Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin............

I'll tell you a story about Jack-a-nory;
and now my story's begun.
I'll tell you another
'bout Jack and his brother;
and now my story is done.

Our Instruments 

Farrah Fawcett Minor & The Bass of Death 

I have about 5 bass guitars, but the Fender Precision is the one I mainly use. It's an old one, even older than me!

I was about 16 when it appeared in my life. Before then, I had cheap and very nasty basses, because in those days my folks had absolutely no money to fritter away on whims like that. I'd seen Fenders in catalogues, but the nearest I ever got to one most times was spending Saturday afternoons in Cookes Music Shop playing basses I (and they) knew I had no intention of buying.

Then one came up for sale.

It was about ninth-hand, battered, in need of TLC. I fell in love. She had curves I'd never seen on any woman. I had to have her there and then, so I did a deal with the man who was selling. Then I told my mother, who, of course, went very spare. But god bless ‘em, I got it on condition that I would have to be serious about playing it. That night, I spent hours just looking at that bass. I would take it to the toilet with me. I never stopped playing the thing .She is still battered, but she's mine and I love her. I have never come across a better Fender, tone-wise or playing-wise.

Believe me.

Amp wise, I have a Trace Elliot bass stack, not the biggest one by any means, but it does a job. It's a work-a-day amp, you don't need a degree to set it up. You just plug in and play.

I have had all sorts of amps, they change, but the basses I play remain the same. 

 Luke Warm and the Order of the Drums 

"I always wanted a Clear Acrylic drum kit ever since i bought AC/DC`s album ‘If You Want Blood’. Phill Rudd’s Sonor kit on front cover looked as cool as hell and they are as retro as you can possibly get.

I bought my Crystalite kit from a guy in south London a couple of years ago who used it for recording, as he had two other drum kits and very limited space,  one of them had to go. Clear Acrylic drum kits don’t come up for sale very often these days so when i found this beautiful second hand Fibes shell pack, I’m afraid my old kit suddenly became `surplus to requirements`.

...22" x 16"...14" x 12"...16" x 16"...Fibes Crystalite, my absolute pride and joy.

 Carlos Sultana and the Possessed Yamaha 

During the Seventies I was learning guitar from watching musicians like Carlos Santana/ Eric Clapton/ Peter Green/ Albert Lee/ Steve Howe, but I particularly loved the warm lead tone that Santana had. Back then, the guitar he was playing was a Yamaha and I knew it would be something that I would eventually acquire when the money was available!

Years later (c.c.1982) I obtained a five year loan to pay for one.

I am still playing it as my main guitar. It is built like a brick s**t house, it stays in tune no matter what and is versatile enough to encompass almost all styles of music.

One day I might grow up and get a Telecaster or learn to noodle some manouche but until then, that baby is staying with me.

Captain John Snort and the Fabled Widdly Widdly 

My guitar is the YAMAHA MSG CUSTOM.

Martyn Booth designed the MSG range of 3 models for Yamaha in 1988, only about 100 MSG Customs were imported into the UK. Martyn still makes guitars and can be found at www.martynboothguitars.co.uk

I have owned the guitar now for over 15 years and I feel it is the best all round instruments on the market today, Martyn can supply the guitar but the L.E.D lights down the neck would be extra.

Having tried the Gibsons and Fenders of this world I can honestly say that this guitar would be hard to beat. When I first it in a guitar magazine I contacted a guitar shop in Norwich and ordered Chuck Berry red colour but when it came they apologised but the wrong colour been ordered, it did not matter though as the sunburst that came would do nicely. 

There are two questions people always ask me; 

1. Do I use Sunsilk hair spray on my wig? 

2. How did I develop my style of playing i.e. without a pick? 

Well I started to play the guitar at the age of 10, I am self taught, I then bought a book called SOLO Classical guitar for beginners which was great for practicing, since that time I’ve never used a pick, and no its not Sunsilk.

My influences would have to be Mark Knofler, Jimmy Page and Dave Gilmore. 

My amp is the TEC 21 and all I can say about this amp is that no other amp gives the sustain that this one does, my previous amp was a Fender Twin Reverb which served a purpose but the Tec 21 was a vast improvement for me. 

I also use a cry-baby wha wha and a chorus pedal just for minimum effect. Not forgetting my SURE wireless system which allows me so much freedom when playing live, except when playing nudist camps where I stay as still as possible.

That is my equipment