“I’m an instrument nerd,” he said.

So an essential stop-over on his way to Port Fairy was at the workshop of instrument maker Stephen Gilchrist near Camperdown.

Earle has been playing Gilchrist-made mandolins since the late ‘90s when he recorded his album The Mountain with the Del McCoury Band – also long time fans of Gilchrist’s instruments.

“It was a trip to see where they're made,” Earle said of his visit to Gilchrist’s workshop.

“Stephen Gilchrist builds the best mandolins in the world.

“I’m not really a mandolin player – I’m a singer-songwriter. I play really hard and so does he – he’s a good player – so he builds them to have the s**t beat out of them!”

However Earle’s current electric mandolin is not made by Stephen Gilchrist – it's made by his son, Warrnambool musician and fellow instrument-maker Daniel Gilchrist.

“It’s the best electric mandolin we’ve had in the band,” Earle said.

“I saw one (Daniel’s) building in the workshop and I might have to buy it.”

Stephen Gilchrist, who only sells instruments in the US and Europe, said his friendship with Earle was the kind of connection instrument-makers dream of.

“He’s a big supporter of what I do creatively and he inspires me when I’m making instruments,” Gilchrist said.

“Poetically, he’s always impressed me. His music is heartfelt, gritty, raw and tender, all at the same time, and for me instrument-making is an emotional thing. I’m playing his music (in the workshop) all the time.”

He said it was nice to have his son following in his footsteps.

Daniel said he was still blown away by the fact Steve Earle was playing one of his instruments.

“It’s a big, overwhelming and fantastic thing,” Daniel said.

“It’s very, very cool.”

Daniel said he was first made aware Earle was playing an electric mandolin he built when he was sent a video of Earle “giving it a test run” in Nashville . 

“He bought it on the spot and used it for a gig that night,” he said.