What was the first serious guitar that you bought with your own money?
“The first guitar I bought was from a catalogue. It was a Kay bass guitar and it didn’t have a name on it, and I remember I paid 65 quid for it. I believe it had copper strings on it for some reason, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I used to sweat while I was learning and I’d end up with blue and gold fingers. I think it got sat on and the neck snapped. After that I got a Rickenbacker 4001 – that was a huge jump up. My dad bought me that. I must have proved to him that I meant the music thing. But unfortunately I got rid of that as well!”
What was the last guitar you bought and why?
“It was an Alvarez jazz guitar and I bought it because it had a set of flat-wounds on it, which I hadn’t used before, so I just thought it would be good to buy that guitar. It’s different to the normal things that I play, like the Gibsons or Fenders, but it just had this beautiful dead tone. Even though I did take a few jazz guitar lessons after that, it wasn’t the reason I bought it. It was just lying around and I played it. It was my first intro to flat-wound strings and I thought the tone was incredible.”
What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying gear?
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
FOR THE ROSES
Ivison Guitars has only been in business for six years, but its Dakota model has already headlined Glastonbury with Guns N’ Roses star Richard Fortus. We meet founder Neil Ivison to find out how he's making new electrics that evoke the raw spirit of retro tone
HISTORY REPEATING
Gibson's highest-tier replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars these days. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page's fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard
WHAT THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR
Off the radar since The Stone Roses reunion burnt out - and largely absent from the studio for two decades - John Squire's collaboration with Liam Gallagher reclaims his place among the greats. He invites us to his studio to talk classic riffs, career-ending injuries, getting snubbed by Gibson, and why music keeps pulling him back in
TELL ME STRAIGHT
Keith Richards, the legendary master of the ageless riff, talks about the magic and loss of Hackney Diamonds, the sparkling new Rolling Stones album
DENNY LAINE 1944-2023
Multi-instrumetlist, singer-songwriter Denny Laine died at the end of last year after a career that saw him top the charts in both The Moody Blues and Wings
Vibe 'n' Drive
Eventide's latest dot9 series pedal combines two independent effects for some classic vintage-rock sounds
Face Lift
Flattley releases an upgraded 1960s-style silicon fuzz with a buffer and extended tonal options
Air Supply
Boss's new Katana addition pumps up the volume - suited to serious players looking for a compact, wireless amp solution
Standard Shimmers
Back in 2023, revitalised Brit-maker PJD rejigged its range to start with the new solidbody hardtail Standards. Need a vibrato? No problem: here comes the Standard Plus
Golden Brown
Last year we were mightily impressed when we looked at builder Rich Jones' Parlour and Orchestra acoustics. This time it's the turn of his entry-level, all-mahogany dreadnought