Nashville-based singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Mason Summit of the Prickly Pair told us about his Gibson love...
Mason Summit: In January 2008, just weeks before my father died, my family took a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and visited Taos to see an old acting buddy of my dad’s who was preparing to move abroad with his wife. As they were in the process of packing up their ranch, the friend gifted my father a beat-up Gibson Country Western acoustic guitar. The instrument needed a considerable amount of work, and my father took it to a luthier upon returning to LA. In the wake of his sudden death later that month, I completely forgot about the Country Western for over a year and a half — the guy entrusted with fixing it up never contacted us. My mom tracked him down, and the Gibson has been my main guitar ever since, though my arsenal has grown substantially.
Much of the wear on the top is actually the result of my adolescent strumming technique (or lack thereof), but despite its “player-grade” condition, this 60+ year-old dreadnought has turned out to be physically sturdier and more dependable than some other brand-new guitars I’ve owned. It’s got a fairly dead, fundamental tone, a perfect rhythm guitar for accompanying vocals, and I had a DeArmond 210 sound hole pickup from the same era installed, which sounds great direct or through a small tube amp. As the model name suggests, it’s an ideal visual fit for the kind of music my wife Irene Greene’s and my duo, The Prickly Pair, makes. The poignant sentimental value is priceless, and I have literally had nightmares about losing or breaking this guitar — it’s definitely the piece of gear I can’t live without!
The Prickly Pair's self-titled EP is out now.
