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EC-30
1997 Gibson EC-30 BKE
I chose this instrument in 1997 at the Gibson Acoustics plant in Bozeman, Montana. This was part of an endorsement deal offered to me after my performance at the Memphis International Blues Challenge in 1995. She's a real beauty and was my main gigging axe from 1997 thru to 2010 when she was sadly retired from active duty.
FAQ's: The pick-up is a West Active Systems unit designed and installed by Sid West who is based in Rosanna, Melbourne.
The black square above the soundhole is just a piece of foam stuck on with gaffa.
The new model name is J-185
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This was actually the first instrument I played when invited to choose my new axe at the Gibson Acoustics plant back in 1997.
It just melted into me but didn't have the required electronics for 'live' performances.(It now sports an awesome Sid West pick-up)
My host at Gibson, Robi Johns said I should take this one to play at home and choose another. I have since used it many times for recording, writing and just plain ol' noodlin'.
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'RED'
Maton - Stage Series
This was my main acoustic axe before the Gibson deal.
I gigged heavily with it between the years '95 - '97 and it is the featured instrument on the Mystery Train acoustic album. I no longer own it but it was an important instrument in my early development. Maton continue to make some beaut guitars.
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Lichty Custom
OM Cutaway
American luthier Jay Lichty crafted this instrument for me in 2011 especially for my US tours. We exchanged many emails discussing the desired specs and I must say that the results far exceeded what I was hoping we'd achieve.
It is perfectly set-up, incredibly comfortable to play, sounds amazing and is just beautiful to look at. We opted for an LR Baggs 'Anthem' pickup system which is an unobtrusive mic/piezo arrangement. It's a very natural and warm sounding pick-up and I'm similarly impressed with that product too.
Jay is based in Tryon, North Carolina.
Check out his website at www.lichtyguitars.com
Check out the pickup at www.lrbaggs.com
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Cole-Clark Guitars
I have a couple of Cole-Clark acoustic guitars, an FL2 and an FL3 which I just love. (F.L stands for 'Fat Lady') They're big and rich sounding with a great on-board pick-up system. These babies are designed and built in Melbourne, Australia so it's really great playing something that's not only world class but locally made too!
Check out Cole-Clark guitars here www.coleclarkguitars.com
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'Goldie'
1969 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe 'Gold Top'
My first and favourite professional instrument.
This lovely old instrument was my main squeeze for many years.
It was purchased at Clemmen's in Russel st. Melbourne in the mid 1980's. She was mine from the moment I saw her - cost me every penny in the bank but I just had to have her. I gigged, recorded, wrote songs, toured around the world several times and generally played the bejeezus out of it for 20 years.
She is now retired from active service although my main guitar tech Dave Ulbrick has brought her back to a very playable state. She turns up at gigs once in a while.
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PRS
2001 Paul Reed Smith Standard 22 'Gold Top'
The 'Spirit Man' guitar I played exclusively with The Souldiggers from 2002 thru 2012. PRS make amazing guitars although I modified this one just a little.
The personal touches have been swapping the tone & toggle positions, replacing the volume & tone pots with a smoother sweep, installing a simple 3-way toggle switch and coil taps. I don't like switching between different guitars on stage but prefer to have a versatile axe in my hands that I know inside out. That's how this one feels to me.
I famously wrenched the neck out of it's socket at a gig in 2010 and the bridge pick-up has collapsed into the cavity more than once so sadly this baby is no longer my main touring companion.
The Aboriginal artwork is the real thing. It was painted by traditional artist Jangala during a visit to Byron Bay. The plain gold-top finish wound up being the ideal backdrop for Jangala's twig, stick and brush strokes.
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Johnstone
GA001 Custom Telecaster
Melbourne luthier Robert Johnstone built this instrument for me in the mid-90's.
The volume & tone are situated very close to aid sound manipulation. The body is hollow to give the instrument improved acoustical properties. Rob crafted an ultra thin neck and employed a 'Gibson' style short scale at my suggestion. I used this guitar for the best part of a year and recorded my second CD 'Genevieve' with it.
It does have a fabulous tone to it but I eventually decided that I preferred the chunkier neck style of the Les Paul and went back to 'Goldie'.
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PRS Studio
2012 Paul Reed Smith Studio Model - Amber Black
Here's the latest weapon of choice, the dream machine. With my lovely 'Spirit Man' PRS suffering after a decade on the road it became necessary to update my rig and I just love what this guitar company have done with this design. It has a 57/08 humbucker in the bridge position plus 2 'Narrowfield' mini-buckers in the middle and neck positions. I've chosen the trem style bridge and it also has a 5 way blade pick-up selector too so it's sort of a familiar layout but with a very robust and gutsy sound.
I feel lke this guitar was purpose built for my playing style. Everything is in the right place. The pick-ups are really well balanced, the trem-kit stays perfectly in tune and the volume & tone pots are the smoothest I've ever used. Even the tone control is exactly where I want it! What you can't see is just how beautifully balanced this instrument is to play.
Up til now every guitar I've ever bought has almost immediately been pulled apart and modified in some way ... not this one, it's perfect right off the shelf!
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GUITAR STRINGS
I get asked about which strings I use all the time.
Like most guitar players I've tried all sorts of brands and checked out various combinations of gauges. I just kept coming back to D'Addario's. They sound great, feel great, stay in tune, last the distance and they even employ environmentally safe packaging - thankyou!
I use a fairly hefty gauge, regular tuning and a Fender Extra Heavy pick.
Acoustic EJ16 : 012 - 016 - 024 - 032 - 042 - 054
Electric EXL145 : 012 - 016 - 020 - 032 - 042 - 054
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ULBRICK
Arena 50 Combo Amplifier
 Dave Ulbrick is not only an amazing guitar & amp tech but an amazing guy too. I've had my gear serviced by Dave since the early '90's. Dave is now building his own range of amps and they are seriously the dog's bollocks!
Check out the Ulbrick Sound website.
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Fender 'The Twin' amplifier
The one with RED KNOBS!!
I bought this old war horse in the early '90's.
It had literally fallen off the back of the delivery truck and was sitting in Jim MacLeod's repair shop with a busted chassis. I was able to get this slightly 'bent' Fender Twin for half the retail price. It held together fine (after Jim whacked a few bolts thru it) and benefitted from some fabulous tonal tweaking from Dave Ulbrick. It's since bitten the dust but I have sourced one of these for my UK Tours.
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Kustom 72 Coupe
This is the amp y'all might see me touring with when in the USA. The good guys at Kustom helped me out with this baby after I'd had my US Fender Twin stolen mid-tour. It really is 72 watts, all tube tone and it looks sharp with that vinyl padding too!
I've toured many miles, played a ton of gigs and I recorded our 'One Ticket, One Ride' album with this gutsy little unit. |
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