Jeff explains, "When I set out to build this rig, I decided that I couldn't accept compromise. I knew from day one that I'd be relying primarily on MESA for my core sound, because I've felt for some time that MESA amps are really a great match for my playing.

"To accommodate session work, flexibility was of paramount importance. I needed a rig that could change on a dime. I also needed a rig that would inspire creativity, evolve with me, and never be an obstacle."

In order to have many options available in his sonic 'palette', Jeff decided to fill the rack with one of each MESA preamp -- a MESA TriAxis for its heavy sounds and its MIDI programmability, a Rectifier Recording Preamp for its diversity and direct recording capabilities, a Formula Preamp (now discontinued) for its rhythm channel, and a rackmount V-Twin (now discontinued) for its clean sounds and Mix Mode.

"As I began building the rig," continues Jeff, "I started to experiment with using two amps simultaneously with different sounds and effects to achieve a more lush, layered sound. That led to the two racks, and increased the count to TWO of each MESA preamp. (I suppose it also led to the chronic back pain that my runner and I have been dealing with!)"

"At this point, I can sound like two guitarists playing live together by adding a modulating delay to one rig, playing through a different preamp or setting, and adding in embellishments like wah, volume swells, etc. Engineers love it because I can basically deliver two guitar takes in one pass, and they get a 'big production' sound without major engineering."

So now, with eight MESA/Boogie preamps and two MESA High Gain Amp Switchers to toggle between them, the obvious choice for power amps was a pair of MESA Stereo Simul-Class 2:Ninety's. "The 2:Ninety is a stunning power amp. It's capable of reproducing massive low end, crystal clear highs, and the SmartPower voicing switches integrate perfectly with the MESA preamps."

To round it all out, Jeff selected four MESA Rectifier Standard 4x12 Cabinets (with Side Armor, of course). "What can I say about these cabinets... they have the most amazing low end I've ever heard from a guitar cabinet. Talk about balls and chunk! These cabinets truly blow me away on a daily basis. For metal, they'll absolutely kick your ass. But then you dial up a real creamy clean sound on the Recto Pre's rhythm channel and these cabs sound 100% vintage. Absolutely versatile. The best cabs I've ever played, hands-down."

Essentially, the bottom half of the tall rack is identical to the small rack, containing the preamps, the power amps, the effects (one rack contains an Eventide Orville while the other sports an Eventide GTR4000), and MIDI-controlled Digital Media Corp GCX units for TRS switching.

The top half of the tall rack adds a few other goodies which are shared between the two racks -- a rackmount Dunlop Crybaby, a Digital Music Corp System Mix Plus (which is primarily used for VCA volume), a PreSonus GTX44 gate (which is generally used as a downward expander to eliminate noise), a Korg tuner, and an XWire wireless. (See the list below for details).

The custom racks, designed by Jeff and Olympic Case Company (www.olycase.com), are stunning, matching the Rectifier Cabinets' diamond plate "Side Armor". Particularly original are the diamond plate bezels which cover the shock foam but are removable for transit (for isolation of the inner rack from the outer shell).

If Jeff's MESA/Boogie preamps, power amps and cabinets are the heart and soul of the system, the brain of the system is clearly the CM Labs Sixty Four audio router. Using this, Jeff can completely re-wire the entire rig with the touch of a footswitch on his Digital Music Ground Control MIDI controller.

Jeff explains, "To accommodate my session work it's sometimes necessary to 'rewire' the rig quickly in order to achieve whichever sound a producer is looking for. I realized early on that with 23 audio devices and a total of 53 sends and returns, if I ever had to go behind that rack and start re-patching cables, I'd be up the creek in minutes. It's actually pretty amazing... with the Sixty Four I've got the flexibility to redefine the guitar's signal path on the fly via MIDI, try new things, save setups, etc."

On the fly, by selecting a preset on his Digital Music Ground Control Pro, the Sixty Four allows Jeff to completely re-wire the entire rig instantly. Just think about the possibilities! Let's take a look at a couple of hypothetical examples: