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GUITARS
Over
the years I've owned over 30 guitars. Here's photos and
descriptions of some of them...
Gretsch
Duo-Jet
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This is the Duo-Jet model as played by Cliff
Gallup on early Gene Vincent records. Quite unusual
to find one of these in the sunburst finish as most are
either black or have sparkle finishes (usually silver).
This particular version is about 10 years old and was
one of the original reissue series when the Gretsch brand
relaunched in the 1990s.
The
humbucker pickups are extremely powerful and the Bigsby
tremolo works a treat - without sending the guitar out
of tune.
The
neck pick-up gives a warm, mellow, jazzy tone; simply
switch to the bridge pick-up for wild 50s rock n roll
sounds...
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My first 'proper' guitar which I learnt to
play on. Sounds better and better the older it gets.
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A
gift from a cousin - looks pretty cool and is typical
of the sort of thing you'd have as your first electric
guitar if you'd grown up in the 60's. Unfortunately
it's almost unplayable - the action is terrible, the hardware
is appalling quality etc. Makes you realise how
far 'student' guitars have improved in the last 20-30
years. Nonetheless, it looks pretty good - I used
to have it up on my dining room wall in the old house
as a display item.
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Still
the coolest bass you can buy ! Actually a
late 80s version of the greatest original design which
has been going for nearly 50 years and still looks great.
This one originally had a white pickguard - the tortoiseshell
guard I added later to give it the authentic 60's look
- identical to Jet Harris' bass on the cover of the first
Shadows LP...
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These Jaguar guitars were Fender's 'Top-of-the-Range'
model in the 60s and were favoured by many of the surf
bands of the era. Forgotten for years, they were
resurrected when many of the 90s 'Indie' groups suddenly
decided these were cool guitars to play. Essentially,
not as versatile or practical as the evergreen Stratocaster
but nonetheless a great looking (and sounding) instrument.
This reissue comes with gold-plated hardware and an unusual
blonde finish. The intricate switching system features
2 circuits for rhythm and treble. It's a nostalgic
tribute to a lost era and it looks cool.
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Beautifully made large-bodied jazzer from the early 90s.
These came and went pretty quickly, launched before archtop
electrics became popular again, they only sold in small
numbers and would make quite a rare find nowadays.
I bought this one new about 10 years ago.
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Bought
secondhand in September 03, this is a faithful reproduction
of the famous Hofner 'Beatles' bass. Has a nice
vintage feel to it and, thanks to the twin pick-ups, a
broad range of sounds. Actually hollow rather than
solid-bodied, the neck pick-up gives quite an effective
double-bass sound.
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Great
lightweight travel guitar which can be slung in the boot
of the car whenever you go on holiday. Although
tiny, the neck of the instrument is full-size, allowing
you to play as normal without having to adjust to narrower
fret spacing etc. Nicely finished in satin natural
wood. This is the steel-string version; also available
as a classical nylon-string with wider neck.
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Essentially an SM58 under the skin, this has
the classic looks of a 40s/50s microphone but with up-to-date
performance. Used this whenever performing solo
or with my 3-piece rock n roll band, The Runaway Boys.
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A
reissue of one of the great classic valve amplifiers of
the 1960s. Sounds incredibly nostalgic when playing
Shadows or Duane Eddy instrumentals with the Jaguar guitar
- just crank up the reverb a bit and you're back in 1962...
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A
classic line-up: '62 Jaguar, '62 Vibroverb amplifier,
'61 Precision Bass and late '50s Stratocaster...
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Latest
addition to the collection...
This
is a modern day reissue of the classic 50's shape Strat
and sounds absolutely spot-on for those early 60's Shadows
numbers.
The
colour is an original 'custom' colour: Surf Green
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I made this from a kit I bought on eBay back
in the summer. Usually these are about £125.00 but
I picked this up for £50.00. It comes in kit form
with all the parts you need to build it; I painted the
body using car spray and lacquer. The finished result
is amazingly good - not too far off the genuine Fender
version in most respects. Upgrading the pickups
and hardware would make it even better, although this
is nit-picking: for £50.00 it represents a bargain
AND it was a fun project too.
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A
modern-day version of the Watkins Copycat tape delay used
on countless records from the 50s and early 60s.
Sounds just like the original but without all the tape
hassles...
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The Hofner Congress (left) looked very nice
but was essentially a beginners 'budget' guitar from around
1959. Used it for various publicity
shots. Surprisingly loud, but almost impossible
to get in tune accurately owing to poor intonation which
I never managed to fix.
The
Epiphone is a copy of the Gibson model favoured by Elvis
Presley in his 1970s stage act. Looked superb
but not that impressive to play. Amazingly, despite
it's size, it was relatively quiet (perhaps due to it's
weight plus the laminated top?). Never managed
to get the action quite right on this one either.
Swapped
both of these for the more upmarket Ibanez.
Why have 2 virtually unplayable guitars when you can
have one good one which suits your needs perfectly (and
can also be plugged in).?
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