SHIFTING GEAR
Find Em’, Keep Em’, Tweak Em’
While my PRS McCarty is my favorite stage
guitar, I have several others on the road
and off the road that I love to play as well.
When I have a break from touring I like to
get out some of the guitars that I don’t use
on stage and put some miles on them too.
Call me freaky, but I also enjoy changing
strings and polishing them. I find it arduous to tour and not be as hands-on with
my instruments as I was when I was playing clubs and teen dances as a kid. It’s like
driving your car but never looking under
the hood. I think it’s only right to have an
intimate knowledge of your instrument and
not just have it handed to you moments
before you take the stage.
I’ve been working on my new CD for a little
over a year now. Due to my tour schedule,
I’ve reluctantly had to put it on a back
burner a number of times. With a little luck
and hard work I hope to have the new creation available to purchase very soon. One
night while tracking I was ready to take
a short break. I shut down my recording
rig and set my Kustom combo to standby.
When I went to put my Les Paul in the guitar rack, I caught a glimpse of my old Guild
S- 100 electric sitting in the corner. I picked
it up from a small mom and pop music
store in Hyattsville, Maryland over 30 years
ago. I used to take lessons there, and it
was my first “good” electric. I would see it
hanging on the wall and dream of the day
that I could play well enough to possess
such a fine instrument!
Although I’ve acquired a number of guitars since then, I still have a fondness for
the old Guild. The wide/flat neck gave it
a completely different feel than any other
guitar that I’ve ever owned. It was the only
guitar that I played from the time I was 13
until I was 21. I think the chord progression
to “Smoke on the Water” is worn into the
fretboard! I now have it set up for slide,
and it came in handy when I played with
Shania Twain as well as in the studio. This
particular night I picked it up and started
messing around with a melody combining
slide and fretted notes and created a cool
sound that became the melody line for
a tune called “Redshift 6. 4” that will be
on the new CD. It’s one of those unique
RICH ECKHARDT
sounds that I would never be able to play
live without using that particular axe. So it
looks like the ol’ S- 100 has earned its keep
for another year!
The tried-and-true Guild S- 100
I also decided to cover the Champs’
“Tequila” on this project. For this song I
never thought twice about what guitar to
use. I cracked open my Gibson Country
Gentleman. With its oversized body and
Bigsby tailpiece, I knew that it would be
the perfect guitar to capture the vibe on
that track. Although I was going for a more
modern and up-to-date version of the
song, I still wanted a bit of a retro, late-sixties, early-seventies flavor to the lead track.
I plugged the Gent. into my 1977 Music
Man HD- 130 half stack, tweaked the gain a
bit to drive the tubes but not get too dirty
and I had my sound.
Being as closely connected to the country market as I am, I made a serious error
in judgment by not having anything that
was remotely “country” on my first effort.
To correct this, I concocted a speedy but
modest number called “Chicken Fingers,”
which is a chicken pickin’ thing in the vein
of Brent Mason or Brad Paisley. Whenever
I delve into that kind of playing my guitar of choice is my U.S. Masters Super
T. Although it has a Telecaster body, it’s
equipped with dual humbuckers and ready
to rock! It gave me an edgier tone than
one would expect on a country song but
hey, that’s me all over!
Guitars don’t like to sit in the closet. They
were meant to be played. My happiest
guitars are the ones that get out in front
of the crowds night after night. So next
time you have a chance to play, think about
grabbing one that you haven’t messed with
in a while and show it some love. Change
the strings, polish it up and take it out for
a spin. Most of all whether your collection
consists of one guitar or 40, be sure to play
them all now and then. It might just inspire
you to write a new song or come up with
a cool riff that you wouldn’t have on any
other guitar!
Most of all, keep jammin’.
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists
in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put
him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler
of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing
lead guitar with Toby Keith. His album Soundcheck is
available now, with another due this summer.
richeckhardt.com
