Visiting Vernon Reid | The Making of Stompbox Book

If you weren’t already aware of a prolific, game-changing artist named Vernon Reid, a title such as Visiting Vernon could be a story light on substance and heavy on cute. Lucky for us it was indeed Vernon, Eilon and I visiting his home base – a place he affectionately calls “Shaolin.”

Set in a corner of a nondescript cul-de-sac camouflaged by a pair of mighty oak trees stood our destination. As we climbed the wood steps to the porch we were warmly greeted by Chairman Meow AKA Mao – the Reid family cat who would be a constant companion throughout the visit. Flying solo at the homestead Vernon answered the door with that ear-to-ear grin I’ve come to know and love.

After greetings were complete a pot of coffee was fired up and set up commenced. Take note: this wasn’t just any joe. This was Cafe Bustelo. It was on. The coffee, the afternoon, the shoot, the everything. For those who have partaken in this ground up jet fuel know full well of what I speak.

For me it was an extra special treat to be invited to the Reid residence for this shoot given our long-standing pedal nerd comradery. Vernon and I actively participate in firing off random texts to each other between the occasional phone calls where we catch up on the latest offerings from our preferred posse of pedal designers. It was in one of these exchanges I locked down Vernon’s participation in this project.

The ProCo Rat and the additional pedals Vernon brought upstairs were but a small battalion from the million man army of pedals, amps, rack processors and what-have-you lurking downstairs in the basement.

While we were there to capture the original ProCo Rat pedal that was used to create the raucous tones heard in Living Colour’s trademark work, Cult of Personality, Eilon and I were also treated to a look at some of Vernon’s most prized stompboxes. Vernon being the colorful storyteller that he is had a tale for each one. There was the original Schumann PLL Vernon purchased straight from Main Drag Music where Dave Schumann was building them. To make it even more valuable to PLL aficionado, Vernon’s PLL has a rare expression pedal in modification done by the creator himself. Boasting another early adopter acquisition he took out his vintage EHX 16 Second Delay he used on “Ignorance is Bliss” [Staind]. Other notable picks from the vault were the ever-quirky Pefftronics Rand-O-Matic, a Snazzy Fx Wow and Flutter and the much talked about DigiTech XP300 Space Station — the latter being represented by not just one specimen, but two. 

The ProCo Rat and the additional pedals Vernon brought upstairs were but a small battalion from the million man army of pedals, amps, rack processors and what-have-you lurking downstairs in the basement. When we took a break from the shoot Vernon escorted me down to see it all. He made sure it was me and me alone stopping Eilon and his camera at the door (sorry!). When I tell you it’s a gearhead’s place of eternal joy and wonder I’m fully embracing the concept of understatement. It was one to-die-for piece after another. Everything from his vintage guitar synths like the Roland GR-700 and GR-300 to an Eventide H3000 to his extra DigiTech Space Station to more and more pedals. From everyone.

Sweetening the afternoon was Vernon’s guitars hanging on the walls in various rooms. Seeing many of these axes over the years in videos and magazine appearances including a few infamous cover photos I felt like I was meeting pen pals in person for the first time. All those uniquely painted custom Hamer guitars were there alongside his signature PRS S2 VR Vela, his cast of Parker Fly’s and more. The showstopper was the iconic swirl ESP equipped with EMG’s Vernon plugged into the aforementioned Rat pedal when he recorded Cult.

Truth be told at the end of it all the showstopper was Vernon himself. A gracious host with a flare for conversation like no other Vernon made a long drive from the Jersey Shore a non-issue. Well, the Cafe Bustelo played an undeniable role. At the end of the day visiting Vernon was heavy on fun and cute was absolutely covered by Chairman Meow.

Full interview and photo of Vernon’s RAT is featured in the Stompbox Book. Order now

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