| Doug Manring’s Guitars
I feel so fortunate to
have found a number of guitars that I am very comfortable with and really
love to play. I certainly have more than I really need, but I do try to
make use of all of them. Many of my instruments are used for specific
purposes and are assigned tunings that are intended to suit their sound,
feel and function.
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images for larger versions!
B.C. Rich BR-40:
 Lined up among a forest
of bargain guitars in a Tokyo used guitar shop, this one caught my eye ...
when I tried it out, it caught my ear ... and then it just captured my
heart. A total fluke costing only $150, this guitar is remarkably
comfortable for me to play. Since I started out on electric guitars, most
steel-stringers can be a real chore for me to get around on ... but this
one has great action, is great for right hand tapping, will tune to
anything, and it reliably stays in tune. It is a performance workhorse, I
use it live with a Fishman pickup/condenser mic mounted in the soundhole.
While its tone is not quite as rich as a jumbo, it does have a pleasing
balance of brightness and warmth.
Orville by Gibson
J-200:
 This is my first
acoustic guitar ... and I'm too embarrassed to say just how long it took
for me to finally find one I could play with any amount of comfort. An
early '90s purchase, it is Gibson's economy series, the
"Orville" version of the classic J-200 jumbo. Almost all the
acoustic guitar work on "Oasis" was done on this guitar. It is
rich sounding, and it will tune to anything. It records wonderfully but is
a little ungainly onstage.
Fender Stratocaster:
 This old battle ax is
my first Strat ... the guitar I cut my teeth on. A late 60's-early 70's
model with some modifications, it has a surprisingly beefy tone. It is
definitely second or third-hand, and is hardly in mint or stock condition
... neither now nor when I bought it way back in 1978. The middle and
bridge pickups are ancient Dimarzio "Fat Strats", put in before
I got the guitar. They are true to their name and help give the guitar its
unique tone. It is the only maple neck guitar I have ... I actually prefer
rosewood fingerboards. I generally tune it CGCGCD, sometimes in standard
tuning, and I love to use it for soloing. Most of the guitar solos on
"Oasis" were cut with this guitar.
Squier Sratocaster:
 This early 80's
Japanese made Squier Strat is an exceptional instrument. It is quite
versatile and reliable in any situation. It is the epitome of
"Strat" with all the classic twangy tones. It has an unusually
slender neck that actually tapers at the nut ... for a small handed player
like me, it is a dream to play. Because I am not so good at playing in
normal tuning, it really helps to have a guitar that fits like a glove and
always sounds great, so this is my main guitar for standard tuning. It
stays in tune forever, too. I invariably use this on sessions and when I
am a sideman.
Grestch Anniversary:
 This old thing is from
1967 ... it takes some work to play, but that classic Grestch twang makes
it worth the effort. It is useful in various tunings and probably sounds
best in open G (C or D on the low string, then GDGBD). A gritty version of
its tone can be heard on the title track of "Oasis" and a clean
version can be heard in the background of "Tightrope Walker".
Gibson Les Paul
Standard:
 Being primarily a Strat
type of player, I spent a long time looking for a Les Paul that I would be
comfortable on. This '85 reissue of the classic '58 sunburst has been a
gem. While it is not the heaviest, loudest or beefiest of the various Les
Pauls I've tried, it certainly does have that classic tone ... it is also
a gorgeous guitar just to look at. It is very balanced guitar that can do
just about anything, I've recorded and performed with it in DADGAD, DADF#AD
(open D), AADGBD, and regular tuning, so it will be all over my upcoming
releases.
Riverhead Phantom:
 These were manufactured
by a small Japanese firm that is now defunct. Essentially, it is a
headless guitar, but as you can see, it has a little more body to it than
most. This has been a surprisingly comfortable guitar considering how much
I gravitate toward the more classic Fender and Gibson body styles.
Actually it's a little bit like a cross between a Strat and SG, which is a
unique combination. This was my main stage instrument for a couple years
and is now used for my more severe specialty tunings (AAEGAE for one,
AADGBD is another). The tone is always full and rich, whether clean or
distorted. The neck is very even from nut to body and it is ideal for
right hand tapping.
Gibson SG Junior:
 This one is from 1967
and in great condition. I always use it tuned in DADGAD and it just
smokes. This era of SGs from the mid 60s to early 70s are some of my all
time favorite guitars. I have a special fondness for the tones of SG users
from that era: Pete Townshend with The Who, Robbie Krieger from The Doors,
Carlos Santana, the original Alice Cooper guitarists, Glen Buxton and
Michael Bruce, and Mike Alsup from Three Dog Night. If my Strats weren't
so darn comfortable, I could be persuaded to play my SGs more ...
Fender Stratocasters:
 These are my main stage
guitars. Tuned CGCGCD, they are basically interchangeable, although not
identical. One has old Seymor Duncan pickups, the other has Texas
Specials, so they are a little beefier sounding than your average Strat,
but they still have the twang. The bodies are on the light side, the necks
nicely broken in ... so they are extremely comfortable to play. The
tremelo arms on all my Strats are quite stiff ... I don't use them as much
as I used to and prefer more subtle effects as opposed to really
aggressive whammy bar theatrics.
