Tom Wall of Connecticut-based studio project Blood Ruby talked to Gearwire about the band and his guitar collection.

What is the worst guitar in your 30 or so?

None that are really bad. But there are a few that I don't often feel compelled to play or use in the studio that much, such as the Brownsville Impala or the Epiphone Coronet reissue.

Is there any guitar you love but cannot really figure out why?

A few, but one that sticks out is my Telestar Mona. This is a reissue of the old Silvertone/Danelectro guitars with the "amp in the case" that used to be sold by Sears. The guy that started up Telestar, J.T. Riboloff (he bought the name rights since that was an old cheapie brand in the sixties) was one of the designers for Gibson. He set out to make of version of these guitars that had the charm and quirks of the original but with very good quality build and decent hardware. The original Sears guitars are awful in terms of materials and incredibly difficult to keep in tune, etc. The company made several models but went out of business in about 2003. Since then they have attained a small cult status among collectors. Like the Danelctro reissues it has lipstick tube pickups and the body is made out of some sort of "Masonite" material. But way better than a Dano in every way. Mine is White Sparkle!

What is the main brand of guitar in your harem of instruments?

None really, since I have so many. But I do have two DeArmonds (an M77 and a Jetstar) and two by Phantom Guitarworks (reissues of the Vox Teardrop, one is a 6-string with a Bigsby, the other is a 12-string).

Is there any brand you have no use for? Why?

Well, I'm never going to spend a bundle on a new, high-end Les Paul or Strat. I don't think you get great value for the money. Plus everyone else has one. But that's not a knock on those who own them and treasure them. It's a very subjective thing.

Are you a collector or do you use all of them?

Both, I actually use all of them. In the songs for Blood Ruby's soon to be released debut album, Little Creatures, I have used all but a few of them on various tracks.

Which are totally studio and why? Which ones are for live stuff?

We do almost all of our work in the studio. We're not a touring band so I can't comment. We have rarely played live gigs because of the dense instrumentation on our studio tracks. But we are planning on doing some limited live shows later this year in which we will do "stripped down" or ambient versions of our songs, perhaps with help from some other musicians.

Keep an eye opened for the band's first release LITTLE CREATURES.