The Shark

For the record, my Jubilee, Purple Plexi w/ boost, Eternity and the aforementioned Zen all work well on my board. No noise problems. I'm just lucky in that regard apparently.

Lots of stuff that doesn't turn my crank hits this forum. Settle down...😇

Ernie, hit me up if you ever put it on the block. Just sayin'...

My Lovepedal Zen is very good. I've had a love hate relationship with Klon's and Zen's. So, I've had about a half dozen of each including the tube Zen (worth a small fortune for the early one's apparently). The Zen I have now is more likely a product of my learning how to use it than anything. Unless there are differences in the extremes of each control, I think you can dial any of them in to sound good. Same thing with the Klon pedals. Nothing maxed and nothing exactly the same on the specific one's I've owned. Just not as easy to get to sound right as people might think. I read that Robben Ford doesn't look at the controls, when he sets his. Don't know if that's true, but it makes sense.

Yup, still have it. I put Thorn staple pickups in it and I love it that much more. I have a set of cream ones for sale, if anyone wants them.

I believe it's a totally different app. They have pretty good reviews on YouTube. It's super easy. The AI thing just fascinates me. It's real time "profiling" which I think will get much better, if it catches on. I sold my Spark at the Sarasota show for $150. I thought I made out like a bandit.

Okay, so I purchased the Spark Reactor amplifier and the wireless foot controller. I buy stuff from Sweetwater, so it's on back order. It's less than $600, so the cash outlay isn't massive. What I think is "massive" is a product that uses AI to craft the sound I'm looking for. Now, never misunderstand. The Galien Krueger 250-ML was the greatest solid state amp with effects that would power two 4x12 cabinets, and it was ground breaking. I remember going to see Michael Bolton at Tom's Point After in Orlando after band practice on a Sunday night. The venue could hold about three hundred fifty (according to a girl I dated for a few months that worked there). There were seven at our table and about ten other people in the venue, when the show was to start. A guy came out and said that the band was all set up to play and they would play a one hour set, if we wanted them to. If not, they would refund our money and head to Fort Lauderdale early for their gig the next night. I had both of Michael's first two albums and they were great. His song Fool's Game was a hit on MTV and Everybody's Crazy was the latest MTV video at the time. We opted for "the show". The guitarist, some guy named Bruce Kulick, came out and did the sound check. It was one of the most phenomenal guitar sounds I'd ever heard. He was playing this little box on top of two Marshal 4x12 cabs. The drummer was Chuck Burgi. He was from Rainbow. The show was epic. Michael Bolton was one of the best singers I've ever seen. I know. I know. It was Michael Bolton. If you've never listened to his first two albums, you don't understand. And he played for about twenty people that night, if you count the staff. They played a version of Turn the Page that was extremely memorable. Kulick did the sax parts on guitar. I think some pretender band called Metallica covered it too, but it was nothing like this. Michael, if I'm honest, is one of the top five singers I've ever seen. Freddie, Paul (the one from Bad Co), Lou, and Steve (from the mid-west) were the others. But the guitar sound was the star that night. I bought one and played it in stereo for about two years. It gave way to great rig I had that was three 2x12 Boogie slant cabs with a Simul-Class Mark III in the middle and the 250-ML in stereo on either side of the stage. In closing, I'm going to query the AI App on the reactor to capture the lead guitar sound on Gary Moore's Still Got the Blues, Carlos' Santana on Europa (live from Moonflower), Robben Ford's tone on the "Talk to Your Daughter" album and Eric Johnson's tone on A Via Musicom. If it isn't close, I'm sending it back to Matt Masek at Sweetwater for a refund. My point is that all the technological advancements that have occurred during my tenure with the same band for 48 years have been amazing. There's also that thing called a cell phone. Some day, your phone and your amplifier will replace everything that's come before. I'm a Kemper guy, but I think the only redeeming quality of AI in my life will come from having a rig that creates every sound in my head. I might not live long enough. But the technological advancements in my life have been epic. If this amp, at $379, is the new GK amp, I'm going to have fun.

I had one of the original Hermida pedals, back before Lovepedal took over. I liked the original Zen much more. The tube version reminded me of the old Tube Driver that Eric Johnson used. I could never get it to sound good.

Black Bart. One of my favorite guitars. Our own Murkat restored it.

Some of Parker's prices are very good. Other stuff, he asks the moon. But he sells.

He had almost 7K on the "pointy" one and nearly 6K on the Californian.

I hit seventy five percent of my desired number. Sunday I did $10!

I didn't see anyone. Show was really good. As packed on Saturday as I've ever seen a show.

Oh, I like 'em when they're worn down. Been using Jazz III's in red since I first met Eric Johnson in Austin in 1990. I have a few that are old as dirt.

Ron Thorn makes a staple P-90 that is really great too. I might know where a used set could be had...almost half the price of new.

Mine will be at the Sarasota show this weekend.

No, it's a way to keep people from using your strap...

The first song I ever played and sang in my first band was Get Ready by April Wine. There are at least thirty really good songs on the albums I bought. Myles was one of my favorite singers and he was a sneaky good guitar player. Don't make me make a list...

I most certainly will, but there's already a line...

RIP, sir. Always one of my favorite guys here. Dementia/Alzheimer's just sucks. My 67 year old sister barely knows me. Smartest person I ever met. God bless his family.

He can wear anything, but please don't let him sing...

I, for the record, don't think you paid too much if you really wanted it. Not trying to be a dick.

Atta' kid. I've paid too much for some of the best guitars on the planet (IMHO). I let their market value "catch up" to what I paid. Enjoy!

A great price.