Note: Page
updated January 11, 2015 to include equipment purchased or sold since the last update.
Also, please note that I am looking fo a Sennheiser MD441 microphone in good
condition. Contact me if you know of one for sale. Thanks!
September 17, 2012 update:
I am entering into a “partial” retirement, so most of the equipment
listed here will be sold. The prices will be fair because I want to sell it
fast rather than holding out for the best offer, but keep in mind that most of
this equipment is highest quality for professional use, so it will be priced
accordingly. If you are interested in anything, email me at tsmerk@sdccd.edu and I’ll be happy to answer
questions or arrange for you to look at the equipment.
September 1, 2012 update:
New equipment added: Yamaha Pacifica EG-112 “Strat HSS” electric guitar,
another Shure Beta 58 microphone, a great sounding RMS 912FTW 12 inch 150 watt
monitor / flying PA speaker, Sansui 2 way SS-20 8 ohm headphones (with both
volume and tone controls!), Olson dynamic stereo headphones (cool vintage
vibe!), homemade 9V battery practice amp in small Epiphone cabinet, assorted
microphone stands.
April 3, 2009 update:
I left all of the information at the bottom of
the page as sort of a "historical" reference, but a lot has changed
since I originally created this page. The following list and the photos refer
to equipment that I currently own that was purchased after the fire.
On October 21, 2007, my house, my studio, and
all my equipment and possessions were destroyed by the "Harris" fire
during one of the worst firestorms in California history. Everything described
below is gone except for 3 items, which I had with me in my car at the time of
the fire: My Carvin AE-185 guitar, my Shure Beta-58 microphone, and my Jay
Turser vintage-style Classic 25-RC guitar amp (which I traded to Joe Mc
Gerald).
Since then, in addition to the above, I have
purchased the following equipment so I can get back to work:
For the time being, the "Audio Barn"
recording studio will occupy bedroom #3 in the new house until I can afford to
have a separate building constructed. Because all of my MIDI backing tracks
were destroyed in the fire, I am no longer performing as a single entertainer
for dances. I am, however, available to perform folk & blues music as an
acoustic act, and am also available to play with other bands, any style of
music.
As always, thanks for your interest in my
career!
Here are some photos of my new equipment for
those of your who enjoy learning about amps and guitars:
Here are the guitars I am currently using:
(Note:
The instruments marked with an * are for
sale. I decided I just have more equipment than I need (I’m not retiring or
anything like that!). The listing below the photos has more items on it, some
of which are not included with the photos. See descriptions below where all of
the photos end.}
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* Dan Altilio handmade steel-string
acoustic-electric |
* Dan Altilio
handmade nylon-string acoustic-electric |
Carvin AE-185 acoustic-electric |
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|
Martin D-42 K2 all koa acoustic guitar with
Fishman preamp system |
Closeup of the flamed Hawaiian koa wood top |
Heritage Golden Eagle acoustic-electric “jazz”
guitar |
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1967 Epiphone Riviera guitar with Seymour
Duncan pickups and stop tailpiece |
Sunlite GW-2400GCP electric/acoustic bass with
Shadow pickup (SOLD) |
1974 Garcia Grade #3 nylon string classical
guitar |
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* Epiphone Power Bass
electric solid-body P-J bass |
* Stagg SW205-12N
12-string acoustic guitar |
* 2000 Robertson and Sons 4/4 Handmade Violin |
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Caravelle
BBb Tuba |
Blessing
Trumpet (Sold) |
*
Groove Percussion 5-piece |
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*
Deering Goodtime 2 |
*
Xavier XV840 “Telecaster” |
*
Xavier XV-950 |
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Not shown: ·
Yamaha DGX-205
“Portable Grand” MIDI keyboard ·
Yamaha PSR-S900
MIDI keyboard ·
Story & Clark
Console Piano ·
Black Chinese
violin ·
BOSS BR-600
Digital Recorder with Presonus Firestudio 26X26 firewire digital mixer ·
Roland U-220 MIDI
sound module ·
Xavier XV-560 |
*
Epiphone Swingster White Royale |
*
Yamaha EG112 |
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And here are some pictures of my guitar amps:
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1967 Fender
Twin Reverb |
*
1980’s Music Man RD-50 with EV speaker |
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Jay
Turser Classic 25-RC (SOLD) |
Top
view of the Jay Turser amp (SOLD) |
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Ampeg
BA-115 bass amplifier |
Fishman
Loudbox Mini Acoustic Guitar Amplifier |
|
Not shown: ·
Fender Passport
PD-500 PA system ·
Two Califone
PI30-PS powered speakers ·
Shure 4-channel
mixer ·
Several
microphones ·
1964 Ears stereo
in-ear monitor system |
Fender Mustang
II guitar amplifier |
|
DESCRIPTIONS OF
EQUIPMENT THAT IS FOR SALE:
(Note: All of my guitars are professional
quality and have been set up and adjusted for comfortable action and correct
intonation. I did all that was needed to make each of these guitars, amps and
other instruments play, look and sound as good as possible.)
Dan
Altilio steel-string acoustic-electric –
The perfect way to play acoustic guitar on-stage. It’s handmade by a respected
builder, so all of the details are just as I like them! Great player, sound
that rivals a Martin! With or without tween Fender case.
Dan
Altilio nylon-string acoustic-electric –
Perfect for Peter White style smooth jazz or loud classical guitar. Also nails
Willie Nelson’s playing! With or without tween Fender case.
Epiphone
Power Bass – Great playing, comfortable
and great sounding. Has separate pickup volume controls. Great condition.
Includes a softshell case.
Stagg
12-string acoustic guitar – Brand new, I
just put on a set of premium strings. Comes with new hardshell case.
Robertson
and Sons 4/4 Violin – The “house brand”
of one of the most respected violin stores in the world. A very nice violin!
Groove
Percussion 5-piece Drum Set – Like new,
played very little. This is the house brand of Sam Ash music. Sabian ride
cymbal and Zildjian hi-hats.
Deering
Goodtime 2 5-string banjo – Brand new.
One of the best brands of banjo available. I thought I would learn to play it,
but never got around to it!
Xavier
“Telecaster” – Brand new. One of the
best Teles you’ll ever play! Upgraded with Neovin “Hard Vintage” overwound
noiseless pickups and a 5-way switch that give the 3 Telecaster tones and also
adds a Stratocaster neck pickup tone and a 90 degree out of phase Strat
two-pickup tone, Can sound like both a Tele and a Strat!. Awesome sound,
excellent workmanship! New flight case available for $150 extra.
Xavier
XV-950 – Sort of a cross between a Gretsch
White Falcon and an Ibanez George Benson GB-10. Beautiful white with gold
hardware and a pearl pickguard. This is one of my favorite guitars – it sounds
great, it is light and easy to play all night, and the size is very
comfortable, smaller than most other jazz and rockabilly guitars. Great for all
styles – jazz, country, rock, blues, etc. New flight case available for $150
extra.
Epiphone
Swingster White Royale – This guitar is
undoubtedly prettier than a Gretsch White Falcon. Subtle white sparkle finish
with gold hardware and nice inlays. I removed the Bigbsy that came with it and
installed the best Bigsby available. Each pickups has a series/parallel switch.
Yamaha
EG112 – I’ve owned a lot of Strats, and
this one is the best sounding, best playing of all of them! I added hardened
steel roller bridge saddles, so it stays in tune and has better sustain!
Awesome guitar! Comes with a gig bag.
1980’s
Music Man RD-50 – Very popular amp. Can
switch between solid-state or tube pre-amp. ElectrpVoice 12” speaker.
Ampeg
BA-115 bass amplifier – Brand new. I
bought it when a music store went out of business, but never got any calls to
play bass! Still has store hang tags! Has a control that gives a variety of
great tones. Loud! I’ve always believed that Ampeg made the best bass amps.
Yamaha
DGX-205 “Portable Grand” MIDI keyboard -
73 keys, rhythm section, memories, etc. The tones are as good as anything I’ve
heard at any price range!
Story
& Clark Console Piano – This is a
beautiful piece of furniture for your home. Great condition. Story & Clark
pianos are one of the better brands.
Black
Chinese violin – Nice student violin
with hard case. Like new!
Two
Califone PI30-PS powered speakers - 30
watts RMS each, Three speakers in each unit. Volume and tone controls and
multiple inputs and outputs. Great for powered monitors, as a keyboard or
guitar amp, or use with a mixer as a PA system for smaller rooms.
DESCRIPTIONS OF
EQUIPMENT THAT IS NOT FOR SALE:
Carvin
AE-185 acoustic-electric – My “go to”
guitar. Has two Alan Holdsworth pickups and a LR Baggs ribbon transducer pickup
for acoustic sound. Two coil splitting switches and an out-of-phase switch.
Great sound for all styles, and very light!
Martin
D-42 K2 – A limited edition model that
was made special for a NAMM show. I installed a Fishman pickup that has a
ribbon transducer as well as an internal microphone that can be blended.
Beautiful flamed koa wood.
Heritage
Golden Eagle – When Gibson moved its
factory to Nashville, the Gibson employees that wanted to stay in Kalamazoo
bought the factory and equipment and continued to make guitars under the name
of “Heritage,” and continued the quality that made Gibson famous in the `50’s
and `60’s. This guitar is essentially a Gibson L-5. The pickup and controls are
mounted on the pickguard, so nothing touches the top. I added a tone control. I
owned a 1959 L-5 and a 1960 L-7, and I can state for a fact that this guitar
has better tone and better workmanship.
1967
Epiphone Riviera – Hardware replaced
with Gibson bridge and stop tailpiece. Pickups are Seymour Duncans – JB in the
bridge position and 59 neck pickup. A 1966 model made at the Gibson Kalamazoo
factory, this guitar is now essentially the same as a 1959 Gibson ES-335, and
you know how famous those are! Very low action comfortable neck. Has the
original Epiphone case.
1974
Garcia Grade #3 nylon string classical –
Distributed by the same company that sells Ramirez guitars (Sherry Brenner).
I’ve owned classical guitars from Gibson, Garcia, Yamaha and Hernandez, and
even though this is considered a student grade instrument, this one has the
best tone and volume. It’s a keeper!
Caravelle
BBb Tuba – I played tuba in school from
5th grade through college, and when I saw this at an auction, I knew
I had to have it!
1967
Fender Twin Reverb – An original
“blackface” Twin! I had it reconditioned at Top Gear music repair, and it is
sweeeet! I had them add a variable neg. feedback pot, a mod I saw at a
Nashville amp builder. This gives the power tube section a little more “soul.”
Can be turned off for stock Fender bright tone.
Fishman
Loudbox Acoustic Guitar Amp – With 60
watts, this is a great acoustic guitar amp for small venues and coffee houses.
It has reverb and chorus, an XLR microphone input with separate volume, tone
and reverb controls, and a 1/8 inch stereo input jack so I can connect my IPod
and play along with tracks! I’ve even hooked up my Shure mixer and used it as a
PA system for small rooms!
Fender
Mustang II guitar amp – I bought this to
use when I got tired lugging my heavy Twin Reverb amp to gigs. It has an amp
modeling circuit that can make it sound like a Deluxe, Twin, Bassman, Vox,
Marshall, and many other great amps. It has a USB jack to connect to a computer
so that I can tweak the sounds. I made it sound exactly like my Twin! And it’s
so light, you can pick it up with one finger! 40 watts and a 12” speaker.
Fender
Passport PD-500 PA system - 500 watts.
The mixer and two speakers clip together for easy transportation. I use it with
speaker stands. Built-in multi-effects. Great clear tone!
Yamaha
PSR-S900 MIDI keyboard – This is an
“arranging” keyboard with multi-track MIDI recorder built in. Loaded with great
tones and a great accompaniment section, this is the keyboard I used on my more
recent CDs for the drums, bass, organ, piano, acoustic guitar. Brass, strings
and woodwind tracks. It’s also a great keyboard for performing and can load and
store complete songs from a computer through its USB port.
Plus –
Harmonicas, Boss digital recorder and Presonus mixer, Shure wireless guitar
system, Shure wireless headphone mic, 2 Shure Beta 58 mics, Shure SM-7. Shure Unidyne
545SD, AKG D1200E. 2 Fender mics, Shure 4-channel mixer, In-ears monitors, 2
JBL 12” 2-way monitors, Fender wedge monitor, other wedge monitor, etc.
