What piece of gear will you never part with?

Love the Kelley! Don't see them very often. (y)
It's a cool amp. I haven't quite found my step with it yet. I feel like it has something nothing else in that room has. But, most of the time I'm using it as a clean amp for pedals. The Fender has more pure cleans I want. The Matchless has more chime. I haven't quite figured out how to crank it up until it gains out to explore that even though I've had the PS2 and I have the attenuator. I'll figure it out.
 
Guitar: PRS CU 24 Floyd core 10 top + 2004 McCarty 10 top with Indian Rosewood Neck.

Amp: '93 Marshall SLP reissue - Monomyth modded (a little more versatile then my' 74 1959 Monomyth Modded- Both kill!)
 
It's a cool amp. I haven't quite found my step with it yet. I feel like it has something nothing else in that room has. But, most of the time I'm using it as a clean amp for pedals. The Fender has more pure cleans I want. The Matchless has more chime. I haven't quite figured out how to crank it up until it gains out to explore that even though I've had the PS2 and I have the attenuator. I'll figure it out.
I’ve got a 1980 Jim Kelley myself. Exceptional amp imo. Like you said its cleans are nice, but imo gets outclassed by my ‘64 Vibroverb there. It’s real forte imo is for slower melodic, expressive lead playing where the volume has to be at least at 3 o’ clock, but preferably dimed. That’s where the magic happens. It gets real liquid sounding and the way the notes connect is very vocal/humane. None of my other amps I’ve had quite match it there. I don’t really like much boosting it with my pedals, not even my klon

Curious also which classical you have? That’s actually my main thing more than playing electric
 
I could pretty happily sell everything I’ve got, start from scratch and not get any of the same stuff.

That being said, I also feel I’ve got the best gear I’ve ever had right now. But to be honest, within reason it doesn’t matter.
 
I’ve got a 1980 Jim Kelley myself. Exceptional amp imo. Like you said its cleans are nice, but imo gets outclassed by my ‘64 Vibroverb there. It’s real forte imo is for slower melodic, expressive lead playing where the volume has to be at least at 3 o’ clock, but preferably dimed. That’s where the magic happens. It gets real liquid sounding and the way the notes connect is very vocal/humane. None of my other amps I’ve had quite match it there. I don’t really like much boosting it with my pedals, not even my klon

Curious also which classical you have? That’s actually my main thing more than playing electric
I'll keep working with it. The best I've found for it, as far as fitting in with the rest of the amps and providing something none of the rest do, is for an EJ like "dirty rhythm". That's not something I have in any other amp. Maybe the iic+ can sort of do it, but the Kelley does it better. I'll try to figure out how to get the volume up higher for the leads you mention. I believe one of my struggles is that I haven't found the right speaker to mate with it. Not a big fan of the 1x12. Greenback 4x12 is best so far, but I don't think that's the final answer.

I have a Kohno Professional-R. It was part of my scholarship. Several of the people in the guitar program also got them as part of their scholarship but most sold them. Mine is special. Just one of those things where the specs don't tell the tale. Mine is amazingly loud, firm and balanced. Most of the other student's were really bright and green. Same exact specs. Night and day in sound. I'm 100% convinced for acoustic guitars you just have to go play a bunch and totally ignore specs. I don't play it much. Without fingernails, it's not worth it. I just don't really care to grow out the fingernails and all that's involved with that. Although a few times a year I really crave blowing the dust off the Bach lute suits and a bit of Brouwer El Decameron Negro or something like that.
 
Everything in there( realizing it's many pieces and not just one,sorry bout that)
20200712_002014.jpg
 
I'll keep working with it. The best I've found for it, as far as fitting in with the rest of the amps and providing something none of the rest do, is for an EJ like "dirty rhythm". That's not something I have in any other amp. Maybe the iic+ can sort of do it, but the Kelley does it better. I'll try to figure out how to get the volume up higher for the leads you mention. I believe one of my struggles is that I haven't found the right speaker to mate with it. Not a big fan of the 1x12. Greenback 4x12 is best so far, but I don't think that's the final answer.

I have a Kohno Professional-R. It was part of my scholarship. Several of the people in the guitar program also got them as part of their scholarship but most sold them. Mine is special. Just one of those things where the specs don't tell the tale. Mine is amazingly loud, firm and balanced. Most of the other student's were really bright and green. Same exact specs. Night and day in sound. I'm 100% convinced for acoustic guitars you just have to go play a bunch and totally ignore specs. I don't play it much. Without fingernails, it's not worth it. I just don't really care to grow out the fingernails and all that's involved with that. Although a few times a year I really crave blowing the dust off the Bach lute suits and a bit of Brouwer El Decameron Negro or something like that.
I think some of the better speakers to bring out the qualities I like in it are ‘60’s blues and crescendos but good luck finding them and not cheap. I can seeing it doing the EJ thing you mentioned

Kohno’s can sound really sweet and beautiful. Maybe the best guitars I’ve tried for where they’re valued at. They can be among those guitars where the way the break in is really shaped by the player. There was this one really sweet sounding one that Fisk ruined with his more aggressive playing and then lost its magic. I don’t wanna reveal too explicitly here what I have but I’ll say the luthier of one of them rhymes with Beta and the other with blow-ma-neos. Been working most recently on the prelude from BWV1012
 
Last edited:
Sounds crazy but my first tube . A first year TSL100. I’ve sold it bought it back and have it sounding great compared to how people speak of them . I have a weird connection. It’s not one of my better amps but I know it well
 
Event Opal - Extremely-hard-to-get
Suhr Modern Satin HSH
Music Man Luke II PDN (Premier Dealer Network) Honey Roasted Limited Edition - Ultra-rare
Music Man Stingray 5 Basses
Kemper Unpowered Rack

Spent years saving for each of them (20 years in total) - too much suffering to justify ever selling. :LOL:

They're also the most-expensive things I own, so there's that. Cream of my crop, so to speak.
 
I’ve owned it all Atleast once, and the stuff I have now is the stuff I know works for me and What I enjoy best. “The chase” is over for me. What is not over and only beginning however, is capturing different and unique tones. I realized awhile ago I have more than I could ever need to get just about any tone I want and make any unique tone I wanted: it was up to me to figure out how to do it, and capture it in a mix and/or tracking. So as far as “tone chasing” and going through amps like water, those days are long over. I’ll never sell anything I own at this point because of the points listed above. It’s not the gear, it’s me, and my abilities.


Having said all that… if the worst thing in the world happened to me and I had to sell all my stuff minus a few things, the rev F dual rec and morin modded JMP 2203 Would be the ones you would have to pry out of my cold dead hands, and probably in that order. My genelec monitors would be up there too.
 
I’ve owned it all Atleast once, and the stuff I have now is the stuff I know works for me and What I enjoy best. “The chase” is over for me. What is not over and only beginning however, is capturing different and unique tones. I realized awhile ago I have more than I could ever need to get just about any tone I want and make any unique tone I wanted: it was up to me to figure out how to do it, and capture it in a mix and/or tracking. So as far as “tone chasing” and going through amps like water, those days are long over. I’ll never sell anything I own at this point because of the points listed above. It’s not the gear, it’s me, and my abilities.


Having said all that… if the worst thing in the world happened to me and I had to sell all my stuff minus a few things, the rev F dual rec and morin modded JMP 2203 Would be the ones you would have to pry out of my cold dead hands, and probably in that order. My genelec monitors would be up there too.

Man that would be a BITCH to try and find another Morin JMP - that amp is sick as fuck, and low drop rate.

I'm pretty sure even among morin modded amps there are VERY few of those 90s ones.
 
Back
Top