Wisdom Moonmy journey of faith

We have received questions from some of our listeners on how to lead with an electric guitar vs. an acoustic guitar.  Since neither Wisdom or Ben lead “plugged in”, we asked Troy Kennedy if he wouldn’t mind sharing with you all his set up and any advice he might have for a leader making that transition. HUGE thanks to Troy for taking time to share with us.  (BTW: Troy will be at the upcoming AllAboutWorship retreat) Check the video below for a great rig walk thru with Troy then scroll below for a detailed list of his set up:

The best thing I can say is to keep it very simple, especially at first. It can be very distracting if you have too many elements to juggle while you are leading. Some guys should never get too deep into this stuff. It can be a hole in the ground in which to pour money. So only pursue this stuff if you need to, it is fun for you and it doesn’t derail you as a lead worshiper. Consider yourself warned! (Actually, it is a lot of fun in an OCD kind of way for me.)

Start off with a Telecaster and a good low powered amp like a Vox AC15 or Fender Deluxe Reverb (Either the Hot Rod or the Reissue. I like the reissue.) Even with those amps, it is unlikely you will get the amp loud enough in your church for it to be breaking up on it’s own. You will need pedals for any kind of overdrive or distortion.

Also, the digital modeling route is a great, cost effective way to go. Can sound great if you spend time dialing it in. For most churches, may be the best way to go. The Line6 X3 Live would be my recommendation. Plus, you can download artist patches online from guys like Lincoln Brewster who have it very dialed in. Great for all levels of players and the price is right!

The options are endless but here are a few ideas. Remember it can get expensive very fast. Keep it simple and take your time developing your rig. Don’t add to it until you are very comfortable with your basic setup

Basic entry level, inexpensive setup:
Telecaster
Vox AC15 or Fender Deluxe
Line6 M9 for effects (distortions, delays etc..)
(or bag it all and get the X3 Live!)

Mid Level:
Strat or Les Paul type guitar
Vox AC30, Fender Twin, Marshall (these are LOUD amps)
Line6 M13 (more effects options)
Fulltone Fulldrive 2 Overdrive or some tube screamer variant
Ratt Distortion, and some kind of Fuzz. Zvex (Only buy these kind pedals if you don’t like the distortions/OD’s in the M13. Most people will never exhaust the possibilities of the M13)
Volume pedal.

High End:
Boutique guitars like Suhr, Anderson, Tyler, Fender Custom Shop.
Effects: Either the M13 or the Fractal Audio Axe FX. There are a TON of great pedal makers out there.
I like Suhr amps for their flexibility, quality and amazing sound. EIther the Badger 18, Badger 30 or PT50/100. The Badger amps incorporate something called power scaling that allows you to get power amp break up at low volumes. VERY COOL! Also a hand wired AC30 is really nice.

This is my rig (right now):
Guitars- Suhr S1, Suhr M2, Anderson Atom -- elixir strings and cable.
Effects -- M13, Lovepedal Eternity, Suhr Koko Boost, Radial amp switcher.
Amps -- Suhr Badger 18 through open back 2x12 with a blue and H30. Suhr PT50 (3 channels) through 2x12 closed back with Scumback M75’s (better versions of a celestion greenback to my ears.)

warning! -- I play my amps at very high volumes because we keep the cab’s in iso boxes backstage. Otherwise, I would stick to the Badger, power scaled amps or a direct rig like the Line6 X3Live or Fractal AxeFX. Most popular amps like the Ac30 are just too loud for church applications without a tone of baffling.

-Troy

This is one of my closest friends, Josh Purdie. He just recently moved here to be a part of the music academy at IHOP. He is an amazing musician and songwriter. He can pretty much pick up and play any instrument.

One of my goals for 2010 is to learn new techniques on the guitar such as this one…

Not…

I don’t know how this kid is playing the guitar like this! Amazing!

1. Kansas weather is unpredictable.
I realized how random and unpredictable Kansas weather is. Day before Christmas Eve it was about 50 degrees; Christmas Eve we faced a blizzard. Enough said…I was singing “I’m dreaming of a warm, sunny, California Christmas” in my head.