June 2006 update: None of the following
information from here to the bottom of the page is accurate because the 2007
fire destroyed all of the equipment mentioned below. I am leaving the
information on the page as a "historic" overview only.
You'll notice below that in March 1966 I was
playing a Silvertone guitar and amplifier. I kept the amplifier until May and
traded the guitar in November of that same year. Last week I had the pleasure
of purchasing the exact same model guitar (Silvertone 1478L 2-pickup
"Jaguar") and amplifier (Silvertone 1482 15-watt 1X12") as a
"set" from a local (San Diego) collector. Talk about a trip back to
the past! I owe a debt of thanks to Robert who realized that I was not looking
for such equipment at the time, so I was financially not in a good position to
be buying more equipment. He made me a deal that was quite fair, and I have
been happy ever since with both pieces of equipment. When I used the amp in
1966, it wasn't loud enough to use in a combo, but since then it has gained a
reputation as a "blues" amp because of the warm distortion it gives
when cranked up. I still wouldn't use it on a gig, but I might use it on a
recording some day if I need a nice fat blues sound. The guitar turned out to
be better than I remembered it to be, and I would have no reservations about
using this guitar on a gig. I played some `60's songs and some surf music at a
rehearsal this week, and it has the perfect tone for that type of music. I will
probably take this to a few gigs as a backup guitar and try to play it once in
awhile for sentimental value.
From the beginning . . .
My first guitar was a second-hand Stella
acoustic. My dad paid $15 for this back in 1963 or 1964. When I was ready to
play in bands in 1965, we bought one of the Sears (Danelectro) Silvertone
guitars that had the amplifier built into the case - the one pickup black sparkle
one! This seems to have been the first electric guitar for a lot of famous
guitarists. Shortly after that (March 1966), I graduated into a nice 2-pickup
Sears (Harmony) Silvertone "Jaguar" style guitar and a 15-watt amp.
As my playing improved, I moved up to a new Fender Pro-Reverb amplifier in May
1966 and traded the guitar on a Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean in November
1966. This is the guitar I used until 1972, when I bought a Gibson ES-345TDC
stereo guitar. The Gibson was my main guitar through the `70's until I bought a
new Fender Telecaster in 1979. I used the Telecaster all through the `80's and
`90's. At one point, I had a 1958 Gibson L5-CES stereo with PAF humbucking
pickups and the original case. I sold that for $1500 one day when our family really
needed the money. What a fool I was - that guitar today is worth $25,000!
During the late `60's and throughout the `70's,
I used dozens of amplifiers, such as Fenders (Bandmaster, Super reverb, Twin
Reverb, Dual Showman, Super Showman, Vibrolux reverb, etc.), Kustom, Sunn and a
few others. Then I swapped an old Gibson 55 amp for a Norlin Lab L9 in 1979,
and I loved that amp so much I used it all through the `80's and `90's.
Somewhere around 1999 or 2000, I picked up a used Yamaha G100-112 (100 watt solid
state amp with a HD 12" speaker). I've wanted one of these since I used to
sell them in the early 1980's at Thearle Music. Then I bought a new Fender Twin
Reverb "1965 reissue" in 2003. This has to be the best amp in the
world! But something even better was around the corner. In 2004, I visited with
Joe, the guy I sold my Fender Pro-Reverb amp to back in 1968. I asked about it,
and he said it was stored in his attic, no longer working. He gave it to me. I
spent $750 or $800 to get it playing the way I wanted, and now I am reunited
with my first "good" amp! I recorded "Vandrell Stomp" with
the Vandrells way back in 1966 using this amp, so I thought it would be fun to
re-release that tune, so I just re-recorded "Vandrell Stomp" on my
new CD. I used the same amp to record the song that I did on the original
recording almost 40 years ago! I also have a Silvertone 100 watt 2X12"
solid-state amp from around 1966 that I picked up along the way. Most of my
amps are now for sale - let me know if you are looking for a good amp!
