Start Guitar & Bass Special Guitar Special Vol. 489 with Nick Fletcher

Guitar Special Vol. 489 with Nick Fletcher

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 Nick Fletcher.

When you start guitar playing and do you remember your first guitar?

I started when I was 12 years old. My 1st guitar was dreadful. It had an action which made it feel like I was playing a cheese grater. It made my fingers bleed! I still managed to get a few tunes out of it. I soon realised that if I was to get anywhere with playing the guitar I must get something a bit better. The 2nd guitar was a bit better but still sounded pretty bad!

What are your influences and which guitar players are your faves?

Hank Marvin, Jimmy Page, Jan Akkerman were early influences. I remember hearing The Shadows and thought Hank’s Fender Stratocaster sounded beautiful. When I was a little older Led Zeppelin caused me to be interested in the acoustic guitar, as well as the electric. In 1972 I heard Focus and I think that’s when I became interested in music without vocals. Jan Akkerman was seemingly from another planet! I still think Focus Live at the rainbow is an all time great live album of instrumental true fusion music. I loved the classical and Jazz influences in what they did. It transformed my understanding of what rock music could be.
Favourite players are Ralph Towner, Jeff Beck and Allan Holdsworth.
Ralph piqued my interest in the classical guitar and the possibility of improvising using the classical guitar instead of the steel string acoustic. Jeff Beck was a true innovator of the electric guitar and played with so much soul that his playing always touched a very deep place in me. Allan was also a great innovator. The main influence Allan’s approach to playing has had on me was how to construct long mellifluous melody out of unusual scale combinations.

How many guitars do you own and what are your favorite models?

I have 10 guitars. My favourite is my semi hollow PRS and my custom Fender Strat I think PRS make the most wonderful guitars. The quality is always first class and the playability makes them a far cry from my 1st instrument. If only I had a PRS when I started out!!

What do you think makes the perfect guitar and amp?

I like Back Star and Messa Boogie amps. I prefer the more American sound to a valve amp rather than Marshalls. I like a smooth creamy tone to my guitar. Messa’s help give that kind of tone, as do the Black stars with the ability to shape the sound to something more like a Messa.

How do you feel about the question of modeler or tube amp?

Modelers are getting incredibly good these days. I find it hard to tell the difference. I prefer a tube amp live as it feels good having that power driving behind you on stage.

Which guitars and amps were used on the new album or for recordings?

I used modelling technology to simulate a Messa Boogie triple rectifier and a Hendrix vintage amp. I used two different PRS guitars and my custom Strat on the new album. One of the PRS guitars is solid bodied with Tone furnace pick ups, which gives me more of a harder edge when needed in the more prog metal sounding compositions. The Strat has Seymour Duncan pick ups with David Gilmour wiring and scratch plate. It’s great for my cleaner sounds on chordal work and also for some lead tones that require a bit more bite to the top end to cut through a mix.