Stephen Drake

The ash body on this Les Paul really resonates. It has a deep sound and the bass strings really sing.

This guitar is simply inspiring to play. The feel of the neck, carve of the body, and relief make it resonant (semi-hollow) and just fast-feeling. The neck P90 especially has a sweet tone that you can play all day on.

For 80-something bucks used (you can find this pretty cheap online or locally), the clean tones are great. When used with pedals, it becomes a great base.

This is the smoothest, cleanest sounding and playing Strat I have ever had. The Z-Coils are like butter to the ears (does that make sense?).

This little thing rattles and hums and suck, but has all the mojo. It's drenched reverb and Virtu-Tube settings actually sound amazing for a funky indie/lofi sound. It can be the secret sauce for any record, and it's not gonna break the bank

This pedal is warm and groovy. I keep it always on. It bends the pitch enough to make your tone unique but subtle enough to add more layers of effects. I put it at the start of my signal chain.

My first pedal. Probably most people's as well. It does the DS-1 thing. If you want mindless distortion and bleeding ears, it will do that.

I got this pedal beat up and used for 40 bucks and it is my go-to for cutting leads. The drive is dynamic and alive, but sounds way better than a Tube Screamer.

This thing rocks. The trails gives an almost synth like sound to your guitar.

I do not normally support crimes but I didn't want to pay for a Julianna. This thing does the trick for 80 bucks.

I have this guitar in the Aged Mahogany finish. It is soft and gentle, and greta for fingerstyle and folk. It doesn't have the belting power of a Jumbo or Dreadnought, but it is the perfect guitar to keep in the open for when songwriting inspiration hits.

This thing is loud. It is a Marshall. Its fans are noisy. It buzzes. It's super cool.