Guitars Of The 2009 Declaration Tour
Neal snapped some photos and wrote a little bit about each one of the guitars he used on David Cook & the Anthemic’s 2009 Declaration Tour. Take a look and leave your comments below!
Words and photos by Neal Tiemann
1979 Gibson Rd Artist (Natural)
This guitar was modded out from its original state by Johnny Metal. I call her lefty. This being the name given to her by her former owner Mikey J.
1979 Gibson Rd Artist (Black)
I only brought this one out for a little while. Similar to the natural one, just all original.
2007 Gibson Rd Standard Reissue (Silverburst)
This was given to me by David Cook after the recording of his debut album. It quickly became my favorite and, accordingly, my main guitar because of the color (silverburst is my favorite Gibson finish) and it’s real heavy.
1977 Gibson Rd Standard (Walnut)
Another guitar that was modded by Johnny Metal. During said tour it was my ‘Bar Ba Sol’ guitar.
2009 Gibson Explorer (Black)
Gibson hooked me up with this about halfway through the tour. Definitely the fastest playing guitar I own. Additional mods by Johnny Metal.
2000 Gibson Les Paul Standard (Honeyburst)
‘miss america’. This was one of the first ‘real’ guitars I bought. I’ve played this one for years and years. The declaration tour was the last tour she’ll ever go on.
2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Premium Plus (Lightburst)
I bought this one specifically for this tour, but I’m finding out that it sounds great in the studio as well. Another huge overhaul done on this one by Johnny Metal.
2003 Gibson ‘57 Reissue Custom (Black)
I picked this one up on the St. Louis stop of the declaration run. you can’t really beat customs.
2008 Gibson Hummingbird (Honeyburst)
I used this during the first half for acoustic radio shows or the rare acoustic versions we played every once in a while.
2007 Gibson Hummingbird (Silverburst)
This replaced the honeyburst one halfway through. One of my many happy memories is playing this at an intimate show in Canada.
2008 Gibson L-4a
I used this for radio shows and late night parking lot shows.
For more information on Johnny Metal, please check out his website here: johnnymetal.com
This is so cool! Thanks for sharing, Neal!
Wow! So many awesome guitars! Thanks for the little bits of info and photos! You rock Neal!
Really liked this, but would love to know more about the modifications done, as it seems you changed many of these for one reason or another. Pickups, internal stuff etc.? Inquiring minds want to know!
It looks like you have a collector blood! I hope you won’t be too lazy and, besides songs, you’ll writhe a book too about guitars and what you can do with each type of them!
Thanks Neal! This was very interesting and enjoyable! :)Love your guitars!
Neal, this was priceless. Opens up to us laymen the purpose of so many exclusive guitars! I love it. I’m wondering though why you would retire a guitar after a tour?
Love it! Very interesting to read. FYI – there are 2 pics of the silverburst hummingbird. The pic for the 2007 Gibson Rd Standard Reissue (Silverburst)is wrong.
Thanks Neal for sharing with your fans! So looking forward to more music and concerts with you!!
Very very cool. Thank you NFT!
Neal, thanks for the pics/descriptions. I am clueless as to which guitar does what, but it’s cool to see what you used on the tour and the specific times/tunes they were used for. You are the BEST!!
aka: ardie4dc
Thanks Neal, very interesting and I too would like to know what kinds of mods you/Johnny did on each guitar you mentioned. Also wanted to say that I am really looking forward to the Anthemic playing on this next record.
Very cool Neal!! Thanks for taking the time to share with us. Love them all but I think the 2009 Gibson Explorer is my fav!! :)
Awesome collection you got Neal! Can’t wait to see what beauties you bring on David’s next tour! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Neal!
This is AWESOME, man, thanks for sharing all this!
Very cool walk down memory lane. Have a special place in my heart for the “Bar-ba-sol” and the Gibson Explorer guitars. Although I think the one David gave you will always get top billing from many of the fans.
Awesome to see! They’re beautiful.
Thanks for taking the time! Very interesting. You are The Master.
It’s fun to see that my favorite is also yours. Thanks for this great addition to your site. Being the expert guitarist that you are, any guitar tidbits you share would be most welcome.
I don’t know why, but I found this fascinating. It’s inspired me to find out more information on how and why guitars are modified. You have quite a nice collection, and I know you’ll have fun acquiring more.
Thanks, Neal, for sharing your guitar pictures and the stories behind them. Really enjoyed it.
Awesome. Thanks, Neal.
I enjoy the live shows both when you’re tearing it up or going acoustic. Cool to see the creative instruments described.
Fascinating! Thanks, Neal.
Those are some great guitars. I have seen you play many of them. Do you like vintage Gibson or are you only into the newer models. There are some pretty ones here. http://www.williesguitars.com/index.cfm/gibson_electrics/3 Course you have to come book a show here to see them up close. Hint.
You got some really beautiful guitars there Sir. Each of them so full of good memories. Thank you for sharing them with us
Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate more information these beautiful instruments.
This guitars are beautiful. I love how you play them and they all seem very special to you. You always cared for them like they were your babies. Thank you for sharing us the meaning/sentiments behind each one. Can’t wait to see what you bring on the next tour… How about what you bring to Busch Gardens in 2 weeks?!
Thanks for sharing your collection and the stories behind some of the guitars. I love it when you lift the cutain a bit and let us peek. Why the hummingbird swap out? Was it the gorgeous silverburst finish on the new one? Is the sound different between the years? Did any guitar break during the tour badly enough that it could not be repaired? I’m also curious about the mods Johnny Metal did for you. What kinds of things did he do? I can’t wait to see what you bring out for the next tour.
Awesome. I love comprehensive pictures of other people’s guitar collections. I wonder if this is it? Or is there more? haha.
Thanks, Neal for taking the time to post the pics and the information. For a layperson who knows nothing about guitars except for the way they sound, this was very interesting. They sure are beauties.
Thanks for these tidbits about your guitars, you always put on a great show, and I love knowing a little bit more about the instruments you play. So excited that you will be playing on David’s second major label record also, along with the rest of the Anthemic. You guys are all great!
Thanks, Neal for taking the time to post the pics along with the information. As someone who knows nothing about guitars, except how they sound, I found this really interesting. They certainly are beauties as are the straps.
Rosemary
Neal: Regarding the 2007 Gibson Hummingbird (Silverburst)
You said: One of my many happy memories is playing this at an intimate show in Canada
My reply: One of my happy memories is hearing this at an intimate show in Canada. Oh, and meeting you after the show in Ottawa was also a great treat. Rock on!
Loved this…. thanks so much for putting it together. I agree with those who would love more info about your preferred modifications, particularly in terms of pickups.
For another time? Maybe you could give us a tour of your pedalboard.
Thanks Dr! Watching you do your magic on these beautiful guitars is one of my favorite memories from the Declaration Tour. Your playing is brilliant! Looking forward to the new record and the next tour!
Thanks, Neal. Could you give us more info on the mods? Thanks!
Nice and very interesting trivia.
One of MY happiest memories from Declaration tour also happens to be that intimate show in Canada. Simply amazing. Looking forward to a possible encore?
This was fascinating Neal…thank you so much for sharing with us…would love to hear more about how you select certain guitars for certain songs. I also love the Gibson Silverburst Hummingbird…what a beautiful guitar! One of my favorite memories of your guitar playing was when you played the two Christmas songs with David at the Rockefeller Center in 2008…just beautiful.
those are nice collections! thanks for posting and cant wait for your band’s next album hope you’ll do another show here in the Philippines!
I feel like a jealous bitch. But I can’t play so there’s really no use for that. Lol.
Thank you so much for sharing. Those are beautiful.
Neal You are the greatest Thank you very much. Take care be safe and rock on.
That was really cool that you took the time to show and explain the different guitars. Thanks