While individuals’s emotions about their very own gear and what it does can usually have an effect on the best way they play psychologically, that doesn’t imply the gear is doing precisely what they suppose it is doing. Lill jokes a few buddy—whose enjoying, for the report, Lill insists he loves and has realized so much from—that makes use of a Two Rock amp setting on a digital amplifier to get a sound that he calls “that John Mayer thing.” The problem being that when Lill requested the buddy which Two-Rock amp mannequin John Mayer performs, and which amp is within the modeler, he didn’t know.

“It’s just funny,” he says. “It’s like saying ‘Oh man, I love Dale Earnhardt. That’s why I drive a Chevy, you know, just like Dale’s.’”

Perhaps the factor that strikes me most about Lill is that, in a world of influencers actively rising their social media following, he does not intention to show his movies into his full-time livelihood. Instead, he’s only a musician, sharing what he learns with these of us who don’t have the time and sources to do the identical experiments.

When requested why he began making the movies to start with, he says, “I have noticed that knowing the answer without having any proof doesn’t always work the same as when you actually capture it on videos. So I try to make sure to capture stuff on video as much as I can.” They have a surprisingly nice manufacturing worth, for a person who admits that originally he really didn’t personal a digital camera.

Instead, Lill gave me a present without cost—the data that speaker cupboards and tone settings matter greater than the hunk of wooden and strings in my hand. This is effective data, given the period of time I’ve spent trying to find guitars and not messing with tone knobs.

“I’ve seen a lot of different approaches to how people convey information on the internet, and the way that I’ve chosen to go is as unbiased and as kind as I can,” he says. “It doesn’t really matter whether someone believes me or not. It’s just a guitar.”

Jim Lill’s Current Signal Chain

Given his background and his historical past in testing, what does Jim Lill really use? Here’s the audio tools that you will discover in his studio. 

Guitars

Lill says, “The Anderson Tele has been my number one since high school.” The different guitars and bass are for particular sounds however aren’t used as usually.

Pickups

The Tom Anderson Telecaster encompasses a 2018 Seymour Duncan Vintage Stack bridge pickup, 1980 Bill Lawrence Black Label S2 center pickup, and a 2009 Seymour Duncan Mini Humbucker neck pickup. Lill notes that he solely makes use of the bridge pickup within the telecaster. All different guitars function inventory pickups.

Pedals

Lill makes use of a 2001 Boss CS-3 compressor pedal to even out the completely different volumes of various guitars. That goes into an Xotic RC Booster for solo quantity and a 2020 Nobles ODR-1 overdrive (painted black) and 2017 Paul Cochrane Timmy V2 (white tape added to learn “Jimmy”) for a little bit of grit on his tone. Then sign hits a Nineteen Nineties Ernie Ball volume pedal and 2018 Sonic Research ST-300 Turbo Tuner Mini for quantity and tuning management. For the ultimate steps in his chain, he provides a Boss TR-2 Tremolo (painted black) and makes use of a 2020 Line 6 HX Stomp, largely for its legacy delay algorithms. “The tuner, CS-3, and delay get the most use,” he says. “Tremolo is usually for the Bass6. Everything else is just in case.”

Amps 

Lill owns a 1966 Fender Bassman head (inventory AB165 circuit), a closely modified 1965 Fender Bassman head, and a 2001 Carr Slant 6V 1×12 combo. “I’m working on figuring out my amp situation right now,” he says. “I imagine one of these three will end up being my main amp.”

Speaker Cabinets 

Lill combines his personal 2022 do-it-yourself 2×12 with a 2001 Celestion Vintage 30 (with the facet closed-back) and 1967 Fender Utah (with facet open-back). “I’ve mostly been using the one I made,” Lill says, “but I also have two cabs that J. T. Corenflos used on sessions and a cab Tom Bukovac used on sessions.” Impulse responses of Jim’s cupboards can be found for sale on his web site.

Mics 

Lill makes use of a Shure SM57 (one for every speaker). Of placement, he says, “I was taught at my favorite studio to put the mic two fingers from the grill cloth, straight on axis, pointed at the line between the dust cap and the cone. That’s where I start.”