Rick Sell of PureSalem Guitars
Phase Out
If you were to build a minimalist, lifelong pedalboard using any pedals in the universe, which 3 pedals would do the trick?
It would be a FUZZ, REVERB, and DELAY.
Windfall
What unexpected piece of music gear has inspired you the most?
I bought an old MOOG Opus #3 after seeing a very inspirational video on YouTube. I was in Spacerock Heaven with that synth. Running it through reverbs, delays and phasers was so much fun. I would play it for a few hours before realizing how much time had gone bye.
Pine Away
What piece of music gear do you wish you still had, and/or perhaps something you regret not buying when you had the opportunity?
My Moog Opus #3 !!! Haha !!! That and of course my first guitar. My grandma and grandpa bought me my first guitar when I was 15. I’m a lefty so black then it was not easy finding lefty guitars. They tracked one down at a music store and I remember driving down there to get it. I didn’t know what it was the only thing I knew was that they had a lefty in stock used. This was in 85. The guitar was a 73 Gibson SG. It was expensive, around $300-$400 dollars. I rely grandmother asking me ‘Are you sure you want this”. Little did they know that would change my life. Grandparents are the best !!! I miss them and think about them every day. I grew my hair long in high school and my grandpa would poke fun at me because I was always blowing or moving the hair out of my face.
Wild Card
Please, will you share your guitar journey with us? Start from your first most memorable guitar up until your most recent-which ones have stuck around the longest?
My musical journey started when I discovered my dads 45 record collection. I must have been about 11 or 12. I remember hearing the song ‘LITTLE DARLING” by The Diamonds and it moved me in a way that nothing had before. From that point I was hooked. Fast forward a few years and I hear Black Sabbath’s IRON MAN on the radio. I freaked out ... I remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard it. Same thing for “RUN TO THE HILLS, I LOVE ROCK N ROLL, RAINBOW IN THE DARK, THE MOB RULES and DREAM POLICE. I can tell you who I was with, where I was and what I was doing when I heard those songs for the first time. I needed a guitar !!! I don’t hold onto gear that long. I’ve never been attached to something where I wouldn’t let it go. I bought and sold a lot of guitars over the years. As a lefty one of my favorite guitars was an old Fernandes VERTIGO X. That guitar inspired me to play. Right now I’m into old 70’s and 80’s made in Japan LP’s. Anything by GRECO, ARIA, TOKIA, YAMAHA. I won’t ever buy a Gibson on principal - lol.
Final Thoughts
Any shout outs, plugs, or random tidbits of advice?
Everybody is different. Before starting PureSalem I was a police office for 21 years. I worked the majority of that time in one of Miami roughest areas Liberty City. I came to realize how precious time is. You are here one moment and then your gone the next. I was extremely unhappy towards the last 5 years of my career. If I didn’t quit when I did chances are I wouldn’t be here today. I always loved the guitar and music. I didn’t want to have any regrets in my life. I didn’t want to be on my deathbed saying “ if only I had tried this or that”. So I started PureSalem Guitars. If YOU have a dream or idea etc ... you owe it to yourself to pursue it. That’s what I did. I want to share with you 3 things that Impacted me greatly and made my decision to leave Law Enforcement.
A quote by Theodore Roosevelt titled “THE MAN IN THE ARENA”.
When I was a teenager I saw the documentary film “ANOTHER STATE OF MIND”. It’s a film about two young punk bands ( Youth Brigade / Social Distortion ) that buy an old school bus and go on a tour of the US and Canada. It is an amazing film. I learned from PUNK ROCK that I can do things myself (or with others) and that anything is possible. You just have to get off your ass and do it. I learned the DIY ethos form these two bands. They should make this required watching in school.
The band is Half Japanese and the documentary is titled ‘THE BAND THAT WOULD BE KING”. Again Punk Rock shows me that what really matters is your strength and will and desire to do something even if you have to do it yourself can be done. Jad and David Fair are brothers and their first ( not counting a single ) record release is a 3 X LP set !!!! The kicker is they recorded it on their own, they could barley play their instruments but don’t tell them that .... they just did it. That record is 1/2 Gentlemen / Not Beasts.
