My father was very fond of working with wood. He had a lot of different saws, lathes, and various other tools in his shop. Dad worked with wood; I play guitar. This is my tool box. It is a blessing to own such a wonderful collection of instruments; it is the sole extravagance in my life.

I grew up in Rochester, NY in the late 1960s. At that time, there was a well-known instrument collector and dealer named Eldon Stutzman who ran a little shop called the Guitar Center. I bought my first Martin (a Brazilian Rosewood D28) from him for $399. Mr. Stutzman was the one that gave me a bug for instruments that has never let go.

I know a lot of fine guitarists who only own one or two instruments. There are others I know who own many more. The number of instruments someone owns has no bearing on the quality of one's musicianship. The only thing that matters is what you do with them.

I have spent a great deal of time learning about instruments, and I have pretty strong ideas about the ones that really work for me, as well as those that don't.  From my standpoint, this is the perfect collection: a combination of classics, some oddballs, and a few new designs. I use some of these instruments regularly, and others very infrequently. Some are quite valuable, and others are not....I could care less--they are all for playing.

Good instruments have their own stories, and their own personalities. I believe that they are like one half of a soul. The other half comes from the fingers, heart, and head of the player.

I have posted numerous reviews of these instruments(as well as some others no longer in my possession) on the "Harmony Central" website (check out my links page). HC is a great place to read up about a particular instrument or amplifier before you buy.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at steelstringer@aol.com

ELECTRIC GUITARS
I start out with two Gibsons. The two instruments I have owned the longest are my 1963 SG Special ("Rosebud'), and my 1958 ES-175 ("Herbie"). I got the SG in December of 1971. It was a House of Guitars ( Rochester, NY) special for $200. I had saved $!00, and made a sales pitch to my father for the remaining $100: a combination 18th birthday, Christmas, and early high school graduation present. Dad went for it—and I’ve had that instrument ever since. I found the ES-175 sometime in 1974—it cost me $400. It was sitting, unused, in an attic for about twelve years. For a brief period in the late 1970s, I sold both of these instruments to my friend (and one of the finest NYC area Jazz/Brazilian guitarists) Paul Meyers. Paul moved on to a Howard Roberts, and I got both back for keeps. These two remain my most favorite electrics. Not for sale—for any price!  

I have two wonderful Blades--a "Texas" Strat and a "Delta" Tele; both are rock solid, well built instruments that sound great for all kinds of music. They have excellent pickups, and rosewood fretboards. For whatever reason, they are hard to find in the US; they seem to be most popular, and more widely distributed in Europe.

I also own three maple fretboards: a Fender Eric Johnson Stratocaster, a Bill Nash T57 Tele, and a 40th anniversary Fender Stratocaster.  The EJ is the perfect Strat, and the Nash (with a beautiful and unbelievably authentic looking relic job and Lollar pickups) is the perfect Tele. The 40th anniversary Strat (which I inherited under very sad circumstances--a friend's suicide) is set up for primarily for slide.

An Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard Plus is--by far--the best Les Paul I could find for the money. If you don't know about the Elitist line, I urge you to check it out; it's basically a Gibson at half the price. Regular Epiphones are pretty good values; the Epi Elites are amazing values. The first musician that piqued my curiosity about Parker Fly guitars was Pat Martino, who was playing one when I saw him perform in NC several years ago. My Parker is a 1994 Deluxe, with a standard (ie. non-tremolo) bridge. Parkers are known for their amazing appearance, ultra-light weight, and rainbow of tones, thanks to the best piezo/magnetic pickup combination design I’ve ever heard. If I want to play jazz on a solid body, it is usually the Fly.

Along with my old ES-175, I play an Eastman AR-800CE archtop. It has a 16” body (which is very close to the size of  the ES-175) and an oval hole ( ala. the Gibson Howard Roberts) design. Eastman makes amazing instruments for the money; they cost a fraction of any other handcrafted archtop out there. Unlike the ES-175, which is more of a hollowbody electric, and is made for thick flatwounds, this is more of an acoustic guitar, and thus sounds best with roundwounds. I also have another Eastman--an El Rey ER1; it's basically the size of a Les Paul, but it's a hollowbody instrument with one pickup--something akin to a downsize ES175, albeit with no soundholes. It's very similar to the Carvin "Fatboy" that I once owned, but it's more comfortable to play for technical reasons (e-mail me if you are curious). The most amazing archtop I use is a Gibson Wes Montgomery L5 model. It's absolute perfection, and I needn't say much more than that!

In addition, I own a Cort "Jim Triggs"--a thin hollow body with two humbuckers and a Bigsby. It reminds me of a cross between a Gretsch and Guild Starfire I had in high school, and I got it for $300--a lot less than a vintage Starfire or Country Gentleman would cost. It is my “Chet” electric; it also makes me think of Scotty Moore and George Harrison. You can't beat an ES-335 design for versatility, and I have an Epiphone Elite Dotneck that fills the bill. Like my Epi Elitist Les Paul, it's an amazing value. My other semihollows are a modified Carvin AE185, and a Burns Steer. The former has an ebony fretboard; the latter (one of the most unusual electric guitar designs I've ever seen) has maple. They both share a blend of single coil and double coil pickups.

For slide guitar, I play an ancient (and ugly) Hagstrom II ("the Hag") that was a companion to my SG on many, many gigs over the years. My other slide guitars are a Johnny Reb hollowbody Tele, and a 1950s Fender Lap Steel.   In addition, I own a Rogue bass guitar, an Ashbory bass, a Danelectro baritone, and a Brian Moore iGuitar, which drives a Roland GR33 synthesizer.

