Here’s a list of what I use when performing live. Disclaimer: I am not compensated by these manufactures for promoting their products. I’m merely sharing what equipment works for me as a full-time working musician.
Six String Acoustics: I’ve performed for over 25 years with my model M-22 and J-32 Custom Lakewood Guitars made by Martin Seeliger in Giessen, Germany. These instruments have been on the road my whole career and although they’re battered and worn, they’ve delivered faithfully every night. Martin builds an exceptional line of instruments and I highly recommend you check out what he offers. I chose his line of instruments because he was open to listening to my feedback as to what I liked and did not like in production acoustic instruments. We were able to incorporate custom features that other manufactures would not do at the time.
Harp Guitars: My first HG was commissioned and built by J. Thomas Davis, Guitar Maker. Tom was the in-house luthier during my stint in music retail and I learned quite a bit about instrument building and repair by watching him work his magic. Tom has built instruments for many notable performers and I’m honored to own and play the first HG that he built. It’s made of Claro Walnut back and sides and has an Engelmann Spruce top.
While I love my JTD HG, it’s a temperamental beast when it comes to the climate out here in Arizona. My latest acquisition is from Emerald Guitars. It’s a travel-size HG made of carbon fiber and can stand the heat of a summer gig and doesn’t need to be keep humidified in the dry desert climate. It’s the perfect working instrument for Arizona as well as compact enough to put in the overheads when doing fly gigs. I’ve always wanted one more low sub bass string and Alistair Hay at Emerald Guitars was able to incorporate this as well as some other custom features into this custom build.
12-String Guitars: I’m always drawn to Taylor 12-strings due to the profile of the necks. I love the old Guild 12-strings but the necks feel like ball bats. The Taylor profile allows for more performance longevity without hand fatigue, for me. I’ve had this 90’s 555-12 for many years and it sounds like a piano!
Weissenborn: My research show this one to be a 1927 Style-2 Weissenborn. It has such a sweet tone and is a true testament to what age does to wooden instruments and how they ‘open up’ over time.
Electronics – Pickups
Dazzo transducers Teddy builds some amazing pups. There is a 3-dimensional sound to these and they deliver a tremendous amount of headroom and clarity for a passive pup. They are a little tricky to install but once dialed in, they sound phenomenal. I use these on the sub-bass Strings of the JTD.
Jim Kaufman-Sunrise pickups The industry standard magnetic pup used by countless performers. Hard to find, expensive and well-worth the investment. I use these in all instruments, except the Emerald HG, in place of the Element pup that comes with the LR Baggs iMix system.
L.R. Baggs Electronics iMix systems An internal Pre-Amp system that blends either their Element under-saddle or magnetic pup (M1 or M80) along with the iBeam bridge plate transducer. Both pups can be sent out to separate channels via a stereo Y-cable or with the flick of an internal switch on the pre-amp, both pups can be summed to a mono output. The blend is controlled via the remote wheels, located under the lip of the sound hole. I’ve been using this system since it was released and have not come across another with the versatility and dependability that the iMix system offers.
K&K Double Helix Magnetic Pickup Guitar side of Emerald Synergy HG. great passive pickup with a phase reversal switch and a second switch that gives a fuller humbucker sound.
Original Flatpup & Sixtus Guitar Pickups Custom-wound, low-profile magnetic pickups for stringed instruments. Send him your string spacing and he’ll build one for you. I use this on the sub bass strings of the Emerald HG.
The Outboard Gear I Use Live:
Line 6 Helix I’ve always been one to embrace technology in the digital age and this unit has been a terrific addition to streamlining my set up. I’ve been able to use the Helix for both solo-acoustic and band performances. Everything is in one unit and it has the kitchen sink built into it! I’ve recently integrated the smaller Helix Stomp into my B-rig.
Elite Acoustics I recently switched over to this new offering from Elite Acoustics. I can’t say enough about how powerful and versatile this unit is in terms of signal routing and processing. While I first bought it as a backup to my previous preamp setup, it has now become my main go-to preamp in terms of function and portability.
Pigtronix Infinity Looper My main looper for most of my applications. i tend to use a verse/Chorus workflow when looping and this unit works great for my needs. It’s also built like a tank!
George L’s Cables Custom-cables couldn’t easier with these cool connectors. Just snip off the length needed stick it in the connector and tighten the threaded top.
Morningstar Engineering MC6mkii A super-compact MIDI controller for the Helix Stomp. Built like a tank and it will control just about anything MIDI.
Pigtronix infinity Looper I tend to use a Verse/Chorus workflow when looping and this unit works great, plus it’s built like a tank!
do you share your helix patches?
Hi David, I’m more than happy to share mine. Are you looking for acoustic or electric patches?