EQUIPMENT
A YAMAHA SLGN100 is the nylon-string that Mark uses for all solo and duo gigs, most often run directly into a PA system--
Mark plays several different electrics; as of recent, a FENDER ROAD WORN TELE, a GIBSON SG CLASSIC, and a FENDER 72 TELE THINLINE--
All of the electrics are strung with .09-.42 gauge strings, usually Ernie Ball, or D'Addario--
His guitars are maintained by an old and dear friend, Tony JanFlone Sr., the inventor of the 'Weight-Shifter' guitar strap--
A special thank you to Karen Barr, Tony and Karen JanFlone, Jason, Justin and Bob Sarra, Sean Monheit, Jack Williams and Dave Sykut, Mike Bonelli, Don Hollowood, and Tony Aiello--
SIGNAL CHAIN
The amp signal chain starts with a KORG Pitchblack Tuner, into a FULLTONE Deluxe Clyde Wah, next into a FULLTONE Fulldrive 2 Mosfet; An MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay goes thru the FX loop of his Mesa Boogie Rectoverb; from the Fulldrive, the signal goes into an ELECTRO-HARMONIX Hum De-Bugger, ending with a BOSS Volume Pedal--
YAMAHA SLGN100
A hollow-frame nylon-string electric with a removable upper bout--It possesses the best attributes of an authentic classical, with a 26.5mm scale, 20 inch radius fretboard, and a 2" nut; without any of the problems associated with amplification in a live setting, a truly professional instrument for live performance and recording--yamaha.com
GIBSON SG CLASSIC
I have had a long relationship with the GIBSON SG--I have played them in various incarnations since 1984, when I lived in Boston, MA--I think in many ways that the SG is the perfect electric for the more modern avenues of jazz--It's relatively light and has a pronounced midrange focus similar to an archtop, but without feedback problems--
The GIBSON SG CLASSIC is a limited edition of the classic cherry red SG,a Guitar Center exclusive,with 2 Gibson P90 pickups wired to a 3 way switch with 2 volume/tone controls--It has a large and rounded 50's style one piece mahogany neck, a 2 piece centre-joined mahogany body, and a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard--The only modifications to it are Dunlop Strap-Locks--I use it for virtually all the music I perform, as it is an utterly singular sound--
A very special thanks to Jack Williams and David Sykut of Guitar Centre, Monroeville for the SG CLASSIC--
FENDER ROAD-WORN 50'S TELE
I have had an equally long affinity with the Fender Telecaster--It is, by far, my favorite bolt-on neck electric--I started playing Telecasters in 1989, drawn to their elegant simplicity and workhorse-like vibe--What I look for in a Tele is light weight, and a certain type of airy, yet punchy quality--The ones I play are described below--
The ROAD-WORN TELE was released at the 2009 NAMM Show to resounding acclaim, and has gotten stellar reviews in virtually every major trade publication, most recently GUITAR PLAYER, GUITARIST, and PREMIER GUITAR--There are 2 versions; an alder body in sunburst, which is the one I play; and a swamp ash in butterscotch blonde--I prefer the alder one, as it has a warmer midrange--The guitar is 'reliced', to look and feel like an old Tele--Both the neck and fretboard are maple, with 21 Dunlop 6105 frets, a taller and thicker fretwire to accomodate easier bending on a 7.25" radius fretboard--I recently had a set of GFS L'il Puncher Modern Vintage Tele pickups installed, which are hum-cancelling double blade pickups; I cannot say enough about the GFS design--The Road Worn is a perfect blend of vintage sound and modern appointments--Highly recommended--fender.com
A special thank you to Jason Sarra of Pianos n Stuff Music for the Road-Worn Tele--
FENDER 72 THINLINE TELE
The FENDER 72 THINLINE TELE, in this particular edition, is a GUITAR CENTRE exclusive, in that it has a 9.5" radius and medium-jumbo frets instead of the customary 7.25" radius with vintage frets--The finish is also a Guitar Centre request to do a 2 tone tobacco sunburst--There are a number of differences from a traditional Tele; the most noticeable, visually and sonically, is that the body is 'chambered' with one F-hole on the top bout--The other major difference is the pickups; they are made by Fender, called WIDE-RANGE HUMBUCKERS--this combination produces an almost '335 Gibson' sound, but not as dark, as the ash body pushes a more brighter voice--Other appointments include a one-piece maple neck/fretboard, Fender 'F' style tuners, and single volume and tone controls wired to a 3 way switch--I had a Graph-Tech string tree and stainless steel bridge saddles installed--It's a very warm and big sounding Tele, but it still retains some of the Tele 'snap'--And it's very much at home in a jazz and blues setting--fender.com
A special thanks to Jack Williams and David Sykut, Guitar Centre, Monroeville, PA for the 72!!
