Worship Gear - Vol. 11

Below is the brief presentation I made during my Dad's memorial service

A tribute to my dad: David Sears

There are many things that have been said about my dad.

·         Diplomat

·         Provider

·         Coach

·         Mentor

·         Protector

My dad was many of these things to me and many others.

He was always trying to keep everyone calm and peaceful while working to minimize any drama.  He traveled the world while providing a good living for our family.  He taught me baseball, soccer and the importance of car control.  He helped me learn how to build a career, follow my passions, to always do my best and to always push forward and make the most of any situation.  He fiercely protected my mom and our family to the very end.

Most of all, though, he was a lover of Jesus Christ and a great example of faith in Him.  Many times, when things seemed to working well, or working against him, Dad would point us back to the goodness of Christ and His love for us.  Even in the end, Dad wanted to focus on the grace and mercy of Christ.

Many things have been said about my dad and the type of man he was, but most of all I will remember him as a good Godly man and follower of Christ.

Worship Gear - Vol. 12

Not too long ago, Scott White, an old friend, reached out to me with some questions on programming his POD HD for some upcoming worship sets that he was planning for his church services. He wanted some help trying to nail the sounds he was hearing in the recordings.  Here’s the email exchange we had:

Scott’s request:

“Hey bro,

I need some expert advice so I'm coming to the expert.

We are finally integrating electric guitar into our group. I'm using my Gibson Les Paul along with POD HD500.

I know how to set up the foot pedal, but I'm not sure which amps, cabs, pedals and effects etc to use in these songs.

The songs I need set up advice are:
You are everything
Sing Sing Sing
Forever Reign

They sound very similar to me. I would like to keep it simple to start as far as set up.

Any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Here is the link containing the songs

CPCOH Sunday Set List:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLx75xoWWY-ia68pGjVnyCqKbDB4lWi3Nw”

My reply:

“Hey, Bro.

Hope your getting along well.  Odds are they are all using a similar “formula”

With the Les Paul and the POD, I would start with a Fender Blackface Deluxe (or something similar), Vox AC 30 (Beatles-esque), or a Marshall JTM (pre-Plexi, think Malcolm Young from AC/DC’s rhythm tone) style amp set bright.  Either should be set to just slightly overdrive, but will clean up when you back off the guitar’s volume a little bit.  This should cover 75-80% of your base tones for Comtemporary Worship music.

Pedal-wise, I would put a little boost like a TubeScreamer (sometimes Line 6 describes it as the favorite green box or something like that) in front for more gain / overdrive / distortion when you need it, and set it to taste.  You can experiement a little with different distortion / overdrive effects here to sculpt your desired sound, the TubeScreamer is pretty much the standard and most commonly used.

Other effects that I hear in these songs are some reverb, probably just a quick release plate reverb to add a little sheen over top of the sound.  I wouldn’t go overboard with effects, there’s not much here, maybe a little slapback delay (single, short repeat very close to the original in timing that sounds like a little extention of the same note), might take the place of the reverb in a few places, but that’s the only real difference I hear.

Have fun!  Let me know if you need my help.”

Scott’s response after the set:

“The tone advice worked great!!!”

My reasoning for this post and including the above exchange is that my guitar rig, Scott’s guitar rig, your guitar rig or any guitar rig does not exist in a vacuum.  That is to say that when you are chasing a sound, you need to think about the overall rig holistically and that each part of the chain from strings and picks to tubes and speakers work together to present your end product to the audience.  Some might call this an obsession, but I know, personally, I am much more confident when playing that I am getting a sound that I am expecting and it’s consistent.  To build and maintain this consistency, I tend to invest as much, or more, in time researching and auditioning components (pickups, amps, pedals etc.) as I do in money to purchase them.  Part of our goal for Crucible Guitar Works is to keep developing this conversation and continually learning as well as advising players along the way.  I invite all of you to become part of the conversation, here on the blog, on Twitter @CrucibleGuitars and on the Crucible Guitar Works Facebook page.

There are many basic “formulas” out there from which to start as you can see from the e-mail exchange, but sometimes you have try a couple to see what’s best for you.

God Bless,

D.K. Sears

Guitarist / Technical Advisor – Landmark Baptist Worship

Founder / Lead Guitar Designer / Tone Consultant – Crucible Guitar Works

Author – Worship Gear

Worship Gear - Vol. 10

This month at Worship Gear I’m going to take a break from the usual mundane talk about guitar gear and focus on some recent thoughts I’ve had on worship and life in general.

