Andy Timmons's guitar personality is two-fold: one part gear hound and one-part hyper-melodic songsmith. We’ll touch on the former in just a moment, but with regard to the latter, Timmons has a new record out — with tons of meaning behind it — called Recovery.
On its “multidimensional” meaning, Timmons tells Guitar Player, “With recovery, in general, a lot of people react, thinking about substance abuse, but really, at its core, the term ‘recovery’ means to heal and get back to a normal state.
“Music has always been that for me. It’s always been a safe place to heal and rejuvenate. Nobody escapes all the trials and tribulations, but it’s how we deal with those things that help us get through.
“Music is that for a lot of people.”
To that end, Timmons is an emotive player who uses his array of gear to speak to listeners even when his music lacks words. “My melodic and musical instincts tend to work,” he says. “I let that guide me, regardless of if it’s truly improvisational or composed. It’s always the same intent.
Timmons feels Recovery is something of a spiritual successor to his last record, 2022’s Electric Truth, and a true representation of his career arc, from his time with glam rockers Danger Danger to the present.
“Every record is a mirror of where I’m at in that moment,” he offers. “Any artist, if they’re truly trying to bear it all, wants their music to be a statement.”
“Some artists are more commercially aware,” he admits. “But after my years with Danger Danger, I was steered in the direction of just making music that I really wanted to make that’s real from my heart — and I also selfishly want to keep improving because it’s cathartic for me.”
According to Timmons, people’s enjoyment of his music “fuels me to keep improving.” But gear is part of the high-octane formula as well, specifically, a tried-and-true rig consisting of Mesa/Boogie Lone Stars from the mid 2000s, with his signature Keeley Mk3 Driver distortion and a Keeley Halo reverb effects pedals placed out in front of them.
Timmons also reveals that he has a ’68 Fender Super Lead and a Suhr SL68 head, which he says is “a lot like my old Marshall.” What he uses “depends on the flavor of the song.”
But there are untold stories when it comes to Andy Timmons and his studio filled with gobs of gear. So GP asked him to offer up a behind-the-scenes journey of his gear odyssey to this point, plus a sneak peek into what’s next on his signature gear front, too.
Do you have a favorite guitar?
It’s going to be a Strat because, I mean… even my signature guitar, the Ibanez ATZ100, is now 31 years old. It’s a modified version of Leo’s design. But I have a couple of old Strats that I really love, and my 1961 hardtail has got a special thing about it.
But if I could only have one guitar, it would be my signature ATZ100. It’s not because it’s my signature guitar — it’s just that I’m connected to that instrument like no other. I have other guitars that sound better or have different qualities that are great, but it’s just my go-to. But that old ’61 hardtail is pretty special, too.
What’s the best guitar deal you ever made?
I’ve never really gotten a crazy bargain, like finding an old vintage Strat under somebody's bed for 75 bucks. [laughs] I’ve never gotten that lucky! Probably the best deal that I got was my ’62 Gretsch Tennessean. I traded a couple of guitars for it at a pawnshop. It’s a really great-sounding guitar, and being a Beatles nut, I was just happy to have an old Gretsch Tennessean, George Harrison played one for a while, like on "Baby’s in Black" and "I Feel Fine." Those are Tennessean tracks, and they’ve just got that good Gretsch twangy tone to them.
What’s the biggest gear-purchasing mistake you’ve ever made?
I bought an old Selmer solid-state amp because that’s one of the things that Wes Montgomery used on his 1965 U.K. and European tour. It had no tone to it, but I can’t get rid of it because it looks cool, and Wes used a Selmer like this. I started thinking, This might be the secret to getting a great, great sound, but it didn’t quite turn me into Wes Montgomery. [laughs]
There are plenty of things I’ve bought that I’ve never really used. There’s definitely things I maybe shouldn’t have spent the money on but I’m glad that I still have because I’m a bit of a pack rat. [laughs] If you look around my studio, there’s plenty of things that are just collecting dust.
