MIKE VENNART

The former Oceansize and long-time Biffy Clyro touring guitarist on his love of off-the-beaten-path six-strings, his disdain for acoustics, and why Japanese Squiers are the best bargain around

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What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?

"I was lucky enough that I'd started playing when I was really young, so my mum got me a couple of really great guitars, namely a Squier Strat. It was a Japanese Squier Strat, which I still play to this day. It's just an awesome piece of gear. After that, I was gifted a guitar by Fender. But the first guitar that I made a point of purchasing was a Fender Jazzmaster - because in 2008 or thereabouts, it was just not possible to get a left-handed Jazzmaster in this country. Even though I had contacts at Fender, they told me, 'No, man, you might as well be ringing Ibanez, we just don't make left-handed Jazzmasters.' So I had to go to Fender Japan, have them build it and send it over. And to this day, it's one of the best guitars I own. It's just so versatile. I put a P-90 in the bridge and I can play heavy stuff with it, I can play really jangly tiny chords with the neck pickup. It's a whole lot of guitar and I love it. I use it a lot."

What was the last guitar you bought, and why?

"I bought a Shergold Masquerader, a British guitar brand from the 70s, and I'm a huge Cardiacs fan and I'm actually now in the fucking Cardiacs! So I bought this because several members of Cardiacs played Masqueraders and I thought it'd be a cool thing to have. I don't think I'm gonna use it on stage with Cardiacs-that might be a little bit too much of a homage, really."

What's the most incredible find or bargain you had when buying guitars?