Good-quality gear is a necessary tool for most serious musicians. These days it’s not necessary to spend a huge amount of money for instruments and accessories of quality that was unheard of even 10 years ago. I’ve been acquiring instruments for many years and I’ve kept most of them; they help me play and sound the best I can. Here are some of them. Note: a lot of my instruments aren’t “stock”: they’ve been modified to either play or sound better, or both. I consider instruments “tools” rather than “investments” or “talking points”. They’re listed in no particular order.
Electric guitars:
2004 MIM Fender Telecaster (with Jason Lollar Charlie Christian pickup in the neck position)
1967 Gibson ES-175 (bought from long-time Smokey Robinson guitarist Bob “Boogie” Bowles)
1976 Fender (American) Telecaster (with Gibson humbucking pickup in the neck position)
1994 Epiphone Sheraton II (Korean-made, solid as a rock, and very versatile guitar)
1996 Epiphone (Korean-made) Howard Roberts model (with Kent Armstrong pickup)
2012 Squier Vintage Modified (Telecaster body, Stratocaster headstock, and Jazzmaster neck pickup)
1991 Squier Stratocaster (Made in Japan, rosewood fingerboard & Carvin pickup in neck position)
2015 Squier Deluxe Stratocaster (maple neck & fingerboard)
Acoustic guitars:
1973 Yamaha SG-200 Flat-top (Solid spruce top)
2005 Ovation CC 057 Celebrity Flat-top
2003 Yamaha CG-171S Classical guitar (Solid spruce top, ebony fingerboard)
1963 Goya G-10 Classical guitar with Alpine spruce top and genuine ivory nut and bridge
2003 Cordoba RCWE Thinline classical guitar with solid spruce top, ebony fingerboard and Fishman electronics
Other instruments:
2002 Fender Telecoustic (Solid spruce top with fiberglass body. This guitar sounds and records amazingly acoustic, go figure(!)
2009 Aria Sinsonido AS-100C/SPL (Licensed copy of Soloette nylon string portable guitar)
2002 Mele ukulele (Zebrawood back/sides, solid Spruce top)
2003 Germán Vásquez Cuban tres (Solid spruce top, rosewood back & sides, ebony fingerboard