Paul Smith III

I have 3 Stratocasters. Two are Made in Mexico and one is from Corona, CA. I love the versatility of tone the Strat offers. My Deluxe Players Strat is older than the one pictured and is black. She has Super Fat-Super Strat single coil pickups which provide a ballsy, SRV roadhouse blues type of tone. Fender later changed to their Noiseless single coils but these pickups are the main reason I love this Strat. The push/push switch activates the bridge pickup in positions four and five on the selector. I call this "the Beatles button" because it can conjure up a great early Beatles tone when employed. These come with beautiful gold hardware. I believe that overall the Stratocaster is the best guitar design ever invented.

I absolutely love this guitar. The tone is classic Strat delivered by American Vintage Single Coil pickups married with modern switching. The Desert Sand color is beautiful and the guitar sports gold hardware. The feel of the neck is like butter it's so smooth. The neck has an antiqued look to the wood tone which is beautiful! This is one of my go-to guitars for classic rock, surf sound, and blues.

I saw one of these years before I was able to get it. I loved the transparent finish on the ash body. I loved the abalone inlays on the maple neck. I eventually found one with a rosewood neck. I then found the maple neck for it online. I further modded it with a classic saddles bridge. She's a dream to both play and look at! You can see me playing it in my profile picture.

The look, the tone, the twang! This version embodies what was born out of Leo Fender's concept Espquire. It is a beautiful reissue, authentic in every way. I'm attempting to learn some country picking but I also enjoy looking for that Roy Buchanan tone playing blues. When you look at the pedigree of players who have chosen this guitar at times over the years - Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Roy B., Rick Vito, Vince Gill etc... you know you're in good company!

I purchased my LP Standard in 1975 when Gibson was only focusing on the Deluxe. They did fill orders for Standards by modifying Deluxe bodies for the larger Humbucker pickups. As a result the headstock bell on mine says "Standard" but the back of the headstock says Deluxe next to the serial number. It makes her somewhat of a rare gem to me. She's a beautiful iced-tea sunburst and is completely stock. I recently had some body repair done to fuse the pancake pieces back together - a tricky problem caused by a very dry environment in New Mexico. The work was done beautifully by Jay M.Kolanda of NTL Guitars, Nashville. Update - my sweet old '75 split again after 4 years. I'm considering trying one more repair job on it. I've now purchased a new LP Standard 60's model with a solid mahogany body. It's a beautiful "Unburst". The look is reminiscent of Peter Green's old Les Paul now owned by Metallica's Kirk Hammett.

I originally opted for an Eastman T-186 mx for this style of guitar. Love the Eastman! What originally drew me to it was the thinner neck. However after spending more time on my Telecaster 50's re-issue and my Gibson Les Paul (both with pretty fat necks) I longed to have an actual ES-335. For a long time I've admired the ones that Carl Wilson played throughout his career with The Beach Boys. His were custom builds that i've never been able to find anywhere else. But mine shares that beautiful natural finish and delivers the great variation of tone that made it a favorite of Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Rusty Anderson and so many others. I'm extremely happy with this guitar and have named her Ollie after our sweet dog Olive that finally had to leave us after 14 years.

I was always interested in a guitar in the style of a Gibson ES-335 but I didn't like the larger neck on the Gibson. I have smaller hands and wanted a neck I could really get around with ease. I played an T-168mx at a shop in San Antonio and loved the feel AND the sound. The humbucker pickups on the Eastmans are some of the best I've ever heard. The shop didn't have the finish I wanted (the one featured in this photo) so I searched and found one online in a shop in England. It was just as I imagined it would be. Eastman is Chinese made but it's not an English, German or American company building in China. The company originated in China and these folks really know what they're doing. They began making classical violins and then added guitars made with the same craftsmanship they had built their orchestral instrument reputation on. I feel very fortunate to have acquired this one. Update - I've since added a Gibson ES-335 to the family and it rocks!

One of my very favorite guitars - she conjures up tone from Buffalo Springfield to Tom Petty. The playability is amazing and the design is gorgeous! This guitar has introduced me to some Rock-a-Billy playing which is great fun and not as easy as it sounds.

This was my first Gretsch guitar. Though it is an entry level model it has great tone, easy playability and looks beautiful! After getting my 6120 I modded my 5120 with TV Jones Brian Setzer pickups, a new quick connect wiring harness and dice knobs - my own Brian Setzer knockoff. It sounds great!

