“First and foremost, I defer to [Friedman Amplification founder] Dave Friedman, who puts my gear together. Dave always knows the litmus test, where, when I’m not using a pedal, my guitar has to sound exactly the way it does going straight into the amp. When he put together my current [rig] incarnation, he used a stereo setup with two Freidman [SS-100 V2] amps, my latest signature model.
“The pedals are all bypassed – and, lo and behold, they sound exactly how I want them to. Rule number one: When you’re not using a pedal, your guitar must sound like your original guitar sound. And I don’t keep effects on all the time; I’m not one of those guys. I like my effects to come in and go, ‘Wow!’