Over the past few months members of our community group have been doing a couple of different studies in addition to our pastor’s teachings on 2 Corinthians.  Some ideas have struck me during these studies and I have felt compelled by the Spirit to share them.  These thoughts are to encourage everyone out there to, as early as possible, come to terms with two things in life.

 

First, determine spiritually what it is you believe and more importantly why.  Coming to terms with your spiritual nature will have a profound impact on your life.  It’s only been over the last few years and the teachings and mentoring by a few biblically solid people in my life that I have really come to discern why I am a Christian.  Not just that I was raised in a Christian home or attended Christian churches most of my life, but because Christ, as part of the Holy Trinity, came to earth as man to live a sinless, blameless life only to be crucified on the cross by those he came to save.  Sin called for a sacrifice to end all sacrifices and  God himself, as Christ incarnate, laid Himself out as that sacrifice.  Therefore, sin is a BIG deal.  God is just and vengeful, in that unrepentant sin will be met by His judgment in the final day.  In this day that everyone says they should all and not judge, I think it’s still important to distinguish the power of sin in our world and the hope of Christ to forgive that sin and the shame that comes with it.  As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be in accountable relationships that help us grow through loving admonition and grace.  It may not be comfortable at times, if ever, but it is an important part of growing in Christ.

Second, determine your goals in life as early as possible.  Once you determine those goals, pursue them with full throttle enthusiasm and determination.  However, also know that God’s plan for your life may not line up perfectly with yours.  Living life with few regrets, to me, is a sign of maturity.  I can choose to be regretful and bitter that I am not where I thought I would be at this stage in my life, or I can be grateful and content with where God’s providence has brought me.  God has blessed my life in so many ways, that it would not be fair to be ungrateful that I am not the “rock star”, or not living in a plush mansion near Nashville or even simply not working within the music industry where I would like to be.  There is every reason to worship Him in every circumstance, simply because of Christ’s life, death, burial and resurrection.  The hope this brings to everyone and the promise of life everlasting.

God Bless,

D.K. Sears

Guitarist / Technical Advisor – Landmark Baptist Worship (www.lbcohio.com)

Founder / Lead Designer / Tone Consultant – Crucible Guitar Works

(www.facebook.com/crucibleguitarworks) (Twitter: @CrucibleGuitars)

Author – Worship Gear

Worship Gear - Vol. 9

Kit or custom?

I have had several people make the statement to me that Crucible Guitars are basically assembled from a kit or model.  It is true that much of a Crucible Guitar is created using pieces that are either pre-formed or completed to a certain stage upon arrival, but I do not believe that “kit” really encompasses what we do.  In fact, most people would be surprised to see how much, or little, of their favorite guitar of any make is actually made within the manufacturers’ own facilities.  When someone uses the word kit or model, I think of something that has very little of the creator instilled in it when it finished.  We are all individuals and our fingerprints or techniques will leave some indelible impression on the final product of anything we create, and the purchaser of a Crucible Guitar Works creation has sizeable input into what the finished product looks, sounds, feels and plays like.

Most guitar kits on the market do not allow for the purchaser to choose the type of wood for the neck or body, scale length, pickup configuration, hardware, pickup routing options or finishes.  Almost all of these are at the clients choosing on a Crucible creation, within reason.  

Want a mahogany “strat” with three humbuckers and a string-through hard tail bridge?

We can do that.

Want to add a quilt maple top with a dyed, stained, sunburst or hand applied oil finish?

We can do that.

Want to make it with your choice of scale length, 24 ¾ or 25 ½ ?

We can do that.

We source our parts from some of the same manufacturers that supply larger companies, and many of our parts are made in the U.S.

Two things we maintain as standards in a Crucible Guitar Works creation, stainless steel frets and satin finish necks.  We like both of these features as they add to the playability and, in the case of the stainless steel frets, the longevity of the instrument.  Satin finish necks just feel better and don’t tend to feel sticky to your hand as you play for long hours.  Stainless steel frets feel smoother and are far more wear resistant than standard nickel-silver fret wire.

Is there anything we don’t do at Crucible Guitar Works?  Lots! But two in particular.  First, we don’t cut corners.  Second, we don’t do “relic” or artificially age a guitar.  Not that there is anything wrong with the concept.  In fact, some of the best overall guitars I have played recently have been aged guitars from Nash guitars.  It is just something we prefer not to do at this point in time, but never say never.

