After sinking countless hours into Guitar Hero and Rock Band as a teenager, Phong eventually started playing the guitar at the age of 18. The majority of his time was spent playing covers in makeshift bands with his college roommates and friends, covering a wide genre of music like Red Hot Chili Peppers, King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, The Strokes, and The Beatles. Outside of a band context, Phong enjoys playing and singing along to pop, americana and R&B. Within the last two years, Phong has slowly moved away from playing other people’s songs and has started writing original music both solo and with a yet to be named four piece band in Denver, CO. They’re currently working on recording their debut EP and can be best categorized as Garage Rock.
Phong’s guitars:
Fender MIM Classic Series 60s Stratocaster in FSR Canary Diamond Yellow. One of Phong’s biggest influences is John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so naturally he gravitated towards early pre-CBS spec’d Stratocasters. He traded in a Fender American Special to obtain this one and plays it the most out of his entire collection.
Fender MIJ “Daybreak” Telecaster Custom in Olympic White. Seeking the unique sounds that can only come from a Telecaster bridge pickup, Phong bought this guitar because of its pre-CBS specs and stunning looks with its matching headstock and gold hardware.
Gibson Les Paul Junior Tribute DC in Satin Red. Everyone needs p90s in their quiver of guitars, Phong converted it to a two pickup configuration using a Lindy Fralin pickup in the neck since a neck pickup route was made available under the original pickguard by the Gibson factory for these later models.
Gibson ES-335 in Vintage Burst. Before Phong had his own guitar, he was enamored by the craftsmanship and looks of semi-hollow and hollow bodied guitars, finding them to be the most aesthetically pleasing of all the body types.
Fender MIM Flea Jazz Bass in Road Worn Shell Pink. Phong wanted a bass to help with writing and recording his own songs. As a massive fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers, It certainly helped that it was a signature model from one of his favorite musicians. Phong admittedly doesn’t play bass very often after transitioning to writing songs in a band context and primarily lends it to his bandmate.
Taylor 214CE. Phong was without a guitar for over a year after his first one had an unfortunate headstock break after lending it to a college friend. This guitar holds the most sentimental value for Phong because it was a surprise birthday gift from his mother and sister right before his first live solo performance in front of an audience.
Martin Custom Shop 000-18. Phong’s more recent acquisition, featuring an Adirondack spruce top and mahogany back and sides with a modified v neck profile.
Art & Lutherie Dreadnought (not pictured). This is by far the worst playing guitar in Phong’s collection that he inherited from a friend after the demise of his first one, Phong keeps it at his father’s home to play when visiting.
Phong’s amps:
Fender Excelsior (not pictured). Phong’s first tube amp that has a lot of miles under its belt with a unique sound signature due to its design featuring 13W of 2x6V6 power tubes, 2x12AX7 preamp tubes, and a 15” speaker.
Orange Rocker Terror 15 head paired with an Orange PPC212V cabinet. After many years with his Excelsior, Phong was seeking sounds that were more in the Marshall realm that could be played at bedroom levels when needed with EQ controls that his Excelsior was lacking. A well rounded amp that can go from decent cleans to thunderous overdrive.
Phong’s pedals:
Boss RC-3 Looper
Electro-harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb
Way Huge Aqua-puss MkII Analog Delay
Orange FS-1 Footswitc
TC Electronic Polytune 2 Tuner
Ibanez WH10v3 Wah
Boss DS-2 Distortion
Boss Noise Suppressor NS-1 (not pictured)
Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer Overdrive
Tone City Golden Plexi Overdrive
Orange Fur Coat Fuz
TC Electronic Spark Boost
MXR Dynacomp Compressor
Triungalo Labs Chorus Ensemble (not pictured because it’s broken 🥲)
Boss Equalizer GE-7
What was your first guitar and do you still have it?
My first guitar was a beginner Ibanez Acoustic bundle that my dad purchased for me in high school from Guitar Center, I can’t remember what the model was. It was all black guitar with a cutaway and came with electronics for plugging into the included acoustic amp. I learned how to play the guitar with it but unfortunately it met its demise when I lent it to a college friend who leaned it against his desk, causing it to slip and fall to the ground cracking the headstock. I couldn’t afford to get it fixed because I was a poor college student. I no longer have it in my possession after moving around a bunch throughout college, though I wish I did for historical purposes.
What's your favorite guitar right now and why?
That’s a hard question to answer! My favorite is my Taylor acoustic because it has so much sentimental value to me. After my first guitar broke, a friend gave me their Art & Lutherie acoustic that they no longer played. Unfortunately it was the worst playing guitar I’ve ever had my hands on, the action was incredibly high making it painful to play, and the intonation was garbage. I stuck with it because it was all I had and planned on playing it live for my first performance in front of an audience of over 400 people. My mom caught wind of my performance and felt the need to upgrade my instrument, so for my birthday she and my sister brought me to a guitar shop to “window shop for fun.” After she noticed me enjoying the hell out of a 214CE, she split the cost with my sister and bought it right then and there, the rest is history. This is the guitar I would save if my house was on fire and I could only grab one. A close second to my Taylor would probably be my Stratocaster because it just feels like home to me on the electric side, though my most recent acquisition is giving it a run for its money.
What's your newest purchase?
My most recent purchase is a beautiful Martin Custom Shop 000-18. I have long lusted after a Martin guitar because I love the way they sound and play, the company has such a rich history in making guitars dating back to 1833, so they must be doing something right! I originally had my eyes set on a CEO-7 but they are incredibly hard to come by as Martin slowed its production through the global pandemic. I visited a local shop, Wildwood Guitars, because they happened to get one in stock, but unfortunately the instrument sold the day before I went to visit, having only been available for 2-3 days! I primarily wanted a small bodied acoustic with mahogany back and sides and was ready to settle for a Standard Series 00-18 or 000-18. One of the salesmen there (shoutout to Andrew S) showed me a custom shop model that had the same Adirondack spruce top and mod-v neck like the CEO-7, and after playing it for a little while I was sold and got a great deal on it.
How often do you play?
I play on a daily basis, though its hard to make as much time as I’d like as I’ve gotten older with more hobbies and responsibilities under my belt. Playing sessions can range from 30 minutes to several hours depending on what else I’ve got going on in my life.
What's the music you are creating, what's the mission behind it?
A lot of my solo work is a weird blend of R&B and indie rock that I rarely share with other people. Those songs are primarily just for me as a cathartic outlet for whatever I’m going through at the time emotionally and mentally. The music I play with our band started as a fun thing to do after our drummer moved back to the state having been gone for a couple of years and morphed into a full fledged weekly rehearsal where we work on songs together as a four piece band. They’re a mix of songs that range from personal experiences to just fun ideas that evolved from impromptu jams. We have no lofty goals of making it big and just want to play the songs we’ve worked so hard on in front of an audience. We missed our goal of getting on stage this year but now that we’re making great progress on recording our EP, we hope to get some time on stage next year no matter how big or small the crowd is! I wish I could share more on that front but we still haven’t formalised a band name haha.