What can I say about this guitar that you haven't already heard? It doesn't take much effort to conjure up the sounds of your favorite 60's songs on this baby. George heard Roger, Carl Wilson heard George and Tom Petty heard all three of them and ended up friends with all three of them. If you grew up in the 60's like I did the sound of this guitar raises the hair on your arms. It's absolutely amazing to play and to listen to.

This was the first electric guitar I ever bought. Mine is a 1961. I was young when I got it and didn't appreciate it's original finish which had weather-checked. I stripped it and stained it mahogany. The color is nice but I did a rush job on the varnish. Mine now has a Seymour Duncan stacked humbucker in it with a push/pull switch on the volume knob. I replaced the original bridge with a "Badass" bridge but am thinking of going back to the vintage design. Anyway with the mods this little baby will peel the paint off the walls. The neck is so sweet and perfect for my small hands that I named her "Sweet Thang" and had it engraved on the headstock bell.

I wanted a guitar that I could travel with that offered decent features but wouldn't be such a risk to take along - baggage handlers, thieves, etc... This one works for me. The frets needed to be filed at the edges to improve the comfort. It doesn't have the electronics of a true Tele but it serves me well when I'm sitting on a lanai in Hawaii.

I've dreamed of having a high quality Martin Acoustic for most of my life. The projection and resonance of a fine Martin guitar is in a class by itself. These guitars in the D series have been used and are still used by the best in the business. I loved the details of Stephen Still's D-45. The tone he got from it just knocked me out. The same was true of David Crosby's. I loved to blend of John Lennon's and Paul McCartney's D-28s in Let It Be. This baby is everything I ever dreamed it would be. The tone with it's crisp highs and deep lows, it's projection and sustain make it incomparable!

My wife surprised me with this guitar a few years ago. It has nice tone but is really appreciated when plugged in. The Takamine electronics are very nice and the on-board tuner is great for someone like me that uses alternate tunings pretty often.

I bought this guitar from my Daughter-in-law who was looking to get rid of some gear. I had not had a 12 string acoustic before and I was really pleased at the tone of this one. It has a solid spruce top with mahogany sides and back. For a lower priced guitar the tuners seem very good. This is not a Martin of course but it really holds its own. I've performed with it and always gotten nice comments about the look and the sound.

This is my first resonator guitar and I'm having a great time with it. It has helped me further hone my slide technique and inspired me to learn.

I've always loved the sound of a classical guitar whether it was being played by Mexican Mariachi's or Mason Williams performing "Classical Gas". Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood recorded Blind Faith's iconic "Can't Find My Way Home" on classical acoustics and some 22 years later Clapton put the classical at the forefront once again with his ode to his late son Conor, "Tears In Heaven". My very first guitar was given me by my parents when I was 10 years old. In an attempt to steer me away from Rock n' Roll (didn't work) they gave me a junior-sized Favilla Classical acoustic. The guitar was lost through so many years and I would give anything to have it today. I had been playing an inexpensive Spanish guitar that my wife picked up for me on a vacation. The guitar sounded pretty good and I enjoyed it until it took a fall off a high shelf and went to pieces. I had been missing having a nylon string acoustic so I started looking online and remembered my Favilla. I found this 1969 Favilla C-8. It's a beautiful collector's item for a very reasonable price. Herk Favilla and his son Tom built some beautiful instruments until they ceased production in 1973. I'm very happy to have a Favilla in the family again.

My wife surprised me with this for my birthday! I'd never even seen one before. It is fantastic!! The neck detaches with the strings still connected and the whole thing stores in a carrying case/backpack that can fit in the airplane overhead. It's very easy to put together and take apart and the sound is amazing. I played on it for an hour before I looked it up on the website and realized it's also electric! We love to travel both with our RV and by air and this is just a perfect gift for me!

This Casino is a John Lennon tribute model bearing Lennon's original serial number 328323. It is one of only1965 made. I see why The Beatles loved this guitar so much and why Paul McCartney still plays his. It has fantastic tone and versatility.

