Every musician will have fond memories of particular instruments that they've owned or played. Today, I'll share a little bit about some of the guitars I've loved playing and gigging with - I'd love to hear about yours in the comments!
My first lap steel slide guitar still holds a special place in my heart. I got into playing lap steel when I was at Uni, and I found that I loved the extra possibilities it opened up for my playing.
My first lap steel acoustic guitar was an old Framus - I just put a big nut on it to raise the strings up. Eventually the neck started to banana in on itself. I used to do a lot of busking with that guitar. I'd be sat on a stool stamping on a suitcase with a microphone inside playing Blues riffs on the street in Bath and other places like that. I used to do really well and draw a big crowd!
Sometimes you'll find your new favourite instrument when you meet with another enthusiast. I was busking at Sidmouth Folk Festival once and I got to know a guitar maker called Colin Kendall. He said,
“Oh, you need a proper square neck dobro for that.” So he made my first one. It was a nice instrument, which had a really good, hand spun cone inside it.
Sometimes a certain instrument just feels right. I was playing in a band called The Roots Union, and we ended up in Nashville doing some recording. I went to one of the legendary guitar shops there on the strip - Gruhn guitars. I tried quite a few different ones, and there was one particular one that really stood out for me. It's got a very mellow, woody tone to it. It's not got the raucous bark of the usual Bluegrass dobro, and it suited my style perfectly, so I brought that back and it's been my main square neck dobro ever since.
I've also got a really nice National copy that I use to play bottleneck as well, which is made by an Exeter guitar maker, David Oddy, who is sadly no longer with us. That's a beautiful guitar as well. That's my main bottleneck guitar now. I've got a Weissenborn of his, as well, and an acoustic guitar, and a tenor actually. I'm lucky enough to have a few David Oddy's here.
I love getting to know a new guitar, finding out how it feels and getting used to the tone and resonance of it. My idea of heaven is to spend hours browsing in a guitar shop, trying out new instruments and looking for that special connection. It's very hard to leave without adding something new to my collection!
What do you like to play? Pick up your Get Going With Slide Guide now and dive straight in to your slide guitar journey.