I am not a guitar expert, but some times you see a new guitar used on stage by Keith or Ronnie.

I am often close to the band, and some times I see a guitar being brought to Keith or Ronnie, to their studio, or to their hotel. They are not brought to be signed, but to be used, by the masters themselves.

I was told that Keith owns about three Herlin guitars. They are built in Sweden by Jim Herlin, a tiny Swedish guitar workshop:

Herlin Guitars Official Web Site

In "Keith covers Lou Reed's "I'm Waiting For The Man"" Keith is actually borrowing Pierre De Beauport's Herlin guitar.

Then in Orlando Monday June 3, 2024 on "She's A Raibow", Keith is playing on of his Herlin guitars, see picture below. In Chicago, he used a black Gibson on "She's a Rainbow", and I haven't got to check all other shows.

I just wonder, why would he change the guitar during a tour, for a song he normally use another guitar? Just to hear how it sounds? I bet Pierre do have a backup guitar re4ady behind stage, on every song, in case a string is broken, or there is a technical problem. And I do know that Keith do have large racks of guitars backstage to choose from. Still, I see Keith as sort of conservative as far as song picking, but may be he do change guitars more often that I get to see? I mean, if you are not an expert, it is not easy to see every new guitar, and when you are in Pit A with Mick on the acoustic, Ronnie on the pedal steel, sort of lots of things happening on "She's a Rainbow", I do not always catch these special moments.

Keith Richards with a Herlin guitar - She's a Rainbow - Orlando Monday June 3, 2024. Picture by Bjørnulf Vik:



Bjornulf



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2026-03-04 15:10 by bv.

Wow Björnulf that's really cool! Interesting stuff!

Yes, nice post! Makes me wish (kinda) I had sold the house and bought Pit tickets more often



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-03-04 16:49 by snoopy2.

Great picture, bv.

I could have had a much bigger house, and also a boat and a cottage, like many other Norwegians, if I did not go to the pit. In facts flights and hotel rooms cost more these days.

The Herlin guitar, like many other guitars and moments during the show, is also shown on the big screen. I have a picture when the very special shape and design of the guitar above takes a lot of the screen, in fact Keith and the Herlin is in most of the big screen, while the photographer (not me) have taken a picture of Mick.

This is not a "pit" discussion, that could have been taken in another thread. My point is that Keith is one of the most special guitarists, he is unique, to me is the number one for me, because he is the riff master.

I think Keith treat all his guitars like his best friends. Many guitars have been with him for ages, they have scratches, fans who know every guitar Keith own do know which one he has got during songs, and when he change to another build of the very same guitar. I mean, do you really need 60-80 guitars to play in a rock band? I am sure some may tell me why. It is all about sound, feel, all those details only guitar players know.

So Keith may afford many guitars, and he get to know different guitars. I remember one time when ZZ Top were a warmup act (Finland 2003 - see the "some Telecaster questions" thread), ZZ Top gave him a special guitar, which Keith used on stage.

So what is special with "She's a Rainbow"? How does the Herlin fit in? I think Keith do know what he is doing, but I don't know why and all of that, which is why I asked this question, or started this thread.

Bjornulf



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-03-04 18:17 by bv.

He probably has it because he wanted to try something new — I think it’s more about varying things than searching for the ultimate sound. He’s also used an ES-335 on She’s a Rainbow on other dates, one that looks like the other Gibson in appearance, though without the Bigsby vibrato. The reason he’s using a different black Gibson rather than the one with the Bigsby isn’t that he thinks the Gibson without Bigsby sounds better on this song — it’s because of the capo. Technically, it’s easier this way since he needs the Bigsby-equipped guitar for other songs later. He’s also used the Telecaster on Rainbow before as well.

Never played a Herlin guitar. I read that it mounts a single coil pickup + a piezo, a pickup usually used on acoustic guitars. Probably the idea was to be able to play fills with a more or less acoustic flavor but with the ease of an electric guitar. Guess Keith or Pierre believed it could fit well in the context of the song so they gave it a try.

Have to say that from the youtube vids I found it is very hard to distinguish its sound in the mix.

C

In which versions does he use the 335 without the bigsby? curious to see.

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MonkeyMan0108
In which versions does he use the 335 without the bigsby? curious to see.

Here: [youtu.be]

Quote
MonkeyMan0108
In which versions does he use the 335 without the bigsby? curious to see.

