Jason Sidwell's 'Developing your sound'

Words of wisdom from our Jason

Words of wisdom from our Jason

It’s funny how new music equipment can change how you play and view making music. It’s been quite a while since I bought anything substantial but this month I’ve spent at (almost) the opposite ends of my wallet’s capacity.

First up is the big acquisition – a new amp. I’ve several already but having never owned one before, I was made an offer on a Mesa Boogie amp that was too good to turn down. Released not long ago, the F50 is one of the wallet friendly models (for them!) produced by the American amp manufacturer and sounds simply stunning. It’s a two channel 50 watt all valve amp offering clean and dirty tones and everything in between. With separate EQ and reverb amounts for each channel, the supplied pedal provides a further option via the contour switch. This boosts bass/treble content and ups the drive amount for thicker modern rock tones. Possessing a precise and focused front end to the notes you play, the F50 is very responsive. The end result of this is that it positively encourages you to increase your time noodling and/or practicing. Always a good thing in my book!

At the other end of the spectrum, I’ve also had a lot of fun using a new pick. Previously, I’ve been a die hard fan of Dunlop Tortex 1.14mm purple picks as they suit most picking styles very well. I’ve found any pick under 1mm needs longer to recover before you can pick a string again (and therefore reduces your dynamic options too) and anything 1.5mm and upwards doesn’t quite suit general chord strumming duties. So urged on by a recent article in a US magazine, I tried out Dunlop’s Jazz III XL red pick and it’s proving outstanding. Of course, this change has been partially fuelled by knowing it’s the choice of players like Texan multi stylist Eric Johnson and the US blues virtuoso Joe Bonamassa. Ha, just goes to show I can be swayed by endorsements as much as the next guy! To my mind, the three primary advantages of the red Jazz III are that it’s a touch smaller than standard picks (but not small enough to fall out of your hand when strumming), has very smooth sides and a slightly pointed end. This makes it ideal for fast picking as it encourages lighter/shallower contact with the string (the secret for speed pickers) without sacrificing percussive tone.

While the purchasing of a Mesa Boogie amp is out of the range of many guitarists, checking out a new pick is open to everyone. Certainly, a small handful won’t cost much more than a few pounds so try it and check out the results. You may just find your playing notches up to another level of excellence!

Cheers

J