SG John
Ambassador of Cool Guitars and Amps.
Bit of an odd post, but I have a bunch of garbage going through my brain right now. I thought it might be fun to see what the different responses might be.
Many of you in this asylum have many guitars, basses, other stringed instruments, amplifiers, sound systems, and other weapons of aural destruction. I thought it would be fun to see where you're at with certain bits of kit, and how close they are to you. It would also be fun to hear different stories of how some of you acquired certain instruments over the years.
I may take a different job in the fall, and selling some stuff may be on the horizon. Which is odd, because I'll be traveling again, and then buying stuff and trying to ship it home.
So, out of my hoard, some of the pieces I could never sell would be the following. It's a short list, and I'll give short synopsis for each piece. Please comment on any of your guitars, or other special musical instruments.
Please try to keep this serious, and away from "Ferengy-ism" type comments. I know it's a lot to ask.
For starters, here we go:
'68 Gibson SG Junior. I bought this in '78 when I was sixteen. It was my first Gibson, and played my first gigs with it. It would be tough to let go, as I've been playing it for over forty years.
'82 Gibson Les Paul Std. I bought this in '83, and it was my first really nice guitar. I also played many gigs with it, and Les Paul signed it on my 45th birthday.
'69 Gibson SG Std. Purchased in '89, and again, another guitar I've played over a couple hundred shows with. Awesome guitar, and total road warrior.
'10 Homemade copy of '58 Flying V. I don't know how I did it, but I did it right. Played a bunch of gigs with it, and it's an amazing guitar. Braz. Rosewood fingerboard doesn't hurt any. Great guitar, and since it was my first build, I couldn't let it go.
'08 Javamagic "John Cipollina" SG Custom. I could never sell this one. Brian and I have been friends for ages. We're trying to figure out how we can get together for pints in the fall. If not then, January will have to do when I go to see Saxon at Hammersmith. I could never look him in the face and say I sold it.
'89 Marshall JTM45 Reissue. After years of listening to "This sounds just like a Marshall", and it didn't... I bought this. Not only did it sound like a Marshall at my budget at the time, this model always wins the JTM "Shoot - Outs." Again, many gigs with this amp. This amp is why I love non-master volume Marshalls.
2020 homemade JTM45. It sounds great. I made it, and it sounds like a KT66 JTM45 should. Added mention, is that my 1970 8x10 cabinet stays with these two JTM45 heads.
'72/'73 Marshall 1987 50 watt head and two Bass Lead cabinets (full stack). This is the monster that will get you Paul Kossoff and Mick Ronson sounds all day. Great amp, and it is what I had been searching for for years. And, I don't care if ears bleed when I play it.
'07 DST Engineering DST-30. It's basically a clone of Rory Gallagher's AC-30 with two original early '60s Goodmans Audiom-60 speakers in it. It was custom made for me. If you want Rory sounds, Hank Marvin, Brian May, or anyone else who would bounce an AC-30 at full volume across a stage, this is the amp.
'72 Hiwatt DR-103 and '71 SE4122 cabinet. 100 watt Hiwatt and a 4x12 with Fanes. What more do you need to ask? This amp sounds so much better than the amp I was hosed out of by a former bandmate 30 years ago. This is a keeper.
Maybe I missed a couple, but these are what hit very close to home for me. I'm sure as I settle in with a couple of new guitars, they may find their long place position in my collection. Having a nice acoustic for the first time in my life certainly puts the Martin at the top of the list. Also, finally having a nice ES-335 is also taking a top spot.
Just to add a photo, here's my homemade Flying V, Jtm45 and '70 8x10. Cheers.
Many of you in this asylum have many guitars, basses, other stringed instruments, amplifiers, sound systems, and other weapons of aural destruction. I thought it would be fun to see where you're at with certain bits of kit, and how close they are to you. It would also be fun to hear different stories of how some of you acquired certain instruments over the years.
I may take a different job in the fall, and selling some stuff may be on the horizon. Which is odd, because I'll be traveling again, and then buying stuff and trying to ship it home.
So, out of my hoard, some of the pieces I could never sell would be the following. It's a short list, and I'll give short synopsis for each piece. Please comment on any of your guitars, or other special musical instruments.
Please try to keep this serious, and away from "Ferengy-ism" type comments. I know it's a lot to ask.
For starters, here we go:
'68 Gibson SG Junior. I bought this in '78 when I was sixteen. It was my first Gibson, and played my first gigs with it. It would be tough to let go, as I've been playing it for over forty years.
'82 Gibson Les Paul Std. I bought this in '83, and it was my first really nice guitar. I also played many gigs with it, and Les Paul signed it on my 45th birthday.
'69 Gibson SG Std. Purchased in '89, and again, another guitar I've played over a couple hundred shows with. Awesome guitar, and total road warrior.
'10 Homemade copy of '58 Flying V. I don't know how I did it, but I did it right. Played a bunch of gigs with it, and it's an amazing guitar. Braz. Rosewood fingerboard doesn't hurt any. Great guitar, and since it was my first build, I couldn't let it go.
'08 Javamagic "John Cipollina" SG Custom. I could never sell this one. Brian and I have been friends for ages. We're trying to figure out how we can get together for pints in the fall. If not then, January will have to do when I go to see Saxon at Hammersmith. I could never look him in the face and say I sold it.
'89 Marshall JTM45 Reissue. After years of listening to "This sounds just like a Marshall", and it didn't... I bought this. Not only did it sound like a Marshall at my budget at the time, this model always wins the JTM "Shoot - Outs." Again, many gigs with this amp. This amp is why I love non-master volume Marshalls.
2020 homemade JTM45. It sounds great. I made it, and it sounds like a KT66 JTM45 should. Added mention, is that my 1970 8x10 cabinet stays with these two JTM45 heads.
'72/'73 Marshall 1987 50 watt head and two Bass Lead cabinets (full stack). This is the monster that will get you Paul Kossoff and Mick Ronson sounds all day. Great amp, and it is what I had been searching for for years. And, I don't care if ears bleed when I play it.
'07 DST Engineering DST-30. It's basically a clone of Rory Gallagher's AC-30 with two original early '60s Goodmans Audiom-60 speakers in it. It was custom made for me. If you want Rory sounds, Hank Marvin, Brian May, or anyone else who would bounce an AC-30 at full volume across a stage, this is the amp.
'72 Hiwatt DR-103 and '71 SE4122 cabinet. 100 watt Hiwatt and a 4x12 with Fanes. What more do you need to ask? This amp sounds so much better than the amp I was hosed out of by a former bandmate 30 years ago. This is a keeper.
Maybe I missed a couple, but these are what hit very close to home for me. I'm sure as I settle in with a couple of new guitars, they may find their long place position in my collection. Having a nice acoustic for the first time in my life certainly puts the Martin at the top of the list. Also, finally having a nice ES-335 is also taking a top spot.
Just to add a photo, here's my homemade Flying V, Jtm45 and '70 8x10. Cheers.
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