Not sure which guitar this is but
aren't they all plugged into Bill's amp here?.....lol

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

I think that one's a Harmony

um ... which photo are you talking about, Joss and MarvPeck?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-28 22:50 by with sssoul.

I'm not sure what Brian is playing but
I think they are all plugged into Bill's amp, right? .....lol

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

Sorry I got carried away and didn't realize there were four pages here.....I'm like way behind.....
These have been great pics of Brian...thanks to everyone who has posted them.

Marv Peck

Y'all remember that rubber legged boy

Sssoul, Brian plays the Ric in The Singer Not the Song, I'm Free, and, most notably, Blue Turns to Grey, all songs in December's Children. Brian's lead in Blue Turns to Grey is particularly good, as you can clearly hear his Ric. Brian was supposedly a big fan of the Byrds.

thank you very much for pointing that out, neptune!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009-07-28 22:51 by with sssoul.

Live 1963...note Vox amp.



Caption reads....At a soundcheck in 1965 - with his beloved Vox, which he first played live on 11 July 1964 at the Spa Royal Hall, Bridlington.

Neal Preston.



ROCKMAN

Nice pics, (and, nice ,.......thanks Rockman!) One thing I haven't heard anybody comment on is how well the Vox Teardrop's played, and, how well they were made,...what they sounded like etc. I guess one could assume that since Brian used them so much they must have been fine guitars. Man, this is better than rock 'n' roll guitar college.

Not sure we can assume it was a "good"-sounding guitar. Again, if it were, it probably would have caught on with many more players, especially as it was a domestic company from their perspective. Remember that brian's traditionalist days faded quickly, and he explored other sounds and instruments... and was no longer interested in standard guitar work pretty early on. I'd guess it might have had a distinctive or gnarly sound that struck his fancy, but not necessarily one you'd want to use all over the place. His sounds on the Paris '66 and '67 shows are insane... maybe that's it?

No credits listed



ROCKMAN

According to sources I've read, the Vox Phantom teardrops that Brian used were not such good sounding guitars. They didn't have a great reputation and that's probably why such few guitarists used them. Supposedly, the ONLY reason why Brian chose the Vox teardrop was because of its cool, distinctive looks. It's no coincidence that BJ began using the teardrop when the Stones first went over to America and started making all those television appearances. Image was just as important as the music, and Brian understood that very well.

early 1964 he used the vox and its 12-string. same with keith and the epiphone casino.

After a search found this small article about Brian's guitars from February 2004 edition of Guitar magazine.




ROCKMAN

Does anyone have a picture of Brian using the Gibson ES-350T?
I must have missed it somewhere 'cause I've never seen him with one.
I assumed he was using the Gretsch at the time of the first album.

wow thank you Rockman - odd indeed that they don't mention either the Stratotone or the Gretsch, though!

Does the fact that Brian never paid that guy back for the amp make him a real Rolling Stone? That rascal.

sssoul, they do mention a Gretch Double Anniversary, whatever that is? Double cut-away?

And, I've never heard of a Melobar guitar, anybody else? No wonder that slide sounds so good on No Expectations?

>> they do mention a Grestch Double Anniversary <<
so they do - i'm reading too fast, went straight through the turn and ran out of gas ... :E
anyway here's the Melobar site: [www.melobar.com]

That '04 Guitar magazine article was very good. I was happy they highlighted someone from the Stones other than Keith Richards for a change! What many people fail to realize was that Brian Jones was just as important and influential a guitar player as KR. Brian was the first well-known slide guitarist outside the the almost clandestine Chicago blues scene; he really introduced that type of playing to the world. There would be no MT, Duane Allman, Jimi Hendrix, or Ry Cooder without Brian leading the way. I could only imagine how many young kids began experimenting with slide guitar after watching Brian perform Little Red Rooster on Ed Sullivan or Shindig in the early 60's. It's really sad that Brian has recieved such little credit for his monumental accomplishments . . .

Are you sure? Seems like on a lot early tracks, brian is already not playing guitar, but harmonica or maracas. Were the few tracks he played slide on so huge in people's minds?