THE AMP
MESA BOOGIE RECTOVERB 1X12
When I was a young guitarist back in the 70's, one amp held a mystique above anything on the market; the MESA BOOGIE MARK 1--it was the first amp that went beyond the conventional sonic palette of the time to produce the fabled singing high gain overdrive/sustain and a gorgeous clean sound in a rather small 1x12 combo--and it was enthusiastically embraced by Carlos Santana, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Carlos Rios, and a host of others in the LA session scene--
During the course of my career, I've played a Mark 1, a Mark 2B, the Simul-Class Mark 3 and 4, the Maverick and the Stiletto Ace--While these were, and still are incredible amps, I think the Rectoverb 1x12 possesses the best qualities of all of these--It is somewhere between a Stiletto and a Mark 4 in its' attack, but it pushes a looser voice as a result of the 3/4 size cabinet--The 50 watt power section is somewhat quicker than a 100 watt, so the amp can be overdriven at a more reasonable volume--Like the newer Boogies, it has a master volume for each channel, along with an output and a solo boost at the end of the chain--There is reverb for each channel and a parallel FX loop--The clean channel has 2 settings; clean and pushed--These 2 settings cover everything from jazz chording and single note lines to a slightly overdriven 'Fender Twin' sound--The overdrive channel has 3 settings, which go from a vintage' Fender Bassman' to the classic 'Boogie' overdrive to a very modern and tight high-gain, much like the Stiletto--The speaker is the proprietary Mesa/Celestion 90 watt Black Shadow, which is one of the best all-around speakers on the market--The Rectoverb can use either a 6L6 or an EL34 power tube; although it comes with the 6L6 tubes, I personally prefer the sound of the EL34, as it tightens the overall sound and EQ--All in all, it can cover any style of music, from jazz/pop/fusion/ to blues/rock; I would also say that the Rectoverb is one of Mesa's most underrated amps--mesaboogie.com
Special thanks to Jason Sarra and Sean Monheit of Pianos n Stuff-
THE PEDALS
BOSS FV500 VOLUME PEDAL
An absolutely indispensable part of my set-up, which I use as a volume attenuator, and for volume swells--
ELECTRO-HARMONIX HUM DEBUGGER
If you like the sound of a true single-coil strat, tele, or p90 pickup and are not interested in replacing it for a hum-cancelling one, the E H HUM DEBUGGER is the answer to the dreaded 60 cycle hum that accompanies them--It all but removes single coil noise and hum from the guitar, and although others have opined that this device interferes a bit too much with the natural sound of the pickup/amp, I've found that the only difference is that the treble gets bumped up a bit, and it works better for clean to mild overdrive--It also imparts a subtle and musical compression--For me, a rather minimal trade-off, and one that is very reasonable in price, as opposed to changing pickups for every guitar that is noisy--I cannot recommend this enough--ehx.com
A thank you to jason Serra of Pianos n Stuff for the BOSS FV500 and the EH HUM DE-BUGGER
FULLTONE FULLDRIVE 2 MOSFET
The latest incarnation of Mike Fuller's famous overdrive/boost pedal, with the additon of a MOSFET mode, is by far, one of the most versatile and transparent OD boxes on the market--The Overdrive switch controls COMP CUT, essentially a clean boost with the ability to add overdrive; FM,( flat mids), and VINTAGE, which is more midrange heavy than the latter two--the Boost switch turns the pedal into a higher gain distortion with a lot of growl and sustain--Last, the FD2 can run in either STANDARD or MOSFET mode--I've recently taken to using the FD2 instead of the overdrive channel of my amp, as it is so addicting to play through it--The FD2 is also hard-wired, so that it is completely out of the amp signal when turned off--fulltone.com
FULLTONE DELUXE CLYDE WAH
Quite simply, the finest wah pedal on the market--
MXR CARBON COPY ANALOG DELAY
The Carbon Copy offers up to 600 milliseconds of delay, along with a modulation switch--It is also true bypass wired, so it is completely out of the signal path when disengaged--I use this sparingly, as I generally don't use a lot of effects, save for reverb--The MXR is very warm and organic, as it is a completely analog audio path--jimdunlop.com
KORG PITCHBLACK TUNER
The Pitchblack is a pro quality tuner that takes up very little space on my pedalboard--It is also hardwired, with a mute function--korg.com
THE WEIGHT-SHIFTER STRAP/TONY JANFLONE SR.
The Weight-Shifter Guitar Strap is an invention by Tony JanFlone Sr., a guitarist, teacher, repairman, and old friend; It is a revolutionary strap that 'shifts' the weight of the guitar off the collarbone and balances the instrument when standing--He makes a nylon and a leather version, which is particularly helpful when playing a heavier guitar--I have known Tony since 1971, when I first studied classical guitar with him--I consider Tony to be one of my dearest friends in life, and the most meticulous guitar repairman on the planet--I have all of my work done by Tony, whether it be pickup replacement, refrets, recrowns, action and intonation adjustment, etc.--tjfcustomguitars.com
THE 'BOUTIQUE' MYTH
I've had the opportunity, by virtue of the fact that I teach in a music store, to try a wide variety of guitars and amps in an equally wide price range--And what I can say is that Fender is producing their best instruments in their 60+year history--What I am truly impressed by are the guitars from the Ensenada factory in Mexico--The sound is pure, classic Fender, and the fit and finish is nothing short of exemplary--They echo the vibe of the 50's-70's teles and strats very accurately, and at a price point that a working musician can afford--I have always gotten any new guitar's frets re-crowned, and in my experience, the Mexican Fenders need the least in that department--I am also a big fan of Mesa-Boogie amps--And while they aren't inexpensive, they are more consistently reliable and have a host of useable features that a lot of amps costing 20-30% more simply don't have--Nothing against the 'boutique' community;some of these products are truly a transcendental musical experience, but in most cases, the cost does not justify the experience--For the longest time, one of my favorite guitarists used an instrument that most would shake their heads in disbelief at--And some well-known guitarists who can afford expensive gear stress the fact that what is most important is to learn how to play on decent equipment first, that can be bought at any decent music store--I think it's really important to find a few things that work for you, not a bunch of things because you think you need them--