2. There are still Good Samaritans.
We were driving out of our driveway on Christmas to go to our in-laws 10 miles away. Being the Californian that I am, I didn’t think about the piles of snow from the blizzard. Needless to say we didn’t even make it out of our driveway and got stuck in the snow. I got my snow shovel out and started to dig around the tires. We saw one of our neighbors shoveling snow as well and trying to get out of ourcul-de -sac. I shoveled for a long time, probably 20 minutes, and just couldn’t get our minivan out of our driveway. Our neighbor at this point made it out of our cul-de-sac into freedom. Then, after driving away several yards they stopped. A guy came out of the car with a shovel and ran back to our house and offered to help. He wasn’t even wearing a coat in the below freezing weather! With his help we were finally able to make our way to my in-laws…after 30 minutes of shoveling. We had a few other Good Samaritans help us get our van unstuck that day.

3. I don’t like winter.
When I lived in California I always told people I like winter better than summer. Obviously, winter really doesn’t exist in California. As harsh as summer is here in Kansas, I much prefer it over having snow storms. This past weekend I stayed couped up indoors as much as my wife would tolerate.

4. Playing video games is good for your health.
We were blessed with a Wii this Christmas. Of course, my boys love it, but I love it just as much! I didn’t realize playing video games can be so good for you. I haven’t had my heart pumping so much for a while as I did playingWii sports. My arms and shoulders are still sore. I love all the sports games: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing, but I think my favorite is tennis. I’m quickly working my way up to Pro level. Anybody wanna challenge me?

5. It’s good to get away from the computer.
I really didn’t go on the computer much this past weekend, which is unusual for me. (My wife says that I’m always on the computer.) I have a lot of things in the works (i.e. new websites, worship retreat, etc.). However, I really just wanted to hang out and enjoy my wife and kids. It was such a blast! I think this was probably my most memorable Christmas ever. There was no drama, no arguments, and no sicknesses.

Thank you, Lord, for such a special Christmas. Thank you for my amazing wife and kids. I am so blessed to have them.

This is a powerful song…led by Chris Quilala and Kim Walker of Jesus Culture.

I love this video of MercyMe at the shooting range. I especially love the background music by Carman. Perfect for this video.

One of my favorite songwriters, Paul Baloche, was recently interviewed on the 700 Club.

Of course, you can also listen to our recent interview with him on the All About Worship Podcast.

Here are five requirements to Get Hired As A Professional Worship Leader that you might see on a church’s job posting:

1. Must know how to play the acoustic guitar.
If you know how to play the electric, that’s a bonus. You should know how to play eight main chords and you’ll be set to play 90% of worship songs: E, A, B, C#m, G, C, D, Em. If you know how to use a capo, that’s a plus. If you know how to play with a cut capo, you’re hired!

2. Must know how to style your hair.
Hair is key when it comes to leading worship. If you don’t know what the latest hairstyle is, don’t bother applying. If you can grow a cool goatee, you’re hired! If you look cool with highlights, we’ll give you a raise!

3. Must know what’s in when it comes to clothing.
Last time we checked, plaid and tight pants are in. If you can wear tight pants as a guy and not feel insecure, you’ll be at the top of our list. Oh, and don’t forget the latest shoe fads. We even give you a separate budget for stage clothes because we know how important it is to stay relevant.

4. Must know how to imitate.
We’re not looking for someone trying to be original. We want someone who can imitate famous artists, especially when it comes to singing with an accent. Also, you gotta know the lingo used in rock music circles.

5. Must own an iPhone.
You must own an iPhone or be willing to obtain one shortly after hire. This verifies that you are a legit musician. Anyone without an iPhone is not qualified to call themselves a musician or artist. The iPhones is a necessary tool that every musician, especially worship leaders, must have. You must also be knowledgeable in which apps are used by musicians today.

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Obviously, this list of requirements are not really on any church’s job description, at least I hope not. However, it does seem like there’s an image that some “celebrity” and “non-celebrity” worship leaders tend to try to keep these days. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a goatee or wearing certain clothes, but I do believe we as worship leaders need to check our hearts. Are we more concerned about our image and our cool factor than making sure that people are engaged in worshipping and glorifying God? Is our church more concerned about looking relevant to the seeker that walks into our service than whether our services pleases God or not?

Lord, help us to recognize that being a worship leader is a serious calling with serious, eternal consequences. Help us to be worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth.