gtfields13
Well-known member
I just got home from an extended vacation to Scotland, and am excited to have come back with some gear and some stories. After toting this around in a duffel bag for over two weeks, I have unboxed my new Rory Gallagher Hawk, built by Stevie Flynn of Flynn Amps.
I didn't know about Flynn Amps until we were driving in to Glasgow a couple of weeks ago, and a few blocks from the hotel we drove past Stevie's workshop. I looked him up and decided I had to go back. So while my wife was doing her thing, I headed over, met Stevie and had a chat about guitar gear, pedals, and music tech. He's a really great guy, and if you love vintage amps and are in Glasgow, you have to visit. Stevie says the stack of gear comes and goes, but when I was there he was crammed full of vintage amps mostly repaired and ready for pickup, but with new ones freshly arrived for repairs.
While I was there, a friend (and client) was in the shop (I wish I remember his name, but he was guitar tech for Simple Minds and Brian Adams) and told Stevie that his signature pedal, the Hawk, was part of Nigel Tufnel's pedal board in the latest Spinal Tap movie. It's certainly there in the clip posted by BigEarPedals, whose Slice of Pie was called out by Nigel in the movie.
Stevie didn't have any finished Hawk's for me when I dropped in, but had a work in progress, and promised to have it finished for me by the next day if I wanted to come back. Fortunately, I dropped in on my first day in Glasgow, so the answer was, absolutely! And sure enough, I have my brand new pedal that Stevie worked up for me while I was in town.
So now I am the owner of a newly built Flynn Amps Hawk overdrive. Chatting with Stevie made me appreciate that this pedal is really built to sit in front of a guitar amp and let the guitar amp breakdown from the overdrive's gain. While he's also convinced me that I need to add "DIY Amp Builder" to my bio ( am looking at the Mojotone Fender Tweed Super FYI) I also have always appreciated my Peavey KB amp. Peaveys are built like tanks and totally affordable in the used market. So while I was travelling, I kept an eye open and found a deal on a Peavey Classic 212 (1980's hybrid silicon pre-amp/tube power amp with built-in phasor!) at below Reverb pricing and 2 miles from home. Which I picked up today. I bought it untested, brought it home and, other than scratchy pots, everything works great (and it even has the footpedal still). As you can see, it's also Airedale Approved.
So now my (really lame) guitar playing skills let me use the Scottish Hawk with my Mississippi Marshall and I have more tone than my fingers can handle. Plus, holy coo, that Peavey is LOUD. I am going to need to stick it in a booth if I want to try mic'ing it up to record without going deaf.
Thanks for reading through. I am excited to be back from break, and have a whole 'nother post for tomorrow, because my Box o' Pink Stuff arrived from Tayda the day before I left for Scotland, and I have a mess of printed enclosures to fill and more Phido pedals to roll out and share with y'all.
I didn't know about Flynn Amps until we were driving in to Glasgow a couple of weeks ago, and a few blocks from the hotel we drove past Stevie's workshop. I looked him up and decided I had to go back. So while my wife was doing her thing, I headed over, met Stevie and had a chat about guitar gear, pedals, and music tech. He's a really great guy, and if you love vintage amps and are in Glasgow, you have to visit. Stevie says the stack of gear comes and goes, but when I was there he was crammed full of vintage amps mostly repaired and ready for pickup, but with new ones freshly arrived for repairs.
While I was there, a friend (and client) was in the shop (I wish I remember his name, but he was guitar tech for Simple Minds and Brian Adams) and told Stevie that his signature pedal, the Hawk, was part of Nigel Tufnel's pedal board in the latest Spinal Tap movie. It's certainly there in the clip posted by BigEarPedals, whose Slice of Pie was called out by Nigel in the movie.
Stevie didn't have any finished Hawk's for me when I dropped in, but had a work in progress, and promised to have it finished for me by the next day if I wanted to come back. Fortunately, I dropped in on my first day in Glasgow, so the answer was, absolutely! And sure enough, I have my brand new pedal that Stevie worked up for me while I was in town.
So now I am the owner of a newly built Flynn Amps Hawk overdrive. Chatting with Stevie made me appreciate that this pedal is really built to sit in front of a guitar amp and let the guitar amp breakdown from the overdrive's gain. While he's also convinced me that I need to add "DIY Amp Builder" to my bio ( am looking at the Mojotone Fender Tweed Super FYI) I also have always appreciated my Peavey KB amp. Peaveys are built like tanks and totally affordable in the used market. So while I was travelling, I kept an eye open and found a deal on a Peavey Classic 212 (1980's hybrid silicon pre-amp/tube power amp with built-in phasor!) at below Reverb pricing and 2 miles from home. Which I picked up today. I bought it untested, brought it home and, other than scratchy pots, everything works great (and it even has the footpedal still). As you can see, it's also Airedale Approved.
So now my (really lame) guitar playing skills let me use the Scottish Hawk with my Mississippi Marshall and I have more tone than my fingers can handle. Plus, holy coo, that Peavey is LOUD. I am going to need to stick it in a booth if I want to try mic'ing it up to record without going deaf.
Thanks for reading through. I am excited to be back from break, and have a whole 'nother post for tomorrow, because my Box o' Pink Stuff arrived from Tayda the day before I left for Scotland, and I have a mess of printed enclosures to fill and more Phido pedals to roll out and share with y'all.