The Delta Snake Review Vintage Scrapbook
1960s Japanese-made Decca, DMI-201
This was actually a fun guitar although I always thought that the yellow foil didn't sound quite right. Later on I found that this guitar, and I guess it was common with others, had a gold foil shell with an inexpensive Squier Strat pickup underneath and the actual original gold foil had been taken off and sold for $200 or more back in the 2000s. Other than that though, it was an amazing shape and to this day I consider it one of the best playing guitars I ever had. It had extra life as a promo photo. When considering the purchase of a guitar with a vintage gold foil pick up, be absolutely sure that the original pickup hasn’t been sold off and you’re looking at a shell with another pick up underneath.
1972 Hagstrom Archtop - Viking series
This was a guitar I mentioned having traded a Strat Plus and an SG special for. It was an excellent hollow body and I used it in the “Bombay Beat Box” cut (on YouTube and elsewhere). It had a great '60s style sustain type sound and I also used additional riffs from it, reversed in a loop.
2001 (approx) Fender Eric Clapton Strat
I got it because of the mid-range boost but didn't quite like it because I didn't feel the then new noiseless pickups were as good as the original lace sensors that were on this particular model. It found later service as a promo picture but I never recorded anything with it.
- Al Handa
Aug. 24, 2026
