Gibson Les Paul '56 Gold Top (1 of 2)

This is a 'Custom Shop Edition' reissue that I bought new in August 1994. The plush lined case befits the elegance of this beautiful guitar. The pick ups are referred to as 'soap bar' pickups because they look (and feel) like bars of soap.

I'd always wanted a LP Gold Top since seeing Danny Kirwan using one in Fleetwood Mac in the late 60s. The guitar is a joy to play and sounds superb, with a firm, bell-like tone. Think early Freddie King.

Gibson Les Paul '56 Gold Top (2 of 2)

When I bought the guitar from new I had a modification done to add an 'out of phase' option, which is activated by pulling out one of the tone knobs to a detent. It clicks into place and makes the guitar sound sweet and 'honky' just like Peter Green's Les Paul in his classic Fleetwood Mac days.

There's always been some controversy over this; some say Peter disassembled his Les Paul and in putting back together accidentally reversed one of the pickups making it out of phase.

Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster (1 of 3)

Modelled on Eric Clapton's 'Blackie' this is a very comfortable guitar to play. The maple neck has a rubbed un-varnished finish and is shaped with a slight 'V' so it sits nicely in the hand.

A tremelo arm is supplied but the mechanism is blocked with a small piece of wood in the back of the guitar, as Eric never uses a whammy bar.

Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster (2 of 3)

The pickups are Fender Lace. The latest version of this model has Vintage Noiseless Pickups that also have the six pole pieces on each pickup visible.

At the foot of this page is a button you can click to play a sound sample of the Eric Clapton Strat.

Fender Artist Series Eric Clapton Stratocaster (3 of 3)

The pickup selector switch is 5-way. Original Stats were 3-way and in the old days some guitarists would use a matchstick to jam the switch between the positions, seeking 'out of phase' tones.

This EC model features a master tone control and also a special 'Master Active Mid-Boost' to add a more heavier 'broken up' tone, e.g. as on 'Layla' or 'Bad Love'.

Gibson Les Paul Custom (1 of 2)

Here's my trusty 1976 Les Paul Custom, in wine red with gold plated parts. This is the heaviest of my guitars due to the mahogony body, weighing in at 10.5 lbs (4.8k) - nearly 30% heavier than the Strat's 8.25 lbs (3.7k).  The Custom can be a bit of a burden after two one hour sets.

Gibson Les Paul Custom (2 of 2)

You can see where the gold plate has worn a little on the saddle piece - but still not bad after having been gigged quite strenuously over the years.

Epiphone Flying V (1 of 1)

This Epiphone Flying 'V' was the cheapest of my guitars and as such it has tuning problems which I ought to get fixed if possible. The pickups sound great though, so I keep it around the studio for general noodling duties.

'Lemon Drop' Les Paul Standard (1 of 2)

This is a new guitar from Vintage in their 'Icons' series and is a faithful copy of Peter Green's old Les Paul that he gave to Gary Moore who sold it to a US collector in 2006, who now is asking c.$1m for it I believe.

'Lemon Drop' Les Paul Standard (2 of 2)

The replica includes all of the dings, etc. of the original including worn away neck (above), visible screw holes from when Peter Green replaced the machine heads, missing pickup selector knob, worn picking area below the bridge pickup and 'arm' worn area on the lower bout (see picture left, top left).

Fender James Burton Artist (1 of 2)

A superb brand new Fender James Burton Artist Series Upgrade Telecaster. It was supplied and beautifully set up by Regent Guitars, UK. The smell when you open the case is nothing short of divine! I hear occasional grumbles about 'falling standards' of large-corporation guitars but I have to say this one is everything I expected it to be, and more.

Fender James Burton Artist (2 of 2)

This model comes in red or blue paisley, but I personally find the blue finish more 'cool'. Strings are Ernie Ball 9's. Unusually, the paisley effect is carried through on the back also.

