Robert Hecker

I received an Ibanez sponsorship in 1990. Chris Kelly signed me up, and Mace Bailey built me the first ever 24 fret Saber guitar. This was a prototype that they sent me out on the road with. It was originally an unfinished walnut body. It is equipped with Evans pickups (the single coils, anyway). I play with the guitar up pretty high, so I asked them to remove the lower horn, because otherwise my left hand always collides with it. The guitar was painted orange in 2006. Ugly as all get out, I am the first to concede, but still my live default, go-to guitar, because it plays so fast & easy, and just simply will not go out of tune.

Gibson 'The SG'. Bought brand-new when I was in 9th grade in October 1979 from Guitar Center (back when there was only one!) in Hollywood for $400. Replaced the bridge pickup with a Bill Lawrence L500 dual blade humbucker, bought and installed at Gene Leis (Manhattan Beach) in 1984. My main guitar from 1979-1985, with Psychotrunks, Pancake, and Redd Kross. Would not stay in tune to save my life. Still a regular choice for recording. The stock Gibson neck pickup is very, very warm, has a fantastic warmth, thing is like a lion purring. Deep, lovely growl. Could use a fret job after 40 years, but that is a pretty easy play-around in controlled recording environments.

We had a Carvin sponsorship for a number of years. My first Carvin was a red single pickup DC127; that guitar was inducted into the Hard Rock Cafe at the Beverly Center in 1987, and being their first guitar to ever to grace the Hard Rock walls, the folk at Carvin graciously offered me whatever I wanted. So I ordered this nice iridescent green DC127. I had the lower horn cut off later by Mace Bailey when he was working at John Carruthers in Venice. I still use it for recording different colors. It is the main guitar on the title track of Cubed, the third album from It's OK!