks. I have 4 now and they are great guitars in every way. So nice to have Roy and Scott build them exactly like you want.

You should have messaged me with an offer. I'm always open to offers, especially to HFC peeps.