This Martin is not your ordinary 00-12F model. It is a stunning 42 Style Torch Motif 00-12F one off from the Custom Shop and purchased from Tone Shop Guitars. It features a Sitka Premium Spruce top with a Mahogany back and sides. I was looking for a small acoustic tone that’s been featured on countless recordings from the ’60s and ’70s, and this hit the mark. The paua is featured all over the guitar, but especially in the torch motif headstock….just stunning! You just don’t see many antique white Martins around. Its a finger pickers dream and rounds out the collection nicely.
This is a Custom Shop Tele from Tone Shop Guitars in the this very rare Cobalt Blue Stain. If this isn’t Fender eye candy, I don’t know what is; just couldn’t take my eyes off of it when I entered the shop (for something else mind you!!!) The body is a light weight ash, with plenty of character that explodes with the stain. The neck is a AAA Roasted Maple with loads of flame, and a soft V carve. After a setup it plays better than it looks, with a couple Josephine Wound Pickups. I always like the unusual, and this certainly fits the mold!
Another lucky find. This is a Gibson ES 359 (from 2010) in mint condition. Gorgeous flamed sunbust with gold hardware. More background; I decided to forgo some of my vintage guitars and pass them on to the next guitar custodian(s). 2 of them were ES models, so I was feeling a little bare without something to take their place, and this smaller version of the ES models was a perfect size for someone with shoulder challenges. Gibson doesn’t make this model any longer, so it was a long hunt but I found it at Danville Music in California. Plays like butter, and sounds incredible through every amp in the collection…..and not too hard to look at either!
Can you believe this beauty?? Ok, a little background here. For the longest time I owned a 1959 Gretsch 6120 (about a hundred serial numbers from Brian Setzer’s original 6120 with the Stray Cats). It was an amazing guitar, but I just didn’t play it enough given the type of music its best for, and I didn’t want to be in a vintage guitar worth ($$$$$) for such little playing time. So I sold it, and substituted this amazing ’56 reissue with a gorgeous maple top. Pickups are TV Jones DeArmonds that sound killer through the Fender Deluxe. Squeaky clean tone but growling when turned up. Another great find at Tone Shop Guitars!
Finally got one! For so many years I’ve wanted a Martin D-45, as it is the flagship model in their offering (first made in 1933), but never thought they were a good value for the dollar. Turns out Martin discounted a number of their 2024 guitars and Tone Shop Guitars bought a number of Martins. Finally, it made value sense!! They had two, played them both, and with some help from the staff I chose this one. This is the most tonally balanced acoustic I’ve ever owned. The balance thru the sound wave is just incredible, and the sustain (even this new one) is fantastic! Can’t wait to hear what it sounds like 5 years from now!!
IIt was time to dabble a bit outside of the Gibson/Fender/Martin sphere of influence. This is a Duesenberg Starplayer Catalina in Avalon Blue. Drop dead gorgeous, and it plays like a dream. I had noticed a number of my favorite guitarists on their player’s list, so figured there had to be something there….they were right. Made in Germany and built like a BMW, the craftsmanship is far beyond many builders. They create everything
(pickups/tuners/vibrato/knobs/etc.) in their factory, except for a couple electronic pieces. The top is actually Spruce rather than the typical maple, with maple sides and back (a little flame on the back as well). This model combines a P-90 in the neck with a Humbucker in the bridge, and blending them is quite a delight. I highly recommend you give one of these a try!
This is a beautiful Fender CS Wildwood 10 ’57 Strat. So, how much more homogeneous can you get than a Sunburst Strat, right?! Well, the details turn this boring specimen into a killer Fender! The body is highly figured Ash weighing in a a svelte 7.02 lbs!! Neck is toasted maple with a soft V figure and .980 at the 12th fret…perfect for my hand. Pickups are AlNiCo II Wildwood 10s (they underwind them using slightly thicker wire making them incredibly sensitive and responsive; very clear sounding. Played it thru a Fender Deluxe and a Marshall Studio Plexi and it sounded great, but the best amp was the Vox AC15. That bell like tone was the perfect match for my ears. In my opinion, it’s a classic that belongs in every guitar collection. Its truly a nice lookin’ and playin’ piece..(yes I know, boring too), and I’ll have my fun with it for quite some time!
Well, its been about a year since I’ve bought a new guitar. A record no doubt, but when you have a great collection, its tough to augment! I’ve had my eye on this for some time now. It’s a Gibson J-45 30th Anniversary Montana Custom from WIldwood Guitars. Quite the beauty indeed with the anniversary headstock inlay, and the buffalo skulls in the fingerboard and pickguard. But that’s not the half of it…the tone is monstrous. Adirondack Spruce top along with figured Mahogany sides and back. The tonal spectrum is extensive with a clarity you’d be challenged to find in most mahogany guitars. Will be on this honeymoon for a while!!