Hand Painted Gibson SG (1 of 3)

This is a new guitar, handpainted by a gifted artist called James Walsh who specialises in re-creating painted guitars from the past. This is a faithful version of the 1964 Gibson SG that was given a psychedelic finish in the 60s by Dutch artists Dutch artists Simon Posthuma and Marijke Koger known as 'The Fool'. The artists are primarily known for their association with The Beatles and the gigantic mural on the outside wall of the building that housed the band’s Apple Boutique. (Around this time, they also painted a Fender bass for Eric’s Cream bandmate, Jack Bruce.)

Hand Painted Gibson SG (2 of 3)

There's some confusion as to whether George Harrison commissoned the guitar from 'The Fool' artists or whether Eric did. Eric used the Fool Guitar during the recording of “Disraeli Gears” and would play it on stage until the band broke up in November 1968. It is also referred to as the “Psychedelic SG”. In December 1968, Eric loaned the guitar to singer Jackie Lomax, when he played on sessions for Lomax’s album, “Is This What You Want?” (Apple). The guitar remained in Lomax’s possession for four years.

Hand Painted Gibson SG (3 of 3)

In 1972, Lomax sold the guitar to Todd Rundgren in a very bad state of repair. Rundgren paid Lomax $500 for the Fool Guitar and re-named it “Sunny.” Rundgren used the guitar regularly on stage. He later had several copies made and placed the original in storage. At some point, he had the original restored and the paint retouched. In 2000, Rundgren sold the original Fool Guitar at a Sotheby’s auction for $150,000. I saw the guitar in a glass case in the Hard Rock restaurant in Washington DC when there on holiday a few years ago. Whether it's the original or not I can't say.

Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS (1 of 2)

I finally resolved my regrets from years ago of having hastily sold my new Olypmpic White Maple Neck Strat. I recently bought this tasty new Maple Neck Strat in 'Shoreline Gold'. It's the only guitar I have with a whammy bar - maybe the first in fact, so I'm not too adept at using it yet, other than giving it the occasional excessive waggle.

The satin maple neck feels particularly nice - for me a Strat just has to have a maple neck!

Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS (2 of 2)

This Strat, which is from Fender's new 2008 range by the way, also has a humbucker pickup at the bridge position as well as the two usual single-coil jobbies, so I should be able to get the best of both worlds in terms of sounds.

Burny Lemon Drop (1 of 2)

This is a Chinese-made guitar from the Burny range. I understand they cannot be imported to European in a high-profile manner due to the risk of legal action from Gibson for copyright infringement (see next photo). I'm not sure Gibson have the energy to do this, having spent the 1980s trying to stem the tide of Far East clones, but they are available in the UK albeit from a small importer. Anyway, this model is in effect a take on what the 'Lemon Drop'/Peter Green Les Paul-type guitar might have looked like when brand new, and makes an interesting contrast to Vintage's 'distressed' version above.

Burny Lemon Drop (2 of 2)

It's extremely well made in terms of fit, finish and overall playability but you really need to replace the pickups if you want some authentic Les Paul 'gronk'. I put in a pair of Bareknuckle Black Dog humbuckers and that made all the difference.

You can from this headstock closeup how far Burny go in terms of copying the Les Paul look!

Gibson Les Paul Headstock

This is the headstock of my Gibson Les Paul Gold Top (see above). Compare and contrast wth the Burny headstock!

White Fender American Standard Stratocaster (1 of 2)

Back in 1976 I bought a brand new Strat in Olympic White and it was a real beauty. But a few days later I fell in love with the wine red Les Paul Custom pictured above. Newly married, I couldn't make out a case for having more than one guitar so I very reluctantly sold the white Strat to help pay for the Les Paul Custom. I regretted having parted with that beautiful Strat so a couple of years ago I scratched the itch and bought a new one!

White Fender American Stratocaster (2 of 2)

Another gratuitous pic of this lovely white Strat! Who can resist the charms of a Stratocaster with that incredible contoured body...