ACOUSTIC GUITARS
My main acoustics are two mahogany guitars, (a Collings D-1, and a Martin 000-16 cutaway), and three rosewoods, (a Martin HD-28 ["Sunflower"], a Martin 000C-16RGTE, and a Collings DS-2H ).  I won the HD-28 at Winfield, Kansas in 1980, when I took 2nd place at the National Fingerpicking Championship. It took a few years for it to come around, but at the age of 28 now, it’s got a fine voice. The DS-2H is a 12-fret model, with a wider fretboard, and an open headstock design. It has an enormous sound, especially for flatpicking. The rosewoods tend to have a more complex tone, with more overtones and sweetness. The mahogany instruments mike a bit more cleanly, and have a drier tone. My 000-16 (the neck is original, from 1989; the body was redone in 2008; a long story!) is a well-balanced guitar with a tone that works for just about anything. The newer rosewood 000-16 is equipped with Fishman Matrix electronics--a blend of a pickup and an internally mounted condensor microphone. If I want to have a true acoustic tone (albeit not in the same league as the other Martins and the two Collings) with as little fuss as possible, this is the one I go for. The Collings D1--my overall favorite for the best gigs---is as good a mahogany D as I've seen anywhere. It is amazing, and as it ages, I can only imagine how much better it will sound. Both of the Collings instruments are incredibly well made, and they are reliable travellers. I bought the D1 with gift money from two very dear friends at my church who remembered me in their wills-- I have their names on a little plaque inside the soundhole. I also have a beautiful Santa Cruz FS cutaway with a cedar top and rosewood back and sides—it is used strictly for fingerstyle. It has a very striking appearance and an exceptionally dry voice.

I also own two Takamine nylon string cutaways--an NP65, and an E30. The former is essentially a steelstring neck width with nylon strings; the latter is more of a true classical guitar (although I'm no classical guitarist!). I have an amazingly loud Gitane Macceferri copy--a fine acoustic guitar for swing. For 12-string, I have played the same huge-sounding Guild F212-XL since 1975. My 1960s era Harmony Sovereign is like a little time machine--it was the model (although not the actual guitar) that I learned how to fingerpick on. Two other small bodied fingerpickers are a Seagull Coastline Grand and a "Baby"Alvarez. For bottleneck, I play a Regal RD1 National copy, a 1930s era Kalamazoo (approximately 0-size) flat (bulging, actually) top, and a mid-1970s Dobro for lap style.

I have various kinds of piezos installed in most of my acoustic instruments, and I also use magnetic pickups occasionally. My first choice is always a good microphone; nothing sounds better than notes with air around them.. More commonly, for practical reasons, it will be a mike with a piezo signal added. (If you are an experienced performer, you probably know what I mean by “practical”) If I have to go with a piezo signal--either alone, or with a microphone-- I will use a pre-amp or blender to make it sound as warm as possible. For a simpler setup, I'll use my "plug and play" Martin. It's easy to use, it takes very little time, and it sounds pretty good.

MANDOLINS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS
My second instrument is the mandolin. I was very lucky to get a Nugget A5 around 1986. I got it (previously used) directly from Mike Kemnitzer (the builder) for $750. Like I said, I am lucky—it would cost a great deal more now. I got the bug for Nugget when I saw Tim O’Brien play his A5 in Hot Rize, circa 1977. I am the proud owner of a Sheba A4 made by Gavin Baird to the specs of Peter Ostroushko, my favorite picking partner. It has a warmer tone, whereas the Nugget has more bite. I also play aTrillium octave mandolin made by Robert Abrams, who lives in New Hampshire, and a mandola made by Brian Dean, who lives in Quebec. Both of these men make exceptionally fine instruments—I recommend their craftmanship without any reservations. Additionally, I have a couple inexpensive banjos and ukeleles, an autoharp, two electric mandolins, and a dulcimer. I also own a fiddle, which is played mostly in private, thank God.

AMPLIFICATION/OTHER
I have three tube amplifiers: a Tone King Imperial, and two Fenders: a Blues Junior and a Blues Deville. The Tone King is my favorite. I use the Blues Junior (15W/1X12") when I need less headroom and the Blues Deville (60W/4X10") when I need more. For solid state, I use an Evans AE100(made right here in North Carolina), a Raezer's Edge Stealth 12/Acoustic Image Clarus combo, and a JazzKat. The Evans (which also has an extension cabinet) is more versatile, but the RE/AI combo is pure jazz tone. (After exchanging some photos of the cabinet with Jeff Hale, we determined that the RE cabinet is one of the very first prototypes.) For portability, the JazzKat rules; it also sports an XLR input which makes it handy for adding a microphone. For acoustic amplification, I alternate between a Genz-Benz Shenandoah, and a Roland AC-60. For the infrequent bass gig I use a Roland Cube Bass 30. As far as toys, doo-dads, and stomp boxes go, I have more than enough—let’s just leave it at that. The two sounds that I use the most are compression and delay.

These photos (due to my lack of webpage expertise) show little justice to the appearance of many of the instruments. If you would like to get a better quality jpeg of a particular instrument, or would like to see a photo of something not pictured here, feel free to e-mail me.

On the left: An Eastman AR800. On the right: My 1958 ES-175. Old and new jazz boxes. The ES-175 was born for fat flatwound strings. The Eastman is much more of an acoustic guitar and thus sounds best with roundwounds. I like .56 to .13 sets on both.

Tube amplifiers. From left to right: Tone King Imperial, Fender Blues Junior, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The maple cabinet Hot Rod--easily the most beautiful amp I've ever owned--has moved on to my friend Peter Bailey. It was so good looking that I dreaded using it on gigs, lest it get nicked or otherwise damaged!