GUITARS
Steinberger Spirit: My first little introduction to headless guitars. Like many mid-range guitars, the actual body and neck are fine - I like the neck on this guitar for single note playing, I don't really like it for rhythm guitar, or bluesy playing so much.

MY INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

PROS:

I am generally sold on the headless concept, but only with the double-ball string system, and Steinberger compatible parts. Those headless guitars that use single ball strings and clamps on the headstock totally miss the point in my opinion, and are not aesthetically pleasing to my eye. Using an adaptor for an emergency when you only have single-ball strings available does make practical sense. There is an adaptor that did have the facility to use both types of strings, and it is a beautiful design. I believe they were fabricated in England. But they stopped making them. If you know of one for sale, please contact me!

String replacement with the double-ball end strings is just magic. I can remove/replace/retune a string in about a minute, no tools, onstage, talking to the audience. Brilliant!

When it comes to double-ball strings, I first tried a cheap brand (I won't mention the name), however I had problems with the strings going flat and unravelling and breaking. The guitar seems to be designed for 009-42 gauge; I originally put on 010-46 guage as usual, but I felt that they were stressing the hardware and making the problem worse.  I bought five packs from two different suppliers; same deal. I threw away those strings and even the remaining packs (useless). Now I have some Daddarios and some LaBellas of both gauges in my strings basket to experiment with. 

The balance and ergonomics are amazing. The leg rest is also great for securing a wireless transmitter!

The neck is really, really, really, really fantastically nice for very technical solo work. I fully understand why Allan Holdsworth converted to them. I find when I play in that super-fast “noodling” style, I can just do it for hours. My playing tends to be based on a lot of sweep-picking and string-skipping and super-duper-speedy legato scale runs, and this guitar just rocks on all accounts. The baseball-bat shape and shorter scale length did take some getting used to physically. Visually speaking, the lack of a headstock and the lack of inlays at the 24th fret messes with your positioning at first. Feel-wise, it took me a fair bit of time (6 months or so) to get used to the feel of the neck in open positions, and be able to play without too much looking.

CONS: 

If you are used to Fender style strap buttons, you are going to curse for months while you adjust to the Gibson layout; putting it on your shoulder initially requires a degree in interdimensional physics.

The bridge assembly is very ordinary quality. It is made of a zinc alloy and looks and feels cheap, and the spring feels stiff. If you are used to a Floyd Rose you have a lot of readjustment to do with your whammy bar technique, as you push against one big spring instead of pulling on three lighter ones. You can do all the same things as a Floyd - even some flutter! However, they don't pull up very comfortably, it kind of feels like you are going to damage the bridge when you do.

Now, the plastic lugs that secure the whammy bar were not manufactured correctly and I couldn't secure the bar in the socket, resorting to using scraps of plastic to hold it in the hole. One day, I got the idea to take the bridge apart and shove both of the mishappen plastic lugs from both top and bottom mechanisms into just the bottom mechanism, along with the ball from a string placed in between them to “lengthen” the insert and BAM! It worked! This does tell me that they are not checking tremolo arm mechanism during QC and QA.

Pickups are very generic. Bridge pickup is passable but the middle and neck are iffy.

The final problem is that there seems to be no way to actually contact the factory to alert them of such problems or to ask for a custom build. Or even for replacement parts.

EIGHT MONTHS' LATER: 

This has become my favourite guitar for live shows and for travelling in general. I could fit two of these in almost the same space as the Casio. The soft case goes on the shoulder comfortably and securely and you can walk around all day with it. It looks like a set of billiard cues, so doesn't seem to attract too much unwanted attention (touch wood).

On stage, I can swing it round my back and grab the microphone and I don't have to worry too much about accidentally hitting someone or something. It is also so light and portable that i can take it off and put it on a stand with one hand whilst holding a microphone with the other hand.

The tuning problems seem to have gone away with the better quality strings, and as mentioned previously, I can even change strings on stage if necessary. Also, I discovered that it is designed to be intonated at the 24th fret, not 12th. Once you do this, the intonation all over the neck is awesome! This leaves just the usual G string and the upper frets of the low E string problem areas. The G string could potentially be solved by replacing the zero fret with a compensated fret.

The neck really is nice once you spend a bit of time with it. At the moment I am still working on getting accuracy above the 15th fret, as they get pretty narrow! So I am doing most of my warm up and technique practice above the twelfth fret.

I have started to get used to the tremelo, although after 8 months I remain much more conservative in its use, as the physical actions still haven't become habit yet. Unlike a Floyd Rose, I can't just reach down and grab the arm and then be artistic without even looking or thinking. In addition I still worry that using it heavy-handidly will damage something. So yeah, there's still some learning and experimentation to do, because tremolo use is essential to my playing style.

Visually, this guitar is a masterpiece, and gets people's attention. People talk about it, and ask questions: “That guitar, is it real?” “That guitar is insane!”  I have even had audience members - girlie fans, not musicians mind you - ask to take a selfie with me AND the Steinberger!

Considering all the above, I am definitely going to buy another one.

Casio PG380:  hardware by Fuji Gen Gakki, electronics by Casio. Basically, they are like a cheap Ibanez. As with the Steinberger Spirit (above), you have to replace the bridge and pickups, the originals are very ordinary.. 

