I was up in the big ol' Phoenix over the weekend.  My brother was here visiting last week, and his flight flew out of PHX on Saturday.  Tiff and I went to The Breeders show Saturday night (which was incredible!) and spent the night up there.  (I highly recommend following that link and checking out the Record Release Party video).

I've been in the market for a guitar amp to use in The Monitors.  I found a Fender Super 60 on the Phoenix Craig's List for $300.  That's a pretty good deal considering I was entertaining the idea of a new Fender Blues Jr. for $450+.   I left a voicemail for the guy on Saturday afternoon, hoping to hear back before the show so I could go and pick it up.   A couple of hours had passed without hearing from him.  We ended back at the hotel in the afternoon.  I started pursuing the PHX and Tucson Craig's List listings to see what else may be out there.  I found an ad for a Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube - a similar configuration located in Tucson for $350.  Of course I couldn't decide which to go with. I researched both the Fender and the H&K.  I eventually decided to lean toward the Hughes & Kettner because it was newer, and a little more 'upscale'.  Sunday morning I got a call from the PHX guy with the Fender, and I told him that I was already heading back to Tucson, but I might still get his Fender (keeping my options open). 

When we got back home I gave my buddy Kane a call and asked his opinion…  his short answer was that both amps are really great.   The Fender was more like an old, beat up, bad-ass Camaro, and the H&K was more like a Lexus.  I decided to give the H&K guy a call.  He invited me over. I checked out the amp and told him I'd buy it.  His reply was, "So… you're really gonna take it then?" as if he didn't really want to sell it.  I said, "umm yeah, if that's okay, I'd like to get it…"  I was like, "well, if you don't want to sell it, you don't have to…"  and he says, "really?  is that okay? you're not mad?"  I guess he changed his mind earlier in the day but felt obligated to show it to me.  I don't know.  I told him that I was having a tough time deciding between the 2 amps and that he decided for me.  He was relieved, and I found the whole situation humorous. 

Now, I know what you're thinking…  "now you gotta go back to Phoenix to get that other amp".   No, luckily my old dear friend, Alex flew into Phoenix for business.  His plans included coming down to Tucson for a visit tonight.  He already met with the guy and picked up the amp for me, and I would pay him back when he gets here. 

So, after all this…  this amp better be awesome, damnit!

The Telecaster.  I got the call last night from Kane saying that he was ready for me to come and check out the guitars and pick one.  I tried out the Tele and it sounded great.  The Godin also sounded great, but just didn't feel right in my hands.  I also picked out a Strat while I was there, but that had some serious intonation problems.  So the winner… the Tele.  Wahoo…  now it's time to "hot-rod" it.

Can you believe they're making a new X-Files movie?  How lame.  I just read on CNN.com that it won't have anything to do with space aliens or UFOs.  Lametown!  Who's gonna watch that crap?  They're calling it: "The X-Files: I Want To Believe".  'I want to believe' it's going to be something more than a ploy to get people to buy the series on DVD/BluRay, but honestly… I think that's all their hoping for.  Give me a flying saucer or a Chupacarbra…  something, dang!

So, I've been shopping around trying to get the right guitar for The Monitors.  The 3 guitars that are pictured are as follows from left to right… Godin LG, Fender Telecaster (made in Mexico), and the Godin Exit 22.  These are the actual colors of the guitars in question…

Now, you may know that I bought the Godin LG a couple of months ago.  It's a really great guitar… well built, solid and sounds great.   However, I was having all kinds of intonation problems with it. Certain chords would be out of tune, and others would be fine.  I bought it from my good buddy Kane over at Sticks and Strings (a great local music shop).  After working on it a couple of times he said, "bring it back, and we'll do whatever we need to make you happy".  Thanks Kane! 

I decided to just return it for store credit and pick something different.  After playing many, many, many guitars, I narrowed it down to a used (made in Mexico) Fender Telecaster, or a brand new Godin Exit 22.  I've always wanted a Telecaster…  however, the Tele isn't perfect, it has similar issues that the LG had, but it's a really good guitar.  The Exit 22 is solid, has good hardware, and seems like a great guitar, too. 

The used Tele is well under budget, which means that I can afford to "hot-rod it" as Kane says with my store credit.  Which means putting in new pickups, fancy locking tuning keys, etc…  sounds like a great idea to me.  The Exit 22 is much closer to the same price that the LG was which leaves a lot less for upgrades. 

As it stands now, the Exit 22 sounds slightly better… but, I would really like the Telecaster. So, my first choice is to get the Telecaster (assuming Kane can get it in tip-top shape. If not… then the Exit22 is what I'll be rocking. 

Tune in later for the exciting conclusion… 

So, I'm pretty excited about the first show of the new band I'm in called, The Monitors.  It's tonight (unless you read this on a different day that today).  If you're in Tucson you should come out.  All the details are on the flyer above (I designed it myself cuz I'm an arteest). 

See ya there, chumps.