Instruments

Above : Zemaitis metal front featuring stunning engraving by Danny O'Brien.

Below : Tony in his Kent work shop playing my 1980  12 string acoustic.

Below : Tony's guitars feature the magical engraving of Danny O'Brien. My 12 string was made in 1980, as a tribute to John Lennon I asked Danny to engrave a Beetle.

I am passionate about Zemaitis guitars. I admired the instruments before I even knew who made them. Ronnie Wood of The Faces played one in the video for MAGGIE MAY. It took me years to find Tony and I ordered a few instruments from him. It was a great privilege to have known him and an honour to call him a friend. TheZemaitis 12 string dates from 1980 and was originally made for Tony's son (also called Tony). Some amazing instruments were created in that workshop. I no longer own the metal front. Kanda Shokai now produce Zemaitis guitars in Japan. Tony was invloved in the initial talks with the company and thought they had the intergrity to produce quality instruments to carry his name. I have two of the new Zemaitis guitars and can tell you Tony was right, they are great guitars.

Below : Danny O'Brien engraved Tony's guitars and carries on the tradition for the new Zemaitis guitars. He supplies designs and also engraves some of the instruments.

Above : Photograph taken when GUITAR magazine came to visit July 2005. Quite a few guitars have gone since then (also the piano) . The collection was featured in the October 2005 edition.

Noel Gallagher's Gibson Flying V.

Above : Noel playing Gibson Flying V on the video shoot for "D'you know what I mean".

Top left : Ex Noel Gallagher Gibson Flying V 1967 reissue. This 1997  guitar was used by Noel on the album “BE HERE NOW” and in the video for “D’YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN”. I have owned the V since 2000.

Top right : Ex  Rich Robinson (Black Crowes) Danelectro DC 3. Rich used this for slide. He is a member of The Zemaitis  Owners Club. When I heard he was selling a few guitars I bought this one. I have used this guitar live and in the studio.

Below : 1971 Zemaitis resonator made for Ronnie Lane of the Faces. I have a video of Ronnie playing DEBRIS  and also OOH LA LA on this guitar. Stan Lane (Ronnie Lane's brother) is a freind of mine. I have waited ten years for Stan to sell me this guitar! I picked the guitar up on 7th October 2005. Knight guitars set it up and have just fitted a transducer for me. I have used it in the studio and intend to play some of Ronnie Lane's songs on it on stage. I sold quite a few guitars to get this little gem!

Above : Zemaitis resonator made for Ronnie Lane of the Faces in 1971.

Above : Collecting Ronnie Lane's Zemaitis from his brother Stan. He also gave me one of Ronnie's old waistcoats. Francine and I spent a lovely evening with Stan and Jan Lane.

Below : Ronnie on stage in 1974 with Zemaitis resonator.

Top left : Fender 57 Reissue  Stratocaster, used in the 80's on sessions and live.

Top right : Rickenbacker V64 360 12 string. Roger McGuinn signed this for me.

Below : Rickenbacker V64 360 12 string with dedication from Roger McGuinn.

Roger arranged to meet Francine and I after his show on 5th July 2002. It was one of the best shows that I have seen, just Roger with a guitar (plus all those fab songs and anecdotes).

Zemaitis (Japan) Disc front

I owned a Zemaitis Disc front in the 90's. The guitar was ordered from Tony Zemaitis and then built for me. It was a magnificent instrument. the body was ebonised. This gave the guitar a sort of dull finish. The three pick ups would sing when tuned to open E for slide. I eventually sold it to a friend in Australia (for the same amount that I had paid Tony). Ten years later I managed to get hold of one of the new Zemaitis Disc fronts. I was amazed at the feel of the guitar. It felt just like my old one that was hand made by Tony. The engraving on the Disc was designed by Danny O'Brien. A machine etched the design onto the disc then a Japanese gun engraver would finish the engraving by hand. As a matter of interest Danny O'Brien was also a gun engraver. This new Zemaitis is one of my favourite guitars.

Above : Zemaitis (Japan) Disc front. This guitar is very close to Tony's work.

Below : I had some modifications carried out to this guitar. The Ron Wood style tone/volume controls were added, along with a pre-amp. This gave the guitar much more of a cutting sound. I had the badging replicated from Woody's original Disc front. The disc was replaced by a reproduction of Woody's Disc, just like the original this was hand engraved by Danny O'Brien. He did this as a favour and has asked me to point out he would not engrave another .Finally I had some large pearl dots inlaid into the neck. This guitar is my main guitar for recirding and live work.

Above : Zemaitis Disc front with hand engraved disc by Danny o'Brien. Danny recreated his engraving from Ron Wood's Disc front. It really is a work of art. Danny has asked me to point out that he engraved this as a favour and would not do another. Thank you Danny!

Below : Here is a close up of the head stock. Superb engraving by Danny O'Brien.

Below : Zemaitis (Japan) Pearl front. The workmanship is breath taking.

