... and as long as i'm here, here's one more shot from the Boxcar:


- may 21st 2004 (don't know who took it, sorry!)

in the photos on the Boxcar site it looks like Keith borrowed the guitar from Rocky Lawrence -
unless of course he lent it to Rocky Lawrence ... either way, here's Rocky Lawrence's website as well: [www.rockylawrence.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-04-20 13:29 by with sssoul.

with sssoul Wrote:

> and here's a rerun of the clearest shot i have of
> Keith's "Mystery Guitar" for comparison:
>
> [img.photobucket.com]
> iorr/1965jun_RSGtwins_DezoHoffman_BEG0.jpg
> - june 1965, by Dezo Hoffman (courtesy of
> BrownEyedGirll)

As a follow up, it looks like this guitar re-appears in 1969...



It is a Gibson though.

Also, the guitar used by Keith at the Rock and RollCircus is a J-200, the J-185 had less fancy trim etc. George Harrison also used one during 1968.

Thanks for the above pics of Brian;

Anybody know, what strings and what gauge Keith use for a 6 string acoustic?

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> thanks everybody for all this education!
>
> i'm still trying to get a grasp of exactly what
> the term dreadnought refers to - one description i
> found says:
> "For many years the C.F. Martin D or dreadnought
> shape guitar has dominated the market for acoustic
> steel string guitars.
> There are many good reasons for this. The large
> body size gives unparalleled volume and the
> somewhat bassy sound
> makes this a perfect instrument for rhythm guitar
> playing. As a result this is the ideal bluegrass
> guitar.
> This guitar is also a wonderful instrument for
> accompanying vocalists since the rich low
> registers complement almost any singing voice. "
> that's from
> [www.hoffmanguitars.com]
>
> so ... is a dreadnought a particular shape/size of
> guitar, or are there other defining
> characteristics? and what are the other
> varieties?
> i mean, when acoustics aren't dreadnoughts, what
> are they, please and thank you very kindly?

well it's like me to attempt to reflect on a question asked over two years ago; but this is such a great thread, it keeps coming back to the first page; i'm really enjoying it...

basically, in my limited understanding, there are a few basic general sizes offered in AG's, from largest to smallest Jumbo, Dreadnought, Orchestra and 'Concert' models...some of the other 'defining characteristics might be if a Cutaway is on the AG, tho that usually does not affect the tonal or volume considerations too thoroughly...still you are taking away some of the sound chamber on side of the guitar...i prefer Cutaways myself because i like to get way up on the neck for chords or lines and i hate running out of room....
secondly, the tone woods VERY much affect the defining characterisics of any acoustic instrument...a Martin with Mahogany back and sides, (usually, but not always) with a Spruce Top of varying qualities, each with IT's own tonal characteristic)...but most of the sound. a "hog" (mahogany) is going to give you sweeter treble and hi mids, spectacular sound...good rosewood will generally have a more bassy and 'rich' tonality, covering more of the frequency spectrum; not necessarily a good or bad thing, it depends on your style, your production, your voices, if you're doing solo or playing with an ensemble etc...

here's a resource that goes into explanations about sizes, tonewoods, etc... (they refer to 'orchestra' and 'concert' models as 'classic' because there are a varitety of sub-genres, or sub-sizes of 'orchestra' modesl etc)....as someone here has already contributed about, for example, Martin has O (orchestra models) and OO and OOO...going all the way from a smaller dread almost, to a parlor kinda of small instrument...

[www.sweetwater.com]

in addition to this there are all kinds of neck shapes that are important variables for players, and also neck widths...the nut material makes a tonal and sustain difference, as does the bridge pins etc...even the guage and strings manufacturer...
and a zillion pre-amps and amplification options if one needs an acoustic that can plug right in...
generally people are playing acoustics for the acoustic sound of course, so all these above variables are individual choices, but they are also critically important to the entire sound and approach; moreso perhaps than with electrics, because if an electric had good pickups and good wood & hardware, and was constructed properly, tho it WILL still have a distinctive sound if it's a peach of an electric, even unamplified (the best way to check them at first imo, long before i'll plug one in,) most people will amplify them of course, and set pre-amp and gains and outboard pedals in such a manner to really enhance the crunch and "distortion" inherent in all great electric guitar sounds...even when played 'clean' an electric will rely more on the pre-amp and amplification dynamics than the tone woods per se in most cases...
the fingerboard material won't affect the sound very much, but the grades of rosewood and ebony vary widely from lot to lot and manufacturer to manufactuer...as do all tone woods; and all of them are rapidly diminishing, or incredilby high priced for top rate tone woods in the constuction...
Vermeer painting circa 1672

___________________________
_______________________
____________________
lastly, 3 quick pages on tone woods with pix...
[www.frets.com]

What gauge did Keith use for the most 6 strings accoustic guitars?

