BOUGHT
The Uriah Heep guitarist mourns the loss of a Telecaster and champions his signature Carparelli guitars
What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?
“My first guitar was a Telston semi-acoustic that my mother bought me when I was 14, and which I’ve still got hanging on my office wall. It was from a pawnbroker and it cost £12 and 10 shillings in old money.Then I got a hire purchase agreement for a Telecaster, which is one of those that I wish I still had, but I had to exchange it for a Les Paul Black Beauty, which I had flown over from Kalamazoo to a shop in Bournemouth called Eddie Moors Music. And, really, that’s the first one that I actually bought with my money because I took a job for a year in an export company up in the City of London. I said to my mother, ‘Look, once I’ve paid off the HP agreement I’m going to be a professional musician for life.’And that’s exactly what I did – paid it off in a year and on the last payment I went,‘Bye!’ and never looked back.”
What was the last guitar you bought?
“I’m in a very fortunate position where they give them to me! I don’t think I’ve bought anything for ages. I mean, I’ve got sponsorship with guitar makers. At the moment I’m playing Carparelli guitars made by Mike Carparelli in Toronto, Canada. I take them on the road because I got fed up with taking out all my old Gibsons and things like that because they were getting battered. But these Carparellis are good – roadworthy, sound great, play great – so I use them and Furch acoustic guitars. They’re beautiful guitars.”
What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying guitars?
“I think there was a Les Paul Junior that was a bit of a steal. I bought it out in America, in a shop that didn’t really understand the value of it. It didn’t cost a fortune, probably $500 or something silly like that. Maybe that’s the best deal I’ve had.”
What’s the strongest case of buyer’s remorse you’ve ever had after buying a guitar?
“Do you know what? I was given a Charvel guitar in the 80s. I’d heard other people playing them and I thought,‘Well, they look reasonably good,’ and the company sent me one. I just couldn’t get on with it, the neck was too fat, it just felt uncomfortable to play and even the look was a bit too modern for me. So I was kind of disappointed with that. I always keep going back to the Les Paul style. It’s somethingthat fits not only me but it fits the band.The only other guitar that I’ve tried that actually worked with the band was a Yamaha. They said,‘Come to the factory and choose whatever,’you know.They have a whole wall of guitars and they just left me in the
