Guitar Corner
Not long after the Groundhogs I bought this 1973 Rickenbacker 4001 bass. I wish I had owned it when I was with the band! It has the chequered bound edge on the body, toaster bridge pickup, horseshoe bridge pickup cover, Grover 'wave' tuners and full-width position markers - pretty collectible, I believe (but I didn't realise that when I bought her)
They're not everybody's cup of tea, but this bass has a lovely fast neck, feels and sounds great to me. Sounds incredible with my Trace Elliot rig - love it!
I was looking on eBay one day in October 1999, and I saw this awesome old 1981 Gibson Flying V. It started life in Los Angeles, spent some time in Minnesota and now to England.
This is a totally brilliant guitar, with an absolutely beautiful neck and of great tone by the ton - a real blueser and rocker! I've always been a Fender player, and always will be. But I have to say that I've fallen in love with my Gibsons! Variety being the spice of life, as they say.
Not only did I buy an excellent instrument, but also made the greatest of friends by email and phone with the people in Minnesota I bought it off .... Hi Steve & Becky!
In March - April 2001, Steve (huge Michael Schenker fan) and Becky came over from Minnesota to stay with us. It was so great to meet the people I'd bought the V off :-) Below is a photo of Steve (on the right) with his old V, with me here in England. Thanks for such a great time! And thanks a ton for the great time they gave us when we visited MN for the first time in 2002 :-) Can't wait to visit MN again asap!!
This awesome V now has a new pickup on the neck position - a rocking blues sound courtesy of Bare Knuckle Pickups (hand-wound in the UK). Thanks for the gift, Steve! :-)
Check out Steve's Flying V page - impressive!
This lovely old (1963) guitar has loads of Gibson feel and character. As you can see, it's the single pickup and double cutaway model. I don't know why they're not up there with the 'real' guitars - I think they're great!
I replaced the pickup with a 70/71 Mini-Humbucker which I had rewound by The Guitar Doctor. What a sound!
This one now gives me those sounds from rock to blues that I remember so well hearing other players get with a MM when I first watched live bands.
eBay from New England, February 2000
This one was added in February 2001 - and what a beauty she is too. Tone to the bone!
A 1971 Gibson Les Paul Custom in cherry sunburst. I bought her after seeing an ad on Loot. So, not only did I have an enjoyable day-trip down to London, but returned with this classic instrument which I'll never part with.
What can you say about a Les Paul that hasn't been said so many times before? Beautiful!
This one is nicely aged, seems to be all original, and was only missing the gold pickup covers and black scratchplate. It has the typical for the era cross-banded body, narrow binding in the cutaway and long-tenon neck joint.
I have since replaced the missing items with original Gibson parts. At last in 2007 I managed to get some age-correct pickup covers embossed with the Gibson logo.
This one is made by a company called Vintage. I don't know anything about the company, but this guitar seems just fine to me and came on recommendation from a friend
All I know so far is that it's an bell-brass resonator body, great fun to play slide on, and very loud!
This is a beautiful guitar to play, and sounds especially great through the clean channel of my Fender combo. Tons of classic Tele sounds to be had, and she really sings with some distortion or overdrive too. There are many times when this is my 'go to' guitar.
This is a nylon-strung small-bodied Parlour Guitar from Germany dating from circa 1870. I found this one when I was browsing the Web one night at the Springer Sisters music shop in England - I knew I wanted her as soon as I saw her!
This is a very resonant guitar and is in very good condition for such an old instrument. Bought in June 2002
Some might disagree with me, but to me a Martin is the ultimate acoustic guitar! What more is there to say other than ...... it's a Martin?
Over the few years since I got this D-28 new in 2002, the sound has really started to open up and give that classic Martin sound. Things will only get better.
I just wish I was a better acoustic player, But I guess that's what happens when you learn and grow up on electrics.
I have played some excellent Strats from the 70s, and some not so good. I am sure that the much-discussed quality control issues at Fender during the 70s have a firm basis in fact.
This '62 RI is a lot lighter too, and the neck fits in my hand like a glove. A totally wonderful guitar and probably my main player most of the time :-) Fender hit the nail right on the head with these reissues!
A great eBay find from New York via MN in August 2002.
I hadn't played many 12 string guitars, but this one grabbed me as saw as I saw her.
Fender might not be renown for their acoustics, but this one has a lovely light, airy sound and very easy action. The previous owner bought her second-hand in 1974.
Another addition in 2003. Here we have a round-back Mandolin, made by Mario Casella of Sicily, circa 1920. Another great buy from the Springer Sisters.
I am still trying to play the mandolin - very badly. This has a crisp tone, and a very beautifully inlayed scratch plate.
