What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?
“The first nice guitar I bought was an Epiphone Les Paul. My parents realised I was obsessed with the guitar so they [also] purchased me a Stratocaster from this place called Mars Music in Plano, Texas, and from then on, I just wanted to have all of the guitars, you know?
“My first expensive guitar that I bought was a 1956 Gibson ES-125 and I still have it and I still use it all the time. I think it was about $1,000, which seemed like an incredible amount of money at the time. But I’ve had that guitar since I was 14 or 15 years old.”
What was the last guitar you bought and why?
“Well, the last guitar that I got was the second prototype for my signature [Custom Shop Tyler Bryant ‘Pinky’ Stratocaster] with Fender and it’s such a dream come true for me to have a signature guitar, something with my name on it. It’s a huge honour. It’s a 60s ‘C’ neck, which is my favourite shape of neck and it’s got a rosewood ’board. The pickups are two hand-wound 1960s-style single coils and a custom ShawBucker, designed by Tim Shaw. I just love the way that this configuration makes this guitar so versatile. I can achieve just about any sound with it and I use the humbucker almost like a secret weapon. It’s not coil-tapped, I did not include that. I have guitars that have coil taps on and I don’t ever really feel like I need it.
This story is from the July 2023 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 July 2023 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