Here are quick links to the folks whose products I use and endorse. If you want the nitty-gritty details just scroll on down a little further.
Thomastik-Infeld Strings, Alan Carruth Guitars,
LR Baggs Electronics (Pickups, Amps, and DI's), and my most recent discovery Diamond Bottleneck Slides
The Nitty-Gritty
Thomastik-Infeld Strings are by far the finest strings I've ever used. I couldn't recommend them enough. Strings are the engine that make your guitar go, and the Spectrum Bronze strings I use provide the balance, bottom-end, and brilliance I require. In addition to my custom Alan Carruth guitars I own some cheapies, pretty good ones with the work I've had done to them, but the first, and biggest tonal improvement I get from any guitar is when I have it set up with a set of T-I Spectrum Bronze strings. They sound great on my Carruths, which I would expect, But they made my $500 Regal round-neck dobro, and my $500 Gold Tone Weissenborn copy sound as good or better than instruments that cost many hundreds, and in some cases thousands of more dollars. That's $15 well spent!
Here are the gauges I use for the different guitars and tunings. w=wound, p=plain steel
57w, 45w, 36w, 26w, 18p, 15p on my Carruth baritone, 28" scale guitar tuned C-C in standard DADGAD intervals would actually start on a Bb. If you capo this guitar at the 4th fret you get the same pitch of a standard guitar but the timbre is very different. It's very silky throughout its entire range.
57w, 43w, 32w, 25w, 18p, 14p on my Carruth OM 12-fret in alternate tunings. Everything from CGDGAD to EbBbEbGAD (EGAD; the Bb is silent), and open G and open G minor.
57w, 43w, 32w, 25w, 17p, 13p on my Carruth OM 14-fret in standard, dropped-D, and CGDGBE.
32w, 24w, 15p, 25w, 17p, 13p on my Carruth OM 14-fret as a high string in DADGAD, dropped D or CGDGBE
57w, 45w, 36w, 26w, 19p, 16p on my Regal Dobro tuned in open Eb and open Ab
57w, 45w, 36w, 26w, 19p, 16p on my Gold Tone Weissenborn Copy in open C, open D, and open G
Alan Carruth makes some of the finest fingerstyle guitars I've ever played, and I've had the pleasure to own some great instruments. I've been playing Alan's guitars for the past 14 years and I couldn't be happier with my acoustic arsenal.
The acoustic guitar you see on this site is one of Alan's OM 12-fret guitars with an Engelmann Spruce Top and Mahogany back and sides. It's the guitar that I've used to record most of the music on my previous albums. I typically keep this guitar in alternate tunings, but it handles everything from standard tuning to low C tunings well, and is even a fine slide guitar when I tune it to open Eb. It's my desert island guitar.
Al built me a long scale instrument, a baritone guitar, in 2007 that is the primary guitar on Whistlin' Past the Graveyard. It's a deep-bodied, 0000 sized instrument with a 28" scale, that I tune C-C in standard tuning intervals, and down from there for alternate tunings. This guitar sounds amazing in all tunings. There are a handful of songs that don't translate to baritone, but they're in the minority. And the guitar loves a capo, and when I tune to open C, in open D intervals, CGCEGC, it sounds wonderful with a bottleneck.
I also own a Carruth OM 14-fret with a Cedar top and Mahogany back and side that was my main stage guitar from 1995-1997, and it has been my high-string guitar on stage and in the studio ever since. At home I've been using this guitar in standard and dropped-D tuning, and it's remarkable in that capacity. So much so that I asked Al to build me a high string so that I can bring this guitar back to the stage and studio to permanently for Dropped-D, Standard, and CGDGBE tunings.
So Al is building me a short-scale high string, 00 sized guitar, with mahogany back and sides, and a spruce top. It will have a sound port on the upper bout that will serve as a personal monitor. With its 22" scale, it will fit in the overhead compartment of most planes and solve some travel issues. I'll string it with T-I Spectrum Bronze strings 32w, 26w, 16p, 26w, 18p, 15p. You should be able to see this guitar in July at the Montreal Guitar Festival Summer of '09 as well as Healdsburg '09 in August. If all goes well I expect to record with it this fall.
LR Baggs makes some of the finest pickups and preamps in the world. I have been lucky enough to work with Baggs for the last 7 years. The pickups are audiophile quality, consistent night to night and tuning to tuning. Quite simply, they're the only pickups I'll put on my Carruths. I currently use their hex pickup. I'm going to check out their M1 for my Weissenborn once I think I'm good enough to play it on stage, and I'm hot for their new Venue DI. The EQ on their Baggs amp is similar, and it is the finest I've used on stage, really easy to dial in my sound, so this will be a necessary and welcome upgrade to my stage set-up.
I also use and endorse their new amp. It's the best I've ever plugged my guitars into, and I've also used it with bass, vocals, even harp guitar, and they all sounded great. Check it out!
Diamond Bottleneck Slides. I started playing bottleneck style slide guitar on my Regal Dobro last summer. Its been a blast, but very frustrating to find the right slide. I've spent hundreds of dollars and hours and hours of research, but I've finally found my slide; the Ultimate Slide from Diamond Bottlenecks; a gorgeous hand-blown lead crystal glass guitar slide. Talk about functional art. They're incredible sounding, rich, with all the overtones you could want, very loud, and look stunning on the coffee table.
I've got three of the Ultimates, one Cobalt Blue 60mm long with an internal diameter of 20mm and a wall thickness of 5mm that I use on my Carruths, and two for my Dobro; a Black Pearl 48mm length, 20mm internal diameter, with a 7mm wall thickness, and a Sunset Orange 40mm length with 20mm internal diameter, and 7mm wall thickness.
I'll also be using their El Minute tone bar on my Weissenborn.
If you've been frustrated in your search for a great slide, or you're just looking to start, you can't do better than these slides; they're absolutely stunning in every detail. An audiophile slide!
If you've found me, you're probably well versed in acoustic guitar music, and will know many of the guitarists I mention. If you're not, please read on and check out their music; there are some astounding guitarists in the world. In no particular order these are the players: Leo Kottke, El McMeen, Bill Mize, Chris Proctor, Ed Gerhard, Pierre Bensusan, Peter Janson, Alex DeGrassi, Michael Hedges, Marcel Dadi, Happy Traum, Martin Simpson, Stefan Grossman, Harvey Reid, Adrian Legg, Dominic Gaudious, Larry Pattis, Steve Davison, Tim Farrel, Larry Allen Brown, Jamie Bonk, and Earl Klugh.