In 1997 and 2024 Keith played one of his 355s. In 2017 he played a Tele. He hasn't played a 335 since the mid 1960s - if that's even true.

Delete



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026-03-05 09:56 by IsakSun.

Quote
bv
I think Keith treat all his guitars like his best friends. Many guitars have been with him for ages, they have scratches, fans who know every guitar Keith own do know which one he has got during songs, and when he change to another build of the very same guitar. I mean, do you really need 60-80 guitars to play in a rock band? I am sure some may tell me why. It is all about sound, feel, all those details only guitar players know.

I think many guitarists have the same disease -you always want one more guitar. There's always that one guitar you really, really need in your collection....And for Keith its easy, as he has all the funds to buy whatever he or Pierre wants, and he's also given many guitars. If Keith plays your guitar once or twice live it guarantees a lot of press in there guitar magazines and internet.

Concerning guitar choice for songs -in general for most songs the guitars to be used are fixed and set, and they will not deviate from it for a certain number or shows. But each set has a couple of tracks that are open for experimenting, and those tracks are normally the tracks that are changed from set to set. 'Like a Rainbow' is such song, and its also a song where the guitar part is somewhat less defined and more open to experimentation. The guitar part is also not the carrying part of the song.

Mathijs

Cool story about Pierre de Beauport buying a guitar in Stockholm from swedish guitar maker Jim Herlin leading to an order for two more guitars for Keith.

Translation from an article published yesterday in swedish DN.

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A piece of Swedish history has been given new life on the world's biggest rock stages. Jim Herlin built a guitar from 17th-century wood from the royal ship Riksäpplet – which is now used by Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards.

The wood in the guitar that is now in Keith Richards' possession has a long history. The body itself is built from wood that in the early 17th century was used as beams and floors in what is now a local history museum in Söderköping.

During the summer of 2019, guitar builder Jim Herlin came into contact with the local history museum's chairman – who had saved the old wood after the museum was renovated. Something that TV4 also reported on.

- We loaded the whole car full and the girlfriend rolled her eyes at me a bit. I mostly saw it as a fun experiment, to see if something could be made from this wood.

The wood from the old local history museum was worn and the surface was full of small craters and holes.

– I pounded the wood on the bench and then something came out that I think were ant eggs, little white pearls and it never stopped coming out no matter how much I pounded.

With the help of large amounts of thin superglue, Jim Herlin managed to save the old worm-eaten pine wood and create a guitar body with a characteristic color and dramatic veins.

At home in Saltsjöbaden in Nacka, Jim Herlin then traded in a piece of black oak from the royal ship Riksäpplet. The ship was built in Gothenburg and launched in 1661. 15 years later, after being used in battles against the Danish fleet off Skåne, Riksäpplet sank off Dalarö. The wreck now rests there on the seabed.

At the end of the 19th century, blasting was carried out at the shipwreck to preserve the black oak. From there, via a crafts teacher, one of the pieces of wood from the ship was used for the fretboard and neck of Jim Herlin's guitar.

In the summer of 2022, when The Rolling Stones played in Stockholm, Keith Richards' technician Pierre de Beauport caught sight of the guitar. He bought one of the prototypes and a few months later Jim Herlin received a message on Facebook.

- He had presented the guitar to Keith, who is said to have become like a hopeless three-year-old. He just wanted to use that particular guitar all the time.

Some time later, a new request came from Keith Richards' technician. He wanted two new guitars, two "twins", and had very specific instructions about what the details should look like and what changes should be made from the prototype he had bought in Stockholm.

From the requested details, Jim Herlin understood that the guitars he was going to build were for the Rolling Stones legend.

- I cleaned up the workshop. Putting everything else aside and realizing that there will be no sleep until these guitars are finished.

After many nights of hard work, he sent the guitars off, then it was quiet for several months – until in March 2024, Jim's phone buzzed while he was working in the workshop.

In a cover of the Velvet Underground's hit "I'm Waiting for the Man" that was uploaded to Youtube, Keith Richards used one of the guitars – the one that the technician had bought in Stockholm a couple of years earlier.

– When you're doing this and building a guitar that Keith Richards uses, then you're kind of lucky.

A few months later, when the Rolling Stones went on a US tour, Jim's guitar reappeared in Keith Richards' hands.

– It was a step up. Seeing the guitar, not just with Keith Richards, but with the Rolling Stones – on stage, in front of an audience, says Jim Herlin.

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[www.herlinguitars.com]