Guitarist
I'm Michael Britt and I play in the country group Lonestar. We got together over 15 years ago and have been making records since 1995. We currently have a new single out at radio. "Let Me Love You" is the first release off our upcoming cd "The Future" which is due out in September. We're currently touring, visiting radio stations and working on the new cd. For more info on the band, feel free to check out www.lonestarnow.com and read my blog regarding the latest news with Lonestar. You can check out The Official Lonestar Myspace page as well. Please visit and add the band as your friend!
Songwriter
I've been fortunate to have some of my songs cut on Lonestar records over the years. "Runnin' Away With My Heart" was on our first cd, "Noise" was on our Coming Home cd and "My Christmas List" was out on our My Christmas List cd available at Cracker Barrel stores last Christmas.
About the songs above:
"Anywhere With You" is the newest addition to my MySpace song selections. This is a song I co-wrote with my buddy Brian Nutter who's currently out on the road with keith urban. It's been a few years since this demo, so I can't remember all the players, but I know our old bass player Keith Horne played bass on it and my songwriting buddy Danny Myrick was nice enough to sing lead on it and I sang bgv's. I played all the guitars and there was a drummer and keyboard player whose names escape me at present. This mix is one I did myself in the back of the bus after adding an additional (dissonant-sounding) signature type lick on the intros and turns.
"Morning After" is another Hwy Jones session song written by John Rich and myself, featuring John on bass and lead vocals, Keech on drums and me on guitar with Reese Wynans on B3 Organ. It was just a fun song and an excuse to say "Lucky Charms" and "Andy Griffith" in the same song.
"If It's Already Over" is a demo of a song co-written with Derek George. Derek is singing lead and playing acoustic and features Lee Hendricks (bass), Bryan White (drums), and I'm sorry to say I don't remember the names of the piano and steel players. This was a "mailbox demo" in that after tracking, Derek gave me a stereo mix on a cd and I did all of the electric guitars in a hotel room with a Line 6 Pod. Then I dropped those tracks back in his mailbox to mix and he did an awesome job.
" "I Can't Forget" is another song from the Hwy Jones sessions in '97. I'm playing classical guitar and John is playing bass and Keech is playing drums. John Catchings is playing cello. It's one of my favorite songs that I've written. John and I wrote it in about an hour one night.
"Untitled" is an acoustic thing I recorded one afternoon as an excuse to noodle on acoustic with my then-new MBox. Keech programmed the percussion loop on his handsonic electronic drum on the bus and I put down the rhythm acoustic (my Taylor 614CE) direct into the MBox while we were on the bus going down the road. When I got to the hotel, I recorded the solo acoustic parts through a Studio Projects C1 microphone on my Epiphone 00 Masterbuilt prototype acoustic. It's all one pass, except for one punch towards the end where you can hear the tone change pretty dramatically due to slightly different mic angle after the punch.
Gearhead
As far as being a gearhead, here is a list of companies I endorse or, at the very least, highly value for their great stuff: Tom Anderson Guitars, Taylor Acoustic Guitars, Fender Guitars and Amps, Paul Reed Smith Guitars, Seymour Duncan Pickups and Effects, Duesenberg Guitars, Divided By 13 Amps, X2 Digital Wireless, Gibson Guitars, Marshall Amps, George L. Cables, D'Addario Strings, Jim Dunlop Picks & Capos & Accessories, Celestion Speakers, Shure Microphones, Royer Microphones, Line 6 effects, and t.c. electronic effects.
Guess what?? I changed my rig again... I know, I know, it's hard to believe. We just finished up rehearsals for our summer tour and I had been weighing the pros and cons of real amp gain and ended up trying to incorporate the big head switching rig. What I finally settled on was a mono configuration using 4 amp heads for various tones/stages of gain. Amp 1 is a Fender Super-Sonic on the "Bassman" setting. It's a nice, fat Fender clean sound that has a little bit of spank to it. Amp 2 is my Divided By 13 FTR37. I run it with the volume knob pulled (mid boost) and it is cleanish with a little breakup when I hit it hard or use humbucker guitars. Amp 3 is my Matchless HC30 and it's a nice, smooth overdriven sound on the right channel (EF86 channel). Amp 4 is my Marshall JMP 50 watter and it's my go-to solo amp.
I've slimmed down my pedalboard for this rig as well. I'm still using the Boss FV500H volume pedal and a Korg DT-1 tuner out of the X2 Digital Wireless. After that, I go into my trusty Boss Limiter, then into my Paul Cochrane Tim pedal (he's in my top friends by the way), then into a t.c. Nova Modulator and Nova Delay. I just recently picked up the Nova Modulator, and man it's got some great sounds in it. After those pedals, I go into a Bradshaw Amp Selector which lets me select which amp I want to play through and then sends that amp to whatever speaker cabinet I want. I had a custom selector pedal built by RJM Music to select the amp heads via control switches so I don't have to use midi. I'm currently using a Sonic 212 (Vox-type repro) with Celestion Vintage 30 and G12H Heritage speakers. I'm mic'ing the cabinet with my Royer 121 and a Shure SM57.
My current road guitars are a Tom Anderson Hollow T, a Tom Andeson Cobra with Duncan P90's, a Duesenberg Starplayer, a G&L ASAT with Hipshot B-Bender/D Tuner, a PRS CE24 with Duncan Phat Cat P90's, and a new PRS Singlecut 245.
My Anderson Cobra probably sees the most stage time because it sounds great and is very versatile with the 3 P90 pickups. It can sound like a fat Tele or a Strat and sounds great with more gain as well for more rockin' stuff. The Anderson Hollow T is my go-to for true (although modern) Telecaster tones. I use the G&L ASAT for the song "Heartbroke Everyday" from our first CD because it prominently features a signature B-Bender part with a Drop D. The ASAT lends itself to the Hipshot bender because the strings go through the back of the bridge as opposed to through the body. I use the CE24 as a backup for the Cobra or in instances where I want the P90 sound but with the great PRS tremolo system. The PRS 245 Singlecut is great for rockin' stuff and is dead stable with the stop tailpiece so I can beat on it a little. And then there's the Duesenberg... it has the smoothest Bigsby-esque tremolo I've evern played and the bridge pickup is incredibly sweet for a humbucker. .
When I play acoustic guitar I usually play one of my two Taylor acoustics. I have an emerald green 614CE with a Baggs IMix system in it as well as a GS Maple with a Fishman pickup. Both sound great and play incredibly. I have a few other acoustics including a Bourgeois OM with Rosewood back and sides that records incredibly, an Epiphone Masterbuilt prototype OO, an Alvarez Yairi DY38, and an Alvarez Yairi Classical. On acoustic gigs with the full band, I'll often run a ZVex SHO or Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive for a solo boost. I run through either a Pendulum or ART preamp and if feedback problems are persistent, I have a Tom Anderson Crowdster acoustic as well.
