Jimi- guitarist with questions...

Hello!

Wow, I just stumbled on this forum- what a thrill to possibly communicate with my favorite guitar player, Jimi Hazel! First I would like to say that I have been a huge Spyz fan ever since the first time I heard the Gumbo album. I was barely in high school at the time, but was blown away by the diversity of the tunes, the fabulous playing, and the ability to rock hard, funk insanely well, plus your tone is fantastic.

I love all the Spyz work, but have a special place for the Gumbo album. Jimi- what basic rig did you use for your tone on that album. I absolutely love your sound, especially your clean sound- such lush and thick chorus. I play a Parker Fly and am looking for some new amp/effect gear- any advice on getting a similar sound?

Thanks for any information! Your playing continues to be a driving influence on my choice of music as a career and I routinely use your recordings as examples of great playing for all my music students.

Thanks! Dave Peterson

Hi Dave! Welcome 2 the board ! Thanx 4 diiging the music and the musicianship! Ahh, the Gumbo disc! I've been asked a number of times about that one! Ironically, I used the same rig on every disc since Gumbo, with a few extra things thrown in! At the center of all the tones, both clean and dirty is my tried and true, trusty, dusty but never rusty ADA MP1 preamp ! I got one during the 1989 tour for Harder Than You and at that point, I'd run it thru my Marshall heads! Noisy as hell, but way saturated! New to the rack world, I aquired an ADA B500S poweramp and really found out what the preamp was capable of! By the time we cut Gumbo, I added the most important key to the equation, a BBE Sonic Maximizer! Being able to dial in enough bottom and top to my settings really made the difference! I would highly suggest to anyone looking for a really great piece of gear, go on Ebay and find an MP1! Sit down and really find your sound by creating your own programs and you'll be happy as a pig in shit! Since the company is no longer , I've found an amp that delivers one hell of a kick in the ballz on the heavy side of things and is all sweet butter cream on the clean side of things! It's the Koch Powertone 2 and if you can find one, prepare yourself for some amazing tones! I've used them in Europe and my hope is that the company and I can work out something for America! As far as some really great chorus/phase effects go, I use a MG Monovibe for my chorus and a Pigtronix EP1 Phaser/Envelope for the phase/rotovibe thang! Both amazing pedals for their perspective applications! I hope you'll check them out and they help in your quest for that tone thang! Be Well & Keep Rocking!

Jimi-

Thanks so much! Yes, sad that ADA is no longer, but lots of good ADA gear can still be found if ya look, I guess. I will start hunting some of the stuff you mentioned down and do some test driving- thanks again! Since I find your tone and style so appealing, I may have some more questions for you in the future! Thanks again!!!

Dave

Check out the ADA Depot: they have lots of info on all the stuff ADA ever produced, as well as a shop that sells modified preamps and other things.