hey joe (what ya doin' with that gun...). it's michael, from world at a glance (remember pensacola?). 2 thingz: i got a coupla endorsements for gear i think you'd be innarested in. the 1st is with a guy named jim wagner:

http://crcoils.com/New_PIckups/new_pickups.html

209-588-0621

jwj1@bigvalley.net

he makes an exact replica of duane allman's "live at the fillmore east" humbuckers (his tech evidently hand-wound them, back in the day) in my '61 reissue lespaul/sg, and they are simply the most gorgeous sounding 'buckers on the planet! he's developed a process using a different (diff to 42 formvar) wire/material, that allows him to overwind by almost double, while retaining the responsiveness & character (which are the 1st to go when you overwind!) of a more traditional, vintage wind. the tone on these p'ups are stunning!

i also have a set of SR's (as in "Stevie Ray") in my U.S.Strat plus. what sets these single coils apart from the "boutique" pack (i replaced a set of Fralin Vintage Hots) is the blend of "chime" WITH the "band of gypsies'" woodiness" (or body, if you will)! and you WILL want to use the 2 & 4 positions!

the 2nd endorsement:

http://www.smfamps.com/amp_info.htm

the new mark sampson (of matchless & bad cat fame) & rick hamel (SIB Elect's) "15 Watter," a class a/dual EL-84 design (5 X 12ax7, 1 X GZ34 rectifier). this li'l beaut has gobs of tone, & is loud as shit!!! better sounding than his previous efforts, the spring reverb sports 2 parameters. send & tone, & is breathtaking! & the cabinet has a "sonic hatchback," which allows you to "tune" the cab. the hinge can be set from total to partially open, to fully (airtight) closed (yeah, it does a 4 x 12" marshall cab VERY convincingly! say goodbye to cab modelling for good!).

i straight away swapped out the stock valves for all mullards. what a payoff!! cost me almost $600, but it was well worth it, as it became a new amp altogether! really brought the beast into focus! i can't recommend this endeavour enough! nos valves are a completely different animal in an all tube amp! for one, they just don't pump 'em for as long as they used to. that extra bit of "vacuuming" makes A HUGE DIFFERENCE in the quality of the valves!

anyway joe, i don't know if you remember, but i've always been a tone meister; so here are 2 very good leads towards that end (if you remember, i'm the one who turned you on to tech21's sansamp & psa-1; i was one of their 1st endorsers, back in '89-90). while we're at it, here are a couple of toys you should also check out:

http://www.sweetsound.com/

(check out his "mojovibe, THE BEST univibe copy on the planet!!!)

http://www.fmraudio.com/

mark's "Really Nice Compressor" is still the 8th wonder of the recording world! the only other genius who gets close to the ballpark is vince poulos;

http://www.speck.com/index.shtml

and his Model ASC (vintage, neve-quality, jensen tranny based 4-band equalizer; the bomb!!!!).

c'ya!,