There’s been a lot of hubbub lately about solid state vs. tube amps. Traditional blues vs. Van Halen and what not. I have been meaning to weigh in on this. I figured this junction would be a good place to go with my thoughts and ideas.  

Traditional blues is fantastic. There is nothing in this world that is more beautiful than the growl of Howlin' Wolf's voice, the incredibly complicated and beautiful guitar riffs of Robert Lockwood Jr. or the harmonica prowess of Little Walter. I've spent many hours, days, and weeks studying these guys. And quite frankly, not enough time. I blame that on my day job, but that's beside the point. I will continue to study these guys. They were, without a doubt, the real deal. And if you're a guitar player and you don't know Robert Lockwood Jr., Hubert Sumlin or Albert King, you're probably not very good. Old recordings of all those guys I mentioned I consider to be text books and textbooks are great. They teach you everything you need to know, but lots of times when I sat in class, the teacher would ask the students their interpretation of what they read. If a student couldn't critically think and form their own opinions on the text they read, then they were just a parrot repeating everything word for word. There's no intellectual value in that, just as there's no artistic value in copying a song or guitar solo note for note.

This brings us to my thoughts on gear. Tube amps sound great. This is a fact. Old tube amps sound even better. You want to look and sound cool. I will agree most old tube amps look and sound pretty bad ass. I'm the proud owner of a 1947 Gibson BR-1 that looks like it fell off the back of a pickup truck. These amps do sound great and they are great to have, but we don't live in 1947 anymore. Of late, certain companies have proven that you don't need tube amplification to attain a vintage sound. I've tried some of these amps and I can attest to this. They sound great. So great, that I'm most likely going to be buying one in the near future. This does not mean I'm going to just throw away my antique Gibson amp or stop playing or gigging with it by any means. All it means is that I have an interest in experimenting with new technology and how it fits into my idea of how I want to sound.

I think that should be everyone's first priority as a musician and a lot of people lose sight of this and get lost in the misguidance that only a certain type of gear will make them a blues musician. Musicians should always start with a platform of what they would like to sound like.  There is a school of thought that goes something like this “No tubes equals not traditional blues.” I would love to see those same people walk up to Nathan James who plays Quilter solid state amps and tell him that he is not playing real blues. Better yet, walk up to James Harman and tell him his guitar player isn't playing real blues. Trust me. It will be a learning experience for you. Nathan is just one example of a young dude who is playing real blues. He is one of many great young players veteran bluesmen look to as the torch bearers for the next generation. This has nothing to do with what amps they use.

Now let's talk about pedals. I am of the opinion that a lot of people hide behind their pedals. This however is no reason to shun them entirely when playing blues. For the last three or four years I've been playing almost entirely pedal free. I did this, and still continue to do this, because I feel like I am still learning the ins and outs of my instrument in terms of getting it to sound the way I want it to sound. I'm still working to achieve what I think I should sound like. Playing without pedals helps me focus on this and I feel it makes me a better guitar player. I also feel that very slowly and steadily I'm beginning to get where I want to with my guitar sound. This is why I recently bought an all analog reverb pedal. One day I’ll be even closer to achieving my goal in terms of how I want to sound and I'll probably buy a few more pedals. I think some really cool and interesting things can be done with pedals as long as it's done tastefully. I also think a musician should perfect their craft before they go out and buy a pedal board.

There is a lot of high horse ridin' going on out here in San Diego and it is probably happening elsewhere as well. I think a lot of people need to take a good look at what they're preachin’ and   gauge the value of it. Playing real blues isn’t in the gear you buy. If you want to play real blues, study the real musicians that played it. Learn the riffs. Play the riffs. Learn the history. Then make informed decisions on your own while searching for a sound you would like to achieve in the interest of preserving roots music. Once you’ve done all that, then and only then plug in.