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On stage, I currently play any one of three main electric guitars. The
1967 Gibson Flying V is the one which most people are familiar with. It has been refinished over the years and re-fretted several times. It has also been customized by the addition of Grover nickel plated machine - heads and an old prototype Flying V logo has been added to the head stock in place of the usual arrow shaped truss - rod cover.
The original '67 humbucking pick - ups have been changed for earlier Patent Applied For (PAFs) models which were taken from a trashed 1960 Gibson 335. They have a warmer, thicker tone. I removed the covers and bolted plastic surrounds to the scratch plate to give a little more protection to the exposed coils. This guitar sings, as can be heard on various recordings like Persephone or Throw Down The Sword. The new reissues, for some reason, do not feature the Vibrola tremolo unit, which, to my mind, is an integral part of the guitar's sound - at least in the way I use it!
My other main stage axe is a custom made
Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette finished in an antique gold. It has a Seymour Duncan humbucking pickup in the bridge position and two DiMarzio Hot Rails in the neck and middle positions. The guitar is also fitted with a Wilkinson locking trem where the arm has to be engaged in order to free up the system. This works to correct the problems of many tremolo systems in that it compensates for the pitch lowering when you are doing a double string blues bend, for example.
I'll also occasionally use my
Steinberger mini V which has a graphite neck mounted on to a wooden body, with a transposing trem. This guitar gets pulled out when I want to do some really high fretboard work, like on the song Lifeline, for example. Being so small, the instrument is ideal for taking to rehearsals or flying with.
In the studio, one of my favorite guitars is my old 1952 Fender Telecaster which used to belong to Roy Buchanon and was purchased from pick - up guru, Larry DiMarzio in the early '70's. This thing is a beast and rewards the player the harder you treat it. It has the original fat - sounding,bridge pick up but the neck pick up was changed, by me, to an old Mighty Mite many years ago. I also installed a toggle style selector switch on to the chrome plate, but still have all the original parts. Hear this guitar on the solos; Dream Train from the album Strange Affair and No Joke from the Illuminations album.
Acoustic guitars are featuring more in our set these days and also in the studio. This is accounted for by the release of the Bare Bones unplugged album. My favorite guitar is an early Epiphone Texan. It is blonde with a very finely grained top board and rosewood fingerboard with trapezoid mother - of - pearl inlays. This instrument which dates from the early 1960's has featured on most of the Wishbone Ash acoustic recordings. I also have a 1959 Gibson J45 which I'll use as a high - strung guitar on recordings, just using the top 6 strings of a 12 string set.
Stage wise, we've had a lot of success using various Takamine electro acoustic models, which hold up very well and I just acquired another Gibson Chet Atkins electro acoustic to replace the one which I had used in the early 90's. These guitars are amplified using a 100 watt Trace Elliot acoustic guitar amplifier which I have directed at me on stage,between my vocal wedges. A line out goes to the PA.
Electric guitar amplifiers are a more fickle matter, depending on the size of the venue. Since we play clubs, theatres and open air festivals, I need an adaptable rig. For that reason, I favour two Mk I Mesa Boogie combos, one a 1974 original and one an early '90s reissue. They come fitted with Electrovoice Black Shadow speakers and I like to use them in stereo, either with their internal speakers for smaller venues or hooked up to two Marshall 4X12s with vintage Celestion 12" speakers for theatres.
I will also from time to time, on a festival stage, use Marshall 4 input100watt 'Plexi' reissue amps with the 4X12s. Alternatively, when we play clubs, I'm very fond of a combination of the DeVille 4X10 combo together with a very fine combo, the Prosonic, both from Fender's new line of vintage style combos. The Prosonic is also a great recording amp. In the studio though, I've used everything from Vox AC 30 to Roland Jazz Chorus to Orange Matamp depending on the result I want to achieve.
Finally, we come to the use of effects. I have a simple portable effects rack built around an old TC 2290 effects processor with a separate foot controller. This is a stereo unit mounted in a simple flight case with a drawer underneath it which takes my collection of stomp boxes like the Ibanez tube screamer, Boss graphic and TC stereo chorus/flanger. This system allows me to keep the stomp boxes off the floor and to power them from the mains using a transformer, thereby saving on the purchase of 9 volt batteries! The 2290 functions primarily as a delay unit although it can supply me with chorus, flanging and tremolo. The delays are very flexible and can be panned etc. Although in truth the big selling point, as far as I'm concerned, is that the delay can be programmed to be dynamic. That is to say, when I am soloing loud and hard, the delay effect backs off somewhat, so that the solo doesn't become too muddied with repeats. But, when I play more subtly, the delay comes through as clean as can be. It's a great unit and fully programmable for each song with an easy to read display.
