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MGS - Are you still using your BC Rich you used in the early days?
NG - No. I still have two of them. The one you are referring to is an Eagle I that I got when I was playing in Rick Derringer’s band. At the time I was young and broke and only had an SG. They built that Eagle special for me and it was done exactly like I wanted it. I played those guitars for a long time. The other one I have is a green sunburst Eagle I with a Bigsby.
MGS - In recent live shows ive seen you using the GMP guitars and PodPro rackmount. Are you still using these and can you tell us about the GMP guitars? Did you use the Pod direct with it pumped back into the monitors for you or go thru a power amp / cab setup? Have you tried the new Pod xt?
NG - I really like the GMP guitars. They play great and they sound great. They give you exactly what you want. I even requested a different heel that they incorporated into my Roxie. Now that’s called “The Neil Heel” and it comes standard on a lot of their guitars – it’s not like having a bridge named after you but it’s something!
The main reason I like GMP is because they listen to their customers and they sell the same guitar to the guy on the street that they do to the rock star. It bothers me that the big brands build beautiful custom instruments for artists then sell different guitars to their loyal customers. If a guy comes to see me play and then wants a GMP he will have exactly the same guitar that I have. That’s important to me because Patty and I have an extremely loyal fan base and I want to be honest with them.
I have a bunch of Roxies done in all different finishes and pickup/bridge combinations. I should also mention that I paid for all my GMP guitars.
I have used a lot of different amplifiers over the years. I got into the Line 6 thing because they travel well and sound good. We are doing 25+ years of material so I need a lot of flexibility. They can give you just about any flavor that you want. I run them through Marshall cabinets.
I also use a couple Soldano SLO-100 heads. Soldano makes a killer rock and roll amplifier and they stand behind their product. Like GMP they are a company that has become successful by treating their customers right. Also, I’m Sicilian so playing something called Soldano feels right.
MGS - I hear you are a vintage guitar nut these days. How many guitars do you have now? If you could only keep 3 which ones and why?
NG - I am not a guitar collector. I consider my guitars tools and I like to have what I need. Right now I have a bunch of Les Paul Standards (two from 1958,three from 1959 and two from 1960) a 1958 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow, a 1970 SG Standard (from before I worked with Rick Derringer) and a 1957 Les Paul Goldtop. I have a very rare 1965 Fender Strat in Ice Blue Metallic that was a birthday present from my wife. I ruined the collectability by wearing it out. It was like new when I got it. I also have a 1964 Strat that I used for the solo on ‘Heartbreaker’ and a couple older Telecasters (1967 with Bigsby and 1973 Custom) and a 1951 Fender Nocaster, which was made between the Broadcaster and the Telecaster. I have a ’59 Gretsch 6120 and an original White Penguin as well. I have a total of about 95 guitars. If you’re readers are really interested I can have someone make a list and get it to you. I also have a bunch of GMPs and a few custom shop Fender guitars and a Rickenbacker. I had a Gretsch reissue sparkle jet and Elliot Easton but my daughter has hijacked them!
All of my guitars get played and played hard. I don’t baby anything and I keep what I use. I get annoyed by the know it all types that can tell you what kind of knobs were original in 1903 but can’t play their way out of a paper bag. I have had great guitars and crappy guitars but I love to play guitar. I’m always interested in trying something new but buying a $100,000.00 guitar isn’t going to make you a better guitar player.
MGS - Do you use a pedal board? If so whats on it?
NG - I try new things all the time so it’s always changing. I have a Maxon OD-808 and a Maxon compressor. I don’t know the model number of the compressor but it looks like a black. It sounds really good. I also have a few Line 6 pedals. One is a delay and the other is a filter. I have a Way Huge Aqua Puss and a Klon overdrive. I also have an old Vox Wha.
