Name: Jason Lamoreaux  
Bands: The Corrupting Sea
Websites: myspace.com/thecorruptingsea

QRD – What was your first guitar & what happened to it?

Jason – Fender Mexican Strat - still have it.

QRD – What’s your typical set-up from guitar to effects to amplifier?

Jason – I work purely with a computer. I run both my bass (Gibson 5 String) & guitar through an Ampeg SVTIII Pro, then through an Omega computer connection mini-sound device & then to the USB port in the comp.

QRD – What’s the most important part of your rig - guitar, amplifier, or effects?

Jason – Um, my guitar :).

QRD – What’s your main amplifier & why?

Jason – Ampeg SVTIII Pro - I love the solid state/tube amp options on this model.  The versatility in tone adjustment is diverse & makes for personalizing it vast.

QRD – What’s your main guitar & what are the features that make it such?

Jason – Mexican Strat :).  I love the tones it has.  It’s both warm & tinny at the same time.

QRD – If you had a signature guitar, what would it look like & what would some of its features be?

Jason – 5 Passive Pick Ups for diverse options in sound.  The wood would be thick & heavy to get a nice warm low end.  Being a bass player primarily, I love a good, warm guitar.  The fret board would be made of a dark wood for this primary reason.

QRD – If you had a signature pedal, what would it be & what would some of its features be?

Jason – Some form of a boutique delay pedal.  I’m a sucker for walls of sound.  Probably a mad professor deep blue because it produces great vintage tones.

QRD – How many guitars do you own?

Jason – 1 six string; 1 five sting bass.

QRD – How & where do you store your guitars?

Jason – When in use, they are out on stands in my office.  When not, they are in hard cases or soft cases in a storage closet in my house so they are out of the sunlight, etc.

QRD – What do you wish guitar cases had that they usually don’t?

Jason – For me, protection is of the utmost importance & my hard cases do everything I need.

QRD – What features do you look for when buying a guitar?

Jason – Tone, feel, & passive pick-ups.

QRD – How much do you think a good guitar should cost?

Jason – Oh geeze.  That’s hard to say for a poor dude.

QRD – Do you upgrade & customize your guitars or just stick with what you get?

Jason – I generally don’t mess with my guitars because I’m pretty mechanically inept.  Don’t let me fix your toilet or anything ;).

QRD – How thoroughly do you research or test a piece of equipment before buying it?

Jason – I tend to read up on a piece of equipment for hours; then, once I’ve narrowed down choices, I will find a local shop where I can go spend an hour or so messing with it.

QRD – Do you change your rig around often?

Jason – Nope.  Don’t have the cash to do so.

QRD – Are you after one particular guitar tone & locking into it, or do you like to change your tone around a lot?

Jason – Because I’m an experimental musician, I change things up A LOT.  Probably every time I begin recording a new track.

QRD – What are some guitars, amps, & pedals you particularly lust after?

Jason – Mesa Boogie Royal Atlantic RA-100, Mesa Boogie 4x12 cabinet, Mesa Boogie Walkabout, TC Electronic Flashback TonePrint Delay Looper Guitar Effects Pedal.

QRD – What do you think are some important features to be on a person’s first guitar that aren’t always there?

Jason – I think simple is best on a first guitar.  Just make sure the pick-ups are passive.

QRD – What have been the best & worst guitar related purchases you’ve made?

Jason – Hm.... I’m pretty careful, so I can’t say I have one.

QRD – What are some effect, amp, & guitar brands you particularly like or dis-like & why?

Jason – BC Rich funky ass metal guitars.  I mean, how awkward can a guitar get to play?  Their Beast, V, & Mockingbird basses feel like shit in your hands.  Beyond that, they sound like clunky crap when played.

QRD – What’s the first thing you play when you pick up a guitar?

Jason – I make it up when I go along.  I love the A sus chord though.  So soothing.

QRD – How old were you when you started playing guitar?

Jason – I’m actually a bass player.  I started when I was about 14.  Picked up guitar here & there along the way.

QRD – At what age do you think you leveled up to your best guitar playing?

Jason – Haven’t gotten close.

QRD – Why do you think a guitar fits you more so than other instruments?

Jason – I like how it feels in my hand. Also, I have to move around while playing or I go nuts.  Pianos are nice, but I just feel stilted by it & drums work but I hate just sitting in one place.