Quote
vox12string
First of all here's a pic of (possibly) that same 12-string that I posted yesterday on the Brian's guitars thread, but it ain't a Guild. Note the plastic pegs.

[/URL]

Secondly, sorry, but Ruby is in the key of C. The chords of the first line are
Am - G - F - G - C
The 3rd line goes - Am - D - G , & that D chord might be the confusing factor.

What this means is that if Keith is in standard tuning he wouldn't need a capo, but if he's tuned down 2 or 3 frets then he'd need the capo to bring him back up to concert pitch playing the above chords.

Who's been Sleeping sounds like his Gibson, capoed on the 3rd fret, in the D position which allows you to go down to the C position at the end of the 1st & 2nd lines.

H1270 - Sovereign jumbo 12 string - 1964-1971 - Acoustic flatop 12 string - Natural
12 string version of the Sovereign H1260 "jumbo". The 1969 catalog says "CAUTION : It is best not to tune a 12-string guitar as high as regular 6-string guitar pitch. Experienced players recommend tuning three or four half-tones lower, to avoid strain wich might pull up the guitar top or bow the neck".
[harmony.demont.net]

Quote
Mathijs
It's a Guild 10 string, custom made for Keith. It's basically a 10-string F50, a guitar that's also used by Slash.

Mathijs

yes he talks about it briefly in his Life book. Good catch on the 10 strings Wolfgang! Duh. I'd say definately a custom made box just for Keith. To his specifications. Interestingly I have found a guitar type instrument with 5 courses of 2, 10 strings total, and have been playing Keith style licks with it for years. It's called a Cuatro and its from Puerto Rico. No need to go grab a custom luthier and mortgage the house. These Cuatro's are the real deal. 5 fingers, five chourses of strings.....simple math is always the best. I will ignore the Slash reference until he learns how to play the Les Paul of his properly. peace.

A photo from Keith's FB page of his new 1941 Epiphone Zephyr Deluxe Regent, acquired in Nashville:


June 2015 from Keith's FB page (by Jane Rose maybe?)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-10 16:10 by with sssoul.

Quote
with sssoul
A photo from Keith's FB page of his new 1941 Epiphone Zephyr Delixe Regent, acquired in Nashville:


June 2015 from Keith's FB page (by Jane Rose maybe?)

I saw some people in Nashville taking that guitar backstage to Keith. I was standing next to the backstage entrance when they came with it. It was stored in a case with epiphone paper around it.

Quote
with sssoul
A photo from Keith's FB page of his new 1941 Epiphone Zephyr Delixe Regent, acquired in Nashville:


June 2015 from Keith's FB page (by Jane Rose maybe?)

Happy NOBBGD, Keith. (New-old-big-box-guitar-day)

but...
The model name seems to be a bit mangled, regarding the meaning of "Regent"
and the capitalization of Deluxe vs. DeLuxe


Regent

This term isn't a confusing one, but since it has been used for decades on the aformentioned guitars, I felt that it was only prudent to include the term in this article.
The term "Regent" simply means that the guitar has a cutaway on the upper treble bout and is always attached as a suffix to the model name of the guitar.
There are no Epiphone models that bear the name of just "Regent". Aside from the Zephyr and DeLuxe models, the term was used to describe the pre-Gibson Emperor cutaway version from 1952-1953 before changing the name to simply Emperor Electric just prior to Gibson ownership. Epiphone produced a modern Emperor Regent from 1995-2011.

[epiphonewiki.com]

Let's just call it a 1941 Epiphone Zephyr DeLuxe.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-10 14:43 by open-g.

Quote
open-g
Let's just call it a 1941 Epiphone Zephyr DeLuxe.

Fine with me! I was just repeating what it said on Keith's FB page.
You should post that information there for Keith and Pierre, open-g honey!

Whatever it's called, it's a beauty. I love the gold leaf vine on the headstock, and are those clouds on the neck or more leaves? Can't tell.

Quote
with sssoul

Fine with me! I was just repeating what it said on Keith's FB page.
You should post that information there for Keith and Pierre, open-g honey!

