Maybe it's too early in the morning, but I clearly see five strings and four tuners. How does that work?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-05-23 12:56 by Roadster32.

Quote
Mathijs

Quote
biskitboy
I'm sorry it took so long to reply, but i had to clean out my closet to get the guitar. Wrong guitar but still a custom Newman Jones. Keith gave this to me at the Columbia Record studio in NY during the Dirty Work Promos. I had won it in a radio contest (WNEW) here in NY

Are you sure it is a Newman, and are you sure it is a guitar and not a bass? How is the fifth string connected to the peg head??

Mathijs

Mathijs,

It seems one of the string is connected in the very middle of the head. see picture of the back of the head.

Anyway, I remember this story. I don't have the courage to search in my old fanzines, but as far as I can remember, in Beggars Banquet there was a picture of Keith giving the gitar to the winner. I was very jealous.

Sure it's a genuine Newman-Jones.

You can see the machine head in the photos of the back of the Newman-Jones 5 string guitar. Maybe he will post more detailed pics. You can even count the 5 stings.

I think it is the g-string, (third sting) that is connected to the center machine head.

When I was given the guitar, I was told by Keith Richards himself that it was a Newman and there is a label on the case that says so as well. This is definitely a guitar and not a bass. Keith showed me how to tune it when he gave it to me and banged around on it for a couple of minutes. I've also played it. As far as the fifth string is concerned, the tuning peg is hidden on the back of the peg head and comes out in the front. I've included some close ups of the peg head so you can get a better look. I'm sorry for the poor picture quality, but I will try to get some better shots as soon as I can. I'll take the suggestion from open-g and take the pictures outside so there is no flash.

It is the g-string. Here is a copy of the tuning instructions Keith had given me.

Thanks for the update, Biskitboy.
I'm looking forward to some outside pics when you get round to it.

is that a piece of a Marlboro-box, Keith wrote the instruction on?

I forget what he had written that on, so I can't say for sure if it was a Marlboro-box or not. I do remember that he gave me the cigarette that he was smoking at the time. I don't smoke so I just played it up for the photographer and let it hang out of my mouth. Looking back, I should have stubbed it out and kept it.

I have to thank Mathijs for mentioning Beggars Banquet. I got in touch with Bill German of BB and he was kind enough to send me a back issue with a picture of Keith Playing my guitar. He also gave me the phone number of the photographer who was shooting the event at RS records when I received the guitar.

If I'm lucky enough to contact him and get some of those pics, I'll be sure to post them here.

Also, if you haven't done so already, take a peek at Bill Germans new book, Under Their Thumb, available at any Barnes & Noble or Borders, as well as on Amazon.


Here is the pic from BB. This was taken at the presentation.





Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-03 00:44 by biskitboy.

Cool story about the cigarette and Bill German chiming in - thanks for sharing.
what did you have to do or know at the radio contest to win the guitar?
...and, am I reading the signature right:
To Sean, do the Harlem Shuffle, Keith Richards ?
...and, is that a Varitone switch at the upper bass-side of the body?

dang! we really need some better pics - please.

very cool story indeed :E

and to reply to a question from page 7:
the plexiglass Dan Armstrong Keith used on the Bigger Bang tour is not the same instrument that he was using in 1969.
it's the same make, but not the same guitar.

All I had to do was be caller number 1. WNEW was giving away the Dirty work album (vinyl) and a radio station t-shirt at different times of the day/night from Fri -Sun. To win, all you had to do was be the caller they mentioned (ex 1,6,4..). On Monday morning, one of the winners from the w/e was going to be picked to win the guitar. At that time, I was a third shift (11pm -8am) computer operator who happend to be covering for the 2nd shift guy who called in sick. When the contest started around 6pm Fri, I just happend to be near the phone so I called in and sure enough,won the album and t-shirt. I remember doing alot of partying that weekend, so by Monday morning, I had completly forgotten about the contest. I was in college at the time and I blew off classes that morning because I was beat from the w/e. Around 10am a friend of mine called to tell me I had won the guitar. He was listening to the radio and heard them call my name. I remember being pissed off because I had been woken up, but that changed after I spoke to him. I called the radio station and they first told me that i wasn't the winner. They put me on hold then came back and told me that I was the winner. About a month or 2 later I received a telegram from WNEW asking me to come down to the station the next day because Keith was in town and was going to present the guitar to me. I don't remember that being mentioned on the radio. The next day I went to the station and we took a limo to RSR and met Keith and that's when he gave me the guitar. It was funny, because I asked if I could bring a friend and was told no. I thought we were going to the Hard Rock, not RSR, so i told my friend to meet us at the HR. He goes in there and tells them he's here for the Keith Richards party. The manager flipped because he didn't know that WNEW was bringing KR there, so the guy calls the radio staion to find out what time they were going to be there. When he found out that they weren't coming, he got pissed at my friend and told him to leave, but mentioned that KR and party would be at RSR. My friend goes there and meets us at the doors and acts like he just bumped into me. I guess the radio people liked him, because they asked if he wanted to join us.