Fender Telecaster
Custom:
 My Tele has been
outfitted with a Hipshot Open Tuner bridge modification. Originally I was
not quite as at home with a Tele as I am on a Strat, but it has grown on
me, and this is what the Open Tuner seems to work best on. I am very
excited to be working with this device, and the Tele is a perfect vehicle
for it soundwise. Essentially is it tuned in DADGAD, but the levers allow
several other tunings to be created (see tunings section). The classic
Tele twang emphasizes both the unusual pitch shifts as well as the
percussive sound of the levers as they are flipped back and forth. A
workhorse instrument, both on stage and in the studio, it can be heard on
"It's Not Fair", "The Future", and "To be
Continued ..." from "Oasis".
Fender Stratocaster:
 This Strat is put
together from pieces left over from other instruments and is essentially a
test bed for pickups, tunings, etc. Currently, it is outfitted with a
Hipshot Trilogy bridge/tailpiece which has three-stop pitch levers for
each string allowing semi instantaneous detuning to any of the hundreds of
possible tuning combinations ... pretty scary, eh? Just to make things
interesting, I have it high-strung with unwound treble strings in the
4-to-6 positions ... new frontiers!!
Gibson SG Standard:
 My latest guitar
purchase is a fairly recent reissue of the '61 SG Standard. This guitar
was instantly comfortable from the word go, and is the first Gibson I've
ever played that felt "right" tuned in CGCGCD. Actually, it is
good with any tuning, and is an all purpose instrument that has already
proved to be reliable both on stage and in the studio. I don't have many
guitars with humbucking pickups, so this will help expand that palette.
When I need a humbucker tone that is not as chunky as the Les Paul, this
is the place to go.
Selva Custom Fretless
Guitar:
 I co-designed this with
Selva guitars in Japan. I felt that the basic SG shape would work well for
a fretless instrument, and we augmented that with through-the-body
construction instead of a glue on neck. Electronically, it is just a
Seymour Duncan Jeff Beck pickup and a knob ... so all the tone comes from
the fingers. I strung it with heavy gauge strings and tune it CGCGCD. I
had fret slots cut and filled so there would be clear position markings
... I wouldn't want to navigate this guitar without them! It can be heard
on "Matsuri" and at the beginning of the solo in "The
Gate" (played with an Ebow ... very cool!) from "Oasis".
Fender Jazz Bass:
 Bought in 1983, this
was my first purchase of a Japan Fender guitar, and it has never ceased to
impress me. The early '80s Japan Fender instruments are absolutely
outstanding guitars. This has been a reliable workhorse that I have called
upon again and again for all of my projects. So much of "Oasis"
and "Varanasi" was created on this bass. I often get my initial
song ideas from jamming on the bass ... particularly this one. "The
Arrow and the Bird" from "Oasis" and "The Colour of
Love" from "Varanasi" are good examples of these bass
driven compositions.
Fender Jazz Bass
(fretless):
 A few years after
getting my fretted Jazz bass, I got this fretless version of the same
model, and between two, have covered all my bass needs for over a decade.
As with my fretless guitar, the neck has been slotted and inserts put in
to help with intonation. Any fretless bass on "Oasis" and "Varanasi"
was done on this instrument.
Rickenbacker 4001:
 I had decided some
years ago that a Rickenbacker bass might work well for me, but it took
quite a while to actually find the right one. I've tried dozens and found
them all quite different from each other. I knew this was the one the
instant I saw it. It has a more solid, substantial feel to it than any of
the other Ricks I've tried. Though the tone is not nearly as trebly as one
would expect from most Ricks, it does have that distinctive gritty Rick
texture ... and I've found it to be outstanding for chords and right hand
tapping. It will be heard on a lot of the new material I'm working on ...
I have a few other
auxiliary guitars which generally get used as spares or for special
applications: an old Ibanez Les Paul copy that I sometimes use for slide
or capoed up; a Greco copy of a late sixties SG Special, which is usually
a spare for my other SGs; and a Riverhead Shark, which I use to travel
with.
GENERAL NOTES:
I use Ernie Ball Skinny
Top / Heavy Bottom strings on all my electric guitars (gauges:
10/13/17/30/42/52), and will use them until one breaks ... I definitely
prefer old strings. On acoustic guitar, I am still shopping the brands,
but I seem to like Martin lights. I change more often than with my
electrics, but a lot less often than most other players seem to. I prefer
to decrease tension at the nut and wind the strings from bottom to top on
the machine head posts on all my guitars. On Gibson electrics with stop
tailpieces, I wrap the strings over top of it to reduce tension at the
bridge, lengthen the amount of string used, and provide more contact
between the string and the tailpiece.
When I play slide, I
always prefer glass over metal, and use a particular brand of spice bottle
I found in Japan which fits very comfortably over my ring finger.
Though it often appears
as though I am holding a pick when I play, I actually never use a pick on
guitar. I will use one on bass for certain very aggressive things that
would otherwise annihilate my nails ...
©
2001
Doug Manring
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