AskNott, here’s a pic I found on Wikipedia that shows Johnny Winter playing a guitar much like you describe, which is apparently one of these.
Johnny Winter’s first two albums featured a Fender Mustang.Having seen him a number of times over the years it doesn’t seem to matter what axe he plays. He’s either an awesome slide player on low action or speed demon on high slide action.
Here’s Johnny with his Firebird, awesome looking guitar. Here’s a page that has an awesome clip of him playing slide on it.
That’s an Erlewine - built by Mark Erlewine, a guitar builder out of Texas. He also created the Chiquita - an itty-bitty electric travel guitar from the late 70’s early 80’s.
In terms of your comment “Johnny has his own sound, as you know” - that is key. As I have stated before, the most important factor in the tone folks hear is the guitarist’s hands. The only way the tone of a solidbody - or any other kind of guitar - matters is the effect it has on the guitarist and their hands, i.e., they way they play it. A truly accomplished guitarist can take a P.O.S. guitar and make it sound great. Ah - but what if you are trying to improve your game? What if you are in a private place and really trying to engage your ears - NOT entertain a crowd with what you already know? THAT’s when having a guitar that responds more dynamically to your touch matters. Because if it responds clearly, you can more clearly tell what is working and what is not in your technique…
Johnny W uses that Erlewine still to this day along with his Firebird (I nearly got a '64 Firebird III but missed it - dammit). It clearly works for him. 'nuff said.
I have a vague memory of seeing Billy Gibbons with that… hatchet (“axe” seems a bit grandiose), and it had an interesting tone.
How’d you like that guitar, WordMan? I adore the shape, but it always looked pretty ungainly, a bit too much of a plank. But it sure worked for Johnny.
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I have enjoyed the Firebirds I have played. I think they are well-suited to tall guys and I am over 6’ so they fit (that’s one of the reasons I don’t own an SG - I think they are better-suited to smaller players - look at Angus; he’s maybe 5’3"!)
FB’s with mini-humbucker pickups can be harsh unless you are willing to twiddle the knobs; if you are, you have a great big hunk of mahogany working for you so there’s a lot of tone to pull out.
A couple of other non-traditional guitars came across my desk recently - has anyone played or played around with a CA Guitar or a Rainsong ? These are starting to remind me of the plastic guitars that Maccaferri made for a time that never really caught on. Sorry for bringing these so late into the discussion - I’m spending most of the day going through month-old e-mail that I haven’t looked at because I’ve been spending too much time at the SDMB…
I played a Martin X series guitar - this uses a High Pressure Laminate material for the back and sides, mated with either a HPL or solid Spruce top. Cheap though, but it didn’t grab me (in the same way that Ovations don’t grab me). I guess the expectation is that a wood guitar will mellow and develop over the years, but an artificial will degrade over time. I don’t know. But those CA guitars do look sweet. Maybe as a guitar for sunday services - takes the knocks and plenty of output, but not too subtle.
Unfortunately, I went into the guitar shop over the weekend (new capo, pick and strings) and tried a Lakewood cutaway (40% off, £1000). It was really nice. I did mention it to my wife, who said have I got my new kitchen yet? <sigh>. To be fair, though, I don’t know that I deserve a guitar of that quality. I just want one like that.
For a replacement electric, I have decided to purchase a cheap kit Strat, learn to drive my Dremel (and other tools) on some old bits of wood until I am competent, then buy some tonewood and build a neck and body (using the kit to swap bits in and out). I’m not really a hands on person, but the idea of a natural wood finish, hand_crafted_by_me guitar is setting me alight at the moment. And I get to choose the bits I use. We’ll see.
Si
Yow. Thanks for that vid clip, that was stunning. Holy cow, was that Duck Dunn to his left?
I’m pretty sure Johnny was playing a Steinberger last time I saw him on stage, with that rectangular body and very small tuners. Later on, it was clearly the Erlewine Lazer, with the splayed-out tuners. On some site or other, it was funny to see the catalog entries for the Synapse guitars. Even though they’re mostly carbon fiber, they bragged of “flamed maple” on the tiny little body!
I had forgotten about the Erlewine Chiquita. When I saw Duke Tumatoe, his show-closing number was done with a Chiquita and a boom mike, both wireless, and a headset with three bright little spotlights. He bopped through the crowd with that dinky axe, and it was a great finish to the show.
In looking back, I’m less sure of Johnny Winter playing a Steinberger. Please bear with me, I’m having a very bad day. Sorry. I don’t like to spread misinformation, at least not unintentionally. 