It does say
To Sean, do the Harlem Shuffle, Keith Richards

Yes that is a Varitone sw. BB King has one on Lucille.

I will try to get some better pics as soon as I can.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-03 13:29 by biskitboy.

Yeah - I love these kinda stories! way to go.
"The manager flipped" haha, I can see actually it. also the feeling for getting woken up after a tough weekend...hehe, great stuff.

thanks biskitboy

Quote
with sssoul
"the padouk and birds-eye-maple five-string that I had just made for the New Barbarians"

[peering hard] ... is this the Newman-Jones job? i guess it's just the lighting that makes the finish look different in the three shots.


- 1979, both possibly may 13th (Fort Worth), both by Henry Diltz


- Knebworth Fair, august 11th 1979, by Denis O'Regan
(that's HTW he's playing there, in case anyone's curious ...)

From The Gear Page

[www.thegearpage.net]

cool ... did the poster over there ever specify where/when the photo was taken?
looks like mid-to-late 80s, maybe?

for future readers: the guitar Keith's got there belongs to the other cat in the photo -
it's not a newly discovered Keith guitar



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-03 17:39 by with sssoul.

Quote
with sssoul
cool ... did the poster over there ever specify where/when the photo was taken?
looks like mid-to-late 80s, maybe?

Alas no he did not specify.

BTW of what I heard is that Ted Newman-Jones will make/try a "comeback" as a guitar luthier in Nashville TN.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-05-03 15:00 by Phil Good.

Hello there all you Keith guitar freaks! I played some Keith model guitars: have two Dan Armstrongs (originals not re-issues since I am that old), have two Zemaitisses (yes, same reason: originals) and I am now selling my Newman. The guitar has a bit of a story:

I met Ted in Austin in 1994. I was here at the time to record an album with Joe Ely (he toured with the Stones in early eighties as opening act). The next year, I moved to Austin and hung out quite a few times with Ted. One time he showed me a guitar that he was making for himself. After Ted had left Austin, I was offered a Newman for sale and guess what? It was that very guitar! So now I'm selling it.

Both Ted and Joe had great stories about Keith and Mick. OK my favorite then:
(this was during World War III)
Mick and Keith are listening to a track, and weren't speaking to each other. So Mick barks at the producer: "Tell Keith his guitar part sucks." So the producer turns to Keith and says: "Keith, Mick thinks that if you re-did your guitar part, it would sound even better". Keith answers: "Tell Mick to @#$%& off". So the producer turns back to Mick and says: "Keith seems to like it."

For what it's worth, I miss the raw grinding SOUND when Mick Taylor was still in the band. No twangy Telecasters or funky Strats, just big humbuckers into loud tube amps. Even Keith's Tele's mainly saw use of their neck humbuckers... Then Mick T left and everything changed.

Anybody out there that feels the same way?

Quote
elteye
Hello there all you Keith guitar freaks! I played some Keith model guitars: have two Dan Armstrongs (originals not re-issues since I am that old), have two Zemaitisses (yes, same reason: originals) and I am now selling my Newman. The guitar has a bit of a story:

I met Ted in Austin in 1994. I was here at the time to record an album with Joe Ely (he toured with the Stones in early eighties as opening act). The next year, I moved to Austin and hung out quite a few times with Ted. One time he showed me a guitar that he was making for himself. After Ted had left Austin, I was offered a Newman for sale and guess what? It was that very guitar! So now I'm selling it.

Both Ted and Joe had great stories about Keith and Mick. OK my favorite then:
(this was during World War III)
Mick and Keith are listening to a track, and weren't speaking to each other. So Mick barks at the producer: "Tell Keith his guitar part sucks." So the producer turns to Keith and says: "Keith, Mick thinks that if you re-did your guitar part, it would sound even better". Keith answers: "Tell Mick to @#$%& off". So the producer turns back to Mick and says: "Keith seems to like it."

For what it's worth, I miss the raw grinding SOUND when Mick Taylor was still in the band. No twangy Telecasters or funky Strats, just big humbuckers into loud tube amps. Even Keith's Tele's mainly saw use of their neck humbuckers... Then Mick T left and everything changed.