I chose this amp after playing on several Fenders and even a Supro. Years ago I had a late sixties Fender Super Six (a piece of gear you later kick yourself for getting rid of). The Super Six was basically a Fender Twin sitting on four additional speakers. It was way too much amp to both control volume-wise and haul around but it had an amazing sound. The Vibrolux '68 reissue was the one amplifier that reminded me most of my long, lost friend. I know I could have picked up a vintage Twin in Austin or Houston but had to keep the cost lower than that. One channel is set up like a Fender Bassman tone stack while the alternate channel is more vintage Fender Tube amp. The reverb and tremolo are very close to the original Fender sound. Since my go-to guitars are primarily Stratocasters and Gretschs this amp makes the perfect marriage. I like the ease the foot pedal affords to turn the reverb and/or tremolo off or on. Another big thing that impressed me about the Vibrolux '68 was the dial point at which the amp breaks over to distortion. You don't have to push the two 10 inch Celestion speakers into the next county to get a natural growl out of it. It's become my favorite of the amps I've ever owned.

After many years without a Fender amp I purchase one of these in Blonde Tolex. I envisioned it being a blues amp which of course it is very good for. The 12" Celestion speaker was a great match for the powerful tube electronics featured. The overdrive channel was interesting but limited and the foot pedal only controlled the overdrive leaving switching from reverb and back a manual chore. I added a Line 6 M 13 effects array to compensate but I missed the true Fender reverb. The other problem it gave me was the breaking point on the clean channel. So much volume had to be added to achieve it. I tried modding the tubes according to some forums I read but wasn't that happy with the results. I still use the Hot Rod for clean channel play, and in tandem with the M 13 box but my go-to amp is now my Fender '68 Custom Vibrolux.

I don't play bass a lot but when I do I really enjoy it. I wanted an amp I could use to jam with others and blend well with drums. This fits the bill. My version is no longer in production but features 75 watts of power through a single 12" speaker. It is solid state which I chose to save on expense. For my needs it more than gets the job done.

I picked this up as a practice amp when I'm out of town. It's surprisingly powerful and good sounding for a solid state amp. I pair it with my Hofner 500/1 Cavern Bass and it delivers well on the different nuances of tone I can get from the Hofner switching. Nice for the price!

I use this baby for mostly Clapton, Cream or Blind Faith tunes, or just to jam in places where a Wah-Wah sounds good. Every now and then I attempt a pathetic version of Voodoo Chile but I have a lot of fun with it.

I love, love, love this pedal. It offers tone I've looked for for a long time. Very reminiscent of Stevie Ray Vaughan's sound. It's essential for roadhouse blues as well as classic rock.

It pays to have a good tuner on your pedal board. This one is pretty reliable. The display is a bit hard for me to see with my 64 year-old eyes though.

I picked this pedal up primarily for slap back tone paired with my Gretsch guitars. It does a nice job and was a less expensive choice over the Nocture Brain Echo that Brian Setzer uses.

I did a lot of research on a Leslie sampling pedal including Leslie's. This was my favorite. It is easliy controlled by the foot switches and has a great variation of tone. I have always loved the Leslie tone on songs such as "Badge" by Cream, "No Matter What" by Badfinger and "It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr. There's a lot of fun in this box!

The samples in this board are pretty good. I can't get the sound out of the tube screamer that I get from my Ibanez. I like the spring reverb - very Fender-like. It has a very deep reverb that I enjoy pairing with my Les Paul to get that classic Fleetwood Mac Echo often used by Danny Kirwin and Bob Welch, the kind you hear on Future Games and Show Me A Smile. There are a lot of samples to choose from for those who love many different effects.

This is the finest electronic keyboard I've ever played. Each sample is incredibly authentic. The keys are weighted for true feel. There are so many effects I've yet to explore them all. I mostly use it for grand piano, electric piano (ala Fender Rhodes) and Organ. The strings sound beautiful as well. It's a must for home or professional entertainment.

Again my wife (shout out to Linda) surprised me with this bass a few years ago. It is a special 125th anniversary issue with all the early 60's specs. I love bass guitar and this little baby steps up for whatever I need. After all it fit the bill for one of the greatest music phenomenons that ever existed.

I indulged myself and ordered this bookend to my '64 style Hofner. The bracing is different which makes it a bit heavier than the 500/1 but not in a bad way - just different. I believe that has to have some influence on the tone as well but it's hard to tell when you're just playing in your home studio. Mine came with the teacup knobs as well. I love their size and shape and the neck is perfect for my hand. This Hofner is modeled after the '62 bass Paul McCartney played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. Paul continued to switch back and forth between the two iconic guitars in the early Beatle years. Later he allowed Fender (I believe) to modify it some with new wiring and larger pickup borders to add strength. Paul can be seen playing it on the video of Revolution and a few times in the film "Let It Be". It's seen with a piece of foam inserted under the strings just above the bridge. I believe he was trying to get a punchier sound from it - some believe he was trying solve a buzzing problem. The guitar was stolen in 1972 and was finally recovered and given back to Paul who has it refurbished. He recently played it live again for the first time in over 50 years on his "Got Back" tour.