This Zemaitis (Japan) guitar gets gasps when it comes out of the case. The workmanship on it is outstanding. It plays as good as it looks! The pearl has been applied in the same manner as Tony applied it. I gigged this guitar the day after I received it. It is a joy to play. I have used it quite a bit in the studio. Tony would be pleased that so much care has been taken to replicate his ideas.

The photograph below was taken by Joby Sessions for GUITARIST magazine. The image was also used in their calendar.

Below :   I worked for Sid Watkins and he gave me an old guitar body , neck and some hardware. I painted the body and it stayed in my loft for many years. My good friend Bob put it together. The paint was still tacky after ten years, so he put a clear perspex sheet over it. In August 2006 Bob fitted an EYB sitar bridge for me. I have been using it in the studio on recordings.

Below : Patrick J Eggle DISCUS (Prototype)

Patrick J Eggle made the Discus guitar as a tribute to Tony Zemaitis. The guitar features engraving by Danny O'Brien on all of the metal parts. The artwork was designed by John Goode of Marvell comics. The pick ups were made by Jim Rolph. The instrument has been inspired by the Zemaitis Disc front. Patrick made this prototype in his U.K. workshop.

 Above : In the seventies Fender produced half a dozen Copper body guitars as an experiment. I managed to obtain one in the eighties.The bodies were cast by Jon Douglas who has sculptures in The Savoy hotel, Britains at war museum, Sherlock Holmes museum and Churchill museum. I sold it years later to a guitar collector friend. In the nineties I contacted Jon (now in his nineties) and asked him to cast another. The minimum run was 25 bodies! This is one of that edition and has Jon's signature etched  by the jack socket. Sparkles doesn't it!

Below : The guitar body is cold to the touch. It is cold cast copper, a mixture of Copper filings and resin.

Above : Steve Howe had a play of one of the Jon Douglas Copper body guitars when I visited him. He thought it was an unusual instrument, but not really him. I bought a guitar from Steve while I was there and unknowingly stole a plectrum from him.

Above/Below : James Trussart Rusty Steel Deville

This Rusty Steel Deville was made by James Trussart in December 2006. The body is made of metal and the headstock also features a metal plate. This allows for a lot of sustain. As well as scorching guitar sounds, you will be amazed to hear that it can sound mellow and very Les Paul like. The Seymour Duncan pick ups really make this guitar sing. James Trussart makes polished non-rusty versions, but I love this rusty model. The pattern is achieved by clamping an Alligator skin on the guitar for a few weeks. I told you the sound was biting!

It's a worry buying over the Internet, my guitar came from Mark Breingan who is based in the U.K. He inports James Trussart guitars and James knows him.Unlike some dealers he responds very quickly to any questions via e mail Check out www.blacki.eu

Above : Rickenbacker 325 V59

The Rickenbacker 325 series of guitars are 3/4 scale instruments. They are very easy to play and comfortable to hold. This is the second example that I have owned. It amazes me that not many guitarists know that the 325 guitars require special strings.

Both examples that I bought were fitted with standard gauge strings. This caused tuning stability problems and made the guitar sound terrible. The Rickenbacker 325 V59 is based on John Lennon's first Rickenbacker  (actually a 1958 guitar) after he made modifications to it (adding a Bigsby and having it resprayed black). I prefer the V series Rickenbackers (no longer available) to the current C series guitars. I think the Bigsby helps the sound.

Gibson Jimmy Page signature VOS doubleneck.

Above/below : Gibson limited edition Jimmy Page Gibson doubleneck.

JIMMY PAGE SIGNATURE VOS GIBSON DOUBLE-NECK.

Jimmy Page’s Gibson doubleneck ( EDS 1275 )  is an iconic guitar. He acquired his instrument circa 1970. Gibson have excelled themselves with this limited edition (250) recreation of that guitar. 

Jimmy Page’s Gibson 1275 differs from the standard issue 1275 in a number of ways. The positioning of the stop tailpiece and length of 12 string headstock stand out. The body shape and scarfing contour is slightly different, as are the headstocks. Gibson have used Mahogany necks (recent models have Maple necks), the way the necks are joined to the body are different too. The colour is spot on, a deep cherry red.

I lived next door to Jimmy Page’s Mum for quite a few years. She had a front room full of Led Zeppelin gold discs! The house was called “Kashmir”.

 Jimmy came to see my band play once too! As we were playing I thought I saw Jimmy (we played just round the corner from his home). The next day I was in Guitar Village music shop, the staff came up and said they saw my band and was I nervous playing in front of Jimmy Page. Lucky for me, I was not sure it was him.

                                           1964 Burns Nu Sonic bass

The Burns Nu Sonic bass was only available between 1964 and 1965. I had never seen one in the flesh (or wood) until recently. For a small bass it has a big sound and fast neck. Depending on who you believe, George Harrison used one with The Beatles on Dr Robert and also Paperback writer.

Above : 1964 Burns Nu Sonic bass. George Harrison was reported as recording with one during the Paperback writer sessions.

Below : This example still has the chrome bridge that is often missing.

Above : Close up of the head stock.