I can't as I don't do FB.

Quote
latebloomer
Whatever it's called, it's a beauty. I love the gold leaf vine on the headstock, and are those clouds on the neck or more leaves? Can't tell.

Those marker are clouds on the fretboard and Vine of Life on the headstock.

Sorry to change the subject.
Keith's acoustic on Spanish laddies, the piece Keith played in pirates and again on shine a light.
Its one of the most soulful sounds i ever heard.
I just wondered if there is anything out there with Keith playing similar, or was it just a one off on Keith's part.
He certainly put his stamp on that piece, because it sounds nothing like la Malaguena


[www.youtube.com]

Anybody know when Keith used this 6-String acoustic Harmony Sovereign 1260 guitar , the same one as you can see in the pic at Marquee Club 71.And on which song? I think it could be 1971 but never saw a pic of him playing this guitar.

Quote
thomas guitar
Anybody know when Keith used this 6-String acoustic Harmony Sovereign 1260 guitar , the same one as you can see in the pic at Marquee Club 71.And on which song? I think it could be 1971 but never saw a pic of him playing this guitar.

It's a great question, I've never seen pictures of him playing it but have got to assume it was up there for a rendition of Wild Horses that never got played that night. I know some have said there was a problem with his 12-string, maybe that was the backup.

Perhaps one of the gear experts like Mathijs can weigh in with a better answer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-07-19 03:59 by Naturalust.

Quote
Naturalust

Quote
thomas guitar
Anybody know when Keith used this 6-String acoustic Harmony Sovereign 1260 guitar , the same one as you can see in the pic at Marquee Club 71.And on which song? I think it could be 1971 but never saw a pic of him playing this guitar.

It's a great question, I've never seen pictures of him playing it but have got to assume it was up there for a rendition of Wild Horses that never got played that night. I know some have said there was a problem with his 12-string, maybe that was the backup.

Perhaps one of the gear experts like Mathijs can weigh in with a better answer.

Yes, its hard to say.....nethertheless thank you

Anyone know what this acoustic is, in the new "Trouble" video? It looks familiar to me.

[www.tumblr.com]

isn't that the same lil martin he plays on the Words of wonder vid?

Quote
thomas guitar

Quote
Naturalust

Quote
thomas guitar
Anybody know when Keith used this 6-String acoustic Harmony Sovereign 1260 guitar , the same one as you can see in the pic at Marquee Club 71.And on which song? I think it could be 1971 but never saw a pic of him playing this guitar.

It's a great question, I've never seen pictures of him playing it but have got to assume it was up there for a rendition of Wild Horses that never got played that night. I know some have said there was a problem with his 12-string, maybe that was the backup.

Perhaps one of the gear experts like Mathijs can weigh in with a better answer.

Yes, its hard to say.....nethertheless thank you

Here you can see the Harmony Mick played during the Marquee Club Rehearsals ( WIld Horses)

Great photo, thomas guitar! Do you know who took it, please and thank you?

Quote
with sssoul
Great photo, thomas guitar! Do you know who took it, please and thank you?

Don´t know.....saw it yesterday by chance......never saw it before....

Thomas

Keith apparently with a "The Gibson" L-1 Blues Tribute (from the Netflix trailer).
of course this could also be the real deal from the 1920's in pretty great condition.





[www.gibson.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-09-10 01:25 by open-g.

Of course it's the real deal.
According to guitar tech Pierre de Beauport in the netflix movie,
the Gibson is the same year and model as Robert Johnson's.

haven't seen the movie myself but was told so.

Beautiful - thanks open-g

In the 1972 shot of Keith playing an acoustic with a Strat also around his neck, The acoustic is not a Gibson. The body shape is more like a Harmony Sovereign, but the headstock is the wrong shape. The headstock is also the wrong shape for a Gibson and the inlays are all wrong for a Hummingbird. It looks to me like an approximation of a Hummingbird pick guard on an off brand guitar, not a Hummingbird or Gibson of any kind.

Quote
ChrisM
And here's a nice one that I just scanned from my Hawaii '73 Tour program. I think that it may have been taken at the Nicuaragan Benefit the month before but I'm not sure. This is Martin 0018 I believe.

I think its a D28.....the only pic i saw Keith with this type of guitar

Maybe an OM or 000. Perhaps a 14 fret 00 but certainly not a D.
You maybe right about the style though. Looks more 28 than 18 to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-07 14:05 by z.