Initially, Curtis played Sumner's Shergold Masquerader, but in September 1979 he acquired his own guitar, a Vox Phantom VI Special (often described incorrectly as a Teardrop or ordinary Phantom model) which had many built-in effects used both live and in studio.
Pada Curtis pertama kali memainkan Shergold Masquerader milik Sumner, namun pada bulan September 1979 dia memperoleh gitar sendiri, Vox Phantom Special VI (yang sering dideskripsikan dengan keliru sebagai Teadrop atau kebanyakan Model Phantom) yang telah banyak efeknya di built-in digunakan baik live ataupun di studio.