Vega Mandocello

This is a really cool Vega mandocello that I got from my good buddy Steve Hartz many years ago. She sounds great, but you can see that she is not together at the point in time that the pic was taken, but she is ok, the tailpiece just pulled out because she is old and needs more TLC than she is getting. She will be back up and in the studio arsenal soon.

Sumi Octave Mandolin

OK, now you can really be jealous, what a great piece he is……this is a great octave mandolin, hard to tell how big he is in the picture, but he is tuned like a mando but one octave down. I have him commissioned by Mr. Sumi, and he really sounds great and looks good too. It is a great instrument to write songs on, such a warm deep tone, but mandolin chord fingerings, and great for solo singing with mandolin type chords. So, so good……….

Sumi Guitar

This is a great guitar made by Mr. Sumi, and most special to me is that he gave him to me at IBMA a few years ago, he just felt he and I were a good match, and he was right. I have written lots of songs on this guitar, and he is so easy to play and sounds so good, I just love this guitar.

Sumi F5 Style Number 3

This is number 3 of the Lonesome Series that Mr. Sumi in Japan is making for me. She is a great one, and I think will probably become my main working axe soon. She sounds really good, especially since she is so new, as of now, April 2007, she is only a few weeks old, and sounds really good. I did almost all the mandolin on the A Melody For You CD with her, and she will be with me on the May 2007 Euro tour with Druha Trava.

National Dobro

This is an old National Dobro, that I got at IBMA many years ago. He sounds good, and is mostly used for texture on original song demos in the studio.

Kay Tenor Guitar

An old Kay Tenor Guitar, probably from the 1970’s. A good piece for the studio arsenal, and good for Texas Style Fiddle songs or just when you need a different rhythm texture on something.

Gilchrist Mandola

This is a great mandola made my the famous Steve Gilchrist. I am lucky to have this piece, there have not been many made, and I traded for it from my good buddy Charlie Derrington, who died last year (2006) in a tragic motorcycle accident. She sounds really good, and I try to make sure she gets to be represented on at least one song on every one of my CD projects. You can listen for her on Black Magic Gun on the A Melody For You CD, she does a great job there.

Gibson Round Neck Dobro

This is a good solid sounding round neck dobro, he doesn’t get played a lot, but is a good piece for the Lonesome Pine studio arsenal.  He was given to me as part of an endorsement package from Gibson USA to take on The Bluegrass Expedtion in 1999. Thanks, Gibson.

Gibson Earl Scruggs Model

This is a great sounding banjo that I have taken around the world three times. He really sounds good, and was given to me as part of an endorsement package from Gibson USA to take on The Bluegrass Expedtion in 1999. Thanks, Gibson.

Fender P Bass

Nothing beats a good Fender P bass, nothing special about him, just a good workhorse instrument for the Lonesome Pine arsenal.

Fender Electric Mando

 A great old piece from the sixties. She does not get played much, but when freeGrass starts gearing up soon, I bet she comes out of the closet!!!!

Brazilian Mando Style Instrument

This is a cool mando style instrument. I can’t remember what they call it, but I have seen it played by a Mayan band that plays in Grand Central Station of all places. My buddy Jerry King brought it back for me from Brazil a long time ago. As you can see if you look close, she is not in playable shape, I need to get on that!!!!!

Bob Kogut Fiddle Rosie

This is my fiddle made by my good buddy Bob Kogut. He is a great maker, when a fiddle he makes is the right instrument for you, when you pick it up it just feels like you where born under the tree he made if from.

Andy Made Electric Mando

This is Mavis, a four string electric mandolin that I made many years ago. As you can see, she has been around a bit, but there are lots of stories she could tell. She was mostly played regularly in the early 1980s when I was playing with some old friends in Austin in a band called The Foves (www.thefoves.com). This was a four piece band, mostly original, that played everything from straight ahead Bluegrass with drums to loud insane punk grass, so she fit in very nicely with that mix. I mostly played her with banjo pics, so as to be able to play lots of notes really fast and loud.