Not a Camouflaged Soul

Category: General

  • Gone Home

    This morning on the way to the gym, I passed a video board. I pass it every morning. It usually has ads for attorneys, car lots, and grocery stores.

    But this morning, it had a different ad.

    It had a picture of Billy Graham. And the caption, “Gone Home.” (more…)

  • Monster Rig Simplification

    Back in the day, I had a monster guitar rig.

    Well, I thought it was monstrous.

    When I started playing electric guitar, I had three main influences…

    • Nuno Bettencourt, of Extreme
    • Eddie Van Halen himself
    • John Petrucci, of Dream Theater

    Much of my philosophy on tone and style of play came from these guys. But Petrucci playing was, hands down, the reason I wanted to play guitar.

    My first real amp was a Marshall Valvestate 2X12 combo. I needed versatility in tone, but couldn’t afford a Triaxis/Simul 2:90 rig like Johnny P. Plus, I think all players go through some trial and error in the beginning before their style and ability reveals the kind of gear they should use.

    I traded the Marshall in for an ADA MP-2 with a MicroTube 100 power amp. Later, I added an Alesis MidiVerb for reverbs and delays. Other units swapped in and out, but that was my core sound for about twenty years.

    A few months ago, I sold it all for one pedal, and I’m very glad I did.

    There are a lot of haters against Line 6 in the guitarist community. And I get it. Does my HD500X sound exactly like a Marshall stack? No, not exactly. Does it have the features and options of an AxeFX or a Kemper? No.

    Does it come darn close for $500? All day every day.

    Still, I firmly believe that I could plug into that old Valvestate today and still sound like me. Amps and pedals are just tools.

    I primarily play while leading worship, so I really only use two sounds – clean and dirty. I use a sparkly Metallica “Unforgiven” clean sound, and my dirty sound is EVH’s pedals running into a Line 6 Epic amp (which doesn’t actually exist, and I LOVE that. It’s like my signature model.)

    Bottom line: I sound great, and I can carry my rig, guitar, and cable bag in one hand. Can’t beat that.

    Do I miss tha Monster? Yeah, occasionally. But the pros outweigh the cons.

    Here’s a video of me leading at my church from earlier this year. Judge for yourself. 

  • What is Ordinary?

    I don’t live an exciting life.

    I recently heard a sermon where the preacher said that it is easy to get discouraged about your life, job, and diet if you spend too much time on Instagram.

    See, in that little square glowing world, everyone’s life looks perfect.

    Not real, but perfect.

    And I’m susceptible. If I’m not careful, I can get the impression that EVERYONE has EVERYTHING better than me. And that can bog a guy down.

    Trusting a God that is not visible and that sometimes can even feel distant is not always easy, either. God IS worthy of our trust and our faith, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy when (it feels like) nothing is happening. 

    (it feels like) Momentum has stalled.

    (it feels like) Giving up is an option.

    We don’t feel the movement of the earth hurtling through the Solar System at thousands of miles an hour either. Doesn’t mean it isn’t happening in dramatic fashion.

    I know that I know that I know that God loves me and is for me. Even when I forget.