Pic: Peter Miles
This article series is about the tools of popular guitarists. What are their favorite guitars and how is it related to them? This time with Paul Mahon (The Answer).
When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?
I received my first guitar for christmas when I was 12 and started playing the same day. It was a Tanglewood strat copy, red and white, not a bad guitar. I thought I would be Joe Satriani in 2 weeks, but it took me about 2 years to learn how to tune it!
What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?
My earliest influences were probably Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Mick Mars of Mötley Crue. As I progressed, I was into more technical players like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Charlie Hunter. As I started to play in bands I was greatly influenced by Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Kossoff, Rhandy California and Leslie West. Another guitar player I enjoy greatly is Ty Tabor of Kings X, criminally underrated but one of the best guitarists ever to play in a power trio and there have been a few!
How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?
I have around 12 guitars at the moment. My favorites are my 2 les pauls, a standard and a classic, my fender telecaster and a Nash relic of a 63 fender stratocaster is my current favorite.
What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?
The guitar must feel comfortable to play, when it is setup correctly it plays like butter, it must have the right amount of low-end, full but not too boomy, warmth in the mids without being muddy and clarity in the topend without hurting the ears and it must sustain long enough that you can go to the kitchen make a cup of tea, come back and the note is still sounding! The amp is an extension of this, it must give us enough gain and dirt without being overpowering, we want to hear all the strings like individual instruments in an orchestra.
How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?
While we have come a long way since the line 6 pod which was quite a useful tool in its own way. I’m still going to choose a tube amp, there is magic and voodoo in the electrics that can’t be reproduced by A.I. or coding. Modelers can do a good job with high gain tones and clean sounds but when it comes to slightly overdriven tones just on the edge of breakup, they don’t work for me. The feeling is also different.
Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?
There were many amps and guitars to choose from at the studio but most of the album was played on my Nash Strat and a fender custom shop telecaster. There was maybe one track with A Les Paul on it, California Rust, i think. In terms of amps we used a Badcat Black cat 30, an Ampeg vt40, a THD Bi-valve,a 1959 Selmer Truevoice and a fender Princeton reverb.
When you only can choose one guitar, which one will you take?
It changes by the day, but if you ask me today it would be my Nash strat for the moment, it does everything I need! I was quite surprised by how much I used it on the album considering we were recording live to tape and previously i had mostly used a Les Paul as my go to guitar, but the proof is in the pudding as they say and that pudding is Sundowners!
