The CEDIA Expo/CIX 2025 show is rapidly approaching with the event set for Sept. 4-6, and the CE Pro All Star Band is set to perform at the show in Denver on Thursday Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. at the Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom, which is a few minutes from the Colorado Convention Center at 2635 Welton Street.
The All Star band, which is made of smart home industry professionals will play two sets of classic rock, pop music, and classic R&B. Visit band sponsors D-Tools, AiSPIRE by WAC, and Proluxe by American Lighting for complementary drink tickets.
Before the show starts and the All Star Band band takes the stage, CE Pro asked the band’s guitar players what gear they were going to use for their performance and what inspired them to make these gear choices:
Vince Luciani Apex Technologies
Luciani will play a Fender Custom Shop 1963 Reissue Stratocaster and guitar pedals that include a J. Rockett Audio Designs Jeff Archer Overdrive
The Apex Technologies engineer recalls that he bought his first Strat, a 1986 1957 Reissue, after seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn (SRV) on “Saturday Night Live” that same year. “
Luciani points out that another reason why he likes playing Strats (Fender Stratocasters) is because you can beat the hell out of them and get a different tone than when you play them softly.
Richard Charschan AcousticSmart
“I play a 1960s reissue burgundy wine Les Paul Standard similar to what Jeff beck used in his early days for the ‘Jeff Beck Group’ and ‘Wired’ albums. Before that I was primarily a Strat (Fender Stratocaster) man for many years, but when I started recording and playing with my band Rock Stars of America they needed more of a heavier classic rock sound so I switched to the Les Paul,” comments Charschan.
“I was also a huge Rick Derringer, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry/Brad Whitford, and Peter Frampton fan, and always liked the clear tone, impact and sustain you get from a Les Paul. The dual humbucker pickup’s also make the guitar great for recording with less hum, and I like the way the tone cuts through the mix.”
For guitar effects and pedals, the president of AcousticSmart says that he keeps it simple: Boss overdrive for clean sustain, an equalizer, a Dunlop Cry Baby Wah Pedal, and a Boss delay pedal. He adds that usually he plays through a Fender Blues Deluxe amplifier for the warmth of tone.
“I always find that less is more than its guitar pedals, ‘Let the Music Do the Talking.’”
Jason McGraw Emerald X
McGraw admittedly says that he is a long-time Fender Stratocaster player.
“My first guitar was a Vantage brand strat-style guitar made in Japan in the early 1980s with a metallic gold flake finish with a maple neck. I was/am a big fan of The Edge from U2 who plays a Stratocaster. I wanted to sound like The Edge—“Sunday, Bloody Sunday”—the best. I like the sonic options you can get from the Strat’s three pick-up combinations. My current number one is a 2001 American Fat Strat Deluxe in tobacco sunburst finish and rosewood fretboard with humbucker and Fender noiseless pick-ups.”
McGraw adds that currently he actually owns more tube amps than guitars, and he notes that his favorite amp is a Fender Twin driven with a Tubeworks Real Tube overdrive pedal and Strymon effects.
Bob Archer CE Pro
With the CE Pro All Star Band I’ll be playing the Charvel DK24 guitar I’ve been playing the past few years,” comments Archer.
“I will be plugging that guitar into a pedal board with a TC Electronic Polytune Mini tuner, an Xotic SP Compressor, an Xotic SL Drive, a JHS Colorbox v2; a Boss Wazacraft Dimension C Chorus pedal, a Strymon Ultraviolet Univibe pedal, an Eventide H9, and a Boss EVH SDE-3000 Dual Delay pedal.”
Archer points out that he doesn’t play a Charvel necessarily because of a musical influence though it was the “it” brand back when he was a kid growing up, and that he plays Charvel guitars for their versatility and ease of playability.
“I would also love to bring my Gibson SG Junior, but I can only bring one guitar, so it’s the DK24, which sounds good; it’s easy to play, it is versatile, and it can take a beating,” he notes.
Some of the most well-known Charvel players include Guthrie Govan from The Aristocrats, Jake E. Lee from Ozzy Osbourne and Red Dragon Cartel, Jim Root from Slipknot, and Warren DeMartini from Ratt.
