GEAR 23_COVER - JHS

As mentioned earlier in this
issue of Gear, top guitarist Roy
Fulton from Northern Ireland
was one of the first players to
get into the excellent Fret-King
range of guitars. Here’s an
update from Roy about his
newest guitar purchase!
R
oy plumped
for a twin
humbucker-equipped Esprit 5 in Trans
Amber, and has been using the guitar constantly
since. The guitar was personalised for Roy
with his name engraved on the scratchplate
– in true showman tradition! Gear thought it
was about time we found out exactly what
Roy made of his unique looking Fret-King
instrument...
What was it you liked about the Fret-King
Esprit 5 that made you choose it?
‘It just has a great shape to it and looks
perfectly balanced. As a guitar player (with
more years under my belt that I care to
remember) I’ve been lucky enough to own a
wide and varied assortment of guitars. I’ve
had and played all the obvious ‘big names’,
but of late found myself wanting to get a
guitar that was not so associated with
established name players. I was going
through a ‘Billy Gibbons phase’ (legendary
guitarist with ZZ Top) and noticed, of late,
Billy has been using more quirky-looking
guitars and getting away from the mainstream
shapes – that really appealed to me as well.
For the last few years I’ve been looking (and
buying) guitars that are just a little bit
different to what is out there and considered
the norm. The first moment I saw the
Fret-King Esprit, I thought ‘I want one!’’
What does the guitar do for you as an
instrument?
‘It delivers! When you’re gigging – and it
doesn’t matter if it’s in a pub with 20 people,
or in front of 2000 theatre-goers – you need
your gear to work, full stop! My guitars have
to be fully functional, not let me down and
do everything that I need and expect them to
do – and the
Esprit does the
business. Although the
Esprit body shape draws
its influences from
other guitar makes,
the guitar still has
a unique charm and
is different enough to
stand up and be counted
on its own merits.
It’s built like a tank
and feels so solid;
it certainly has
a reassuring
feel and touch to it, with a look that ‘turns
heads’ at gigs. I’ve lost count the number of
times guitarists have approached me after a
gig to ask about the guitar – even to the
point of wanting to buy it off me!’
How does it play?
‘The guitar plays great. It’s quite heavy
but very comfortable to play sitting
down or when using a guitar strap, and is
really well balanced. The action is perfect
and, unlike some other guitars I own, the
Esprit required no tweaking whatsoever.
As soon as it arrived, it was ready for
action straight from the box and I started
gigging it right away! It makes it a perfect
choice when I’m out playing with any of
my own bands, Southbound (Southern
Rock Band) and The Roy Fulton Band
(Classic Rock & Blues Band). When
gigging, I tend to play quite aggressively
at times and the guitar holds its tuning
lovely. On a practical note, the position
of the volume and tone knobs
and how they feel when you
turn them is super-important
to me. I like guitar control
pots to be nice and even, both
in terms of feel and function and
once again, the guitar delivers.’
How does it sound?
‘Excellent! Personally, I like the
clarity and brightness sound
of single coils but I also
love the big sound of
humbuckers and Trev
Wilkinson’s pickups seem
to have captured both
these qualities. The pickups have loads of
depth and body but also very important to
my style is that they have a nice clarity to
them. The pick-ups give me great definition
and let me use a hybrid picking technique
without sounding muddy. In terms of tone –
think of it as an S-type guitar on steroids...!’
You’re a highly experienced player with a
long list of credits - tell us something of
your playing background.
‘I grew up listening to the guitar greats – Eric
Clapton, Carlos Santana, Roy Buchanan and
many more! I started playing guitar around
1970 and by the early 80’s I started giving
private guitar lessons. (for £2 per hour – a
good rate of pay then!) In the mid 90’s I
became an RGT guitar tutor and LCM Guitar
Grade Examiner. As all this was happening
I was playing, playing, playing – anywhere
and with anyone! I’ve never specialised in
one style of music or another – I love so
many different styles of music and guitar
playing. Over the last few years my guitar
work with solo and band gigs, studio
sessions and tours as a sideman have been
getting increasingly busier.
If anyone is interested, a full list of the
bands and artists I’ve played with or have
supported are available to check out my
website: www.royfulton.co.uk
‘I’ve played thousands of gigs but
the highlight for me was meeting (and
supporting) singer/guitarist Ritchie Havens
and also, hanging out with the legendary
TV and radio presenter and fellow music
fan, Bob Harris for a couple of days.
That was a great weekend!’
• FBES5TA £609.00rrp
19