This here’s the Gypsy Moth: a Martin parlor guitar, model 5-16GT; also referred to as a “size 5 guitar” or a “terz guitar”. They call it a terz because the guitar was originally intended to be tuned up a minor third (three half-steps) from standard tuning — so the low E string would actually be a G — but it sounds pretty good no matter how you  tune it.

In the middle photo, you can see that she’s quite a bit smaller than the more common “jumbo” guitar size (in this case, a Gibson J-45). This makes her an ideal travel companion, as she fits neatly in the overhead compartment of most commercial airliners. As such, she’s been with me to Puerto Rico, Florida, Northern California, out on sailboats, and around to parties at friends’ houses all over Southern California. A true companion.

I picked her up in 2006 from the Guitar Shoppe in Laguna Beach, CA. Good bunch of folks, there, and a great place to check out, if you’re ever in the area.

For practicing at living-room-approved volumes, this little amp is the perfect solution: Great all-tube tone in a flexible package. It’s got a built-in attenuator, so you can switch between 4, 1, and 1/4 watts (for REALLY quiet playing). It’s got a 10″ Celestion speaker and looks good enough that P’ doesn’t mind it sitting out where company might see it.

VOX AC4TV 4 watt, all-tube amplifier

The only thing this amp was missing was reverb, so I bought a little Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Nano pedal and stuck it on the back. Now it’s got everything you could ask for from a little amp. I’ve even been bringing it to cafe gigs where the proprietor wants us to keep the volume down. It sounds great!

The reverb pedal is held onto the back with heavy-duty Velcro

Buy the VOX AC4TV Amplifier Combo at Amazon

The Tootsie Roll is a stock 2001 Gibson ES-355 with gold hardware. The only guitar I own that has humbuckers. She sounds great and works well in a jump blues environment (especially for Hollywood Fats stuff). She gets her name from the “trans brown” finish that looks a lot like a Tootsie Roll Pop. The tones are equally tasty!

Buy the Gibson ES-335 Electric Guitar at Amazon

“Blue Girl” is a 1996 40th anniversary American Standard Telecaster. She’s loaded with Bill Lawrence “Keystone” pickups and sounds wonderful. Rosewood fretboards on a Tele are one of my favorite combinations. A little heavy, but the playability of the neck more than makes up for it.