Rick Veneer’s View

Guitars I like and dislike.

I mostly use Fender® guitars (Stratocasters and Telecasters) on the road because I find them able to stand up to the knocks of regular gigging. The necks are hard rock maple and stand up to being punched accidentally through low ceilings and being dropped from stages and shaky guitar stands. They’re kit guitars, really. When a bit drops off, you just buy a new bit, screw it back on and you’re away. They were designed to be functional and their beauty has a “space age” feel to it. The tone bites like a bulldog.

In recent years I’ve discovered the best of these Fender® type guitars. They’re called G & L , named after the company founders, George Fullerton, from the original Fender company and Leo Fender – yes, the one and only, the innovator, the creator of the guitars, amplifiers and the company that now bears his name.

Leo Fender sold his company to CBS in 1965 and since then started Music Man (great basses!), which he later sold to Ernie Ball of guitar string fame and finally set up G & L with his old friend George.

The G & L guitars are, in my humble opinion, superior in tone, finish, playability, stability and overall quality to the current crop of the brand that bears his surname. These guitars represent the final product of Leo (and George’s) wonderful vision and design genius.

Even the Tribute series, made from American parts but assembled in Korea, are superior instruments and the U.S. made California series are just the best available! I love G & L. If you’re an electric guitar player, you need one or two. I know I do.

Gibson® guitars, on the other hand, are “old world” beautiful. They have block mother of pearl inlays, fancy timbers (ebony, birdseye and flame carved maple tops on mahogany bodies), nickel or gold tuners and hardware, sweet sounding pickups, comfortable, classy fingerboards and frets and extremely fragile necks and headstocks. I love Gibsons, but I think they’re best kept for the studio unless you have guys as careful as heart surgeons for roadies. They break too easily.

Acoustic guitars are another beast altogether. I love a nice Guild or Martin (big bucks) and I find Seagulls are great value – tone, quality, playability. Takamines are very nice, too.

Australia’s most popular guitar, the Maton, drives young guitar players crazy, but I find them very ordinary. Thin sound, no bottom end or low mid warmth, average action. I really don’t see what all the fuss is about – and I’m not alone .

Not very patriotic, but if they ever do make a really good guitar, I’ll be the first to praise it.