My almost realistic six guitar wishlist

At the beginning of this year I put together a list of the five signature guitars I wished I had. As someone who has an unhealthy fascination with guitars I often find myself dreaming of the guitars I wished I had—I’m sure everybody makes a guitar wishlist of their own though. I should say that I’m lucky enough to already have a decent guitar collection and with each new acquisition I try to add something unique to my guitar family. Currently I have something from the Les Paul, Stratocaster. Telecaster and V shape ranges. Realising this got me thinking of the other iconic shapes out there that I’m yet to own.

That right there is how I decided I need at least six more guitars to round out my collection. … My almost realistic six guitar wishlist

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52 guitarists, week 13—Daron Malakian

I still remember the first time I heard Chop Suey by System of a Down. Such intricate and diverse guitar styles. All in one song as well. I was blown away. I knew nothing about this band, but I knew I needed to learn more about the guitarist in the band—Daron Malakian. This guy was clearly an insanely talented guitarist. Over the years it became equally obvious to me that he was also a talented and passionate song writer. Daron Malakian ticks so many boxes for me. It would be impossible to not include him in my list of inspirational guitarists. … 52 guitarists, week 13—Daron Malakian

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52 guitarists, week 12—Scott Ian

If you’ve read any of the previous entries in this 52 guitarists series, you’ll know I favour the rhythm guitarists out there. Especially the incredibly good ones. The twelfth entry in this series is not only one of the greatest rhythm guitarists alive—my website, my opinions—but he is also one of the biggest fans alive of another iconic rhythm guitarist, Malcolm Young. So he obviously keeps on winning. That’s just one reason why I admire Scott Ian from Anthrax as much as I do. … 52 guitarists, week 12—Scott Ian

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52 guitarists, week 11—Billy Corgan

For many, the early nineties was a dark time for guitar lovers. The popularity of the standard guitar solo was waning and the grunge era was booming. Not grunge—in my opinion at least—but making some incredible noise in the grunge era was The Smashing Pumpkins. The man responsible for the majority of that noise was of course Billy Corgan. What Billy did with his guitar still amazes me to this day. I’ve always been in awe of any guitarist who can truly control the screaming feedback of a guitar. Billy not only managed this, he also managed to incorporate many of those sounds into the songs themselves the way most of us incorporate regular guitar playing. … 52 guitarists, week 11—Billy Corgan

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52 guitarists, week 10—Kirk Hammett

I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again … I’m not a lead guitarist and I never will be. My passion is rhythm guitar. Therefore most of my influential guitarists have strong rhythm guitar skills. That’s what appeals to me. But when a guitarist is responsible for my all-time favourite guitar solo, well then … That gets you added to my list. Kirk Hammett is that guitarist. He is responsible for one heck of a famous riff too. That helps. … 52 guitarists, week 10—Kirk Hammett

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52 guitarists, week 9—Angus Young

There are few bands that seem to do well with a decades-long approach to a single style of music. Most bands fade away after a decade while others alter their style in attempts to remain relevant. One band that has evolved while staying true to its origins is AC/DC. The band has experienced a vocalist change—arguably recovering from that loss like no other band in history—and several other lineup changes. One thing that has pretty much been constant however has been Malcolm and Angus Young. As much as I admire that duo, I will today focus on the guitarist who originally grabbed my attention in that band.

The ever-young school boy, Angus. … 52 guitarists, week 9—Angus Young

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52 guitarists, week 8—Tony Iommi

The first song I ever learned to play on guitar was Paranoid by Black Sabbath. To this day it’s still one of my favourite songs to play on the guitar and it remains one of the only songs I attempt to play lead guitar on.

Lead guitar is not my thing.

Having said that, this song that is almost as old as me, is as cool today as it was when I first heard it. Heck … It’s as cool today as the day it was recorded almost 46 years ago. Why? Simple … Tony Iommi.

The man is the God of Riffs. Pure and simple. As a rhythm guitarist, Tony Iommi started the guitar style that has continued to rule my world of guitars up until this day. He will continue to do so until the end of days I suspect. … 52 guitarists, week 8—Tony Iommi

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Dialtone Pickups—finally, the video I’ve promised

Regular readers of this website may have seen me mention my love for Dialtone Pickups before. I was lucky enough to see them at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show and I installed my first set of Dialtone Pickups in May last year. Since then I have mentioned a few times how much I love the pickups and several people on Twitter and Facebook have asked me how they sound. Each time I’ve said something along the lines of “They sound amazing! I need to make a video to showcase them.”

Well it took me almost a year and a fresh install of my own v2 Dialtone Pickups, but I have done it. The video has been put together. Pity it wasn’t really worth the wait—you’ll see soon enough if you read this entire article. then again, maybe this well crafted blog post with pretty colour photographs will make it all better. Let’s see. … Dialtone Pickups—finally, the video I’ve promised

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52 guitarists, week 7—Marty Friedman

Back in the late 1980s, I was a massive Metallica fan. I loved plenty of other heavy metal bands, but few came close to Metallica for me. A close second was Megadeth. That was until 1990 when Rust In Peace was released with the new Megadeth lineup that included Marty Friedman. It was at this time and with this new material that Megadeth became the greatest heavy metal band ever in my opinion. Marty Friedman’s solo work was—and still is—mind-blowingly amazing.

Also, he had hair to die for. I’m man enough to admit that. … 52 guitarists, week 7—Marty Friedman

Photography

Kookaburra

A Kookaburra sits calmly on top of a cabin in the northern New South Wales hinterland near Bellingen. Photograph taken on Nikon D60.