1947 Gibson LG2
This “Little Guy” is an unbelievable instrument! Impossible to get an exact year on this instrument due to Gibson record keeping in that era, this guitar has monster tone and volume. Features of this guitar are: X scalloped bracing, a Red Spruce top, Mahogany back/sides and Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard and bridge.
1959 Gibson Melody Maker
“Saawheet” is a Melody Maker first launched by Gibson in 1959. It has a single cutaway slab body style similar to the early Les Paul Junior model but thinner. Despite its near perfect original condition, Kat decided to customize the electronics in this instrument in conversation with her friend and mentor, Ray Bonneville. She decided to install Lawler Pick Ups wound right and left to encourage mellow and rich blues sounds. Kat plugs this beauty into a ‘verbed-out’ Fender Blues Junior III and elaborates the sound with MXR carbon copy delay pedal.
Celtic Cross Weissenborn Lap Slide
“Weissii” is a Weissenborn Hawaiian style guitar crafted by Neil Russell of Celtic Cross Instruments in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. (Originally Herman Weissenborn created this Weissenborn style instrument in the 1920’s and 1930’s era.) The distinguishing features of this style of a lap slide guitar are that the strings are raised and the neck of the guitar is square and hallow.
National Resophonic Estralita
“Lita” is a wood-bodied single cone resophonic guitar. This is a multi-purpose instrument as it performs well as both a rhythm and lead instrument. The tone is a deep, beefy bass as a bright top-end. A beautiful guitar to play with a depth of presence that is difficult to find in a metal-bodied guitar.
Grain Measure (Tackhead) Banjo
“Minstrel Minnie” named after blues woman Memphis Minnie McCoy is a fretless Menzies Gitjo made by Jeff Menzies from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Kat created the design in collaboration with Jeff after extensive research on 1860′s Minstrel banjos. This instrument is all natural except for the tacks that hold the head in place. ‘Minstrel Minnie’ consists of a walnut rim and neck, friction pegs, gut strings, bone saddle and is a ‘grain measure’ open back. Kat plays this instrument in her own varied style of claw hammer/ frailing styles.