QRD – Do you think guitar should be people’s first instrument as often as it is?

Jason – No, hence mine is a bass :).

QRD – Do you see your guitar as your ally or adversary in making music?

Jason – Yes.

QRD – Who are the guitarists that most influenced your playing & sound?

Jason – Eric Campuzano, Jason21, Torsten Kinsella, Niels Kinsella, Herb Grimaud Jr., Niel Halstead, Graham Halstead, Robin Guthrie.


QRD – Do you think people anthropomorphizing their guitars is natural or silly (e.g. naming their guitar)?

Jason – Don’t care.

QRD – What’s the most physical damage you’ve done to a guitar & how did you do it?

Jason – None.

QRD – What do you do to practice other than simply playing?

Jason – I warm up with scales & such.

QRD – How many hours a week do you play guitar & how many hours would you like to?

Jason – I play when I record now.  When I was younger, I played often & almost daily.

QRD – What type of pick do you use & why?

Jason – On the bass, I use no pick.  On the guitar, I try to find the flimsiest pick I can.  I just love how it feels.

QRD – What gauge strings do you use & why?

Jason – I use a light string on my guitar.  I like the high end on them.

QRD – How often do you change strings?

Jason – I try to do it after two or three recording sessions.

QRD – How often do you break strings?

Jason – I don’t.

QRD – Which do you feel is more proficient, your strumming hand or fretting hand & how does that effect your style?

Jason – Fretting.  I tend to play singular notes instead of chords when I record, but that has to do with the style of music I play I guess.

QRD – Do you set-up your guitar yourself or send it to a guitar tech (or not set it up at all) & why?

Jason – Me.  Cuz of cash.

QRD – What tunings do you use & why?

Jason – I use standard.  Haven’t played much with any other.

QRD – Do you prefer tablature, sheet music, or some other notation system for writing down your own ideas?

Jason – No notation please.  I’m not good at reading it & playing.

QRD – How high do you hold your guitar when playing (strap length)?

Jason – Like, measured?  Um, don’t know.  I like to have the guitar at about my stomach.

QRD – What’s a bad habit in your playing you wish you could break?

Jason – The “not playing enough” habit.

QRD – Playing what other instrument do you think can most help someone’s guitar playing?

Jason – I think pianos can teach us about chord structures & seeing the notes differently.  That can break us out of seeing our guitar structure in a stagnant way.

QRD – What’s a type of guitar playing you wish you could do that you can’t?

Jason – Jazz.

QRD – What’s a guitar goal you’ve never accomplished?

Jason – I’m not dead yet.

QRD – What’s the last guitar trick you learned?

Jason – None.

QRD – What’s your favorite guitar gadget (ebow, capo, slide, string cutter, etc)?

Jason – My Guitool.

QRD – What’s a guitar technique you’d like to master, but haven’t?

Jason – I would like to be more proficient in going from the high end of the neck to the low without much notice in the jump.

QRD – Did you ever take guitar lessons & if so, what did you learn from them?

Jason – I did.  It helped me with chord structures & scales a bunch.

QRD – What would you teach someone in a guitar lesson that you don’t think they would generally get from a guitar teacher?

Jason – Well, probably the same thing my bass teacher taught me... think way outside the box.

QRD – What’s something someone would have to do to emulate your style?

Jason – I hope no one ever tries.

QRD – What’s your take on tremolo systems?

Jason – Don’t use ‘em.

QRD – How often do you adjust your tone knob?

Jason – On almost every track.

QRD – What do you see as the difference between lead guitar & rhythm guitar players?

Jason – I’m hard pressed to make that distinction anymore simply because the music I listen to doesn’t create those barriers or labels.

QRD – If a band has good guitar work, can you ignore the rest of the band not being good?

Jason – Hell no.

QRD – What famous musician’s guitar would you like to own & why?

Jason – None.  No person makes an object magically more important to me.

QRD – Who do you think is currently the most innovative guitar player & why?

Jason – Torsten & Niels Kinsella - I’m more about sound innovations & pasting together different tones & these two are masters at doing just that!

QRD – Where can people hear your best guitar work?

Jason – In my head.

QRD – Anything else?

Jason – Nope.