Guitars I Depend on...

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I have always been a fan of Fender, Gibson and Martin.  They make up the bulk of what I play.  They make the sounds I grew up with...and always want to hear.  My first real guitar was a 1979 Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul (Norlin era).   My second guitar was a 1979 red Fender Stratocaster, that is undeniably the heaviest guitar I have ever played.   As a 12 year old, I figured the heavier the guitar the better... I wanted to get my moneys worth.  Not the best decision I ever made.

• If I could have only one guitar, it would be a Stratocaster.  The Strat has always been my favorite and would be hard to live without... but that being said... I love them all.   
• My favorite hollow-body is a 1951 Gibson ES-350 which I got from my great fried Buzz Levine at Lark Street Music in Teaneck, NJ. 
• My favorite Acoustic is a '59 Gibson Country Western.  It has an amazing, beautiful, woody tone.  It's super solid... always stays in tune, beautiful neck size and very comfortable to play. 
• The 1964 Telecaster is a favorite.  It does everything I want a Tele to do.  It's very versatile guitar and that is big.  It covers country to jazz and everything in between.

I prefer flat-wound strings on my hollow body electrics because they have a beautiful warm sounds you just don't get with round wounds.  On my solid bodies I like D'addario round wound 10-46 gauge strings.  I like my action a little on the higher side because I bend my stings a lot.   I like the push back that a higher setup gives me.  On my Gibson Country Western I use D'addario medium gauge bronze strings... not too light... not too heavy!