Show us your favorite axe!

[s.ireland]

No mention of string count was made.....

You're right!

My Jazz bass. EMGs, a custom cream pickguard that I cut myself, and a Badass II bridge of course!

 

[s.ireland]

Chris, the one on the left is the Bass VI model right? Like the one John Lennon played in the famous Hey Jude broadcast?

 

[Harlock999]

Two Fenders, a '62 and a '66, and a bunch of other junk.

Rarities! That Electric XII is very cool. I've always wanted to see one in person. Fended put the 12 string neck on a Strat for a while, but it just wasn't the same. Congratulations on a couple of very cool guitars.

Thank you sir!
The secret ingredient for the correct "Stairway to Heaven" tone is the Electric XII!

 

[glpease]

Two Fenders, a '62 and a '66, and a bunch of other junk.

Rarities! That Electric XII is very cool. I've always wanted to see one in person. Fended put the 12 string neck on a Strat for a while, but it just wasn't the same. Congratulations on a couple of very cool guitars.

Thank you sir!
The secret ingredient for the correct "Stairway to Heaven" tone is the Electric XII!

Ah, but the OTHER secret ingredient is a Telecaster, and I've finally got that one covered.

One of these days, I'd love to have a Gibson 612 double-neck. By the time I can get one, I'll probably be too old to carry it!

Now, the baritone. What the heck? I thought the stock configuration was two SC pickups. Yours is different. What's the story? Great axe!

 

[Harlock999]

Chris, the one on the left is the Bass VI model right? Like the one John Lennon played in the famous Hey Jude broadcast?

Yes!
That Fender VI has a NOS set of Fender strings that a friend of mine found in a Salvation Army for 50 cents, believe it or not!

 

[Harlock999]

Two Fenders, a '62 and a '66, and a bunch of other junk.

Rarities! That Electric XII is very cool. I've always wanted to see one in person. Fended put the 12 string neck on a Strat for a while, but it just wasn't the same. Congratulations on a couple of very cool guitars.

Thank you sir!
The secret ingredient for the correct "Stairway to Heaven" tone is the Electric XII!

Ah, but the OTHER secret ingredient is a Telecaster, and I've finally got that one covered.

One of these days, I'd love to have a Gibson 612 double-neck. By the time I can get one, I'll probably be too old to carry it!

Now, the baritone. What the heck? I thought the stock configuration was two SC pickups. Yours is different. What's the story? Great axe!

Yes!
The famous "dragon" Tele left over from the Yardbirds days, thoughtfully ruined by a friend of Page's who figured he was doing him a favor by re-painting it for him. Surprise!
As for the Fender VI (or Bass VI), it's an early version that had different pickups and three switch's instead of the more frequently seen four switch configuration.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

...well... Soundcloud.com/syntaxiate is my most recent (but not exclusive) representative of recent work....

Progressive-retro-techno? Touches of Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk influences, and maybe Eno? Fripp?

Cool stuff. I haven't listened to all of them, yet, but will. How much of it is analogue?

I don't have pictures of my guitars. I'll have to correct that. I'm loving what I'm seeing here.

It's more..."IDM" (Intelligent Dance Music...hate the term, but it's what it is) and experimental. I suppose there's a bit of all of that in there in some regard, I like all you listed. 8)

The analog part of that one was the Moog MG-1, a really old Casio piped through some effects (definitely analog, just cheesy) and a really old "Disco Beat" guitar pedal drum modeller. I also have a thing called the Space Box I built out of an analog delay and an analog drum trigger unit that is essentially a single oscillator with tone, pitch and a "warble" control. The rest are analog-modeled drum machines or things like my Kawai K3m, which as analog filters but is more a wave-based synth. I hope that all made sense. *laughs*

Uniquely, I like to avoid using much MIDI in my music, I just like having it all going at once, and acting like a mad scientist putting it all together. Sounds more "organic" that way with slight variations in play and beats, with only the drum machines to act as a sort of metronome... that was the theme behind "Syntaxiate."

 

[Harlock999]

Found this pic of me playing the Fender VI with a Shadows cover band called The Shaddicts. The guy on the right is well known Rockabilly entertainer Deke Dickerson. We were playing a song called Stingray, which featured a six string bass, and Deke played a custom made Burns Shadows model octave guitar. This is from a yearly event that coincides with the NAMM show, called Deke's Guitar Geek Festival. This all from before I became obsessed with pipes...

 

[Puff Daddy]

I can't believe nobody posted this axe yet 8)

 

[Vito]

I can't say this is my absolute favorite axe, for all time; I don't think that's any more possible with instruments than it is with pipes—at least not if you're a multi-instrumentalist. I am.

