GIBSON SG JUNIOR: (circa: 1964) My mother bought this for me around 1976.It had been painted black and had a homemade scratch plate covering almost the whole front. An SG Junior should have one pick-up: a ?P90? in the bridge position, this had been moved to the middle and a humbucker put in the bridge. An early ?Strat? pick-up had then been ruthlessly gouged into the neck joint! I had it re-finished after cleaning the paint from the headstock to find the original ?Gibson? logo.Later, the two Gibson pick-ups broke down so I replaced them with the present ones which became spare when I Had my ?Les Paul Deluxe ?modified to the larger humbuckers. The head on this guitar has been broken 3 times! In original condition, a 1964 SG Junior, should be worth a tidy sum but unfortunately this 'Frankenstein' isn't!
FENDER SYSTEM 2 STRAT: I needed a Strat style guitar whilst playing with ?ALICE MAGUIRE?.I?d been using the SG in preference to my Les Paul as it was more versatile but I wanted a Tremolo arm so I did the unthinkable; I part ex?d my ?Mint? Les Paul for this - a Japanese Strat that only remained in production for a couple of years!?. seemed a good idea at the time! I thought the ideas on this guitar were amazing ? I?d never seen a silver Strat (going green now!), with black headstock & silver logo, but the things that excited me were the adjustable nut (Brilliant), and the way the trem adjusts: insert the trem under lower strap button and wind! Unscrew the bullet on the trem and there?s an Allen key! ?.?Brilliant, I?ll have it! £300 for my ?mint? condition Les Paul??? Yeah, ok?..?(We live and learn!) Whilst working with Guitar Builder Chris Eccleshall in the early 90?s, I shaved 5mm off the back of the neck and ?scalloped? the top frets?. (I wanted an Ibanez ?Jem? but couldn?t afford one!) During the 'Mad Hatter' period, It would regularly get set on fire as part of the show!It also has a Seymour Duncan Humbucker and ?Sonic Ranger? tone circuit, which is amazing, but sadly, although it?s a superb guitar, again like the SG, its current value is minimal.
STARFIELD SJ CUSTOM This one, I bought in Torquay as a spare but started using it over the Strat.Made by the same company as Ibanez with a super slim neck.Unfortunately they were only made for a short while. I fitted a ?Di-marzio fast track 2? mini humbucker at the bridge with series/parallel coil tap. Very versatile guitar.
PATRICK EGGLE BERLIN PRO: These guitars are known as the ?British PRS? and they are nothing short of brilliant. I bought this one after trying out a PRS in a Leicester music shop in January 1996 on my way back to Devon. I called in to the ?Eggle? factory having read about them to try one out.I bought this guitar there and then, it is still my overall prized guitar.
FENDER HIGHWAY STRAT: I came by the Strat very recently as I had some credit at the music shop for a faulty amp I?d returned and it just took my fancy. My other strat was so unconventional, I thought it would be good to have a ?Standard? USA Strat! The Fender single coil pick-ups were mexican made and sounded 'thin' and cheap! I have now replaced them with a custom wound set of 'BG PUPS' from U.S.A.(See 'Links') These Pickups are seriously good! Now the guitar is a real tone monster!
FENDER TELECASTER: I walked into a Torquay music shop for a set of strings one day, and walked out with this gorgeous Telecaster. It?s Japanese built ?. So what? The previous owner had changed the pick-ups for a ?Seymour Duncan? at the neck, and a ?Texas Special? at the bridge. Great guitar.
PAUL REED SMITH CUSTOM 24 ARTIST ?Buying this one was scary ! I always said I?d rather have a Patrick Eggle than a PRS, as they were much the same, but half the price. Having owned three Eggles, I still stand by that??to a point.This guitar is the ultimate in perfection. There is literally nothing to fault.The Eggles are Brilliant, but this is just that little bit more.That?s why I spent such a lot of hard earned cash on it. I couldn?t resist. I had the wiring changed to the same as the Berlins; coil tapped and three way toggle.This is my main squeeze now, but I sometimes still take the Green Eggle out instead, it can do the same job no problem!
LINE 6 VARIAX: Yet another set of strings!! This is the last guitar I bought. It?s the latest and cheapest of the line 6 guitars, and it has no conventional pick-ups, but has transducers under the bridge.It ?models? other guitars, banjo?s, sitar etc.Loads of fun.
OVATION CELEBRITY: & WASHBURN J10 SN: ,
And of course.....The 'TILLEY Chickadee' the first guitar built by my own fair hands! This is also fitted with a 'Fishman' and is now my main acoustic.
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My first guitar was a nylon stringed acoustic I got for Christmas aged 10. I used to watch my brothers band in our living room. I was infatuated with the guitar.I made a ?pick-up? from an old record player cartridge,taped it to my guitar and took my ?Dansette? apart to wire a socket to it so I could play along with ?Chuck Berry? records! The first 'proper' electric guitar I owned was a ?Sakai? (stolen in a burglary years later). I would get together to jam & make up songs with future ?Alice Maguire? bandmate Dale Brett who at the time played drums.
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