Anybody out there that feels the same way?

I miss the grind too...My favorite Stones guitar sound. But I do like a lot of the Tele twang keith got into, especially on things like "Blind Love" on Tom Waits' Rain Dogs album. He reinvented his style yet again. But when he stopped doing the grinding rhythm, I think the band really lost something.

mojo_navigator
i've known ted since the 70's. he was indeed "run out of town". they put him in prison, where he is still today. can you shed any light on "that's another story"? the last night you saw him??

Quote
with sssoul
"the padouk and birds-eye-maple five-string that I had just made for the New Barbarians"

[peering hard] ... is this the Newman-Jones job? i guess it's just the lighting that makes the finish look different in the three shots.


- 1979, both possibly may 13th (Fort Worth), both by Henry Diltz


- Knebworth Fair, august 11th 1979, by Denis O'Regan
(that's HTW he's playing there, in case anyone's curious ...)

The 2nd photo on the top is a TNJ guitar. A friend of mine had one made that is nearly identical. Sadly, the guitar outlasted my friend.

thansk to PalaceRevolution2000 for pointing out that this thread lacks any photos of the replacement Dan Armstrongs
that Keith used (briefly) on the 1972 tour - and for pointing out this great shot from Ethan Russell's site: [www.ethanrussell.com]

judging from Harold Colson's great site - [stoneslib9.homestead.com] -
it looks like the shot is from the early June 8th show in San Francisco - what do you think?


- looks like San Francisco june 8th 1972? by Ethan Russell



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-23 14:34 by with sssoul.

Cool picture - but it needs to be flipped yllatnoziroh :E

eureka: finally found it - i knew it was around here somewhere!
the photo that the gallant ChrisM posted in 05 of Keith using the DA in 72: [www.iorr.org]


- also San Francisco june 8th 1972? courtesy of Harold Colson, via ChrisM

and here's what the learned Mathijs told us about it, at right around the same time: [www.iorr.org]

"About the Ampeg Dan Armstrong: Keith used these last during the first couple 1972 shows.
His original two were stolen at Nellcote, and he replaced these for the 1972 tour.
According to himself, they weren't as good as the original prototypes he had, and he would never play them again [until 2005]"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-23 14:47 by with sssoul.

Used MAYBE for "Tumblin Dice"? Looking very closely it could be that there are only 5 strings on there. Capo'ed in 4th etc.
Oh wow - the second color shot: amazing.
Pretty incredible: the fact that the first Keith shot was upside down had thrown my whole room off. Once I saw it righted, 'klunk' everything settled back in.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-23 14:37 by Palace Revolution 2000.

>> Cool picture - but it needs to be flipped yllatnoziroh :E <<

eek - i thought i did flip it thanks open-g! i hope Keith's right-handed again now :E

... don't mind me :E



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-23 15:08 by with sssoul.

photo by Chris Walter



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-30 12:17 by Toru A.

Toru-A, that first shot is by Chris Walter - it was taken october 9th 1970 backstage at Amsterdam
the second shot (peering hard: is there a custom/odd Keith guitar in that one??) is by Ethan Russell, november 1969 of course
and in the third one (september 12th 1973 at Manchester) that's not a guitar -
that's a forkful of pancakes or crepes or something!!

Didn't Bill play a lot of the DA Bass in 72?

Quote
with sssoul
Toru-A, that first shot is by Chris Walter - it was taken october 9th 1970 backstage at Amsterdam
the second shot (peering hard: is there a custom/odd Keith guitar in that one??) is by Ethan Russell, november 1969 of course
and in the third one (september 12th 1973 at Manchester) that's not a guitar -
that's a forkful of pancakes or crepes or something!!

... and a lit Marlboro in the other hand LOL
For some reason that first Amsterdam photo intrigues me. There is a gold(?) record on the table. Now why is it laying on the table in a dressing room? Nefarious purposes? And what is that in the wall behind Keith? Some kind of dumb waiter?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-11-30 12:13 by Palace Revolution 2000.

Quote
with sssoul
Toru-A, that first shot is by Chris Walter - it was taken october 9th 1970 backstage at Amsterdam
the second shot (peering hard: is there a custom/odd Keith guitar in that one??) is by Ethan Russell, november 1969 of course
and in the third one (september 12th 1973 at Manchester) that's not a guitar -
that's a forkful of pancakes or crepes or something!!

with sssoul,

Thank you always for your input.
I've edited photos.

Wow! Aerosmith just starts the show by Draw The Line right now at Tokyo Dome.
The wind blows the melody today.