On the song "Travis," which Bela Fleck recorded with Edgar Meyer and Mike Marshall on the CD Uncommon Ritual, Fleck used a 1931 Style O National resonator guitar he borrowed from George Gruhn of Nashville's Gruhn Guitars. He also used a Tacoma Papoose and an 1856 Schmidt and Maul nylon-string guitar (presented in Great Acoustics, August 1996) on the album. With the Flecktones, he records and performs with a Paradis solid-body guitar, which triggers a Roland VG-8 (Virtual Guitar system; see Shoptalk, February). "The Paradis is a Swiss guitar that sounds like an acoustic six-string but has a solid mahogany body," says Fleck. The upcoming Flecktones album will also feature the Tacoma Chief, a larger version of the Papoose, and a Deering six-string banjo with nylon strings. Fleck also plays a Ram’rez classical guitar and a Martin D-28.
--Dylan Schorer
The lead guitarist of Days of the New, Todd Whitener, relies solely on Takamine Santa Fe guitars for recording and live performances. Performing in a loud, heavy rock band presents many challenges for the guitarist. "We're now able to get a substantial amount of volume, but the problem is getting the tone we want," says Whitener. "All of my guitars have piezo pickups, but it's not like having a microphone in front of the guitar. We're still working on a way to get the most natural sound."
Whitener and singer/guitarist Travis Meeks, who also plays a Santa Fe, run their guitars through direct boxes and into a Mackie mixing board so they can tweak their own EQ on stage. The signal then runs through a pair of Behringer compressors before it goes to the house sound system. "The only pedal I'm using is an Ibanez Tube Screamer, which I use mainly as a volume boost with a little bit of a dirty sound," says Whitener. He and Meeks currently rely solely on the house wedges for monitors rather than acoustic amplifiers. "One problem, though, is that with the clubs we're playing, one night we'll have a great monitor system, then the next night we won't even be able to hear ourselves," says Whitener. "On the next tour we're going to do a lot of experimenting with having amps behind us, so we'll be able to step away from the monitors and still hear the guitars."
--Dylan Schorer
In a converted two-car garage a few blocks from his home, Greg Leisz maintains an impressive arsenal of tools. His acoustic guitars include a '40s Martin D-18, an 0-18, a Ram’rez classical, two Dobros made in the '30s, a National tricone and Duolian, and a handful of Weissenborns. These share space with Fender, Danelectro (baritone), Gibson, Gretsch, and Rickenbacker electrics; walls of amplifiers; and steels made by Emmons, Fender, Rickenbacker, and National. He also has two '20s Gibson mandolins and a late '30s/early '40s Gibson H-0 mandola. His Lloyd Loar-signed Gibson L-5 archtop (acquired in the early '70s for the same amount--$300 or so--that he got from selling a Guild dreadnought) was heard on k.d. lang's latest release. "But it was someone else playing it," he says. "I don't usually take that one out."
--Ben Elder
When her husband, Billy O'Connell, urged her to make a solo acoustic album, Hersh reluctantly agreed, but only after she found the right guitar for the project. "I had traveled all over the world with Throwing Muses looking for the perfect guitar for Hips and Makers," says Hersh. "I wasn't going to make the record until I found an instrument I loved. I found it in a guitar shop in Lawrence, Kansas. There I was surrounded by a pile of Martins and Guilds and saying, 'No, no, no, no. They're not good enough.' So the owner of the shop asked me how much I was willing to spend. At first I thought he was trying to rip me off because I'm a chick. But then he brought out a Collings and handed it to me. I played one chord and I welled up. I looked over at Billy, and he responded the same way. This huge world opened up to me with this beautiful sound."
So Hersh and O'Connell went to Austin to visit the Collings workshop and factory. "It cost us a $200 cab ride," says Hersh with a laugh. "We just thought it was on the outskirts of town. But it was worth it. We got to see all these guitar guys just planing wood all day, all real Zen and happy. I met Bill Collings, and I played for him and told him I needed a cutaway because I play high up the neck. I also told him I needed a guitar that was well balanced so I could play bass, rhythm, and lead in the same song. That day he chose the wood and body for me. He's amazing."
Hersh owns two Collings cutaways, an SJ and a C10, which she travels with and keeps with her on stage in different tunings. The C10 is mahogany and spruce, and the SJ, which she had to wait a year to get, is made entirely of curly maple. She strings them both with silk-and-steel Martins (.011-.047) or D'Addario J40 silk-and-steels (.011- .047). O'Connell comments, "The silk-and-steels are great because of all the sliding Kristin does."
Both Collings guitars are fitted with Fishman Natural Matrix pickups. Hersh is also thinking of getting a Fishman for her old Guild dreadnought. For picks, Hersh prefers the .50 mm. Dunlop Tortex with the dull red matte finish. She also uses Claytons. Her other guitars include a Turner acoustic-electric, which she strings with D'Addario XL10s, and a 1971 Fender Thinline Telecaster, which O'Connell bought for her in Los Angeles.
Says O'Connell, "Watching Kristin struggle to find a guitar that doesn't frustrate her burns the idea into my mind of what she's looking for. I get out more often than she does, so I'm always looking for new guitars for her. But I'm really nervous until I get them home for Kristin to play." Hersh adds, "Lots of people have found me guitars, but only Billy has been able to find the guitars I love to play."
--Dan Ouellette
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