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Guitars guitars guitars and yet more guitars
Hello Mona and Lisa,
You know that I’m a guitar geek. I will stay in my field then. Watching your videos, I see that over the years and to my delight, you use a lot of different guitars. Please tell me if I’m wrong. Among the electro-acoustic nylon string, in addition to your oldest Yamaha APX-9NA, I saw that you use a Cordoba 12 Maple (Yesterday), a Martin OOOC-N (Mersey radio interview) and even a Taylor 714CE-N (June ). For the 12 strings (acoustic) that Mona particularly enjoys, I saw a Maton Performer (EM425C / 12), a Hofner Jumbo, a Breedlove Atlas Studio and for electro-acoustic 6-string steel, the list is long but I would still list the Maton EBG808CL, an Ovation (?), the Epiphone EJ-160 (John Lennon), the Epiphone EJ200 (Black), the Epiphone Dove Pro (with the litle bird!), the Gibson J160-E (John Lennon), a Martin DCPA4 and a Martin GPCPA4 and your old blue guitar (unidentified for me). As for the electrical, I spoted in addition to THE Gretsch Duo Jet, a Gretsch G6122-1962, a Gretsch Tennessean, a copy (black) of the Stratocaster (brand?), Two Fender Stratocaster American Professional sunburst, one with a rosewood fingerboard and the other in maple, a Epiphone Casino Naturel, a Framus sunburst 12 strings 1960. Well I think that’s it. Have I forgotten something?
So here are the questions, what is for each one of you your favorite nylon strings electroacoustic, favorite steel strings electroacoustic, favorite electric, 12 strings guitar, possibly with a comment to let us learn something from your experience.
Well, I realize that you only have electroacoustics, I do not see pure acoustics like a Martin D28 for example or another …?
All these guitars and hard cases, do you keep them all? Or do you resell some from time to time to make room?
And a very last one that has nothing to do with guitar, do you have some news of those two nice fellows who were your bassist and drummer at your beginning, Philipp Wolf and Michael Mozeth?
Looking forward to reading you and thank you for the time you grant us.
Angelo
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35 Replies
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Holymoly Angelo, I’m impressed! You have a better overview of what we’ve played over the years than we do ourselves. Wow!
You were spot on with nearly everything. The Ovation you mentioned belonged to a friend in the United States (the one we played in the “California Dreaming” video) and the black “Strat” you spotted was my very first guitar I ever owned, a cheap Strat copy (the brand was “Golden Tone”) from Aldi 😛 And we only own one sunburst Strat, the one from the “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” video belonged to our guitar teacher back then.
It’s crazy how long the list has gotten by now. We still own most of the guitars we ever played, though we have sold or traded some occasionally. We store them in their original cases away from moisture and too much heat.
Now to answer your questions:
“what is for each one of you your favorite nylon strings electroacoustic, favorite steel strings electroacoustic, favorite electric, 12 strings guitar, possibly with a comment to let us learn something from your experience.”– Okay, so for Nylon I really like my Cordoba, especially for live shows. I’ve taken it on tour with me and like that it is a real working guitar. Nothing super precious that I’d be scared to take on the road, it has a built in mic and the piezo sounds fairly balanced as well (as far as piezo pickups go). It sounds like a nylon string is supposed to sound, doesn’t feedback a lot and is comfortable to play.
– Steel string acoustics are more of Mona’s thing as I generally find myself playing electric or classical guitars most of the time. But when we do play acoustically together (and I’m not on nylon) we often use the two Martins. They both have a Roland Cosm Preamp built in that simulates a full toned sound as if the guitars were miked up directly (instead of the typical harsh piezo pickup sound).
– Favourite electric – easy pick – my Gretsch Duo Jet – because it is the best thing ever made. period. 😉
– For 12 strings, I have a thing for the Höfner acoustic. There is something so mellow about the tone and the playability is superb for a 12-string. We call her the Big Bertha. It was an impulse buy when we visited the big music store in Cologne/Germany. For 400€ we couldn’t leave her behind.
And how nice to see Michael and Philipp mentioned. It’s been a long time since we’ve played with them but as far as we know they are both keeping super busy back home in Austria, playing in various bands and doing studio stuff. 🙂
Thanks for the questions!
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Tank you very much Lisa fo your kind answer.
Angelo
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P.S.- Once again your answer has not been in vain. Here is the result.
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Nice Angelo… I’m enjoying your posts and guitar pix, Thankyou for sharing!
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Your welcome. Here is the “Golden Ton”
and if you want it in action, check : Samba Pa Ti – MonaLisa Twins (Carlos Santana Cover) live!
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Oh nice Angelo. I wondered what that guitar was that Lisa used in Samba Pa Ti.
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Yes it’s this one
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“For 12 strings, I have a thing for the Höfner acoustic. There is something so mellow about the tone and the playability is superb for a 12-string. We call her the Big Bertha. It was an impulse buy when we visited the big music store in Cologne/Germany. For 400€ we couldn’t leave her behind.”
I could not either…
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Wow Angelo and Lisa…
That was some Q and an equally balanced reply from Lisa… Though I’m not quite music minded as much as you both… (Yes I like to sing and even one day may try try writing lyrics for a song… Poetry writing helps inspire that) and I dabble around on instruments but can’t read music, more likely to learn by ear, I know I have a sense of rhythm…. I’m impressed by all this mentioned…. Holy Moly as Lisa said is the right word to use here… Thankyou to you both as I enjoyed reading and learning!!
