It was one of those sleepy evenings when I wasn’t looking to accomplish anything with a guitar.
I picked up Joy, plugged her into the VHT Special 6 (with the Orange PPC108), and brought out Chain A. Nothing unusual about the setup. The Dunlop FFM2 Fuzz Face Mini was at its usual settings, volume at three o’clock and fuzz at five. The Keeley Dynatrem was there too, although tonight I wasn’t using it for its usual slapback delay. I wanted reverb.
I wanted a little dirt in the air.
I stayed around A major, moving between A major and A major-sus, creating little loops manually with my fingers. No RC-10R, no backing track, no attempt to build a proper song. Just a progression that gave me somewhere to wander.
I rolled back Joy’s neck pickup volume a little. Enough to keep the fuzz from overwhelming everything, but not so much that the distortion disappeared. The notes retained their rough edges, softened by the reverb, hanging in the air a little longer than they normally would.
It was dreamy. Sleepy. A little hazy around the edges.
I played with my fingers, without a pick, mostly running notes around the upper frets near the neck joint. I wasn’t particularly interested in playing anything clever. The notes were there to keep the sound moving, to give the background a little life without disturbing its stillness.
There was no need to go anywhere musically. A major, A major-sus, and back again. The same small space, revisited over and over, with little variations appearing almost by accident.
I didn’t need to record it. I didn’t need to save a loop or remember a particular phrase. There was nothing to finish and nothing to show anyone afterwards.
I was simply enjoying the sound.
Somewhere along the way, I became so comfortable with the dreamy distortion floating in the background that I literally dozed off. I had been playing for about twenty minutes.
I suppose that’s one way to end a guitar session.
I’ve been thinking lately about how much I want to simplify my relationship with pedals. I don’t want to spend my playing time chasing the right tone, adjusting knobs and wondering whether another setting might be better. I want to set things up, find a sound I like, and get on with playing.
Tonight was a small reminder of why.
The FFM2 was already where I wanted it. The amp was familiar. All I did was give the Dynatrem a different job and roll back Joy’s volume a little. Then I played.
No elaborate pedalboard. No carefully constructed arrangement. No need to make the session productive.
Just a guitar, an amp, a little fuzz, some reverb, and twenty minutes of following my ears until I drifted off.
Perhaps the best thing about playing at home is that the music doesn’t always have to lead somewhere. Sometimes it can simply fill the room, soften the edges of an evening, and keep you company for a while.
And sometimes, apparently, it can put you to sleep.
I think Joy and I did just fine tonight.