Photo Gallery
Guitars
Honey - Front View
Hipshot 5 lever tailpiece with roller bridge and roller nut, tuned to E maj 9 for country, Nashville-type rock bends. This unit has had extensive custom modifications to put a maj 9 in the middle of the chord, or straight octave, and other custom modifications to the unit itself. If you are not rich, and are a meat and potatoes working musician, on the circuit, this baby in open E with or without maj 9th is a fantastic setup.
Honey - Back View
The artwork you see on the back of the guitars pictured was created by Mark himself
Flame - Front View
Flame - Back View
Flame - Closer View
Hipshot 5 lever
Hipshot 5 lever tailpiece allows you to drop top E to D and bottom E to D and A to G, creating open G tuning from normal tuning. Bends B string and G string, skilful use of top E lever as well allows you to adjust top E to a major 9th and bend the lever back to get root, so leaning on both B and G, and twiddling top E lever, you can get all three going, creating pedal steel sounds. Also custom modification to the unit to create maj 9 in the middle of the chord also, or returning to root.
Flame artwork
The "Flame" artwork shown here has been further modified this year with additional stones etc.
Flame Artwork close-up
"Flame" Artwork close-up as it was first designed.
Recently, I found a rock and gem fair that had the right stones for guitar art.
I got hooked on this idea, my friends, some of whom are very conservative, and suffer terribly from G.A.S. (guitar acquisition syndrome), who have at least 10 Firebirds, 10 Les Paul Standards, 10 Strats, 10 Tele's, 10 335's, etc. etc. etc., are utterly horrified and mortified that I would carve up a Gibson and do such a thing as guitar art.
Let it be known that creativity nowadays is harder and harder to do, with the constant inflow of media dictating your thinking, and peer group pressure, built on falsehoods, and the cult of corporatism, and the cult of ineptocracy.
Seven - Front View
Seven - Back View before addition of artwork
Seven - Further Front View
Seven - Back View with artwork
Seven - Further back view with artwork
Seven Artwork close up
"Grail", shown here, is an absolutely fantastic "TOMMY'S SPECIAL GUITAR" that I found from a scientist who was wealthy, whose wife was pressurising him to give up playing music, he was advertising it under "Hi Fi" in the Loot Magazine, which is equivalent to the "Recycler" magazine of Los Angeles, I suppose he really didn't want to sell it, so I went round and met him, and played it for a bit, he only lived around the corner from me, so he liked what I was playing on it, and said he wanted it to go to a good home. I got it for absolutely thrupence hapenny farthing, which is old money terms before decimalisation of 17th February 1971.
Grail - Front View
Grail - Back View
Grail has a EVH drop D bridge tuner
Close-ups of artwork on Grail
Peaches - Front View
Peaches, has a mild steel large capacity sustain block, a Dennis Cornell active pack, much like Eric Clapton's, a LSR roller nut, Sperzels.
Peaches - Back View
Close-up of artwork on Peaches
Mountain - Front View
THIS BASS WAS STOLEN IN MAY 2012
Mountain, has got scalloped upper frets, and a funk channel for double finger pull-ups, and thumbing like Larry Graham on the lower strings, and thumb inserts by the pickups.
Mountain - Back View
Close-ups of artwork on Mountain
Excalibur
"Excalibur" is a real find, I found him for not a lot of money, he is an early developmental 5 string from Fernandes in the USA, he was an absolute dog, in the shop, but I saw his inner responsiveness, took him home, put some Kent Armstrong special pickups, that have coil taps on him, and did various modifications, thus bringing to life a bass that was not understood, by so many people that picked it up in the shop, until it was straightened out.
Excalibur Artwork on the back.
Supro
This is a Supro, which was made in the Far East, as a prototype, and got into trouble with the original name owners, it has a brass nut, and a P90, and a vitamin Q across the CTS pots.
Speakers & Amps
THESE AMPS WERE STOLEN IN MAY 2012
Dennis Cornell Plexi Head, with custom mods.
Another backup earlier version plexi head with custom mods
Another backup earlier version plexi head with custom mods2
My trusty old SVT PRO II
A real early one that has a front end pad, installed by Richard Hill.
The in-house cheapie amps, that do for anything at tiny volume, the boxer 30 has got a Hartke 10" in it. The Marshall has got a G12M in it.
Other Equipment
Guitar Stand
Pedal Board (On the Floor) custom Oakleigh Flight Case
Richard Puxley custom made this for me himself. Richard is an absolute genius, if you can ever get five minutes out of him, he is flat out Virgo balls to the wall perfectionist, with 20 plates on 20 sticks 24/7
Small Pedal Board
This little baby is great for small get-ins, whereby you have to get in and out quickly, with one or two guitars.