Rob Ickes Plugged In: Canadian Country Music Awards

login or register to play video

A video was posted on Resoguit of Rob Ickes playing with Paul Brandt on "I'll Fly Away" during the Canadian Country Music Awards. We rarely see Rob plugged in, and at some point he was on board with the Schertler Basik, but he has apparently imbibed the kool-aid, and has installed the Fishman Nashville pickup. Difficult to tell which guitar he was using due to the distance of the camera shots, but I suspected that it could be an Ickehorn, aka Wechter/Scheerhorn Rob Ickes Signature model, because the Chinese-born cousin of his two rosewood/spruce Scheerhorns looks the same, from a distance of course.

It turns out that it isn't an Ickehorn at all but it's a Scheerhorn aka Realhorn. Here's my question: is this yet another, more recently built, rosewood/spruce Ickes-style Realhorn? Looks kind've shiny like it might be newer (but that might just be the effect of the stage lighting). Betty Wheeler asked Rob about his gear that night and she posted the details on Resoguit, you can see them below. I didn't realize that either of his rosewood/spruce Realhorns (from 1998 and 2004) were made with Brazilian backs and sides. I've seen both guitars up close and I always assumed they were East Indian rosewood - they don't have a lot of figuring like you see on most modern Brazilian guitars, unlike Martins from the 30's and 40's that were often pretty straight-grained. 

And finally...the horror! Rob has "violated" a Scheerhorn with a Fishman Nashville pickup! 

The "feed" sounds a little weird, like Rob's dobro is sort of subdued in the mix. Probably best to never judge the sound of a guitar from any kind of TV show. The playing is fine because after all, it's Rob Freakin' Ickes - but we have folks here whom don't care for the sound of Jerry's Beards - and this Scheerhorn doesn't sound so swift in this video either.

I also find it interesting that there is no mention of the Fishman JD Aura pedal in the signal chain. My thinking thus far has been why put the pickup in your guitar unless you're going to use the pedal?

From Betty:

I asked Rob what his gear was for this performance. His reply:
Scheerhorn Brazilian Rosewood L-body
Fishman/Jerry Douglas Aura pickup
Boss EQ pedal
H2O digital delay
Boss Digital Reverb
Rock Star hair gel...
Takes a lot of electronics to sound "acoustic!"


User login