Colorado's Luna Trick is the solo project of Daniel Staniforth. Born in the UK but transplanted to the USA, Staniforth was steeped in classical music as a child but became enamored with alternative, New Wave and Trip Hop Music.

"I have a penchant for the dark, dreamy, and ethereal but also like funk undertones, particularly in the rhythm section. Although not a natural bassist or drummer, I am a sucker for good beats and basslines and try my best to achieve good standard in my playing / programming." he says.

But versatility is also part of his work. You will here influences ranging from Fripp to Durutti Column to Debussy. We talked earlier with Staniforth about his electric guitars and it came up that he once worked for BC Rich.

"I worked for DHI, the parent company of BC Rich guitars, Dixon Drums and Kustom Amps from 99-01, I believe, after five years in the bowed strings restoration business. I was their customer service / QC guy and also served on the management board. It was an interesting time and I got a good behind-the-scenes view of music instrument manufacturing and wholesale just as it was all shipping out to Asia," he says. "Also, working with areas of product malfunction taught me a lot about various companies and the design flaws in products ranging from electronic to acoustic. Perhaps my most satisfying feat was working to help develop a line of bowed string instruments for the company called Musima Violins. I also learned a lot about electric guitar construction and the competitive business that it is. But the very best part of that time was working with a lot of talented musicians and engineers and learning a lot from them."

As a result of this work he has some neat BC Rich instruments -- including prototypes and oddities.

"My favorite is a Mockingbird acoustic, which is very nicely made, with extra sound-holes placed in the ribs. I sometimes use this guitar for rhythm tracks, although it could probably be fitted with a better pick-up and EQ system. I also have a semi-hollow Mockingbird made with lovely tiger maple, a gun-metal Les Paul type EM1 guitar that plays quite well, and a special edition 'Halloween 2000' Warlock that I’m saving for my son," he says. "What do I think of them? I think they are fun guitars but perhaps not my favorite sonically. I doctored the EM1 heavily with some screaming Seymour Duncans, a Floyd-Rose2 and Grover tuners which helped it a lot. Some of the high-end American-made BC Rich guitars are very fine but the low-end imports are more for the visuals."

In addition to electrics and oddball BC Rich guitars Staniforth also employs several acoustics. One of these is an Alvarez.

"I’ve been wanting a Yairi for years and finally found a lovely all Koa DY91. Coming from a luthier background, I have this thing for fine figured hardwood and this is a sumptuous looking guitar. The frets are slightly chunky, so I might file down or re-fret entirely but this guitar is a finger-pickers dream with a lovely full spectrum, not too bright or tinny," says Staniforth. "There is not much I can say about this guitar that people don’t know. They are wonderfully constructed and I would back it against most Taylor, Lowden, or Larivee dreadnoughts. Once I get the action right where I want it, I’ll be sleeping with this one."

He also has a Guild D-25, one of the old standards.

"I have the old dark red variety. I got it when I was 17 and it was an old warhorse then -- faded around the soundboard and along the neck. This one could tell some stories," he says. "This guitar is purely for strumming and not for any finesse playing. I put a Fishman thinline transducer on it some time back so now it’s a true plug and play thrasher. Although I play it less and less, I have deep attachments to this guitar and know every mic-stand nick and cigarette burn etched into its history."

Staniforth also has a classical Martin. He is not 100 percent sure what the model is but he is sure he loves the guitar.

"I think it is an OO series -- perhaps OO18 -- very slim waisted with the old ‘popsicle’ style bracing inside. To be honest, I was first attracted to this guitar as it was ‘born’ about the same time I was but then became addicted to playing it. I’m neither a guitar purist nor a Martin / Gibson only snob, but this is simply delightful to play. It has a fine-grained spruce top and (I think) Indian rosewood back and sides," he says. "The first thing you notice (with decent strings of course) is the full resonance in the bass register. It’s almost uncanny to hear this tonality from such a small-bodied guitar, but the hourglass (less boxy) shape might have something to do with it. I am not a trained classical guitarist but use many classical guitar idioms in my music so this guitar often gets called upon for use with an ST55 or AKG1000 condenser mic. This is also my guitar for therapeutic noodling because it makes me sound good no matter what I do. I would love to get into really high-end flamenco style guitars (Rodriguez, etc) but this is keeping me happy for now."

Staniforth also takes great pleasure in repairing and rescuing antique instruments -- with a focus on old European cello and classical parlor guitars.

"When I worked at the old Bass Viol Shop, I had the pleasure of seeing many decrepit, attic-worn instruments come to life again including a 1610 Maggini bass, a Testori Cello, a Degani Violin, among many other fine instruments. I learned as much as I could from the great Luthiers there: Scott Jensen (now at Quinn Violins), Bill Lakewood & Peter Beare (Lakeberg & Beare Basses), Jen Gehler, and Hyun Hee Ahn, just to name a few," says Staniforth. "For quite a few years, I ran an eBay business where I sold restored instruments, mostly cellos, which was very rewarding work. This work ranged from basic set-ups to the repair of severely stressed instruments, often involving top-removal and internal fortifications. I had my limitations in that I am not skilled enough to do things like complete neck-grafts or top graduations but I worked to my strengths and tried to learn with each project. I still keep a workbench and occasionally dabble but the market has been flooded with cheap Asian instruments, making the superior older instruments harder to come by and more expensive."