The friendship and shared equipment enthusiasm between Larry Carlton and Andy Brauer goes back more than 2 decades.

For your enjoyment we present the following excerpt from Guitar Player, October '99 when Larry mentions Andy in an article entitled,

The Return of Mr. 335 (by Rusty Russell)

Back in Sunburst For some 15 years, the man who built his reputation on the sweet, buttery sound he coaxed from a '68 sunburst Gibson ES-335 has relied heavily on custom Valley Arts Strat-style electrics built by luthier Mike McGuire. Lately, however, Carlton has renewed his relationship with his old friend, the 335. "I laid down the Gibson for a while," he explains, "because the sound and feel of an instrument dictates the way you play, and I'd played that 335 for so long. I was going someplace else, and the brighter, slinkier sound of the Valley Arts electrics with EMG pickups fit my mood. But when I went on the road with Fourplay last year, I took a '57 goldtop Les Paul, a '51 Tele, and the 335, and the 335 was the one that seemed to fit. I really started enjoying it again -- it feels like home. I don't know what changed in my ears, but the Valley Arts electrics don't have the subtleties in tone that I want to hear right now." While a modified Dumble 1x12 combo has seen Carlton through hundreds of live and studio dates, he tried several different amps during Fourplay's 4 sessions -- eventually purchasing a late-'50s Fender Deluxe supplied by Los Angeles gear guru Andy Brauer. On overseas dates, Carlton typically takes a newer Fender Super Reverb. "For a good, no-frills sound, the Super is pretty hard to beat," he says. Carlton's custom, mid-sized flat-top was also made by McGuire -- the former Valley Arts craftsman who now heads Gibson's Custom Shop. For strings, Carlton uses D'Addario .010-.052 sets on his electrics, and a light-gauge phosphor bronze set (.011-.052) on the acoustic. --RR