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April 18, 2006

That sweet 70's sound

posted in Robert Wilson news Blog

I stopped into my local guitar shop on Friday. You see I recently purchased a new electric guitar. Shocking I know. I’ve been playing acoustic guitar pretty much exclusively forever. But I’ve finally found an electric guitar I can love. I have to thank my friend Kevin Spencer for the break though. I met up with Kevin in Toronto last June. I was out there playing a music festival and Kevin was in town guitar teching for Daniel Langois. (Daniel has arguably the best sounding guitar tone on the planet.. What a beautiful show that was.. but I digress)

Walking down Queen street late one morning, I was explaining to Kevin that I’d never found an electric guitar that I could play with my heavy handed acoustic style. Kevin just gave me a nod and said ” I know the guitar for you. WE went into Steve’s music shop and my friend picked out a Gibson 335 for me and put it in my hands. Saying to me “Rob, this is your future”

The 335 is a big hollow body electric guitar, with two fancy “f” holes in the body. It’s got some weight to it and it plays a lot like an acoustic guitar. If you’ve ever seen BB king’s guitar “Lucille” you know what I’m talking about. I was pretty much instantly sold. I would have walked out of there with it in my possession if it weren’t for the $3000 price tag.

So fast forward almost a year…
2 weeks ago I took the plunge. I went down and bought myself an Epiphone Sheraton. It’s the Korean made version of the famous Gibson 335. Not quite as pricy but just as pretty. I’ve been sleeping the pretty girl ever since.. whoot whoot!!

But as some of you may realize.. an electric guitar is of little musical use unless you have something to plug it into. And so for the past few weeks I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect mate for my beloved guitar. I believe that the stars were with me because I walked into my favourite local guitar shop on Sunday. I was surprised to find the place open. It was Easter Sunday after all. Thankfully there is no Sabbath day for the rock! Jamie who works down there mentioned to me that he thought there was a rare 70’s tube amp coming into the store on consignment. By all accounts this was the bomb amplifier. A Garnet “session man” – made in the early seventies. ( I have a strong belief in things born in the early seventies.. Van Morrisons’s “Moon Dance” album, the best Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye tracks…ME.

So on Monday afternoon, after 2 hours worth of “Smoke On The Water” and “Stairway To Heaven” blasting out of the amp room at the music shop. I loaded my new amp into my Van. She weighs a hell of a lot but damn does she ever sound good. She sounds like the seventies.

So my friends you’ve been warned. There comes a time in a man’s life when he has to put away acoustic things and step into the world armed with the tools to rocks. That day has come for me.

Can I get an Amen!!

r.

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