For pretty much all of my musical career I have played electric guitars with humbucker pickups. There was something about the beefy and smooth rock and roll tone of a humbucker that really spoke to me. I have owned multiple Les Pauls, my Bell Custom Guitars Jazzblaster, a PRS Starla, A Duesenberg Star Player, an epiphone Sheraton, and my Gretsch White Falcon.
But as my playing and music tastes have grown and evolved over the years, I started being drawn to the sound of a telecaster. There is just something about that bright chime. As GRO (my band Green River Ordinance) has dived more into the country realm, so has my guitar playing. 2 years ago, I also made the move away from Marshall based boutique amps (EL 84's w/ 12 AX7's) in favor of 6l6 Fender type Amplifiers. There was something about those cleaner tones that really resonated with what GRO was working on at the time.
Most recently when recording our new album "Fifteen", I found myself gravitating towards telecasters in the studio. The majority of what I played on Fifteen were telecaster based guitars through old Fender Amps or Tyler Amps.
When we finished the album, I knew I needed to add a telecaster type guitar to my arsenal in order to pull off the tones on the record. But after playing my heavy Les Paul Custom and big Gretsch White Falcon for years, I really wanted something bigger than a standard Telecaster. I wanted a little bit bigger body and something a little different and custom. I wanted it to sound like a Tele, but have my own twist on it.....and of course, it had to be white and gold.
I did a ton of research on custom guitar builders, but was blown away when I discovered Veritas Guitars out of Oregon. I loved that their guitars had a classic taste and feel, but they had their own style, vibe, and look. They weren't just copy cats of the original Fender (which tons of "custom" guys are doing). I reached out to the Casey at Veritas and we instantly hit it off. He is a true craftsman and passionate about what he does. They make all of their guitars by hand, individually tailored for the artist. Plus he is just an all around great guy!
I told him that I wanted a big Jazzmaster body, some hand wound tele vintage style pickups, a bigsby, 3 way switching, an ash body and a maple neck with rosewood fretboard. He went to work and 6 months later I received one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen. It plays like a dream and has totally transformed my live tone. It has great chime, tons of sustain, that classic bright tele sparkle, is very easy to play, and loads of vibe. I named her "Pearl" after my brand new baby daughter's middle name. So if you come out to a show, make you say hi to "Pearl".
