MY GUITAR COLLECTION
My very first electric guitar was bought from a secondhand shop in Retford, Nottinghamshire in the early eighties. It was red and I think it was a hofner galaxie. Anyway it never worked but it did encourage my parents to pay for some lessons. As with all teens, other interests came along and I swapped it at school for something, can't remember what.
After I got married my interest re-emerged and I purchased my first acoustic guitar from Berry's at Worksop, Notts. I think I payed around £80 for the white seagull copy, a Marlin ML-Seagull. It has a maple neck and fingerboard with a black plastic fingerplate and white seagull emblem. It has black plastic covered machine heads. Surprising for a budget guitar it plays very well. It keeps in tune very consistantly and its very easy to pick up and play with minimum fuss.
Marlin SL-Seagull
Peavey Predator Plus
During one of my regular visits to Electromusic in Doncaster I came across my next guitar, a secondhand Epiphone Les Paul copy. The year was 2000 and it cost £225 and a has a very distinct green flame finish. The serial number is U99072468 which I believe means it was manufactured in 1999 in Korea. A great sounding guitar if a little on the heavy side, one of my favourites.
Epiphone Les Paul
My next guitar was bought on the back of a good xmas bonus in May 2002 and is the most expensive guitar I own at £600 but the most versatile. It is a dream to play and has my guitarist friends battling to buy it if I decide to sell it. It is a PRS Santana II SE, Mahogany Body and neck, rosewood fretboard and a deep red grained vintage cherry finish. Two Humbucker pickups, volume and tone control with three way selector switch with a PRS stoptail.
PRS Santana II SE
While I enjoy playing the Les Paul it does get heavy after a while so when this Epiphone G400 Custom came in the sale at Pooles in Grimsby for £334 in 2002 I bought it. A lot lighter than the Les Paul its a lot easier to play. Mahogany Body and neck, three Humbucker pickups, gold hardware antique ivory finish gives this guitar a distinctive look. Originally intended to use for slide work had the action raised a little and heavier strings put on. Usual Epiphone workmanship. Serial Number I01052414.
After getting together with a couple of work colleagues who were playing guitar I decided instead of lugging all my gear around to each others houses that what I needed was an electro-acoustic. Something I could just pick up and take with me and could be plugged into effects if required. So as a birthday treat I picked up the Crafter from Music Makers in Lincoln for around £400 in 2004. It is a FE27/N serial number 03053683 with the 'tree of life' fingerboard inlay.Construction is a solid Sitka spruce top, south american rosewood back and sides and a LR-S Plus Pre-amp LR Baggs pickup.
The final guitar in my collection is a secondhand Peavey Milestone Bass guitar again bought from PSS music in 2004 for £129. It was bought when I intended to write and record my own songs and would provide the bass line.