Nick McCabe

"Nice thing turned up from Fender USA today. Half term means scant opportunity to fiddle but so far so wow. It's a "Christ help me, I can't stop playing" type deal. Is this the best strat I've ever owned or played?"

Amongst many Stratocasters owned by McCabe, the most famous was the Red Stratocaster seen on the performance of Life's an Ocean on "Live with Jools Holland" in 1997. https://youtu.be/FZN3aSKAYxc

It was nicknamed "Spike" as its previous owner was rumoured to be Spike Milligan.

McCabe pulled the guitar from a public auction he was running on Facebook in 2014.

"While McCabe has been open and affable during the public auction, he did get second thoughts on selling one item: a red Fender Stratocaster named Spike.

“I know some of you are contemplating selling stuff to fund purchase of Spike so I feel duty bound to halt proceedings right away,” he wrote on May 21. “I’ve had all kinds of reactions to selling that guitar, but generally people closest to me say ‘you can’t.’ …I’ve managed to autoerase most of my history several times, maybe it’s time to sip doing that. Everything else is still up for grabs.”

As well as Spike, McCabe also owned a black 1979 Stratocaster in the early days of the group.

More photos of Spike can be seen along with McCabe's MIJ Jazzmaster and USA Stratocaster at the following site.

http://www.neilcowmeadow.com/about-guitar-repairs--technical-service.html

In this photo, McCabe can be seen playing Gibson Les Paul Custom.

In the music video for "She's A Superstar" by The Verve, Nick McCabe is seen playing a cherry Gibson ES-355 electric guitar. This guitar was also used during the recording of their album "A Storm in Heaven" as noted in a review on Guitar.com. Additionally, McCabe can be seen using the same guitar in a performance video at Camden Town Hall in 1992.

The photo shows Nick McCabe playing his Fernandes Native Pro during The Verve's BBC Radio 1 sessions in 2008

"My favorite guitar is a Sustainer-equipped Fernandes Native Pro. I bought it secondhand, and I saw it as kind of a “trick” instrument that I might be able to fiddle with, but the more I played it, the more I realized it delivered most of the tones I was looking for." https://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/the-verveand39s-nick-mccabe

Nick McCabe seen with his Blade Levinson in 2008

"So I’ve recently been playing several Levinson Blade Texas Vintage guitars. They’re like Strats, but with a boosted midrange." https://www.thevervelive.com/2008/12/nick-mccabe-no-guitarist-left-behind.html

"Major dudes, the cream etc. Left to right Eastwood Guitars And Airline Guitars Ichiban Mongrel Fender Strat reborn via Fender UK & ROI Custom shop's beauteous generosity and craft Levinson/ Blade Guitars Texas Vintage Lucem Custom Instruments se rial #2 "Old Nick" (Nick McCabe special edition) Gibson Les Paul VOS 57 (now property of Davide Rossi - when are you picking it up dude? x)"

Les Paul Goldtop with P90s used during 2008.

In this photo, one can see McCabe playing a Fender Electric XII.

''Still interested in loops, delays and the sonic possibilities of the guitar, Nick McCabe now uses an Eastwood Ichiban as one of his main guitars.''

Here he can be seen playing a Gretsch Jet in the 'This Is Music' music video.

During the October 2007 rehearsals in Stockport for the "Judas" tour, Nick McCabe used a Gibson Les Paul Standard, as shown in a user-uploaded photo.

McCabe owned a 1959 Jazzmaster at the time of the recording of A Storm in Heaven.

It can be seen during Verve's Performance at Camden Town Hall in 1992 and was stolen soon afterwards.

https://youtu.be/FmOKabyK6j8

It's also referred to in this article about the recording of a Storm in Heaven.

https://guitar.com/review/album/the-genius-of-verve-a-storm-in-heaven/

He also owns an MIJ Jazzmaster as shown in this link http://www.neilcowmeadow.com/about-guitar-repairs--technical-service.html

Nick McCabe with the Goldtop Les Paul playing Lucky Man on Later with Jools Holland in 1997.

https://youtu.be/wpb7Q13TQ08

McCabe can be seen performing with a brown Telecaster Deluxe throughout this performance of The Verve’s track ‘Grey Skies’. The guitar can be seen particularly well from around 15:10 to 15:50.

The same guitar can be more clearly viewed here: https://media.gettyimages.com/id/79175691/photo/the-verve.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=dkenJeCK-uuKTTcSeoxQI48fGHu9t8TM2Pz0UaWXVHk=

In this photo from 1994 we see McCabe performing with a Tokai Talbo Blazing Fire in white

Nick McCabe is confirmed to use a Gibson Flying V guitar, as evidenced by his appearance with the instrument in a photograph from February 1992 (https://musicsaves.org/verve/images/rotate/select_live.jpg). Additionally, the guitar is visible in The Verve's "South Pacific" video at 3:31, showcasing the equipment utilized during the recording sessions for "A Storm In Heaven" between December 1992 and January 1993. This information is supported by footage provided by TheVerveVEVO on YouTube.