Bath Guitar School’s Richard Perkins answers some frequently asked questions.
Bath Guitar School’s Richard Perkins answers some frequently asked questions.
I often use a Dunlop .60mm Max-Grip pick but sometimes prefer a .73mm Nylon. For Jazz playing I will use a Dunlop 1mm Jazz III pick or a 1.4mm Wegen Bluegrass Pick. If I am feeling funky I’ll use a .46mm or .38mm Nylon plectrum – super slim!
I string my electric guitars with Ernie Ball Super Slinkys (9 gauge) and acoustic guitars with either 12 or 13 gauge strings.
I’ve owned many guitars over the years but the guitars I’ve kept and most frequently use are:
Fender Custom Shop 1952 Telecaster
Fender Custom Shop 1959 Stratocaster
Gibson Custom Shop ES 339
Martin HD-28V Acoustic
Again, much like guitars, I’ve owned many amps. I currently play a Marshall Origin 20 for live gigs. Students play through the Marshall MG15 Mini Stacks in lessons and I use a 1-watt Marshall DSL1 head.
I own many pedals from stock Boss stomp boxes to a collection of rare boutique overdrive pedals. I currently use the Line 6 HX Effects for live gigs.
I first picked up the guitar in the mid-nineties, right at the height of the Britpop era. Around this time my guitar heroes would have been:
Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead
Noel Gallagher of Oasis
Graham Coxon of Blur
John Squire of The Stone Roses
James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers
Soon after first picking up the guitar I quickly learned to love Slash from Guns ‘N’ Roses, Eddie Van Halen from Van Halen, and the virtuoso shredders of the 80s; Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, the list could go on!
My top five guitarists would have to be:
Jimi Hendrix (1967-69; Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold As Love, Electric Ladyland)
Eric Clapton (1963-70; Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith)
Jimmy Page (1969-71; Led Zeppelin I-IV)
Jeff Beck (1960s-00s; Jeff is god!)
Stevie Ray Vaughan (1983-89; reinvented the blues)
It would have to be Radiohead’s “OK Computer”. To me the album still sounds as fresh and innovative today as it did when I first heard it as a teenager back in 1997.
That’s a tough one! I would have to save my Gibson ES 339. In part because Gibson have stopped making them and they have since become quite rare. It would be hard to replace this beautiful small bodied hollow semi-acoustic electric guitar.