You can't go wrong with a bass that has been used by the likes of Chris Squire, Geddy Lee and Paul McCartney. I love the neck width on this guitar. I have small hands and the playability is tremendous for me. The natural finish is beautiful and the guitar can have every kind of bass tone drawn out of it you like, from funk to heavy bottom! I love it!

I picked this little boy up in a Ukulele shop on Kauai several years ago. I'd always been aware of George Harrison's love of the Ukulele and I'd been a big fan of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. The first time I played it it seemed like the instrument was teaching me what to do. It's a perfect match of simplicity and beauty. Kamaka is truly one of the best makes in the world and I'm so glad I went for it.

I was recently blown away by Ken Burns Documentary on Country Music. I love many different kinds of music and to me country is very closely intwined with The Blues. It is a true American invention born out of influences from the American Heartland, Ireland and other places. I marveled at film of Ricky Skaggs as a child playing Mandolin with Bill Monroe, Marty Stuart's fingers racing over the neck of his Mando playing with Lester Flat. It brought to mind John Sebastian's line from the Lovin' Spoonful's "Nashville Cats" - "been playin' since theys babies..." I've decided to pick it up and see how I do. This Ibanez is touted as a really nice beginner or intermediate player's Mandolin. The craftsmanship seems very nice for the price and the tone is beautiful.

I'm trying these strings for the first time and put them on my Epi. I didn't know they were designated "Bluegrass" - I don't play bluegrass but I am doing a lot of finger picking on acoustic right now (CSN, Led Zeppelin) and these lighter gauge strings are very good for that so I believe I made a good choice.

I've used Ernie Ball SSs for over 40 years. I've never felt the need to try anything else. They've always been the right gauge with the right tone. I know the next gauge up gives a fatter tone, in fact I use the Regular Slinky's on my hollow body guitars, but for my Strats, my Les Paul, these are perfect.

I ordered these strings for my Martin. I like a lighter gauge string on an acoustic for finger-picking and improvised lead parts. The trick is to find a lighter gauge that doesn't lose the boost you get from a heavier gauge. There is always some trade-off. I decided to take after a guy I think is one of the best acoustic pickers in Rock music, Stephen Stills. I read that he uses these and so far I can see why.

I have L.R. Baggs Lyrics installed in my Martin, my Epi and my Fender 12 string. The sound is beautiful. It enhances the natural lows and highs of the guitar without stealing from it's original warmth. I highly recommend them!

I picked up two of these a while back while cobbling together a PA system for entertaining. I'm very pleased with them. They have great sensitivity and they're very rugged. I just think they look good too!

I really love these capos. I don't use a capo on very many tunes, mainly "Here Comes The Sun" but this is the best one I've ever owned. Mine has a blue mother-of-pearl face which further accents to look of my acoustics.

I use this strap on my Martin. It accents the colors of the guitar very well and is very comfortable. The leather is a nice grade which you would expect from Levy's (I have 3 of their other designs) and the stitching work is very nice.

I use this strap on my Martin. It accents the colors of the guitar very well and is very comfortable. The leather is a nice grade which you would expect from Levy's (I have 3 of their other designs) and the stitching work is very nice.

I chose this strap for my Les Paul. My LP is the heaviest guitar I own and the padding in this strap really comes into play for comfort. The construction and stitching is very well done and the brown/black two-tone is a nice accent to my LP Tea-burst.

I matched this strap to my Rick Vito signature Reverend. I got it in Black and White to go with the Black and White Art Deco design of the guitar and they look great together! Sadly I don't believe these are available from Levy's anymore.

I've used this compact little powerhouse for over 20 years with a Fatar Studio 900 monitor. It's been a very satisfying machine for several piano, organ and strings sounds. This setup is great for someone with very little space. I'm currently playing it through a small Fender Rumble 15 Bass amp I also use for Bass recording and practice.

I've used this keyboard for over 20 years to record and entertain. It's paired with a Kurzweil Micro Piano controller with many piano, organ and string samples. The keys are weighted nicely to give it an authentic feel to the hands. It has served me well.