Table Of Content“This is my horse.”
—WILLIE NELSON,
on naming his Martin guitar “Trigger”
NIGEL TUFNEL: Now this is special, too,
it’s a . . . look, see, still got the ol’ tag on
it. See, never even played it.
“All the Americans will wish
MOVIE DIRECTOR MARTY DIBERGI: You
just bought it and . . . they could play on this
TUFNEL: Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it! No
guitar! At least it’s got tone,
one, no one, no! Don’t touch it!
DIBERGI: Well, I wasn’t, uh, I wasn’t gonna you can hear the chords
touch it. I was just pointing at it.
TUFNEL: Well, don’t point, even. like you can on the piano.
DIBERGI: Don’t even point? Don’t talk to me any more
TUFNEL: No. It can’t be played . . . never.
about their tinpot guitars!
DIBERGI: Can I look at it?
TUFNEL: No. Listen to this, it speaks like
—This Is Spinal Tap
a cathedral!”
—DJANGO REINHARDT
“Right after I’d seen Steve Winwood playing his white Strat, I was
in Nashville and I went into this shop called Sho-Bud where they
had stacks of Strats going for virtually nothing because they were so
unfashionable and so unwanted. I bought a big pile of
them all for a song—they were really cheap, like $300 “It doesn’t have any dead spots
or $400 each—and I took them home and gave them
or any high spots—which is very,
out. . . . I made Blackie out of a group of them: I took
very strange. It makes it fun to
the pickups out of one, the scratchplate off another,
and the neck off another and I made my own guitar— play lead, because you don’t
a hybrid guitar that had all the best bits from all these
have to worry where you’re at. It’s
Strats. . . . What makes Blackie unique for me is the
not much of a solo instrument,
fact that I made it! It was one of the last guitars that
I actually built myself, really. Therefore it felt like it
but I can’t really play by myself
was invested with some kind of soul, you know.”
worth a darn, so it doesn’t make
—ERIC CLAPTON
much of a difference.”
—DAVE RAWLINGS
“I joke that
I should
“I used to play a place called Twist, Arkansas, on weekends,
mostly at the beginning of my career. It got quite cold in
just have a
Twist, so they would take a big garbage can, half-fi ll it
with kerosene, and light that fuel for heat. One night in
collection of
1949 two guys got to fi ghting, and one of them knocked
the other over on that cont ainer and it spilled on the fl oor.
Jazzmasters
It looked like a river of fi re. Everybody started running
for the front door, including B.B. King. But when I got
and Jaguars. I
outside, I realized that I left my guitar, a Gibson acoustic,
and I went back for it. When I did, the building started to
can do pretty
collapse around me. I almost lost my life trying to save my
guitar. The next morning
much anything,
we found out that the two
“There’s no reason for guys had been fi ghting
get any sound
about a lady. I never did
my guitar being called
meet her, but I learned
Micawber, apart from from my
her name was Lucille. So
the fact that it’s such an
I named my guitar—and
Jazzmasters
unlikely name. There’s every guitar I had since
then—Lucille, to remind
no one around me called
and I don’t
me never to do a thing like
Micawber, so when I
that again.”
need another
scream for Micawber
—B. B. KING
everyone knows what I’m
guitar.”
talking about.”
—KEITH RICHARDS
—NELS CLINE
“She’s a ’59 Stratocaster. I’ve always called her my
fi rst wife. And she don’t talk back to me, she talks
for me. She don’t scream at me, she screams for me.”
—STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
AR S
IT
U
1 0 1 G OR L D
W
THE R S
ED A
O C K T
AT R U I
TH G
R
A
T
S
ER
NT
U
VE H
A
B Y D
ON S
BB
OR D B Y B I LL Y F G I
W
OR E
F
For Jess, Freddie, and Flo.
Thanks for putting up with all the noise.
First published in 2010 by Voyageur Press, an imprint of
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite
400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
© 2010 Voyageur Press
All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages
for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be
reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best
of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without
any guarantee on the part of the author or Publisher, who also
disclaims any liability incurred in connection with the use of
this data or specific details.
We recognize, further, that some words, model names, and
designations mentioned herein are the property of the trademark
holder. We use them for identification purposes only. This is not
an official publication.
Voyageur Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk
quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use. For details write
to Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.,
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
To find out more about our books, visit us online at
www.voyageurpress.com.
