DM's Guitars

In order of acquisition; what it was - when I got it - how much I paid - new or used.

• Hofner 1973 £10 used

  

  Bought from a second hand shop in Darlington. Probably made in the '60s. Far from new even then.
  It has a neck like adamatium. Frets baddly worn now. I added a "Vox" Strat style pickup by the bridge and moved the other pickup to middle, and added some switches. The little bit of tape on the D string sits in the nut as that slot is too deep.

• Antoria Strat 1980 £80 used, given away

  

  Bought via a newspaper ad in Hertfordshire in 1980.
  In retrospect, it was rubbish, even with a different bridge and pickups.

• Yamaha SG2300T 1985 £285 shop new

  

  Half price (originally £575) in a Christmas Sale in a guitar shop in Darlington.
  Main guitar until the arrival of the PRS. It plays very well but the tone is (to me) more for folk or jazz than dirty rock.

• Squier Stratocaster 1985 £140 shop new

  

  Marked down because of a grubby mark in Dixons in Luton.
  I have buggered about with this a lot, tilt, pickups, etc, but it is still what it is.

• Encore Bass 1989 £85 new from shop

  Acquired in payment for work done at Machinehead in Hitchin.
  One day I'll put new strings on...

• PRS Single Cut 2001 £2200 shop new

  

  The "pre lawsuite model", no other letters, tobacco sunburst, standard hardware. Bought from Machinehead in Hitchin.
  Played really well from day one and has never needed adjusting.

• John Birch SuberYob2 2009 £1800 as new as they come

  

  Handed to me by John Carling in his living room in July, 2009 when the paint was just dry enough to handle. He told me not to even bother tuning it for at least 2 weeks while the wood settled. In truth it was over a year of tunings, set-ups and re-seats before it was solid but after that, hold on to your hats, boyz, and fear it and the Marshall (100w Jubilee, obv).

  I needed the optional features of light up fretboard markers and laser pointer in headstock. I've also added a strap button in the back of the "sight" so it balances when standing with strap.

  Part of my Dave Hill fanboi collection.

• Gibson Les Paul Studio Double Cut 2010 £500 used, sold on

  

  It was nice enough but showed me I wanted to upgrade from Studio. S/N suggested made in 1998.

• Gibson Les Paul Standard Double Cut 2010 £700 used

  

  Translucent Amber finish, gold plated hardware. Collected from a jazz guy in Upminster. S/N suggests made in 1998.

  It is a lovely guitar, very crisp. Its downside is that, for me, it's like playing a mandolin!. The body is small and chambered, so very light, so the neck drops quickly.

  Part of my Dave Hill fanboi collection.

• Fender Stratocaster MIJ 2012 £280 used, sold on

  

  It was a very '50s rock & roll pink. Maybes an '80s model??
  It was okay but seemed to show that Strats weren't where I was going..

• Yamaha APX-5NA 2012 £200 used

  I am not often an acoustic guitar player. Folk guitar heavy strings hurt my delicate little fingers. Classical guitar necks are wide. However, this has nice soft nylon strings BUT a normal width neck. Found via eBay from someone local.

• John Birch J1 2013 £800 used

  

  Bought on eBay and exchanged with the seller in the carpark of Tesco's in Chichester in June, 2013.
  Jet black, slim neck, stupendous from day one. Probably made mid 1970s, John Birch don't do serial numbers and stuff.

  Part of my Dave Hill fanboi collection.

• John Birch J1 2013 £500 used

  Bought on eBay and sent via the Royal Mail from Wales in 2013.
  A kind of green sunburst, fatter neck, good unless compared to the other J1. Still needs a neck re-laquer, setup and TLC. Probably made mid 1970s, John Birch don't do serial numbers and stuff.

• Epiphone EB-3 bass 2019 £249 new from shop

  

  Bought online from RichTone because I wanted a better bass for recording.

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ALK: A Little Knowledge, 1989, featuring the Encore bass as above and my SG1300T

LR: Fozdyke, Spam, Olley Beak and DM

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