This guitar was specially made for me by New Jersey guitar maker (and XTC fan) Dennis Fano, who'd previously built a guitar for Andy Partridge called – you've guessed it – the Partridge. The Satellite (named after one of his favourite XTC songs) is basically his own design but with features and appointments individually tailored to his clients' needs.

I have always loved Steve Marriot's guitar sound in the later-60's Small Faces. Marriot flipped between Telecasters and a solid-bodied Gretsch 6121 Chet Atkins in those days; it was the Gretsch sound I was after, but on a more player-friendly Gibson-style chassis. I asked Dennis to make the whole thing in mahogany, with a set glued-in neck, a 24 ¾" scale, a stud wrap-over bridge/tail-piece and two Gretsch Filtertron pick-ups. Amazingly, he delivered everything I asked for, including the fiddly job of inlaying the eyebrow-shaped fret markers I wanted. He did a fantastic job.

The guitar sounds, plays and looks beautiful. I felt a slight pang of guilt asking him to spray black paint over that mahogany, but the results are there for all to see (and hear). The cobalt blue pick-guard was another personal fetish that I think is particularly striking. There's no tone circuit in the guitar, just a pick-up selector switch and a volume control. The sonic properties of the pick-ups require only the slightest reduction in volume to remove any unwanted bright peaks when playing softer, for example. The direct and uncomplicated wiring system means there are no buzzes or ground rattles... combine that with the sustaining characteristics of the bridge anchor and the mahogany body, and what comes out of the guitar is pure signal.

I've used it in the studio with Keiichi Suzuki, Troy, and my last sessions with XTC (notably "Playground", if the tracks survive). You can also hear it on Mitch Friedman's "Simplification"! I've used it on a home recording of the Focus tune "Sylvia" (which you may or may not get to hear) and played it when I joined my friends Deacon Jones and the Sinners on stage at Gloucester last Halloween.

In addition to supplying a shop on New York's 48th St., Dennis has since built instruments for David Yazbek, Chris Difford and the bloke out of the Barenaked Ladies, as well as an excellent bass for Colin Moulding. If you're serious about having something a little bit special – or if you're just curious for more – why not check Dennis' website at www.fanoguitars.com. If you ask him very nicely, he'll show you his tattoo...