Current gear revisited - All the other electrics

So here's a bit of the "expanded" collection... I spend a solid 80% of my time playing PRSi for rehearsals and gigs, but what fewer people see is the non-PRS collection, which gets a considerable amount of attention in the studio. While most of my PRSi date back to 2004 when I traded in all the Ibanezes for various PRS models, many of the guitars here are from 2006 & 2007, when I cashed in half of my PRSi to "diversify" the collection.



Carvin DC120 - Here's my only 12-string electric, which I arrived at after a brief stint with a PRS Custom 22/12 and Rickenbacker 360/12. While visually basic in the classic white finish, it does have several "nice touches" from Carvin including ebony fretboard, Sperzel locking tuners, block inlays, and an extremely versatile electronics package (2 humbuckers, volume, passive tone, active tone, dual coil-tap miniswitches, phase miniswitch)--this guitar has more tonal variety than anything else I've ever owned! Bonus points for being made in the USA and being extremely cost-effective at that.



Casio MG-510 MIDI guitar - Here's a bit of an oddity courtesy of (you read that right...) Casio. Theoretically, this guitar was made in the same Japanese factory as many Ibanez and Fender models. It has a basswood body, 22-fret rosewood fretboard, Strat-style trem, and HSS pickups with volume + tone + 5-way switch + coil-tap miniswitch. What's most worthy of note, though, is the guitar's MIDI implementation... it has a standard 5-pin MIDI jack instead of the 13-pin Roland jacks--this means it can be plugged directly into a keyboard or sound module or computer for recording. The MIDI-related controls include volume, octave up/down, and fixed pitch/glide, and the MIDI-related circuitry can be powered by a set of batteries or a 9V adapter. And (best feature of all) the guitar has a built-in tuner, using the six-string hex pickup. Very well designed and reasonably well built, it's as much a conversation piece as a useful studio tool.



Ernie Ball Music Man John Petrucci model - Here's my only seven-string guitar, which is a considerable downsizing from the Ibanez days when I typically had 2-3 seven-strings around (and rarely played any of them). This one's finished in carbon blue pearl with the JP shield inlays on the rosewood fretboard and a birdseye maple neck. It is stock with the original Dimarzio humbuckers, locking tuners, and EBMM vintage-style trem that stays in tune remarkably well. Also somewhat surprising... this guitar excels at clean tones, particularly in the middle position where both humbuckers are split. Having owned several EBMM's (including a couple 6-string JP's and an Axis), I'm always impressed by the craftsmanship and feel of their guitars, and this one is no exception.



G&L ASAT Classic - Both of the G&L's (this ASAT plus the Legacy below) were the first guitars purchased during the big diversification experiment in 2006... after a considerable amount of scrutiny (and many other guitars have come & gone), they remain must-have's in the studio collection. The ASAT Classic was Leo Fender's "upgraded" version of the Fender Telecaster--the most noticeable upgrade is the G&L MFD pickups, which are hotter, warmer, & quieter than traditional single coils. Anyway, this ASAT is finished in vintage white with a maple fretboard, not a lot of bells & whistles otherwise. But what it lacks in features, it makes up for in vibe... I can't quite put my finger on it, but this guitar's a blast to play and gets put to use on practically every track I record in the studio. Given the choice between a USA-made Fender and G&L, I'd take the G&L pretty much every time because I have yet to find a G&L where the craftsmanship wasn't spot-on (whereas all you have to do is take a trip to Guitar Center to find a handful of Fenders with shoddy craftsmanship).



G&L Legacy Standard - Yet another "no frills" model, the Legacy was Leo Fender's "upgraded" version of the Fender Stratocaster, including a more stable tremolo design and more versatile tone circuits. This Legacy is finished in Lake Placid Blue with a rosewood fretboard and mint pickguard. Much like the ASAT, it has great tone, playability, and craftsmanship. This one sees a bit less play time than the ASAT (the Legacy's traditional single coils are a bit too "laid back" for me), but it does get pulled out for the occasional funky or bluesy track in the studio.



Gretsch G6120-1959 Chet Atkins model - Not biggest by weight, but biggest by volume. :) This Gretsch is undoubtedly the most "old-school" looking guitar I own, with unmatched levels of vibe and visual appeal. This one's finished in deep orange and equipped with an ebony fretboard, FilterTron pickups, and the relatively obvious Bigsby vibrato. On one hand it's quirky (the floating bridge can bounce around, making it hard to keep tuned/intonated, and the completely hollow design is more prone to feedback than anything else I've got). But it has a gut-wrenchingly big, deep clean tone, which is amazing for jazz & folk tunes. With the tone controls dialed up, it's got that famous rockabilly twang (I expect it would sound equally amazing for country licks, if I actually had any chops). Much like the G&L's, the Gretsch is a staple for studio work... nothing else sounds or feels quite like it.



Heritage H-535 - When I'm not writing original rock tunes or recording semi-obnoxious guitar instrumentals, chances are that I'm playing with a 20-piece volunteer big band. And if that's the case, chances are high that this is the guitar I'll be playing. This one's finished in old-style sunburst with a bound rosewood fretboard, basic dot inlays, and several Heritage features including flame maple pickguard and Schaller hardware. The original Schaller pickups were recently swapped for a Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck (not shown in the picture). Overall, it cops the Gibson ES-335 vibe for half the price with arguably better quality, which should be no surprise since Heritage was formed by a handful of Gibson employees after Gibson shut down the Kalamazoo, MI plant to move electric guitar production to Nashville. Given the choice, I'd take a Heritage over a Gibson any day of the week due to more innovative features and better attention to detail (fit & finish).



Voodoo Guitar Works archtop - This is perhaps the coolest guitar I own, perhaps the coolest guitar I'll ever own. It was built by Chris Meade, who was doing US custom shop work for BC Rich at the time. Anyway, it's got a similar body & neck profile to a PRS McCarty, all mahogany construction, bound rosewood fretboard with custom inlays, Sperzel locking tuners, and an Original Floyd Rose trem (odd to think that this is my only Floyd-equipped guitar, especially considering how hard it used to be to find an Ibanez without a Floyd). Electronics include a Duncan Distortion in the bridge, '59 in the neck, volume + tone + 3-way + push-pull coil-tap switch. It is truly one-of-a-kind, and hangs with everything else in terms of craftsmanship, playability, and tone.

Well, that's it for electric guitars... next up will be a bit of discussion on the acoustics and basses I've got around here. Stay tuned!

--B