Guitars

Some of the guitars I’ve used live and in the studio. Most have moved on to new owners, but a few are still around.

Acoustics

  • Alvarez-Yairi DY90 (1992)—A high-school graduation gift. Played a ton over the years.
  • Collings Baritone 1 (2019)—So low.
  • Collings OM2hg (2008)—Amazing. Tim Nelson told me I should play it the day it arrived at Guitars, etc. and I bought on the spot.
  • Epiphone Texan (1980)—“Pete” was the CMIC shop guitar. It’s covered with autographs, stickers, and the story of Zafira.
  • Framus Archback (1960s)—My first guitar. Made of Bavarian Larchwood.
  • Goodall GC Rosewood (1999)—Nothing else is voiced like a Goodall.
  • Lowden O10 (1998)—I bought this for open tunings and sold it when I gave up trying to sound like Pierre Bensusan.
  • Seagull S6 (2007)— My teaching acoustic at Guitars, etc. Sounds kind of like my old Lowden and the wood grain on the back looks like an owl.
  • Stella (1930s)—Open-tuned for blues.

Archtops

  • Benedetto Manhattan (1990s)— The definitive archtop of the post-D’Aquisto era. Great balanced x-braced tone.
  • Collings AT17 (2010s)—X-braced with Collings’ usual attention to detail. Stunning.
  • Koontz (1970s)—Way ahead of it’s time. It had a neck that was just a bit too narrow for my hand.
  • Guild T-100 (1958)—These old Guilds are awesome. I played this one until it fell apart.
  • Guild X-150 (1990s)—Nice tone, somewhere between a 175 and a larger bodied archtop.

Electrics

  • Carvin HH2 (2010s)—Very impressive. I even like the pickups.
  • Charvel Blue (1983)—I love old Charvels. This one has a rewound Duncan for dead-on Van Halen 1 tone.
  • Charvel Snakeskin (1984)—I sold it because I couldn’t find matching pants. Make that I shouldn’t wear matching pants.
  • Charvel Model 4 (1986)—Japanese Charvels are great deals, and it’s hard to find a guitar that matches this Kahler-equipped model at twice the price.
  • Charvel Model 4M (1988)—I bought this at a pawn shop for a song because the battery was dead. I cleaned it up, gigged and recorded with it for a few years, and sold it to another shop for a decent profit. For some reason that feels like an accomplishment.
  • Charvel Standard (2002)—Originally purchased from American Musical Supply on close-out, this was my main guitar for the last days of William Wilson.
  • Gibson Les Paul 54 Oxblood (2007)—Selected from about 50 historic and custom shop Les Pauls.
  • Godin Core 90 (2012)—A great guitar for any price—it just happens to be cheap.
  • Godin Exit 22 (2002)—For all my noise-improv moments. Covered with dents from drum stick freakouts.
  • Godin Multiac Jazz (2005)—My main jazz axe. Dark humbucker, piezo, and synth tones. It’s like Pat Metheny in a box.
  • Greenwich Village Custom Guitars 1959 Stratocaster (2000s)—I didn’t like its tone or feel but it even smelled like a vintage Strat….
  • McInturff Glory Standard (1999)—My first great guitar. It’s been broken and repaired multiple times, earning it the name “Lucky”.
  • McInturff Glory Custom (1999)—One of the last one-piece maple topped McInturffs and possibly the last Glory with TCM Narrowfield pickups. It sounds like a one-ton stratocaster.
  • Panaramic Semihollow (1969)—Winner of the craziest vibrato award. Bridge pickup can be used as a microphone.
  • PRS SE Semihollow Custom (2007)—Great modern jazz (read with distortion) tone.
  • Vinetto DC57 (2007)—The best strat in the history of ever.
  • Washburn Mercury Classic (1995)—My first electric, now fretless.
  • Warmoth 7 String Partscaster (2006)—If you hear a low A on one of my recordings it’s probably this guitar.