Steve Dix

Job: Freelance web programmer

Started playing: At last year of University, picked up a book called "The love you make" about the Beatles. Got interested in guitar through their music. Crap acoustic was lying round house after sister's poor attempt to learn guitar because a former boyfriend was in a band. She didn't realise that she failed to play because we're both cack-handed. I did, restrung it and never looked back.

Main gear: Fender Jap 60's Strat, Rickenbacker 370/12, Rickenbacker 350, Rickenbacker 320, Gordon Smith Gypsy II, Encore Strat Copy, EKO violin bass, J&D Jazz bass copy, Hoyer electro acoustic, Hohner leylanda crappy acoustic, "Career" Telecaster Copy, and a 1967 Harmony Meteor (all left-handed), nameless Japanese 12-string acoustic. Pignose Battery amp, Vox AC1 (the plastic mini AC30), Vox Escort mains/battery amp, Vox Pathfinder, Vox AC30 JMI 1966 model. Oh, and an Encore battery amp which sounds horriblly plasticky which is shortly going to have a cabinet built for it. I've also got various F/X - a VOX valvetone pedal, a 70's WEM Copicat, Zoom 1010 multiFX and a George Dennis Wah/overdrive, which has travelled a lot.

Favourite music: Lennon, McCartney, Harrison (obviously). Hendrix, Brian May, Colin of the Climax Blues Band for telling me to go out and get into a band, Nick Drake for being a bloody good guitarist rather than a tragic figure, Martin Newell for proving you can do it all yourself in a home studio, Kevin Bignell and Grant Patterson for 3 years of fun.