WORRIED instruMENts

Would you like to see some of my guitars? I do have quite a few, but these are the current favourites.

Once upon a time, I played this whatever the situation, sessions, vocal harmony bands, rock and roll groups, you name it. It's been badly smashed in a frank and open discussion about a Christmas turkey but Johnny Kinkade repaired it (probably better now than before).

I bought it in 1983 from John Perry of The Only Ones, who in various interviews declared it once belonged to Pete Townshend. So there!

 
After it had been pinched (and subsequently recovered) I decided to keep it for studio use. Now, for live appearances, I use a 1961 Gibson Les Paul/SG JR. In order to make it more of a duplicate of the old Gibson for live work, I reshaped the neck, upgraded all the hardware, gave it a refret and changed the pickup.

 
I found this by accident - I wasn't looking for a Flying V but I'm certainly glad I found it! I use it both for studio and live, turn-and-turn-about with the respective SGS.

 
The manager of The Pink Fairies obtained me this amplifier and cabinet from the Marshall factory. I bought the second amplifier from Heron Music in Bristol. I use this outfit live and for recording "Dirty" sounds.

 
I knew that a Stratocaster would be handy for recording. This old dogbox dates from 1979. It looks awful, weighs a ton, but (I've refretted it) it's fun to play. The EMG pickups ensure a good recording sound too.

 
I've had a few Les Paul guitars, but this historic collection Sunburst is the best so far. Steve Treble got it from George Gruhn in Nashville. I use it as a spare for gigs.

 
After trying over twenty models, this SJ200 was the one I liked the best.

 
Dave at Heron Music got me this smashing J185 twelve string directly from Gibson.

 
This is a very early Dan Armstrong see through guitar, made in 1969. This very guitar has been written about extensively in Guitar and The Guitar Magazine, so I'll simply say that it's very heavy to hod around all day.

 
Boy, this 1959 Les Paul Jr is a pip!

I'd dreamt of owning one of these since I was at school and believe me, this exceeded my hopes! It's pretty rough looking, down to the bare wood except for the speck of original paint still clinging to the top horn. (One day I was watching a video recording of T-Rex performing Lazer Love, on second guitar was Miller Anderson playing a battered Les Paul Jr. If you freeze frame the tape (!!) you can see it has a speck of the original paint remaining on the top horn ... whereas elsewhere it is pretty rough looking. Could it ... be the ...same one? Leave a sad man alone with his dreams!!!)

 
I'll bet this sounds cracked but it's true:

When I went to New York I intended to realise many of my adolescent fantasies, one of which was to buy a vintage Les Paul Jr from a pawn shop. I didn't get as far as the Pawn shop because I found this one in Manhattan. Like many another young cat, I'd worshipped at the altar of Leslie West and was keen to emulate the sound he wrested from his Junior. After trying maybe twenty guitars in New York, I found this 1956 model complete with original case. "Good choice Buddy" said the boy behind the desk. "Leslie West is in here playing that one all the time, it's his favourite." Well that was good enough for Betty Thyer's boy. Later that week I met Les Paul himself. He was with his son, also called Les Paul. Naturally, since I had just bought a Les Paul Junior I asked the younger man to sign it, but he didn't get the joke. A few years later The Worried Men got to play with Mountain and I showed my guitar to the band and the crew, but Leslie West himself was in a massive strop so I declined to rub his nose in my appropriating his chosen guitar.

 
This Fender Champ was found on E-Bay for very little money. I use it for recording rhythm tracks.

 
Roger gave me (gave me!) this Fender Pro Reverb amplifier. Just the ticket for recording clean sounds. Very handy for putting your feet on when playing too.