Lee's answers are below. We note in particular Lee's very personal choices of gear, which are VERY different from the usual blues harp rig. It's obvious that Lee thinks deeply about his sound, and chooses gear that expresses his unique musical personality. We thank Lee for this gift to harmonica players everywhere.

I was very fond of Larry Adler's music in the early days, and he and I became very good friends. He really liked my music, and it was very flattering. When he came to LA, he would call me and I would pick him up, take him to the Johnny Carson show. He was amazing.

My current amp is a Shenandoah 200 by GenzBenz. I also like the Roland Jazz Chorus 120 and the Trace Elliott 100. I always like to start with a clean sound. You can't really add to a sound; you can only take away. You can always make a clean sound dirty, but you can't go the other way.

For effects pedals, I use two Digitech Whammy pedals, one set to an octave down, the other to chorus. I also like the Boss OC-2 analog octave doubler pedal. I have a custom made envelope filter pedal with the EQ designed by me. I use other effects pedals depending on what I want at the time. I don't use distortion devices.

Reverbs and delays are important. I prefer high-end Lexicons. I have in my concert contract rider that I get two Lexicons. I use one for reverb and one for delay. TC Electronics makes good stuff too, but Lexicon gear is more widely available, and you always have to give the promoters 2-3 options. (Richard Hunter note: Lexicon makes reverbs selling for as little as $200 street price, and even the low-end models like the MPX110 sound great on stage and in the studio.)

When I play live, it's important to me to use a direct box. My favorite is the Rapco Sweet T Tube DI. Regardless, I always use a DI box and run the effects into the DI, then run the DI to both the amp and the PA.

Everyone should carry their own mics, both for the sound and because of health reasons. I think it's ridiculous when people mic an amp with any old mic that's available. If you're going to mic your amp, you should choose a particular mic. If it was me, I'd use the Beyerdynamic M160.

Studio: I'm always looking at new preamps. Pendulum Audio and the Vipre by Groove Tubes are my current favorites. There are lots of good preamps out there. Pendulum is a handmade masterpiece. I also like the UA tube preamps.