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 Fender Custom Shop Merle Haggard Tele was an incredible lucky find. My friends at Tone Shop Guitars bought a collection from an estate sale of a deceased customer, and this was one of the pieces. These guitars are normally priced beyond their worth in my opinion, but the price was right and the guitar plays and sounds fantastic. It has a 4 switch selector; 3 of the normal Tele positions, with a fourth that puts the pickups in series mode, subsequently giving them a little more girth and grind. The appointments are incredible, with a flamed maple top in a 2 tone sunburst, along with a flamed out maple neck. I’m not a real Merle fan, though I respect his playing and what he’s done for the guitar picker’s world, but he sure designed a beauty of a Tele!
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!
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!
This is a Gibson Custom Shop ’56 Reissue Les Paul in a Factory Burst gloss finish, and its a Made to Measure (special order) from my friends at Wildwood Guitars. The top on this guitar is quite attractive. These days I find that maple tops have a lot more cross grain (horizontal lines), but this one is really an exception. The P-90 pickups really growl when pushed through a Marshall or a Vox. The neck is a true ’56; lots of girth to it. Most ’56 RIs are either gold top or sparkle these days, so this one was a real find!
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 beautiful Taylor 812CE-N. Haven’t had a Taylor Guitar in a long time, but this one is something special. It’s a nylon string crossover. I’ve had a Classical Guitar in the past, but found it a little difficult to play. This Taylor though is really made for acoustic players who want to dabble a bit in the nylon string area. The fretboard has a bit of a radius to it rather than being flat. Also the combination of the Indian Rosewood back and sides with a Sitka Spruce top sounded better to my ears than the usual cedar tops. And the multi-grained rosewood fretboard really sets it apart, and a joy to look at!
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.