Lastly, all profits earned on Crucible Guitar Works products or services are donated to further the ministry and community work of Landmark Ministries in Batavia, OH.  At Landmark, they are concerned about the well being of not only their families, but also the community of which they a part.  Through ministries such as weekly congregational services, local community group sharing lives together, Wrapping Clermont Together, and Steel Horse Ministries, Landmark is hard at work spreading the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.

God Bless,

D.K. Sears

Guitarist / Technical Advisor – Landmark Baptist Worship (www.lbcohio.com)

Founder / Lead Designer / Tone Consultant – Crucible Guitar Works

(www.facebook.com/crucibleguitarworks) (Twitter: @CrucibleGuitars)

Author – Worship Gear

Worship Gear - Vol. 8

Subtitle:  Confessions of a closet metal head and the artists who have had the most influence on my playing.

Whether it is a tasty overdriven solo or a solid crunchy rhythm guitar that is well executed, I have to admit I love heavy music and a well played dirty guitar tone from heavy blues and blues rock to 80’s metal.  Sure, an acoustic guitar is pleasant and can sound beautiful, but there is just something organic and visceral about a humbucker guitar run through a tube amp cranked to the hilt and how the player, guitar and amp meld together into an expressive sonic explosion that, when well executed, can be exciting and really draw an audience into a show.  Of course, this is probably evident from my previous posts detailing some of my gear choices, but it’s something that has been on my mind lately.

As I look back at the guitarists that have been some type of influence on me and my playing (I am sure there are many that I’ll overlook).  Some will be familiar to most while others may be a little more obscure, but here they are in no particular order:

Ace Frehley – Even though he’s best known for his work in KISS, Ace is one of those guitar players who unabashedly tries to be nothing but himself.  I was more of a fan of the band that KISS became in the 80’s with Bruce Kulick and Eric Carr (and later Eric Singer), and it is more the later solo career that Ace took on that really got my attention.  Songs like “Rock Soldiers”, written about his battle with addiction and finally getting sober show his determination and dedication to his craft and that he can be a force in the songwriting business as well as just a guitar player.  His take on the classic song “The Joker” plays homage to the original while leaving his mark on it in a tasteful manner.

Tommy Shaw / James Young – One of my earliest memories of listening to rock music was buying Foreigner’s Double Vision LP.  The second was getting Styx’s Kilroy Was Here album.  While that album was more keyboard driven, it did introduce me to the work of Tommy Shaw and James Young.  As I dug into more of Styx music, I found that the driving force of a dual lead guitar team is quite possibly one of the coolest things on earth.  The songwriting of these two and their near seamless interplay stills stands today as a hallmark in rock music to me and will likely stand the test of time through future generations.  Tommy’s style is a bit more like that of a singer / songwriter with big chords and arpeggiated rhythms. Meanwhile, JY’s style is a bit more rock oriented with tasty solos and driving rhythms that weave in and over the foundation of Tommy’s songwriting.

Phil Collen / Steve Clark / Vivian Campbell – Of what would be termed “Hair Bands” of the 1980’s, Def Leppard seems to have transcended those beginnings and maintained their staying power when many of their contemporaries have been lost in history.  Quite possibly one of the greatest dual lead guitar attacks in rock history, the original “Terror Twins” Phil Collen and Steve Clark laid down many huge riffs and soaring solos in the early days of the band.  Steve Clark’s masterful riffs set the platform from which Phil’s soloing and lead breaks launch with an impact seldom seen prior to this team.  Filling the shoes left by Clark’s untimely passing, Vivian Campbell has done an admirable job playing the classic songs with conviction while still imparting his own sense of style and tone to them.  He has also added further dimension to the band’s new sound and songwriting.

Richie Sambora – Probably known best as the lead guitarist for Bon Jovi for nearly 30 years, Richie Sambora has written and played on dozens of hit singles and several platinum records.  His blend of styles cover everything from Clapton influenced blues to Les Paul like jazz to Zeppelin-esque hard rock.  It is his body of solo work that really tells the tale of his many styles.  From the blues inflected “River of Love” from the Stranger in this Town album through the psychedelic “You’re Not Alone” on Undiscovered Soul to anthemic “Taking a Chance on the Wind” on the Aftermath of the Lowdown effort, Richie covers so much ground in his songwriting and playing.

