“I had a go on the Shine guitar in the Perfect Pitch shop in Exchequer Street in Dublin. It’s really a Gretsch copy made in China. I’m not really used to playing semi-acoustic, hollow-bodied guitars. I usually play either a Martin 00015 or a Telecaster. It looks well, kind of a nice green in colour, and more importantly, it feels good, both to hold and to play. Appearance is important with an instrument, just like wearing a jacket you’re comfortable in.

The action was quite low which is a plus because I don’t have strong hands. I was mainly playing folk chord progressions anyway, and it had a nice gentle sound. As I’m not a techy, the feel is all-important. Because of my small hands I prefer a thinner neck which the Shine has. The Martin I use has that Robert Johnson shape, with a small body and a small neck. I’d played a Gretsch copy before and I wasn’t impressed at all, but the Shine is in a much higher category. It retails for about €450, whereas a Gretsch could set you back about €3,000, so it’s great value. I suppose it’s like the fashion industry where you end up paying a lot more just for the name or the logo. These days, I’m told, a lot of jobbing musicians like to get a copy if they’re doing gigs rather than risk taking an expensive instrument all over the place. The Shine definitely suits me better than a full electric. In fact the more I played it the more I liked it, and in the end I had to leave it and go in case I decided to buy it! I’d be more likely to use it in the studio because I prefer acoustics for live work. But I’d like to have this Shine at home just to plug in and have a play on, and maybe write songs on.
With a Gretsch-type guitar I’d probably use an AC30 amp and keep the sound fairly dry, except maybe for a slight bit of distortion. For my album Night Visiting I used the Martin on all the tracks. Colm Mac Con Iomaire played a gypsy-style 5-string fiddle from the 1800s. The fifth string gave it a sound close to a viola. That suited the songs I had for that album, but for another album I could definitely see how the Shine would open up new possibilities for me and give me an extra bit of sound variation if I needed it. I have a couple of nylon-string guitars that give me a fresh way into a song when I’m writing it. But ultimately it depends on what the song needs.”

Barry McCormack’s second album Night Visiting is out now. He plays Whelan’s Upstairs on December 27.

INSTRUMENT SPECS
Body: maple; Neck: 3pc maple
Top: Flamed maple; Turners: grover
Frets: 22 jumbo; Fingerboard: Rosewood
Inlays: abalone block; Joint: set neck
Scale: 24.75”; Pickups: s/d sh1; sh4
Control: 2v&2d; 3-way; Bridge: hl8j
Hardware: Nichel; Finish: Vintage sunburst