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Angelo. Knows. Guitars.
Thanks for such a thorough question, and FAB answer!
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I’ll echo holy moly too! For someone here wanting to expand their guitar horizons or just get into it, so many here mentioned to aspire to, especially because that’s what Mona and Lisa used to create such beautiful music over the years. I’m proud to say at least I knew the Gretsch Duo Jet is Lisa’s fave electric.
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Nice list, but it left off Mona’s Ric 355 and I thought I saw a Ric 360-12 on “If I Needed Someone”?
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Well done, you’re absolutely right.
Someone saw others, we would have forgotten?
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I think on “If I Needed Someone” it’s a 330/12 not a 360/12, but I doubt there’s much of a difference, does anyone know the sound difference? I’m lucky to own a 1965 360/12
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Here it is the Rick 350v63. They are together now.
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Tomas – you’re right, it’s a 330 – it has dots on the fret board, I missed that. The 330 is a slightly different shape, a little more angular and there’s no binding. They sound pretty much the same. I have a 1990 360/12, I’ve played a 330 and it’s not quite as comfortable as a 360 (at least for me).
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The National Radio-Tone guitar used on “Waiting for the Waiter”.
Not sure if that’s a keeper or a loaner.
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It’s a Radio Tone 2017,
you can check that on
https://artisanguitars.com/national-resophonic-radio-tone-bendaway-resonator-pre-owned-2017-id-13134
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Hello everyone. Does anyone have an idea of the brand and type of this Hollow Body guitar?
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This is a tough one. I’ve been looking around and couldn’t find anything close. Looks like a ES 355 copy. The trapezoid inlays are unusual for a semi hollow. I thought it could be an Eastman, because of the shape of the logo, but the headstock doesn’t match. Also the shape of the horns and white pickguard is unusual. ?
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Yes indeed it’s a tough one. I tought of an Aria but you’re right, it’s probably a copy of a ES335 or 355 of an unknown brand and I guess I’ll have to ask it directly to Lisa. Same enigma for the blue one. Thanks for trying.
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Hello everyone. Does anyone have an idea of the brand and type of this Hollow Body guitar?
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and while we are there, this one … (the blue one) MSA?
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This might be another tough one. The closest I got was by searching “guitar nylon blue sunburst” in EU sites. There are some branded and some unbranded. Theirs seems to not have a brand on the headstock, but it does seem to have a sticker in the sound hole. I did not find a matching rosette though. They have at least two, which they used on the Wide Wide Land video as well, and there’s a picture of them hanging on the wall in the Austrian studio during the move.
Happy hunting!
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Thank you for your help Tomas. I came to the same dead end as you. I would give up but here, we are in this MLT Fan Club wonderland and I can hope to find a solution to my searching.
By the way are you interested in a Golden Ton? Are you a creazy collector as I am? I found another one on the adds. If you want, I also made a file (word) with all their guitar with specs and good pictures.
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Hello Tomas, as you made the effort to search and give me a help. Here is the answer (in red i.o. blue but yet the same guitar).
It’s a Alba, a very cheap beginner guitar.
Why do we spend so much money buying very expensive branded instruments?
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Great sleuthing! That is a good question, why do we spend money on expensive guitars?
Well, I have been teaching myself how to fix and make cheap guitars play like expensive ones, which is something I suspect Rudolf has been doing for a long time. It takes attention to detail and a knack for engineering plus a musical sense, which all abound in the Wagner household.
My problem seems to be that I don’t let go of them!
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I’m sorry Tomás, I’m a french speaking guy and I do not understand what you mean by “My problem seems to be that I don’t let go of them!” I understand the words but not the meaning of your sentence.
Actually I didn’t mean really to raise a question, the answer is so obvious.. I just wanted to point out the wonders the MLTs do with such basic instruments. Just to inspire some of us. I could paraphrase a famous Prime Minister saying “Never was so much owed by so many to so few doing so much with so little.”
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“My problem seems to be that I don’t let go of them!” = I never sell my guitars, I keep adding to the collection, never trimming it down. In my list of problems though, that may be the smallest!
I understand it was a rhetorical question, like you I’d like to point out that what MLT do may seems effortless, but it’s certainly not!
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Angelo, how did you ever find a “Golden Ton” guitar??? ???
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Hello Tomas,
I found it looking on the classifieds ads. Quite simply, and I must admit that I verhave been very lucky to find it so quick and also because the guitar is brand new. Sounds good also for such a low price.
What is worth noting is the quality of the musical production of the two sisters with cheap instruments (even if over time they have acquired good material). That proves once again that “it is not the guitar that makes the guitarist “…
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erratum: it’s a Taylor 712CE-N in June (and not a 714). There’s only 12 fret on the free fingerboard side (not 14).
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I’m just impressed by all this guitar lingo… Lol….Though I’m not anywhere near or remotely knowledgeable in guitar types and so forth, I do know for sure is that I definitely like how they look and sound if that counts for anything….. My 2nd older sibling does the guitar thing… He has his acoustic and electric ones, but not sure of their specific types… I just always enjoyed hearing him jam on his own or with his buddies down in our basement, and he still has guitars at his own place as far as I know….
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Here is their Epiphone Casino
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