Bob Hartman (Petra) / Oz Fox (Stryper) / Michael Sweet (Stryper) – In the conservative church setting I grew up in, the music we incorporated in our worship services was always geared toward corporate or choral singing to piano or maybe a an organ was thrown in there on occasion, but it what was considered “proper” at the time.  My first introduction to anything outside of this was hearing my first Petra songs.  The blues influenced guitar of Bob Hartman on “Walkin’ in the Light” and “Backslidin’ Blues” was a major departure and a revelation to me that “Christian” music didn’t have to be what I had experienced while growing up in church.  Fast forward about ten years and a new breed of bands begin to hit the scene influenced by the hard rock bands around the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.  Stryper may not have been the first of these bands, but I believe they were one of the most influential.  The opening riff to “Soldiers Under Command” announced a new era in Christian music, one that showed that the pharisaical hold of tradition in church music would be forever turned upside down.  To me, they were the gateway into heavy music.  The co-lead guitars of Michael Sweet and Oz Fox (yes, there is trend here in two guitar bands, if you hadn’t noticed), were also my introduction to Jackson Guitars and the now venerable super-Strat style guitar.  It is here where the desire to build the ultimate super-Strat was born and this turned into the genesis of Crucible Guitars many year later.

Kutless / Casting Crowns – From the early days of Petra and Stryper then on to modern worship bands, Christian music has been through many ups and downs.  While I don’t think that any of these bands would be considered strictly worship bands, I do think they have had a profound impact on the music being played in today’s worship services.  Kutless is carrying on the hard rock banner with heavier interpretations on classic worship songs as well as songs of their own like Strong Tower.  Casting Crowns has brought worship music to a mainstream level and made it accessible to many with their power pop style, driven by heavy guitar sounds and throwing in a fair dose of violin and great vocals along the way.

Mark Lee (Third Day) – Mark Lee and Third Day have probably had the most influence on my playing and the music I play over the last few years.  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t an early fan of the band.  In a cynical youth, I had all but written them off as a band trying to capitalize on using Christian as a label.  Fast forward several years, I join my current church family and as I start to play guitar more with some of the other members, we form a little outreach band playing covers and our drummer brings us several Third Day songs to use.  As I investigate the band and the lyrics more intently, I found that these guys are the real deal.  I have come to really appreciate their music and Mark’s playing style and his use of hybrid picking which is something I am trying to incorporate more into my skill set as a guitarist.

Eric Eikenberry / Jim Riley / Scott White – I would be remiss if I did not include these three guys in this list.  Few have heard of them, but they all have played a significant role in my development as a guitarist (such as it is).  Eric had been a long time friend from some of the earliest years of grade school and was really the one who introduced me to the guitar.  He’s a natural talent on many levels and without our friendly “competition” over the years, I probably would have never started playing guitar.  Jim Riley taught me a lot about playing within the context of a group.  Early in my days with my current church family, Jim would bring a bunch of us together on Friday evenings and we would go through and jam on classic rock covers and it was a great place for me to develop my ear and learn many of the intangibles that only come with playing in the context of a group.  I served the church family for about five years as a sound engineer for our Sunday morning services and special events.  During that time, we transitioned through a few different musical team iterations.  At one point, there was a quite talented guitarist come through named Scott White.  Scott and I hit on many common themes when it came to music and he convinced me to step out from behind the mixing board and play with the team.  He and I hit on a chemistry as a team that worked well.  It’s kind of interesting how God will lead these people into and through your life.  Eric now lives on the left coast and we communicate mostly through e-mail and Facebook.  Jim lives locally and still attends our church, but has a career that prevents him from being able to continue playing music like he had in the past.  Scott has moved on to a new congregation to serve through music.  None the less, I want to thank each of them publicly for the influence they have imparted to me through the years.

Worship Gear - Vol. 7

Super Strats - Born in the late '70's.  They have probably become one of the most ubiquitous forms of guitars of the last three decades.  From their beginnings in the hands of a young rock virtuoso in southern California, through the rise of the modders like Wayne Charvel and Grover Jackson, to the major manufacturers who nearly all produce one, the super strat captured the hearts and minds of many guitarists through the years.  The combination of the ergonomics and easy access to modifications of the basic Fender Stratocaster platform and the thicker more robust tones of the traditional Gibson humbucker equipped offerings create a instrument that is very versatile and very comfortable to play for extended periods.

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to building this type of guitar.  One is to create the most versatile guitar possible, striving to get as many tones as possible from one guitar in both Fender and Gibson styles.  The other is to focus on trying to bring the closest approximation of a Les Paul style tone from the basic strat platform.

