I have been playing guitar for around 20 years though only for my own pleasure!
My First guitar was a "Spanish" guitar which had been handed down from my sister via my brother-in-law and it was he who taught me my first chords! I soon progressed to an acoustic bought new for a christmas present from Green Shield Stamps (remember them!) and a few guitar lessons in school. The guitar teacher was very folk orientated and told me off for using steel strings, convincing me that I should use nylon instead! I learnt a few more chords and some basic fingerpicking but soon got bored with "If I had a Hammer"! My next step-up was to an Audition Semi-Acoustic from Woolworths, again a christmas present. I had to get a Semi as I couldn't afford an amp! Both these guitars were with me until recent years, when the acoustic was inflicted with a DIY sunburst paint job (followed by a trip to the bin) and the semi was inflicted with my (then) one year old son who succeeded in breaking it's "fragile" neck (I had been told in 1978 that it was virtually worthless as "...the necks always snap on 'em......"!).
In around 1985 I bought a Westone Thunder 1 made in Japan and a cheap practice amp - the amp lasted 3 months but I still regularly play the Westone. Shortly after, I got a small Yamaha HR Practice amp from Dixons which I still own but don't use. This was superceded when I bought my dream guitar in 1991, a Vintage Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, together with a Fender Eighty-Five transistor amp. The amp was part-exchanged in 1992 for a Marshal Anniversary 100 Watt Valve Head and standard Angled-front 4x12 cab. This was (and still is) my dream set-up, though my playing does not really do it justice!
In '95 I bought a new Chinese-made Encore E400N acoustic as I missed my old Green Shield special! This was dead cheap (80 quid) and cosmetically tatty but it plays really nicely and has a good, bold, strident tone that I like. This was followed in '96 with a Epiphone Sheraton, a buying decision mostly influenced by the burgeoning BritPop scene, though I've always liked semi's (like my Woolies special!). My last acquisition, in 1998, was a Parker NiteFly, a more natural and wallet friendly version of the Fly bought a a bargain price from Dawsons in Liverpool - this was bought to fulfill my desire for something less retro and with a whammy bar.......I'm still practising those divebombs!!!
I also have:
A) Boss ME6 multi-effects foot pedal which I use mostly for chorus and reverb through the effects loop of my Marshall
B) Yamaha DD11 electonic Drum Kit / Sequencer, Midi compatible but not linked to anything else Midi - I did try and get it working with my Soundblaster Awe32 sound card but it appears to be a non-standard Midi set-up. Can anyone help with this? Do I need to "re-map" the input port?
C) A Soundblaster AWE32 sound card which, beside normal noise-making duties also gets some Midi sequencing by me using Cakewalk Lite.
D) A Commodore MK10 Midi keyboard - extremely basic but then so are my piano skills!
While mostly playing solely for my own pleasure, I have had a couple of gigs!
For the works Christmas party in 1996, I joined up with Don Gillespie (accounts and drums), David Homer (audit and keyboard/bass) and Graham Stowell (audit and vocals) to form the Four Sure Boys (a play on the old "Forshaw" prefix to Burtonwood Brewery PLC). A twenty minute set saw a Beatles Medley, Oasis' Live Forever, Lyin' Eyes by the Eagles and Tom Jones' Delilah rounded off by an encore of a Rock and Roll Medley which we were all very proud of.
The following year we were invited back and done Santa Clause is comin' to town with Graham dressed in a Santa suit, Pretty Woman, I Saw Her Standing There, Roll with it, Walk of Life, a Quo medley and ended with a stirring rendition of Mustang Sally! For the encore we were joined by Jayne, Julie, Amanda, and a girl from personnel, otherwise known as the Four Sure Girls, to perform our version of Spice Up You Life.....this went down very well, especially with the male employees!
In between these we performed for the departmental Christmas do at the Wellington, Hale. Besides these occasions, I've not performed in public. Video's and photographs are available!!!!