Over the years, I have used a lot of different
guitars such as those I just mentioned, plus a Gibson L7C, Fender Stratocasters,
Gretsch Anniversary, a Rickenbacker 340, a Fender Telecaster Custom, a Fender
Telecaster thinline, a Fender Electric 12-string, a Hofner 175 solid body, a
Tune electric bass, and several Ibanez and Epiphone guitars.
I currently play on a Martin 000-28EC (Eric
Clapton Signature Model) acoustic with a Fishman Acoustic Matrix I pickup, a
Carvin AE185 acoustic-electric with Alan Holdsworth pickups (it's like a
light-weight hollow-body Telecaster), Hofner New President arch-top electric
acoustic (jazz guitar), a vintage Harmony H78 electric with 3 D'Armond pickups
(this guitar has some awesome tone!), an Epiphone Emperor Joe Pass model (jazz
guitar), a Seagull acoustic 12-string acoustic, an Ibanez AS-50 thinline
electric (like a Gibson ES-335), a Martin Sigma DT-22 dreadnaught, and my 1978
Fender Telecaster, which I still use occasionally for recording blues or
country. I have a nice Les Paul solid body guitar. It is not a Gibson, I built
it myself from parts. The body and neck are probably vintage "lawsuit
era" Aria or similar, it has special-order Seymour Duncan split-coil
(parallel or series) humbucking pickups. All hardware is genuine Gibson except
the tuning keys which are Grover Imperial. It has a coil parallel-serial
selector switch for each pickup, one volume and one tone control. The case is a
genuine Gibson Victoria hard case. This instrument is for sale. I also have an
old 1970 Yamaha FG-150 acoustic guitar that I played in college, an Art &
Lutherie "Ami" parlor guitar, a nylon string M. Horabe Model 40
classical guitar with a Shadow bridge saddle pickup, and a Tune electric bass,
which is a high-end Japanese instrument with active electronics that was built
to compete with Alembic.
My current amplifier selection includes my 1966
Fender Pro Reverb (the one I bought new in May 1966), the "1965
Reissue" Fender Twin Reverb, a Fender Blues Deluxe "tweed" amp,
the Norlin Lab L9, the Yamaha G100-112, and a Jay Turser vintage-style Classic
25-RC practice & recording amp. For bass, I use a Behringer Ultrabass
BX1200.
My vocal microphone is a Shure Beta-58, and I
mike the guitar amp with a Shure SM-57. My basic sound system consists of a
Carvin PA-1200 12-channel mixer with 3 self-contained 333 watt amps, 2
Cetec-Gauss 15" speaker cabinets with Acoustic horns, and a Carvin
12" monitor, and a Roland M-GS64 Sound Expander synthesizer sound module
connected to a Compaq computer by a Key MIDI interface. The microphone plugs in
to a Digitech Vocalist VHM5 Vocalist harmonizer to split the vocal signal into 2
and 3 part harmonies.
The pedal effects I use are an Ernie Ball volume
pedal, a Pro-Co Rat distortion, Digitech digital delay, Danelectro "Tuna
Melt" tremolo, KMD chorus and a KMD phase shifter. I sometimes use an
Ibanez Graphic EQ or a Boss Octave Splitter. The effects, are mounted to a
pedal board.
My studio also includes a 5-piece drum set and
two Yamaha keyboards, plus recording equipment, a stereo system, and a
microwave and refrigerator!
If you took the time to read all this, then you
must be a musician! I wanted to elaborate a little because I think equipment
decisions affect the overall sound. While I definitely agree that an
experienced musician can coax good music out of even the worst equipment, I
have noticed that I can get a sound closer to what I am looking for by changing
a guitar or an amp. I usually take 3 or 4 guitars with me on a gig. To get a
good jazz sound, I grab a big-bodied jazz arch-top. For blues and rock, I like
my Carvin, for folk and country swing I play the Martin, and the old 1966
Harmony is a great rock-a-billy guitar. Turning to amplifiers, the new Fender
Twin-Reverb is super clean and super loud, but the 1966 Fender Pro-Reverb or my
40 watt tweed Fender Blues Deluxe has a warmer tone. Even if this all sounds
like a bit too much (and perhaps it is), I must admit I like to collect guitars
and amps. If you know of any for sale that I might be interested in. please let
me know. Thanks!
Copyright © 1996-2018 by Thomas M. Smerk