As I count through my personal collection, five are super strats.  Three lean toward replicating as many different style tones as possible, while the other two go toward the other direction.

The formula for bringing out the most Gibson style tones from the Fender platform are fairly simple on the surface, just throw a humbucker (or two) into the neck and bridge positions and play.  However, there are a few other things that will help make the most of the platform.

First, start with a mahogany body.  To me, mahogany is the base of the Les Paul tone.  If it includes a fairly thick maple top, this will help brighten what can be a pretty thick tone.  Another would be to forego a vibrato system and set the guitar up with a fixed bridge such as a tune-o-matic style bridge.  The tune-o-matic creates a more solid join to the body at the bridge than a vibrato and also eliminates the big cavity carved out of the back of the guitar.

The second ingredient I feel is important is going to be the neck.  While the neck material, construction and mounting scheme will all have a bearing on the tone, there are a few things that will help bring the tone more into the Les Paul range.  One element of the neck that I consider crucial is the scale length.  Maintaining the scale length helps keep the warmer and somewhat woolier tones associated with short string scales.  As far as woods, I prefer all mahogany with ebony fretboards, but with a thick sounding mahogany body a maple neck will help brighten the tone and bring more overall balance to the sound.

The final element falls more into the realm of players' preference.  This is the pickups.  When it comes to finding Gibson style tones, the question is sometimes - which era tone are you after?  Many pickup manufacturers offer a wide variety of humbuckers designed to cover many sounds and genres.  Here are a few of my favorites:

DiMarzio -

• Super Distortion - This was on of the very first replacement pickups created to replace the much lower (on average) output Gibson PAF style humbuckers. The focus of this pickup is to bump the midrange response and increase the overall output to drive the front end of vintage non-master volume style amplifiers to generate overdrive without the aid of an additional pedal.
• PAF Pro - Based on a traditional PAF style pickup, this unit was developed with an emphasis on the upper midrange frequencies.  This design was developed in the 80's when there was a need to to have a clear sounding pickup with more power than the typical PAF and the midrange emphasis is helpful to cut through the dense effects processing being used at the time.     I like this as a neck pickup.  The vocal quality of the upper midrange response works well clearing up the sometimes dense, dark sound associated with the neck position.
• Air Norton - Designed to be an aired version of the Norton, it is medium in output and useful in both the neck and bridge positions.  It produces some nice harmonics and has nice, full sound that leans toward the warm side of the tonal spectrum.  I have been using this in the middle position of a three pickup guitar and when combined with either the PAF Pro I have in the neck and or the Super Distortion in the bridge position with a standard Strat style five way switch adds some harmonics and bit of phase cancellation that creates some useful tones for both rhythm and lead parts.

Seymour Duncan -

• Pearly Gates - originally created by Seymour Duncan to help replicate the tone of the famous Les Paul of the same name.  It is considered a PAF a class, vintage style humbucker.  It has a boosted upper midrange focus that translates into a more raucous and bold tone that cuts through a mix well.
• Jazz - In my opinion, one of the best neck pickups available.  The Jazz model is loosely based on an original PAF design with an increased emphasis on the upper registers to help  cut through what can be a thick and dense, almost muddy, sounding position.

I am still experimenting, but the genre of Super Strat type guitars can open a wide tonal palette for the guitarist in a worship setting.  I believe it is one that has been pigeonholed into specific musical genres over the last few years, and almost lost in the rage to find "vintage" or "boutique" tone.  However, I think everyone should venture out and find, or rediscover, it's unique and  flexible voice.

Until next time...

God Bless,
D. K. Sears
Guitarist / Technical Advisor – Landmark Baptist Worship (www.lbcohio.com)
Founder / Lead Designer / Tone Consultant – Crucible Guitar Works
(www.facebook.com/crucibleguitarworks) (Twitter:  @CrucibleGuitars)
Author - Worship Gear

Worship Gear - Vol. 6

In our last meeting, I started a down a detour of the signal path through my effects pedals.  I covered the compression, overdrive and distortion units.  This time around I want to talk a little about effects used to create textures.  I prefer chorus, delay and phase for this purpose.

When possible, I like to run this type of effect through an effects loop on my amp.  I like this type of set up to give my tone more of a studio quality.  Many times running delay and modulation effects through the front of the amp just don't sound quite proper.

