have been a lot better. It was what it was. I
have been having a pretty good time replenishing and finding cool stuff. That is the
one thing that I am just completely nuts
about is finding great guitars.
“I like that it had a sense of humor in it. It’s
poking fun of Amy [Grant], and poking fun at me
losing all that stuff in the flood last year. I like the
sense of humor in that song,” laughs Gill about
the title track from his latest album.
Paul I had ever heard and a lot of it has to
do with those pickups. The history of that
guitar and everything was pretty magical.
BREEDLOVE'S JLD BRIDGE TRUSS SYSTEM:
On most acoustic Guitars, strings exert
around 200 pounds of pressure on the
bridge and top of the guitar dampening
the vibrations which create up to 80%
of the music. The Breedlove JLD Bridge
Truss System acts as a cantilever to
relieve this pressure allowing the top to
float and to resonate more freely.
BREAKTHROUGH ELECTRONICS:
Most pickup systems capture the string
vibrations through an under-saddle
piezo pickup. When plugged in,
the actual tonal uniqueness of those
instruments is inconsequential. This is
why most acoustic-electric guitars sound
similar to all others and not unlike an
electric guitar.
Breedlove worked with L.R. Baggs to
develop a custom Anthem Tru-Voice
electronics system for the Breedlove
Voice Guitars. This pickup rides inside
the body and is positioned where 80%
of the sound waves are created. Each
Anthem Tru-Voice system is custom tuned
to each Breedlove Voice model. As a
result, the amazing tone and balance
of a Breedlove Voice is unchanged
whether it’s unplugged in a intimate
setting or amplified for a large crowd.
I know you lost quite a bit of gear in the
flood. Were there any guitars that you
thought were lost that came back to life?
There were a few things. I had a ’ 54 Strat
that I thought was a goner. It came back
to life with a little bit of finish damage. I
have a Gibson Johnny Smith that I think
is gonna live [laughs]. He is still in pieces,
but I have a feeling that it will turn back
up. I messed it up once before by forgetting
it was in the car and the neck bowed like a
bow and arrow. My friend Joe Glaser saved
When you are out on the road do you
search out cool gear?
Sure. I occasionally search them out. A lot
of times guitars will find me. People know I
like old ones and I have had a few show up
that were great, old guitars that might have
belonged to their mom or dad or grandfather. One thing that I am proud of is that
I am a collector, not so much a buyer and
seller. I have never gotten rid of any guitars,
so I’m not the type of collector that takes
them and puts them under the bed and
never plays them again. I buy these guitars
and take them on the road, find a way to
put them on records or take them out to
the Opry and play them. I think guitars are
meant to be played, even though some of
them are six-figure instruments. I just strap
them on and go play them.
I once heard that you should be weary of
vintage instruments that are in pristine
condition because that meant they weren’t
good enough for someone to really play.
It’s true. I mean just the value of collectable
instruments is more based on its condition
rather than how good it sounds. I never got
an instrument that didn’t feel good in my
hands. A couple years ago I played a ’ 59
breedloveguitars.com
it before, so I think it will be fine. I lost a
ton of stuff but the hard part was losing
some stuff that had been on certain solos
or intros over the years. I got killed on the
cases. I lost 60 of them and a lot of them
were vintage cases for Martin guitars from
the ’20s and ’30s. The insurance adjuster
was shocked that a case could be worth four
or five thousand dollars. It was painful. I
lost a lot of stuff that was very unnecessary.
It could have been a lot worse. It could
ES-335 and the neck profile was just a hair
big for me. I know ’ 59 is the most sought-
after year, but my hands are not big enough
to where that neck profile feels comfortable
for me. This guitar was unbelievable. I knew
how good it would sound because of the way
it sounded acoustically. I can tell a lot about
an electric guitar because of that. I told the
guy as much as I want this and knowing how
savage it would sound, I don’t think I would
play it just because it didn’t fit in my hands
