Bernard Hoskin
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GUITARS (and other instruments)
I've been playing for a long time so I've acquired quite a few guitars and other instruments over the years. Here they are.
Martin

Fylde Alchemist
MARTIN OM-35
A Martin guitar that I acquired second hand. It has that familiar deep rich Martin tone. This is now my main gigging guitar.

FYLDE ALCHEMIST 12 String
I have loved Fylde instruments for a long time and was lucky to find this rare 12 string model available from a private seller. It has a cedar top and walnut back and sides.

YAIRI
A reproduction of a Martin 00-16 New Yorker which was originally a classical guitar that was strengthened to take steel strings. This handmae Japanese guitar is exceptional and has a sound as good as any guitar I've ever played. At £899 it is a bargain. The wide, 12 fret neck is a finger picker's delight and the tobacco sunbirst finish is gorgeous. The Fishman Rare Earth blend does a great job of reproducing the guitar's sound on stage.

TAYLOR 814CE
Taylor are currently making some of the finest guitars to come out of America and are renowned for the nice feel of their necks and the quality of their workmanship. This has a spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. The Fishman Onboard Blender gives it a great sound for live work.

TAYLOR 314
A cheaper version of the 814 with Taylor's Expression pickup system and Mahogany back and sides. I use this at gigs I don't want to take the expensive Taylor to.

TAYLOR 355
A fine 12 string in spruce and mahogany with the Expression pickup system.

GODIN A6 ULTRA
It looks and feels like an electric guitar but it's actually a hollow body with acoustic and electric pickups with separate outputs. It really is two guitars in one.

GODIN A8
It looks like a tiny electric guitar but it's actually an acoustic mandolin with an amazing pickup system that makes it sound acoustic even when amplified.

GODIN BASS
An acoustic bass with great pickups that reproduce the low end very well.

TAKAMINE BASS
The acoustic bass I played before I got the Godin. A basic instrument at a bargain price but a fine amplified sound.

OVATION FOLKLORE
An unusual wide 12 fret neck with a pickup system that was years ahead of its time when I bought it in 1978. Unlike many Ovations this has a fine acoustic sound too that stands comparison with handmade guitars.

LARRIVEE 00050
A little handmade parlour guitar that I bought from my good friend Amrit Sond. Larrivee are a Canadian company that make guitars which are as good as Taylors.

FYLDE FALSTAFF
An English handmade guitar from the late 1970s which I picked up second hand in the late 80s. Fyldes have a distinctive sound to them which is quite different to American guitars.

FYLDE ORSINO 12 STRING
I bought this new in 1985. The handmade combination of the cedar top and mahogany back and sides give it a wonderful almost harpschord like sound.

FENDER STRATOCASTER
A 1962 reissue model from the 1990s.

FENDER FRETLESS BASS
I bought this in 1978 after hearing Jaco Pastorious playing fretless bass with Joni Mitchell. The whole concept of a fretless bass was very new back then.

CRAFTER
A hybrid guitar with acoustic and electric pickups which is obviously based on Taylor's design. Crafter have used their own ideas for the wood however and this has a lovely rosewood top. Amazing value for money.

YAMAHA APX8
An excellent electro acoustic with a neck like an electric guitar and a dual pickup system that produces a very full-bodied sound.

Sakurai Classical
This was hand made in Japan by M. Sakurai supervised by top luthier M. Kohno. The quality of the workmanship is stunning and it has a wonderful sound. When I saw it in the shop in 1976 it was love at first sight

FENDER VIOLIN
An electric violin but it has a hollow body so you get a good acoustic sound through the pickup.

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