Howard Leese

"It’s a ’58 with the pickup covers removed and zebra coils. I got it from a friend, another guitar collector, a player, but not a pro. He had a beautiful Les Paul collection, one of every kind, and a number of ‘bursts. I traded a 1979 Dodge pickup truck for the ‘burst and a ’56 Les Paul Custom, the Black Beauty. We did the deal in 1983. The truck was already pretty old, but he really needed it – and I needed the ‘burst (laughs)! And, yes, he still has the truck."

"Well, there’s the ’58 Gibson Flying V with a white pickguard. I’ve had it a long time; it’s a guitar I played on some of the Heart records for power chords. It’s very even from note to note, so when you strum a chord it’s very homogenized. It’s a really good basic-track guitar. I used it when we cut the drums; Heart always used live bass, drums and rhythm guitar. Another thing that’s great about the V is that it’s so microphonic you can talk into the pickups… no talkback mic needed (laughs)! The guitar track becomes part of the snare sound; you can hear the snare drum through the guitar. It’s a nice bleed. It’s all over the ’80s tracks, stuff like “Alone” and “What About Love.”

This ’66 Fender Telecaster is the guitar Howard Leese used to record some of Heart’s biggest hits, including “Magic Man,” “Crazy On You,” and “Barracuda.” Its prior owner, Mars Bonfire, used it to write and record the Steppenwolf classic “Born To Be Wild.”

"I grew up with a ’66 335 – it was my first guitar. So that’s the neck my hand knows from childhood. When I play it, my left hand is at home and my right hand has a Les Paul under it. It’s a sweet guitar with a factory Bigsby; I use it live a lot."

Howard used this guitar for his Raiding The Rock Vault Show in Las Vegas NV

At the 2019 NAMM Show, Howard Leese performed with a Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody II, as seen in a video by 1AnitrasDance on YouTube.

Purchased from David Petschulat ca. 1981, as relayed by Petschulat in his April 2021 Mini Les Paul newsletter (copied in this Van Halen Gear Timeline page). When Heart bandmate Nancy Wilson listed her own Mini Les Paul on her Reverb.com shop in 2022, she mentioned Leese's and noted its appearance on the back cover of Hearts' Greatest Hits/Live.

Van Halen Gear Timeline, "Mini Les Paul"

Below is information from David’s April 2021 Newsletter.

[...] I finished that first guitar, which is a monstrosity, but the second one I sold to Nancy Wilson of Heart. Then I sold one to Dave Hlubek of Molly Hatchet. Then Jackson Browne. Then Mick Jones of Foreigner. Howard Leese, Steve Morse. It was exciting. In the summer of 1981 I finished little #13 – a small Les Paul with a bird’s eye maple top, my “Flying P” logo, and a doggone tiny little amp and speaker stuffed inside of it.

Reverb.com, "Petschulat Custom Baby Les Paul Owned by Nancy Wilson of Heart"

This Petschulat Custom Baby Les Paul is Owned by Nancy Wilson of Heart

Only one of several made according to Wilson. “It’s very teeny tiny. It was on stage with me, and Howard Lee has had one too. It’s also the star of the cover of Heart’s album Greatest Hits Live.”

Very rare and tiny guitar! There is some finish checking on the top of the guitar as well as the headstock and neck. There are various other small dings and scratches on the back. The hardware is pretty tarnished with age as well. There are a handful of lacquer cracks on the binding of the neck as well as by the nut. Everything about this guitar, aside from it being mini, functions as any other guitar would. Comes with a small custom case.

Nut Width: 1 19/31"

Neck Thickness 1st Fret: .769"

Neck Thickness 12th Fret: .938"

Scale Length: 17"