wow, nice! thank you kindly, King Bee.
do you know who took these shots, by any chance, and/or the dates/places?
the first one looks like 64, and the second one ... hm, late 63/early 64?
and ... smile, i'll be darned: who, pray tell, is the blue Strat in the background? :E



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-24 23:35 by with sssoul.

The picture of Brian at the Marquee in '63' looks like a 'Harmony' to me, the same as the older gent is playing just above this post. You could buy them through (believe it ,or, not) the Montgomery Wards catalog here in the U.S.

pained smile: i wish i could see the last photo King Bee posted for us - i guess maybe it's too big for my slow connection?
yeah, i was thinking Brian's guitar in that 63 shot looks like a Harmony,
but i've been so wrong about so many guitars already today i thought i'd better stop speculating. :E
Mathijs explained yesterday on the "Keith's Early Guitars" thread about Harmony's Philosophy of Affordability,
which i'm sure was real welcome to these hungry young guitarcreatures circa 1962/63.
what about the next guitars they chose - was a Gretsch 6118 a fairly expensive instrument in 1963, or ... ?
it wasn't very long before they could get (i suppose) just about whatever they wanted,
but it's sweet to ponder their very early choices, when it still wasn't real obvious how they'd keep up the payments on them ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-24 23:37 by with sssoul.

awRIGHT - finally King Bee's last post with three photos has started cooperating.
thanks especially for that one of early-1963 Brian with his Harmony logo so clearly visible!
that's a Stratotone Mars, right? you can find the model on this fine site: [harmony.demont.net]
have fun!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-28 22:40 by with sssoul.

Ok, have I got this backwards in my memory? I have been thinking that Harmony was Wards and that Silvertone was Sears. Is it the other way round?

Silvertones were indeed sold by Sears; some of them were Harmony-made.
the one Mick is using for BOMH these days is a Danelectro-made Silvertone,
and that one was for sure sold by Sears: [www.vintagesilvertones.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-02-20 15:35 by with sssoul.

Regarding guitar prices, here's a yardstick:
According to the book The Beatles Gear by Andy Babiuk,
the Gretsch Tennessean used by Harrison during late '64 and most of '65
(Beatles For Sale, Help!, USA tour, Shea Stadium, etc...) sold for $350 new
in 1964 (around 125 pounds then, around $2000 or 1400 pounds in today's money).
McCartney's 1962 Epiphone Casino (which he still uses to this day) went for
$480 new back then. MInd you, the prices he gives are the retail price back then,
no discounts, trades, etc...
Brian's Gretsch probably went for a little less than the Tennessean brand new
back then.

thank you, TomK, that does provide some perspective.
so Brian getting that Gretsch in 63 was a Great Leap Forward from the Harmony Stratotone, huh.
they also did those Vox PR photos in 63, which i bet was in exchange for some equipment, or at least major discounts on equipment ...

smile: i love the *highly eloquent* looks on everybody's faces in this shot:


- Vox PR 1963



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-28 22:48 by with sssoul.

AH! I've got it now! Montgomery Wards line of musical instruments was 'Airline' which were really horrible. The 'Silvertone' line that Sears sold was better. They even had an electric guitar they sold with an amp built right into the guitar case!

right! that link i gave just a couple of posts ago is to one of the "amp in case" models ...
here it is again, to spare you some scrolling: [www.vintagesilvertones.com]
if it looks familiar, it's because it's the one Mick's now using on BOMH.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-02-20 15:34 by with sssoul.

A friend of mine had one, they weren't much, but, they were cool!

A little light hearted sssouly but actually saw on of these Stonesmania guitars go for $4000US on Ebay once!!
Classic shot though dont ya reck...!!


Neil Preston



ROCKMAN

sweet - thank you Rockman!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-24 23:39 by with sssoul.

guys these pics are just amazing put on some more please!

Brian 1967...Photo Leloir.





ROCKMAN

Keith with Vox 12 string...Photo Peter Francis



ROCKMAN

Brian 1966...no credits listed.




ROCKMAN

No guitar sssouly but worth a peek.

Be My Baby....I Just Wanna Make Love To You



ROCKMAN

is that ronnie spector?

"tulip-shaped guitar" - you mean the Rickenbacker that's also 3 posts up from this?

I would imagine that their getting gretsches, ricks, etc. coincided with andrew loog and/or decca footing the bills for equipment & clothes. The band's do-it-yourself days were intense but brief.

cc

Guys, these are some great shots of Brian. The one a couple posts up with him playing the Ric, cigarette in mouth, is pure rock n' roll. Good job, Rockman!

Brian is probably playing Get Off Of My Cloud when playing
the Rick 12. THat's the positioning his hands are in
when playing that 3-note lick that runs through the song.

Rockman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No guitar sssouly but worth a peek.
>
> Be My Baby....I Just Wanna Make Love To You
>
> ROCKMAN


that's the cat who could play any instrument....including the butt bongo

wow, nice! thank you everybody.

here are some sites with details about Rickenbackers:
[www.provide.net]
[www.rickenbacker.com]

i would be gratefully fascinated if someone could talk a bit about
the distinctive Rickenbacker sound and what tracks can we hear it clearly on ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-24 23:40 by with sssoul.

No year or photo credits listed



ROCKMAN

Rockman! Such a strange but struckin resemblance with Jim Morrison (!),
they gotta have some common ancestor.

by the way, Rockman my dear, i bet that 1966 shot of Brian with the Rickenbacker & cigarette is from the february/march 66 Australian tour -
it looks just like several shots i have that Stu took during some soundcheck, so quite possibly he took that one of yours as well.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-28 22:50 by with sssoul.

yeah sssoully....you are probably correct . Book I took photo from is dated May 1966 and only info says photos are from recent tour...they were in Aussie land early 1966 and then Europe...but most likely they are Aussie shots.

Yeah well about these ....anybody know their sitar makes & models ????








ROCKMAN