1983 Fender Stratocaster
This is a reissue of a 1965 model, identical to one of the guitars Jimi Hendrix played except that it is right-handed. For the detail nuts among you, it is a "gray market" instrument, made in Japan for sales only to non-USA markets. I replaced the original pickups with P.J. Marx "vintage" pickups.

This guitar has served me faithfully for the last 18 years, through hundreds of live gigs and recording dates.

1987 Stefan Sobell round-hole archtop
This is an unusual guitar, combining aspects of the more "normal" dreadnought style with that of an archtop.

Here's what it's maker has to say about it:
"The traditional archtop guitar, with its carved top and back, has good attack and note separation without great sustain. Mine keeps the carved archtop, but has a round sound-hole instead of the more usual f-holes, rosewood back and sides rather than the traditional maple, and the back is not carved but curved over struts (as on my flattop guitars). It has a bright sound with more ring and sustain than the traditional archtop, and is suited to fingerstyle as well as plectrum playing." For more information, visit Stefan's site at: http://come.to/sobell.

This guitar records wonderfully, with very little EQ tweaking required.

1907 Gibson K-1 Mandocello ("Grampa")
And now for the star of our show...
Mandozine calls the mandocello "the Mastodon of the mandolin family". I've been playing this since 1995; I acquired it for use at the Renaissance Fair, since steel-string dreadnought guitars are historically anachronistic for events meant to appear as they were 400 years ago. This one sounds absolutely fabulous: loud and clangy yet sweet. It's good for both strumming and melodic playing. About the same length as a guitar, it's a rare "transitional" model; earlier versions had a deeper body, yet were not as loud or resonant. Note the inlay "The Gibson" on the headstock.

This instrument sat for years in an old barn and was ravaged by the elements until it was bought by instrument-seller and American roots musician Marc Silber of Berkeley, CA. Marc commissioned luthier Stewart Port of Oakland, CA. and Philadelphia, PA. to restore it. I had an L.R. Baggs bridge transducer installed.

1920 Gibson mandola

I don't know the model name of this instrument; perhaps someone could help me out with that information. A mandola is like a mandolin, but slightly larger; most people, if not told, would not know the difference. It's tuned just like a viola: C-G-D-A, low to high. This one has a particularly resonant tone, which is remarkable, considering that it had a very similar history to that of the mandocello above, being neglected for many years and finally restored to glorious playability. I also purchased this one from Marc Silber. Notice the beautiful inlay around the sound hole and the deep red sunburst finish.

1999 Peavey Foundation V electric bass

Having 5 strings, this one goes lower. I mostly play this instrument with Avalon Rising. It's a truly superb instrument that records extremely well, besides being too much fun to play.

1880 Joseph Urban violin

This violin was made in San Francisco by Czech immigrant Joseph Urban. A student of polish violin-maker Joseph Homulka, Urban moved first to New York, then Los Angeles, finally settling in SF in 1874. His instruments are known for their "crudely carved scrolls" and "adequate tone". Hmmph! I think it has a beautiful, smooth, dark sound. I play this instrument with the Boll Weevils, using it for American and Irish folk music. Although it's not the best or most expensive fiddle around, it's perfect for me and I'm lucky to have found it.

Plectrum banjo

This banjo came to me free, courtesy of a housemate who was clearing out someone's attic. It was built from a kit; it's a replica of a 1930s Gibson. Normally, plectrum banjos are used in Dixieland jazz and employ a tuning that allow easy use of the kind of close-harmony chords that are used in that genre of music. Not being an afficionado of that style, I tune it like an octave mandolin (G-D-A-E). With a full, richly textured tone (aren't you bored of me saying that yet?) it weighs in at 1,000 lbs.

Early 60s Harmony tenor banjo

A sweet little thing, on loan to me from my friend Leo. An interesting instrument, in that the body and resonator are made of phenolic, a hard plastic typical used for electronic circuit boards and casings for radios and other devices. I have this one tuned like a mandolin.

2000 Jerry Jones reissue "Coral" electric sitar

Think "Monterey" by Eric Burdon and the Animals...
"Cry Like a Baby" by The Box Tops...
"Hooked On a Feeling" by B.J. Thomas...

This is not actually a sitar, but an electric guitar that makes a very sitar-like sound. The little harp-like section on the left side of the body are 13 "sympathic" strings, tunable to the scale of your choice. It's featured on the song "Star of India", on the soon-to-be-released album by The Veil.

This instrument was originally invented by New York studio guitarist Vinnie Bell in the mid-60s. Aware of the growing influence of east Indian sounds upon popular music, Bell figured he could get more work if he had a guitar that sounded like a sitar, and went to the Danelectro company to help him develop it. The original models were notoriously hard to keep in tune; this reissue by Jerry Jones is greatly improved, and has the cool looks of the original.

Kinkade Brothers "Glastonbury" prototype electro-acoustic guitar

This guitar originated when English blues artist Kevin Brown came to Bristol guitar makers Simon and Thomas Kincaid with an idea for a hybrid acoustic-electric instrument. The result was this prototype, named "The Glastonbury" after the first festival at which Brown played it. He later sold it to an admiring Joe Louis Walker, who brought it back to America. Joe subsequently sold it; it came into my hands in 1989. Although it has unorthodox electronics, combining a piezo-electric bridge transducer with a humbucking pickup, it's a versatile instrument with a full-bodied tone, able to go instantly from pretty acoustic timbres to a rough-and-ready bluesy sound.

Early 60s Harmony 3/4 guitar

This is my "bedroom" guitar, which made an appearance on the March of Cambreadth track on Phoenyx's "Keepers of the Flame"

Klong Yaw

This is a Thai-style drum made by Remo. It has a sound that's somewhat of a cross between and doumbek and a conga.