On the other hand, there is "The Last Time."

cc

There is no doubt that those early televised appearances by the Stones on Ed Sullivan, Shindig, TAMI Show, etc. were widely viewed here in the States. MILLIONS of Americans and people throughout the world were WATCHING the Stones do their thing. They, thanks to Brian, were the first known rock band to use slide guitar, which pretty much changed rock n' roll forever. The Stones' introduction of slide guitar to rock n' roll was hugely important, period. That's a fact and I don't care what anybody says. It seems to me that the Stones don't want to take credit for introducing the slide to mass audiences because that would be giving too much credit to Brian. That, at least, is my humble opinion. Thus, the Stones' integral part in the history of the slide guitar becomes a forgotten thing, which undoubtedly has negative consequences for BJ's legacy. As far as Brian's guitar playing on Stones albums, he plays plenty from the first album to Aftermath. He didn't play guitar on Between the Buttons and TSMR, but rediscovers it later in Beggars Banquet. He played all the slide parts in the early albums, LRR being his masterpiece. Let's not forget that LRR went on to reach No. 1 in England and it was HUGE on many an aspiring guitars' minds . . .

I posted this in the Keith's guitar thread before I noticed this one, but it bears repeating here.

The Vox 12 string is the guitar Brian used on 'Its All Over Now'. I remember it well. I was 14, had a cheap guitar & of course dreamed of owning something decent, so I took an interest in what they were playing from the first. I recall noticing this Vox being used at the time for this song only, & also noticing when the 6 string Vox showed up, that tear drop shape was quite different to all the other guitars everybody else had. Years later I bought a Vox Phantom 12-string, the 5-sided job, but I'm essentially an acoustic player so got rid of it before I finally settled in Australia. I notice on the American shows Brian used the 6 tring for IAON, would have been a hassle to tune I suppose.

I find it interesting that he didn't have a tremolo on the 6 but did have one on the 12-string.

I had a chance to buy the Gretsch. In 1965-67 I lived in Frimley just south of London on the Surrey/Hampshire border. It was close to Camberley which had a music shop & I used to cycle there & buy my picks, sheet music & guitar strings (Cathedral & Black Diamond if I recall). One day a large cardboard poster showed up in the window with the Gretsch beside it. The shop guys had put together the poster advertising the guitar for sale with pix of Brian playing it & pointing out the features proving it was Brians guitar. 2 I recall were a new volume knob & a different tuning peg replacing one that had been damaged. I did come across a pic showing that tuning peg bent out of shape but can't find it at the moment. Anyway, the guitar cost 80 guineas (84 pounds) & there was no way I had that sort of money. Whether it really was his guitar or who got it I have no way of knowing, but sometimes I dream...what if?....

I've got a pic of Brian playing an Australian Mayton, but can't quite place where it is.

Original Rolling Stones line-up, Crawdaddy Club, Richmond, Surrey 1963.

No credits listed




ROCKMAN

smile: this site looks like someone here put it together:
[www.angelfire.com]

... and while i'm here ... what guitar has Brian got in this photo??


- Manchester aug 1964, courtesy of Vox12String

I was wondering about that, too... looks like a firebird headstock, although that headstock is "influenced" by the fender headstocks. And what we can see of the body has a strattish curve to it.

cc

ohh no - the Stones playing matching pretty blue Strats!? no wonder the crowd is rioting. :E
i guess their other instruments really did get trashed in Blackpool shortly before this - but still!

seriously, though: that headstock can't be a Firebird, can it? it would be a nonreverse Firebird,
and i think those weren't being produced yet in 64, were they?

Not sure about the production history, but I don't know of any other gibson guitar with all 6 tuning pegs on the same side (there's a term for that which I can't remember right now!). And all the harmonys we've been looking at had 3-on-a-side too, right?

the reverse Firebirds have the tuning pegs on the treble side, though.
here's where i read that they weren't yet making nonreverse Firebirds in 64:
[www.provide.net]
but maybe Brian had a prototype? he was a prototype kind of guy, after all!
LoFL: it's funny how uneasy i am with the notion that they were playing matching blue Strats!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-02-18 15:04 by with sssoul.

heh... well, if it's a strat, I don't think they're matching. brian's looks like a sunburst finish to me. And the headstock looks black? and also more sharply angled than a true fender headstock.

Could it be a wyman-esque homemade combo? Can't imagine brian having the patience for that by this time.

cc

Sherlock vox12string here...

The other Gibson that had 6 in a line tuning pegs in this period was the Trini Lopez model. There were 2 types, one a thin ES-type with rounded shoulders, a & another fatter version with sharp cutaways.

But this isn't the guitar Brian's got at Manchester '64. I re-scanned that section & as soon as I spotted the little bit of pickguard just to the left of the sergeant's stripes it screamed at me. Burns. Found a pic of a Burns-Baldwin Split Sound Jazz model & there she is . There's a bit of shadow around the headstock which fooled me for a bit but check out that diamond shaped logo on the headstock.




I found the pic & info here [www.glyphmedia.com]

Here's a pic of Brian from the one-plus-one sessions with a Gibson J-200


And finally one of Brian with an Australian Maton semi-acoustic