But I can say without reservation that this is my all-time favorite 'lectric 12-string (so far):

I've lost track of how many 12-strings I've played and owned over the years. Guild Starfire XII, Rickenbacker 360/12, Fender Electric XII (like the one Harlock999 posted)...but none of them gave me the combination of tone and playability I was looking for.

Then I found this one in a little out-of-the way shop on the west side of Lake Tahoe. I has a wide neck with lots of space, and it plays like a dream. The bridge pickup (which is actually two pickups—one for the bottom 6 strings and another one for the top 6) gives the best 12-string sound I've ever heard. Period. I rarely use the other pickups, or the stereo output, or the phase reverse switches for each stereo pickup pair (bridge, middle, neck). They sound OK, but the bridge pickup sounds spectacular.

There was only one problem with the guitar: intonation. If the doggone thing would have just played in tune all the way up the neck, it would have been perfect. So, the obvious solution was to install a new bridge.

Here's a shot of the old (stock) bridge:

It had height adjustment and intonation adjustment for each pair of strings...which of course is useless for the pairs that are tuned an octave apart. So the only obstacle between me and 12-string perfection was a bridge with 12 adjustable saddles. Here it is:

The next problem was how to install it. The old bridge floated on adjustment screws in threaded barrels that wouldn't easily accommodate the new bridge geometry. So, I used an old bridge plate from a Telecaster (you can see it in the top photo), drilled to accommodate the spacing of the new bridge's four height adjustment screws. Prollem solved.

It ain't the prettiest thang in the world, but I care not. The guitar plays like a dream, the sound sparkles, and it's dead-on, intonation-wise, everywhere on the neck. It's a player's guitar, not a showpiece for bragging rights. You'll hear it on the next Vito album.

:joker:

 

[Harlock999]

I can't say this is my absolute favorite axe, for all time; I don't think that's any more possible with instruments than it is with pipes—at least not if you're a multi-instrumentalist. I am.

But I can say without reservation that this is my all-time favorite 'lectric 12-string (so far):

I've lost track of how many 12-strings I've played and owned over the years. Guild Starfire XII, Rickenbacker 360/12, Fender Electric XII (like the one Harlock999 posted)...but none of them gave me the combination of tone and playability I was looking for.

Great axe Vito!
I had a Phantom XII Stereo just like it back in the early nineties, and I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of it!
Congrats!

 

[Vito]

Thanks Harlock999.

I seldom get rid of a guitar, so I don't have many regrets. Back in the '90s I sold a Les Paul Deluxe cherryburst that I sometimes miss, but then I remember what a god-awful heavy slug it was, and my back is happy.

Besides, the guitar I bought to replace it is beautifuler, lighter, more versatile, lighter, sounds better, not as heavy, and it's also lighter. I should post a photo of it.

Did I mention that it's lighter?

:joker:

 

[Harlock999]

Thanks Harlock999.

I seldom get rid of a guitar, so I don't have many regrets. Back in the '90s I sold a Les Paul Deluxe cherryburst that I sometimes miss, but then I remember what a god-awful heavy slug it was, and my back is happy.

Besides, the guitar I bought to replace it is beautifuler, lighter, more versatile, lighter, sounds better, not as heavy, and it's also lighter. I should post a photo of it.

Did I mention that it's lighter?

:joker:

I know what you mean!
I actually made my Les Paul heavier by adding a Bigsby...

 

[Vito]

...I actually made my Les Paul heavier by adding a Bigsby...

Well, if that's what it takes to get the sound you want, that's really what matters most, amigo.

I've only ever owned one guitar with a Bigsby—a Gretsch Chet Atkins Anniversary model. I still have it. Greg has seen it; I brought it to TJ's smoker a few years back. Can't remember what year it is now...sometime in the mid-'60s. I should post a pic of that one. It's my favorite semi-hollow body guitar...fake F-holes and all.

:joker:

 

[Lestrade]

 

[Harlock999]

Tele Custom, weight: 5 1/2 lbs.

 

[s.ireland]

Tele Custom, weight: 5 1/2 lbs.

Chris, that is beautiful! Nothing more classy that a bound tele in any color... And I don't even have to ask about the tone, I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks! :cheers:

 

[Harlock999]

Chris, that is beautiful! Nothing more classy that a bound tele in any color... And I don't even have to ask about the tone, I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks! :cheers:

Thank you sir!
And yes, it is twang-a-riff-ic!

 

[Vito]

Tele Custom, weight: 5 1/2 lbs.

Sweet! :cheers:

:joker:

 

[glpease]

Tele Custom, weight: 5 1/2 lbs.

VERY sweet. Is that an AC15 under the cover?