EARLY INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT
There was no particular "preferred shape", and accordingly, most groups of that era had a variety of instruments. Many of those smaller guitar makers have now stopped trading, and today, the guitar showrooms are littered with Fender Stratocaster look-alikes, but back in 1961 they were only for the wealthy, not for 5 teenagers just starting out.
Hank Marvin only got his famous "Flamingo red" Strat 2 years earlier, (reputedly the first one imported into the UK), and their popularity here was in its infancy.
The instruments that the Dematones had at their first performance were:-
1. Guyatone LG40 solid body guitar.
2. Zambesi 333 solid body guitar.
3. Futurama 2 solid body guitar.
4. Rosetti Bass 7 solid body bass guitar.
5. John Grey "Autocrat" blue pearl drum kit.
The amplifiers were:-
1. Watkins Dominator 17 watt amp.
2. Watkins Westminster 14 Watt amp.
(Shortly after the first month or so, another amp, a "Dallas" reputedly 25 watt amp was used.. but although looking rather better than the earlier Watkins, it invariably showed a red "overload" light at mid volume, and regularly blew fuses.)
Later, (after around a year), the group went "upmarket" and bought a Vox AC30 amp, a Selmer Bassmaster with a piggyback amp, and a Selmer Selectortone amp, each 30 watts.
Echo and Reverb Units:-
In progression, a Fenton Weill reverb unit, a Selmer Truvoice Echo 200, then a Selmer Truvoice Echo 300.
Repertoire
Photos
Photos Continued
Early Venues
Memories
Copyright & Legal
Update 2008