Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion II

This is a guitar that I get asked about all the time. Basically, it is a cross between a Les Paul and an ES-175. Les Pauls are usually way too heavy for me, and ES-175 is too big for me to play comfortably. It is essentially a slightly larger semi-hollow Les Paul. It is made out of laminated maple, with an ebony fretboard. They call it the ‘Fusion’, because it can switch from a heavy rock sound to a warm jazz sound. They are right, it sounds wonderful playing either jazz or rock, or anything else for that matter. This is really my favorite guitar to play, although I only use it when I do not need the synth pickup that is on the Strat. The natural sound of this guitar is sort of a ‘dark Les Paul’, it sounds more refined and distinguished. The notes are very round-sounding, and it is effortless to play. The strings I use on this guitar are D’Addario’s, 10’s. The body is 14 ¾" wide, and is very comfortable to play. This guitar is completely stock, except the addition of Schaller strap locks. I string this with D’Addario XL’s, .010’s.

This is another guitar I really didn't find a use for, professionally. For a jazzy guitar, the sound was really, really bright. Honestly, I get a better traditional jazz sound out of my Brian Moore.