This beauty is a Gibson Custom Shop ’64 SG Standard that I picked up from Willcutt Guitars. I sold my ’63 a few months back for $$$$$, but I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it! This guitar came with a light “VOS” finish on it, which is Gibson’s attempt to make the guitar look vintage. Look, I’m 71 years old, and back in the ’60s when I was gushing over the Gibson Catalog, everything looked shinny new…which is what I want my guitars to be when purchased. If I want mojo on my guitars….then it will be mine and not something fabricated! Okay, I’m better now….. Anyway I removed this VOS BS as best I could, and it came out looking great. The setup was phenomenal, and the pickups and neck size are pretty close to my old ’63. Really lucked out on this one.
Ok, this is a good one. Jeri and I decide to fly up to Denver on Memorial Day to do a little hiking and get a little mountain air. Before you know it, it’s Tuesday morning and BAM, we’re at the Wildwood Guitar door at 10 am! Contrived? perhaps, but none the less, this baby fell into my arms and there was no turning back. A Custom Shop American Custom NOS Tele. Beautiful, and not to often seen Sage Green, with a tinted, full C, birdseye maple neck; a feel that is TO DIE FOR! Also has a compound fingerboard which is 9.5 on the lower register, graduating up to 12 in the upper. To that effect, was able to set the action like a fast Les Paul. I LOVE IT!!!!!
One of the finest guitars ever made. A 2013 Gibson Custom Shop reissue of a ‘59 ES 335 in natural. Purchased this one from The Music Zoo in NY. These guitars are made to play anything from Rock to Jazz, and sound as good as any solid body or archtop. Play the neck pickup through a Deluxe Reverb, and you’re in Wes Montgomery heaven. Play it on the bridge pickup through a Marshall Plexi, and you’re in Crossroads territory. The pups are well balanced; all you need is a little reverb and a cranked amp, and you’re off!
This is a 2014 Gibson Les Paul Custom. First day of retirement, Jeri and I headed up to Wildwood Guitars in Colorado to pay them my first visit. I’d been buying from them for over 10 years, but never had the chance to introduce myself. Of course during the course of the visit, this lovely Black Beauty shows up. Strong pups, but not harsh. Silky feel over the entire neck. A true dream to play, and not too bad to look at either.
this is a Les Paul Junior
This candy apple delight is a Fender Custom Shop ‘51 NoCaster Reissue from Wildwood Guitars. The neck is chubby, but it has a 9.5″ radius rather than the period correct 7.25″. The neck pickup is a screaming Seymour Duncan ‘59 and believe me, it adds a whole different dimension to the telecaster (ask Keef). Mixing it with the bridge PUP is a tonal category of its own, but it still has the signature Tele chickin’ pickin’ tone on the bridge setting. This guitar was a special order unclaimed, so I am the lucky recipient. Both an ear and eye candy delight!!
Gibson Hummingbird Custom. I was fortunate to have the “pick of the litter” from the Gibson Montana factory thanks to my friend Don Ruffato at Gibson. Don is the gentleman you’ll see at all the major guitar shows around the country in the Gibson Acoustic trailer. It has Koa sides and back, with incredible harmonic balance, and deep rich ringing tones with plenty of sustain. The Hummingbird has a legacy that can’t be overlooked. Throw on Beggar’s Banquet and play along with Keith!
2001 Gibson ‘58 Les Paul Historic Reissue in flamed butterscotch. A lucky find at the old Music Machine in Washington State that someone had on layaway for two years and never claimed! Chunky ‘58 neck profile and flame to die for! I got lucky here folks!
A 2004 Fender Custom Shop ‘56 NOS Mary Kay Strat. Soft V neck and fat tone. Probably the best CS Pickups I’ve ever heard; incredible bell tone.
2003 Gibson – ‘59Les Paul Reissue w/ certified Brazilian fretboard in flamed washed cherry. My Holy Grail reissue! Probably has the closest appointments to the original ‘59 that Gibson has ever issued. I was one of the lucky 674 in 2003 who got one with the Brazilian fingerboard! Right place at the right time at Guitar Center.
Gibson
The Gibson Les Paul has a dual humbucker design which allows it to produce a warm, dark tone that’s great for a range of genres like jazz, blues, metal and rock.
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster has two single-coil pickups. They are well known for producing twangy, bright tones, however, you can get a humming issue when you crank up the gain.
Feel
Both guitars have a single cutaway design and a flat shaped body, compared to something contoured like the Stratocaster.