Well, an interesting week at the Guitar shop. I have been trying out some pedals for the Beatles project. David Jenkins is ALWAYS trying to get me to ‘go big’ and get the biggest pedal with the most knobs and I naturally fall in love with the cheap-o with 1 or 2 knobs (like the Phase 90 or the Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus pedals.)

So i’m always on the fence. But see, I’m looking for a chorus pedal that’s simple and with no more than 2 knobs. once that can ‘sweep’ without swallowing my sound and also one that i can dial the speed all the way and get that wet, trembly George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix & Robbie Robertson sound.

So, i’m working and one of my guitar heroes comes in and he’s so nice and cool and i showed him some Reverend guitars cause he was curious. Not everyone may have heard of Dean Parks but if you play guitar and have ever listened to Stevie Wonder or Steely Dan or watch King Of The Hill, you’ve heard Dean’s guitar.

Now, today, i was 10 minutes from getting off work and wouldn’t you know it, a guy comes in and ask to play some Orange Amps. THEN he started asking me about the tubes. I (incorrectly) assumed that Orange used EL-84’s and gave that stock answer to each question: “What tubes are loaded into the AD30?” ER….EL-84’s. “What about the Rockerverb 50?” …..84’s. “…And…” 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s. 84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.84’s.

I was, yeah, a bit burnt and definitely tired. The guy was really sweet and very polite. I was about to leave, after I hooked everything up. I told him, “the wife’s waiting for me outside in the car. The other guys will help you with anything you need. Have a good one and sorry I couldn’t stay.” He told me not to worry and i told him my name. he told me his and smiled.

I got in the car and apologized to Hannah for taking so long. She was not even sweatin it. I told her that my customer had come in at the last minute but everything was cool now. I told her he used to be a huge star, had like a zillion Grammies back in the 80’s. And that he was a nice person. Hannah said, who was he? What’s his name? I said, “Christopher Cross”, and he prefers EL-34 tubes and finds EL-84’s too harsh. We laughed and drove off as the sun was teasing the Santa Monica Pier and even the bums seemed content.

All the Best,

Mike Randle