ISBN: 978-0-7603-4701-0
Digital edition: 978-1-62788-381-8
Softcover edition: 978-0-76034-701-0
Editors: Dennis Pernu and Michael Dregni
Design managers: Katie Sonmor and John Sticha
Design: John Barnett / 4Eyes Design
Layout: Sandra Salamony
Cover design: Jason Anscomb
Printed in China
copyringhtpage
NT S
C O N T E
Foreword by Billy F Gibbons . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
CHET ATKINS: Gretsch 6120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 NELS CLINE: 1959 Fender Jazzmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
JEFF BECK: 1954 Fender Esquire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 KURT COBAIN: 1969 Competition
CHUCK BERRY: Gibson ES-350Ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Series Fender Mustang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
RITCHIE BLACKMORE: Fender Stratocasters . . . . . . . . 24 EDDIE COCHRAN: Mid-1950s Gretsch 6120 . . . . . . . . 52
MICHAEL BLOOMFIELD: 1959 Gibson Les Paul . . . . . . . 26 STEVE CROPPER: 1963 Fender Telecaster . . . . . . . . . . 54
BOB BOGLE, NOKIE EDWARDS, AND DON WILSON: DICK DALE: Fender Stratocaster “The Beast” . . . . . . 56
Mosrite Ventures Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 DIMEBAG DARRELL: 1981 Dean ML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
CLARENCE “GATEMOUTH” BROWN: DAVE DAVIES: Late-1950s Gibson Flying V . . . . . . . . 60
Mid-1960s Gibson Firebird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 BO DIDDLEY: 1958 Rectangular Gretsch . . . . . . . . . . . 62
ROY BUCHANAN: 1953 Fender Telecaster “Nancy” . . 32 BOB DYLAN: Gibson Nick Lucas Special . . . . . . . . . . 66
PETER BUCK: 1970s Rickenbacker 360. . . . . . . . . . . . 34 DUANE EDDY: 1957 Gretsch 6120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
MAYBELLE CARTER: 1928 Gibson L-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 THE EDGE: 1976 Gibson Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
CHARLIE CHRISTIAN: Gibson ES-150 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 PETER FRAMPTON: 1954 Les Paul Custom . . . . . . . . . 72
ERIC CLAPTON: “Beano” Gibson Les Paul, RORY GALLAGHER: 1961 Fender Stratocaster . . . . . . . 74
1964–65 Gibson SG “The Fool,”
1964 Gibson ES-335, & CLIFF GALLUP: 1955 Gretsch Duo Jet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Fender Stratocaster “Blackie” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 JERRY GARCIA: Doug Irwin “Tiger” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
DANNY GATTON: Redneck Jazz Guitars . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 MARK KNOPFLER: 1937 National Style O . . . . . . . . . 142
BILLY F GIBBONS: 1959 Gibson JOHN LENNON AND GEORGE HARRISON:
Les Paul “Pearly Gates” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 1958 Rickenbacker 325 &
DAVID GILMOUR: 1954 Fender Stratocaster “0001” . . 94 1957 Gretsch Duo Jet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
PETER GREEN: 1959 Les Paul Standard . . . . . . . . . . . 98 LONNIE MACK: 1958 Gibson Flying V . . . . . . . . . . . 152
WOODY GUTHRIE: Fascist-Slaying Guitars . . . . . . . . 100 YNGWIE MALMSTEEN:
1972 Fender Stratocaster “The Duck”. . . . . . . 154
BUDDY GUY: Fender Stratocasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
BOB MARLEY: 1957 Gibson Les Paul Special . . . . . . 158
REVEREND HORTON HEAT: Gretsch 6120W . . . . . . . . . 108
HANK MARVIN: 1959 Fender Stratocaster . . . . . . . . 160
JIMI HENDRIX: Fender Stratocasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
J MASCIS: Fender Jazzmasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
BUDDY HOLLY: 1957 Fender Stratocaster . . . . . . . . . 118
BRIAN MAY: The Red Special . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
SON HOUSE: National Duolian and Style O . . . . . . . 120
ROGER MCGUINN: Rickenbacker 360/12 . . . . . . . . . . 168
TONY IOMMI: Jaydee “Old Boy” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
WES MONTGOMERY: Gibson L-5CES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
WAYLON JENNINGS: 1953 Fender Telecaster . . . . . . 124
SCOTTY MOORE: Gibson ES-295 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
ERIC JOHNSON: 1957 Fender Stratocaster . . . . . . . . 126
THURSTON MOORE AND LEE RANALDO:
ROBERT JOHNSON: Gibson L-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Fender Jazzmasters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
BRIAN JONES: Vox Phantom Mark III Prototype . . . 130 WILLIE NELSON: Late-1960s Martin N-20 “Trigger” . 180
STEVE JONES: 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom . . . . . 132 RICK NIELSEN: Custom Hamer Five-Necks . . . . . . . 184
ALBERT KING: Flying Vs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 TED NUGENT: 1960s Gibson Byrdlands . . . . . . . . . . 188
B. B. KING: Gibson “Lucille” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 JIMMY PAGE: Gibson EDS-1275 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