The first effect that my signal runs through is an MXR EVH Phase 90.  This is a pretty cool little unit, not just because it is painted up like Van Halen’s guitar, but because it gives you access to both of the classic sounds of the Phase 90 with the press of a button.  The controls on this pedal are pretty simple, a single knob that controls the speed of the phase “swirl”, an on / off button and a “script” button.  The script button changes the character of the pedal from the brash, modern in your face sound of the “block” logo Phase 90 in normal mode with the button up; to the smoother, more reserved swirling sound of the classic ‘70’s orange pedal with the script logo that has graced so many recordings over the years (including some of Eddie’s).  I prefer the classic sound of the script mode.  So, I tend to leave mine set with the script button pushed in and the speed control set between 9:00 and 10:00 for a nice, slow swirling effect that works well in context with many contemporary worship tunes.

We then move onto the Visual Sound H2O Version 2.  This is another two in one pedal housing an analog delay with controls on the right side and a chorus with controls on the left.  For the delay side, Visual Sound describes this as a “hybrid digital and analog circuit that allows for long delay times and warm, natural repeats”.  I tend to leave this set for a slapback style echo, but this pedal has a wide range of adjustments available from three knobs and a small black rocker switch.  For my settings on this effect, I start with their recommended settings listed as “Classic Slapback” in the user manual with the echo time set at 9:00, repeats around 10:00 (VS recommends 12:00) and effect level at 12:00. The delay time switch is set to “long”.  This adds a nice subtle, spacious reverb quality that gives a touch of studio polish to the sound.  I use this mostly with my Mesa Boogie Stiletto through the effects loop, but I have come to like the sound of it over a spring reverb unit like the one in my Soldano.

On the chorus side, Visual Sound describes this as an analog delay with digital control using bucket-brigade style chips that are designed to pass the sound on from one chip to the next.  This style of chorus has a smooth sound that rounds off the higher frequencies on the regenerations in a way that feels natural.  I also set the chorus to a fairly minimal effect, starting with the manufacturers recommended settings labeled as “70s Chorus” in the owner’s manual.  The speed control is set to 10:00 (VS recommends 2:00); width is at 9:00 and delay time on 12:00 (VS recommends 5:00).  The “Normal/Lush” switch is set to normal.

The next pedal in line it a tc electronic Flashback delay.  This is a multi function digital delay with 11 delay types and the availability of downloading custom tone presets from tc called Toneprints.  My favorite delay types are the 2290, tape and slapback.  I generally set the unit for a slapback type delay with a short delay time and only one or two reflections.  The difference in the three different modes using similar setups is differing degrees of clarity.  Using the 2290 and Slap modes are cleaner sounding with the 2290 delay type emulates the classic 2290 rack unit that set the standard for digital delay back in 1985.  This is a very clean transparent delay that doesn't color your tone significantly.  The slap type adds a little more warmth to my ears, or could used to simulate a clean reverb unit.  The tape setting does something a little something interesting when you turn down the delay time and feedback controls.  Similar to an actual tape delay unit the warble in the tape mechanism adds a modulation to the signal making for an interesting reverb like effect that adds a little movement to the sound.  Very nice sounding and useful.

After the Flashback is my newest pedal, the Strymon Flint.  I've always been a big fan of plate style reverb to add a little sheen to my sound.  The Flint does this almost perfectly for me.  The Flint is pretty simple pedal with two effects built in and available independently.  the right side of the pedal controls the reverb with three modes available through a selector switch including spring, plate and hall reverbs.  All three are very musical and accurate sounding for a digital pedal.  The left side controls a tremolo effect.  A tremolo effect changes the volume of the signal.  Depending on the intensity setting, the effect can be be subtle with slight variations, or fairly dramatic to the point of creating a stutter effect by shutting the volume nearly off at its low point.  My favorite setting is the power tube mode set for a subtle rhythmic throb.

This combination of pedals gives me a lot of flexibility and tone that is some of the best I've had thus far.
These particular effects are pretty standard fare in worship music, today.  When used in the proper context to serve the song, they can be beneficial.  If not, they can be a distraction to you congregation and may hinder their response.

Next time, I’ll cover the utility pieces that fill in and help everything work as smoothly and consistently as possible.

God Bless,
D. K. Sears
Guitarist / Technical Advisor – Landmark Baptist Worship (www.lbcohio.com)
Founder / Lead Designer / Tone Consultant – Crucible Guitar Works
(www.facebook.com/crucibleguitarworks) (Twitter:  @CrucibleGuitars)
Author - Worship Gear