1996 (50th Anniversary) Fender Precision Bass. This is almost exactly like my first Precision I had back in the 70s.
The PB I had all those years ago had been re-sprayed. As soon as I saw this one on eBay, that smell of fresh paint each time I opened the case came flooding back to me :-) Another one of those 'why on Earth did I sell it?' moments!
Not a lot to say apart from this is a lovely instrument in looks, sounds and playability.
February 2004.
I guess this was my Christmas present to myself in 2004.
I had been thinking about getting a 335 for a very long time when I saw this 1979 beauty on eBay. This one also has a coil tap selector which was particular to this year of production.
She sounds and plays like a dream - pure rock and blues. I especially love the tone of the neck pickup :-) A wonderful, quality instrument - sheer class!
On eBay from Philadelphia, USA
Late 1970s Gordon Smith GS1.5 Handmade in Manchester, England to the highest quality. Gordon Smith guitars are real hidden gems, and often called 'the British Gibson'.
This one plays like a dream and sounds totally awesome - and at a fraction of the price of modern mass-produced Gibsons. The bridge pickup has a coil tap. Check out their range if you get a chance - you won't be sorry!
I remember playing a particular gig in the mid 70s somewhere around Manchester, and before we went on someone approached me and asked if I wanted to try a guitar they had built. It was basically a Telecaster Deluxe, and I played it all night. Yep, that's right - it was one of the Gordon Smith team who had approached me with one of their hand-built guitars :-)
Acquired in 2005
June 2007 update: Although I loved this guitar from the start, I always thought the neck was a little too 'deep' and 'U' shaped. So I asked The Guitar Doctor if he could take some of the depth off it and reshape it more to my comfort. What an amazing job he did too! It feels and plays beautifully now - even better than before!
I always loved the styling of the 70s Strats, and after parting with my white '73 I knew I had to have another 70s at some point. I found what I was looking for on eBay in January 2007.
So here is a made in Mexico 70s reissue. I've been playing a long time, but I honestly can't tell the difference between the Mex and USA models. Maybe I just dropped lucky with this one? Black with a maple neck, this is a very well made guitar which certainly feels, sounds and plays incomparably better than the white '73 I had (but just as heavy).
The very sad part: Only a few weeks after getting this guitar we were greatly saddened and shocked to hear from his Wife that Wayne, the person who I bought this guitar off had been tragically killed in a road accident in February 2007! :-( He sold this Strat to help finance his Jimmy Page Custom Shop Les Paul.
He sent me many clips of him playing his new baby in his band (excellent Who tributes, especially) and sounded really great. His much-loved Custom Shop LP had to be sold to pay for his funeral :-(
I just know we would have become good friends. I don't generally make friends very easily, and I believe from his Wife that he was somewhat the same.
I will think of Wayne and his good family each time I look at and play this Strat! I will never sell this guitar, in memory of Wayne, the friend I almost had.
I don't know how long I have been thinking about
getting an SG - seems like forever. This is a beautifully made
guitar. Very light and a somewhat brighter tone than my Les Paul, as you
would expect. A real rock machine!
Thanks to the good people at The
Rhythm House.So here we go then - a Gibson SG Standard from 2000, finished in Heritage Cherry - simply wonderful! :-)
This was definitely a 'because I'm worth it' (not very often I would say that) moment in late April '07, after a total nightmare of a year in 2006 and a particularly unpleasant first few months of 2007. In some respects, the nightmare continues .... don't get me started .....
Check out this crazed bad boy SG rocker!
September 2008: Ok, so this is the latest and probably final incarnation of the 70s natural Strat you can see somewhere else on this site.
All that's left of the original guitar is this lovely easy-playing maple neck. Sadly, back in the 80s I had so modified (ruined!) the body to take a Kahler locking trem, that it was impossible to return to original.
This now has a Vintage White (alder) Fender body which is as light as a feather, new standard pickups, vintage-style Fender bridge (with Fender stamped saddles) and new Kluson tuners.
I wondered how good (or not) this guitar was going to be, but this Strat is a great guitar to play - very light, resonant and the neck feels every bit as good as it ever did! :-)
March 2009, a Firebird came to join us :-)
More to follow ...
For any musicians living in the South Cheshire / North Staffs area, I most highly recommend
Two of my favourite guitar shops - anywhere!
Minnesota, USA
Two great guitar shops in my area (Stoke/ Cheshire)
Amps-n-Bits
(Sussex, UK) is a great source of vintage amps and speakers as well as being
a 'proper' music shop. VERY friendly and knowledgeable staff.
Check out his 9-11
Tribute page too.