STEVE CRADOCK

The Ocean Colour Scene man reflects on the mystique of flat-wound strings and recounts a lucky strike with some JCM800s

What was the first serious guitar that you bought with your own money?

“The first guitar I bought was from a catalogue. It was a Kay bass guitar and it didn’t have a name on it, and I remember I paid 65 quid for it. I believe it had copper strings on it for some reason, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I used to sweat while I was learning and I’d end up with blue and gold fingers. I think it got sat on and the neck snapped. After that I got a Rickenbacker 4001 – that was a huge jump up. My dad bought me that. I must have proved to him that I meant the music thing. But unfortunately I got rid of that as well!”

What was the last guitar you bought and why?

“It was an Alvarez jazz guitar and I bought it because it had a set of flat-wounds on it, which I hadn’t used before, so I just thought it would be good to buy that guitar. It’s different to the normal things that I play, like the Gibsons or Fenders, but it just had this beautiful dead tone. Even though I did take a few jazz guitar lessons after that, it wasn’t the reason I bought it. It was just lying around and I played it. It was my first intro to flat-wound strings and I thought the tone was incredible.”

What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying gear?