Is there a guitar that got away?
Yes. I have two that I regret; one of them got stolen.
I bought a series of pawnshop guitars when I was a kid. When I got my first job at age 13, I kept going to Goldman’s Pawn Shop in downtown Evansville, Indiana, and my first guitar from there was literally 12 dollars and ninety-five cents. [laughs]
It was a no-name guitar, but I just kept trading up. The next guitar was a 40 dollar one, and it kept going up.
Finally, I got a 300-dollar Elektra Les Paul copy. It was cream-colored, with a maple bolt-on neck. I must have bought that when I was 16, and by then, I was playing professionally.
I had a job sweeping hair at a barber shop. I worked every day after school and all day on Saturday. That’s how I got the money to buy records, buy my guitars, and other stuff. But I was in high school, and there was a stage band rehearsal on a Saturday morning; I was mortified because I was going to have to miss a little bit of work.
I went straight from stage band rehearsal to the barber shop, which was in a strip center, like a little shopping center. I parked my car behind the shop and left my guitar and amps in the back seat. When I went back 30 minutes later to check on it, it was already gone. It was the first time I’d ever had anything stolen from me: my guitar and my amp.
How did you react?
I cried for a week. But, again, by then, I was 17 or 18, and I was in a band with older guys. These guys were four or five years older, and we somehow had magic band insurance, and my stuff was covered under the band’s insurance policy!
So, through the insurance settlement, I replaced my stolen Lab Series L7 amp with a Lab Series L5 and a brand-new Gibson Les Paul Standard. But to this day, I still look for an Elektra Les Paul copy that looks the same. I just bought one on Reverb, but it’s not identical, you know? But I’ve got pictures of the old one from gigs. I’m looking for that guitar!
What about the second one that got away?
It’s that Les Paul Standard. I was a big Kiss fan, and I wanted it because it looked like Ace Frehley’s. So, I ended up losing that one to a pawnshop in the lean times in the mid-’80s in Texas. [laughs] There have been a couple of sad losses along the way!
I’m not sure where that Les Paul ended up. I think somebody knows where it is, somewhere in Dallas, Texas. That one would be nice to get back someday.
But the one that got stolen was I was a teenager, man, that was still that one. Therefore, I never leave a guitar in a car, even if I’m just popping into the store. The guitar is coming with me. That left a lifelong scar.
Those two guitars aside, are there any other pieces of guitars you’re looking for?
One that I almost bought during the Recovery sessions was a maple neck ‘50s Strat. It would be great to find a nice version of that or a’ 50s Tele. But I’m pretty set with most things. I’m not even gonna think about a ’Burst Les Paul—but I’ve got a nice ’90s Honey ’Burst that does the job for me.
So, if I need a Les Paul, I’ve got one. So, yeah… those two Fender, the ‘50s Tele, and the Strat from the ’50s with a maple neck would be really nice. But the goal really is, man, to use what I’ve got and be happy with that. I’ve got plenty of gear, plenty of amps, plenty of stuff to record my tunes and keep growing.
Is there an update to your stable of signature guitars, amps, and pedals?
Actually, yeah, there’s a couple of things in the works right now. The main thing is that my work with Keeley [Electronics] has been great. The Halo [delay] and the Mk3 Driver [overdrive] are great—and we’re working on a reverb right now that’s already beyond my expectations. I’m so excited about it.
But I’m also working on an amp with Suhr that’s been a couple of years in the works. It’s been slow, but we’re gaining momentum. You know… Mesa Boogie discontinued the Lone Star years ago, so I’ve been searching, and John Suhr has been eager to collaborate with me to get to the core of what I’m really looking for.
So, I’m really excited about that and the potential that’s there. I think we’re going to come up with something great. So, look out for that, you know, both of those things, the reverb with Keeley and the amp with Suhr, next year, hopefully.
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