2006 Ibanez AF105f floating pickup jazz box, stock with very sweet tone and fabulous 9 piece neck.
1981 Ibanez AR50 Artist. The budget double cutaway. Great neck and vintage tone from the Super 70 Pickups. Barely visible on the right is my stereo effects rig for guitar. Truly a working man's LP.
2005 Ibanez SZ520. Bought on a lark at a used guitar store. Best feeling guitar I've ever held. Original pickups were way too hot and I had Canadian pickup specialist Jon Moore custom wind a pair of pups with Alnico 2 magnets and balanced coils. The electronics were improved with CTS pots, Switchcraft hardware and Sprague Orange Drops. The results are a sound very reminiscent of a late '50s 'Paul but with the ease of play and comfort of a modern PRS.
Circa 1986 Contemporary Fender Stratocaster Made in Japan. Original made in US Kahler tremolo with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups. Great neck and vintage sound.
All stock, circa 1985, Made in Japan Fender '62 Tele Custom reissue. It's hard to believe how well this guitar plays. The neck is amazing and the tone pure Tele. I regretfully sold this guitar years ago, but I'm glad to say it's come back home.
What can I say, I went over to the dark side. It's a fine instrument, however. It's a Taylor 310. Plays well, (for an acoustic,) speaks with a well balanced voice and sometimes it's nice to have a guitar that you doesn't need an amp...
My first good bass. The 1976, now legendary, Ibanez Black Eagle. Modeled after a Jazz but way over the top cosmetically. Heavy ash body, a beautiful bound neck with the total Jazz bass vibe and sound. A king of growl. I gigged with this one for years. Note the Eden Metro combo I use when I make a joyful bass sound.
This is my first made from "parts" instruments. I found a stripped and beat body from an Ibanez Black Eagle. The serial number dates this body three months earlier than my other Black Eagle. I've been wanting a fretless and a beautiful flame maple/Indian rosewood fretless Warmoth P-neck caught my fancy. PUPs and tuners are from a CIJ J-bass. I had to move the bridge as Ibanez used a 33.5" scale and the Warmouth neck is a 34" scale. I added Fender's S-1 switching which adds an additional tone color. I'm calling it a Warbanez. It's hard to be objective, but it plays beautifully and has a very warm, full-bodied sound. The color is Pontiac Medium Metallic Red from a 1997 Bonneville. The car blew a head gasket, but the color lives on...
A Geddy Lee Signature Jazz. Great, fast, thin neck, vintage Jazz pups, and Crafted in Japan Fender quality. The neck is, as usual for CIJs, just about perfect although seasonally tempermental. Great Jazz growl.
The Marcus Miller Signature Bass. A great bass for snapping and popping. Active electronics let the bass get very big, but also dial back and can go passive for a near vintage sound. Another Crafted in Japan gem.
My pride and joy. A 1967 Fender Deluxe reverb. It makes every thing sound great. The output tubes are RCA brown base JANS from the '40s. Pedals are a stock Cry Baby and a pretty mediocre compressor. I also have a vintage Morley optical wah for the bass side of things.
Tobias Pro 5B Custom. 5 piece Maple/Wenge neck with Bubinga wings. Electronics upgraded to Bartolinis with 3 band active preamp. Big, I mean big sound. It also can be dialed back for just about any situation. Very flexible, easy to play 5-string