Guitars
It’s true you can just use one guitar for everything if it is a versatile model and professionally set up. I did do this for years, my first good guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (10 yrs) then I changed to Fender Stratocaster when I was at GIT in L.A. (10 yrs). You will soon be “at one” with your instrument and learn how that guitar sounds through different amplifiers and in different situations etc.
As you play more and gain experience though you will appreciate how a couple of different guitars can give you different tones for recording, keep you approach fresh and also ‘reset’ your ears. Every three months or so I tend to play a different guitar for a while and it changes my playing a bit.
It is also handy for keeping your hands in condition; not only the different feel of a new guitar neck, but if you want you can strengthen your hands by stringing a guitar with a higher string gauge and doing some regular practicing.
I have been working towards getting a basic set of good guitars for a while, that all compliment each other for my music projects. A lot of guitars have come and gone for various reasons but this is where I am at now.I choose which one to use either by the style of music, or just by the way it suits the actual track I am working on.
Most of my guitars have been set up and modified by the fantastic guitar technician Charlie Chandler of C.C.G.X. (Charlie Chandler’s Guitar Experience) who sets them up using the PLEK computer controlled machine to a very high standard and some of them have the Buzz Feiton tuning system as well.
1. Fender Stratocaster Black ‘1954’ Jap Vintage Reissue
Probably the most versatile guitar on the planet, you can do anything with a Strat. This one has ‘alnico’ single coil pickups that are very bright, but also have a good bass extension, so it’s a pretty versatile axe.
The only style not covered well would be jazz but when you know how to do it you can still get a convincing jazz sound by using the front pick-up and the tone control at somewhere around ‘3’. I have rewired it so it has a single volume and tone for any pickup setting. Modifications – just a set-up.
2. Fender Thinline Telecaster ‘1972’ Jap Vintage Reissue.
This again is an extremely versatile guitar that combines well with the Strat. With the pair you have most bases covered. It’s fitted with Humbucking pick-ups that are brighter than Gibson humbuckers and fit more into the “Fender” soundscape. I had Charlie Chandler fit a Fender single coil strat pick-up in the centre position and rewire the guitar so I can coil-tap the humbuckers by pulling out the Tone control. This makes the guitar into a three single-coil guitar (like a Strat).
It has a ‘very’ lightweight body due to the f-holes that make it easy to play all day, which is why I use it so much at school, also it’s as close as I can get to playing a Gibson 335 without actually using one.
Modifications – ‘Plek’ setup, Buzz Feiton tuning, stainless steel frets, rewired.
3. Gibson ES335 Dot Reissue Red.
This is a great guitar that I often use for blues and fusion. The LA session players used this type of guitar all through the 70’s and 80’s as it can sound good in any style from jazz to country. It is a larger bodied guitar and quite a bit heavier than my Fender Thinline, so for this reason I wouldn’t want to play it all day, but it plays fantastically and always sounds big and fat when I record it.
Mods – ‘Plek’ Setup, fret dress, rewired.
4 Gibson “Howard Roberts” Fusion.
This is really a jazz guitar, but it has several special features that make it also work well in more contemporary blues and fusion styles. It feels like a slightly larger bodied ‘semi-acoustic’ Les Paul that is equipped with a larger, fat D shaped, 50’s style Les Paul neck.
It’s great to play sitting down as the neck sits into the body by about two frets (from where it would be on the 335) and this makes the neck feel closer and very ‘available’. (Similar to the “Musicman Axis Sport/Eddie Van Halen” designs, although they use a smaller/faster neck profile).
This model has a cleaner and brighter sound than the Gibson 335 probably because the body is made from ‘chromite’ (the other name for balsa wood?) so it is good for jazz, soul or Contemporary R’n’B gigs as well.
Mods – ‘Plek’ Setup, Jason Lollar pickups, new pots and rewired.
5. Taylor 714CE Acoustic Steel String.
I have been looking for a decent acoustic guitar all my life and finally I have found one that I can actually get around just as comfortably as if I was playing a Strat.
It is a bright sounding guitar that has a well-defined midrange and a fair bit of bass, but it isn’t too crunchy. You can play light fingerstyle or medium strumming using a thin pick and the guitar does all the work for you. The actual guitar is physically very light and comfortable to play as well. Thanks Taylor.
Mods – none yet, but I might get it Buzz Feiton-ed.
6. Godin ACS - Multiac Classical Guitar.
This guitar does two very valuable things for me, not only is it an easy-to-play classical guitar, but it also has a Roland Synth-Driver installed.
On the Classical side, it has a slightly smaller neck than a regular classical guitar combined with a great sounding pick-up/preamplifier that I can plug in and record direct with out piezo-quack. It is much quieter acoustically than a real classical guitar, so that makes late night practicing easy as well. I really should try to do more of it.
The Godin also features a Roland Midi Synth Driver internally so I can plug the midi output into my Mac midi interface when I want to record into Cubase etc. I often use it for recording a bass line, any rhythm guitar/keyboard/string parts and for ‘synth’ solos, that I double with a guitar amp output. Mods – none yet.