My main axe for over 30 years; she's been around the world quite a few times now. The neck is wide and flat, wider even than an Ibanez, and it's quite chunky - almost a plank - it's not a low profile at all. I found that taking really fine sandpaper to the back of the neck made huge difference to the feel, the original neck laquer is too thick and prone to stickyness. I removed all but the thinnest of layers and now it feels like a satin finish (my favourite!).

The bridge is a Floyd Rose original. I love Floyd Rose bridges, they can really take a beating, and they keep tune really well. Over the years I have often found myself lifting the guitar by the whammy bar during a solo…and yet it still lives on. The only quirk is that sometimes I have to give the whammy bar a tap to set it back exactly in tune, as after use it can settle in a position where the strings all go out about 1 cent sharp or flat, just enough to sound horrid, haha! I should buy a trem-stopper, which will compensate for the (minor) problem.

The woods on these guitars are really, really nice:  Alder body, maple neck, ebony fretboard. Still got the original frets, they are indestructible! If you remove all the electronics, you are left with massive chambers inside the body, and when you play chords, it rings out with a little acoustic flavour.

I switch between a Dimarzio PAF Pro and a Fender/Dimazio-HS2 humbucker (pictured) every few years. UPDATE 2024: The HS2 pickup died and I am really desperate to get my hands on  another one. If you bought a HSS Strat in the 90s and replaced the original neck pickup, please contact me. Center pickup is a stock fender, neck pickup is an Yngwie Malmsteen stacked single coil. 

Right now the wiring is absolutely trashed. I thought I would “improve” on the original by installing “top of the range” components, which so far have all turned out to be pretty ordinary. My god, I have ruined her! In fact, after a lot of investigation, it turned out that the original spec wiring and components are best of class, and have features such as: possibly the widest range tone control I ever heard, it had a wah pedal vibe; the pickups were perfectly balanced in every position, including out-of-phase middle+split-humbucker; super low noise, and treble-bleed on the main volume so that the tone didn't change much with voume.

1991 HSS Fender Strat: These are my favourite guitars ever. Same pickup and bridge configuration as the PG380. The neck on these is just magic, satin fish neck, I had a darker fingerboard than the picture below, more like ebony in colour. After initial troubles with the prototype that I had for a while (bridge posts bend in the wood, requiring a steel bracket support to be installed), the release version was the perfect guitar. I had ZERO complaints. None.

I wish I could buy another one, I miss my old one, that I stupidly sold.
 

Fender Newporter Acoustic: The fretboard is just classic Fender easy-to-play. You have to play it lightly though. I struggled with it until I started to play super delicately. It also looks gorgeous, and is nice and light when you are on stage. 

However, the hardware is rubbish and really should be replaced, especially the tuners, they are terrible quality. Also, it needs another string tree on the 3 rd and 4th strings, the angle to the tuner is all wrong and they can buzz.

Con's Cort wooden acoustic. I used it on Blow My Cover. It had the oldest strings ever.
 

Dave's Applause (Ovation), deep round-back, carbon fibre acoustic.
 

Basses:
Yamaha 5 string bass. This was borrowed for Eons Away. Really nice.
 

Woodstock 5 string bass. It cost me $230. Still needs customisation, as the stock hardware is crap. Nice body on it.
 

Amps and cabs:
Vox VT100x. Nice sounds, compact little rehearsal and gig amp. 

Rockman XPR rack-mount preamp. Again, you can not buy this, it's mine. Now retired from service, due to the amazing tech now available for amp sims.
 

Vox Tonelab - used it on the guitars for Waiting For the Wave and Seven.
 

Vocal Microphone:
Heil special edition 1950s broadcast microphone. Used on Eons Away. These mics really go well with my voice - I know how to handle these babies. I am looking for another one, if you are selling one, let me know via the Contact page.

General Microphone:
Heil PR20.  I use this as a secondary mic at a 45 degree angle with the MXL when recording, and most of my tone comes from blending the two mics, MXL for lows amd low mids, and the Heil if I want the mids and highs to cut through. I use it for practice, and they are good to carry around, -they are very durable. However they suffer from two big problems: being way too microphonic (you can hear every bump), and the sweet spot is too close - like about 3cm away from the grill - and so it doesn't leave a lot of room for vocal dynamics. For example, you can't get a balance between singing in a bass voice, moving to tenor mixed-voice and then going to head, like in my song Seven. It's not possible with this mic.

Vocal Microphone:
MXL R144 Ribbon Microphone. Growing very fond of this, I love ribbon mics for vocals and guitars. Sounds much more expensive than it sells for. The ribbon has lasted me now for about 8 years with no deterioration and no servicing. Thumbs up!

Keyboards and controllers:
Con's Kawai K4. Used on Waiting for the Wave.
 

Yamaha DX21 (Update: sold it). Used on Cellular.
 

Korg MS-20. Can't remember what I used it on. But it was one of the tracks on Eons Away.
 

M-Audio 88-key piano controller.  I love these controllers! But it is stuck in Australia :(

My travel pack for vocal recording includes a Zoom R16 audio interface, preamp and mix controller. These truly are amazing value for money. clean signal, rugged, good Linux support. If it had an fx loop and if the faders were motorized it would be just sensational.