here we go again, dear kind patient Keith Guitar Connoisseurs. :E

i've been brooding for a while over the guitar Keith's got in the promo videos for Hot Stuff, Fool to Cry and Crazy Mama,
so i was very pleased to discover that i have this way-cool photo of it:


- 1975 (probably august), by Christopher Simon Sykes (courtesy of BrownEyedGirll)

that appears to be an L6S, and i'm wondering whether Keith ever used it for anything besides those promo videos.
Newman-Jones lists it among Keith's guitars in that article i posted on the "custom & oddball" thread - [iorr.org] -
which might indicate (or not) that it was an instrument Keith actually used; on the other hand, it seems Keith was doing some PR for Gibson circa 75,
so ... [scratchin head]

anyway, while prowling around looking for information about the L6S, i found this page by the guy who designed it: [www.billlawrence.com]
as usual, i'd love to hear any insights about this model from you kind patient experts. and yeah: have some popcorn. :E



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2006-01-07 20:54 by with sssoul.

I want Keef's shades & T-shirt.....way way cool



ROCKMAN

... did i hear someone say "it seems Keith was doing some PR for Gibson circa 75"??

here's a shot from the Gibson Archives of Keith & Ronnie's 1975 visit to the Gibson plant:


- 1975, courtesy of the Gibson Archives

i also found an article where someone says it looks like a Les Paul 55 that Keith's holding there, while Ronnie seems to have an L6S.

the article also mentions that in 1989 Gibson presented Ronnie with a black custom L5S with a single humbucker that he was still using in 97, and that
"in the book Gibson Guitars: 100 Years of an American Icon, there's a picture of Keith with the same guitar.
A query to Gypsy Carnes, who worked in Entertainment Relations at the time, revealed that Gibson actually made two identical L-5S guitars for the Stones."

does anyone happen to have any photos of those? and/or know what they used them for?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2006-01-07 14:32 by with sssoul.

then there's this oddity - does anyone know if this was ever actually used as an advert,
and/or whether Keith ever actually played a Gibson Marauder?


- courtesy of the Gibson Archives

the image is clearly 1975 Keith, but the s on his surname would have been a bit unusual in 75,
so ... it's weird! have some popcorn.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-01-07 16:44 by with sssoul.

moving right along ... what has Keith got here?
and did he ever use it for anything outside of the Respectable promo?


- may 2nd 1978, by Michael Putland (courtesy of BrownEyedGirll)

The last picture is a early 60's Gibson Melody Maker with added humbucker. The cheapest of all Gibsons.

Mathijs

okay so this one would be the "black custom L5S with a single humbucker" mentioned in the Gibson archives.
it's Ronnie's guitar; Keith borrowed it for the 1988 Winos tour. the Gibson archives also state:
"Gibson actually made two identical L5S guitars for the Stones." do we know anything about the second one?


- both 1988, both by Ross Halfin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-09-27 18:26 by with sssoul.

oh and: thank you for identifying the Melody Maker, Mathijs! is that a reasonably decent instrument to play, or ... ?
what i've dug up about the Marauder sure doesn't sound like it was one of Gibson's finest moments ...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-08-23 14:51 by with sssoul.

here are two more lesser known Gibbons:

Tribal Gibson gifts for this fine day.......FUN & CARE X




ROCKMAN



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-01-08 01:51 by Rockman.

Did Jagger put on those boots only for the photo shoot?

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

I had Gibson L6S once. I wish I still had it.
Don't know why I traded it. Sounded great (especially for slide), 24 frets.
The most interesting thing was the pickup switch knob that had 6 settings.
For some reason, they never caught on with the public,
As for the Marauder, I do remember seeing Gibson ads in the late 70's
with a picture of Ronnie. an endorsement, I suppose.
Never saw a picture of him in concert with one, though.

A girl who plays out a lot in her band that I know has a Marauder, which she treasures for it's trashiness; the main reason she uses it is because it is pretty bad. It's the Silvertone syndrome.
What were the 6 switches for on PU knob? Some out of phase settings?

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Ron Wood actually endorsed the Gibson S-1, a 3 pickup variation of the Marauder that was Gibson's answer to the Strat. It was a bolt on as well. As for the switching of the Strat and Marauder, there was a phasing option and also a two way toggle that would cancel out the setting and go right to the bridge pickup when turned on (GIbson called this bypass revolutionary at the time).
As for the L6S, Bill Lawrence did design it, but the production model was a far cry from the original Bill Lawrence design (as Bill describes at his website). Santana is most famous for using it in the 70's, before the Yamaha models and long before the PRS guitars.
The bass player of the Chesterfield Kings is currenlty writing a book called Stones Gear, he wrote the popular Beatles Gear book a few years back. If its anything like the Beatles book, all questions will be answered.

Here's a link to a Ron Wood endorsement:

[www.gibson.com]

... by request! the white SG that Keith used in 73.
not really "lesser-known", but not too commonly seen in Keith's fine hands.
i never really liked the look of these much ...


- the Nicaragua Benefit, jan 18th 1973
(not sure who took it - maybe Lynn Goldsmith?)


- Midnight Rambler at the Nicaragua Benefit, jan 18th 1973, by Lynn Goldsmith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-04-12 17:41 by with sssoul.

When I first saw that white one a while ago, I wasn't even sure it was Keith?! I wonder if he still owns it?

WHat's strange about that photo,
is that Keith has got himself some new pants. Usually he used 2-3 different pants from 72-78.
The one he uses on the Respectable-promo (see above) must have been his all-time-favourite!

Always loved that black Gibson

It's a black beauty, right?

A black beauty would have three Pups. no?

Not necessarily. There's models with 2 and 3 pick ups.

... is that one of Keith's guitars??
i know he played black 3PU LP Customs for a while there, of course, including a Black Beauty in 72 -
there's a thread about them around here somewhere ... ah yeah, here it is: [iorr.org]

oops - the photo this was referring to has been deleted from the thread, so the question doesn't make sense any more.
have some popcorn instead :E



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-09-27 14:54 by with sssoul.

withsouul. thanks for those amazing pictures. Great ones as always.

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... is that one of Keith's guitars??
> i know he played black 3PU LP Customs for a while
> there, of course, including a Black Beauty in 72 -
>
> there's a thread about them around here somewhere
> ... ah yeah, here it is:
> [iorr.org]-
> 268417

No it's not. He just did a Google search on Gibson Black Beauty.

thanks Reptile, that's about what i thought.
maybe we should start a new thread for random photos of good-lookin guitars? :E

and just to try to stay sort of on the topic of this thread ...
a couple more of Keith's SG Custom at the Nicaragua Benefit show:


- jan 18th 1973, by Lynn Goldsmith (courtesy BrownEyedGirll)


- jan 18th 1973, by Neal Preston (courtesy BrownEyedGirll)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-04-12 20:36 by with sssoul.

That's gotta be Mick's ultimate fag outfit. He's had his share, but this one just says it all.

What I don't know is why he's wearing two different outfits. Didn't they do like a morning show and evening show in '73?!

nice catch, Reptile! i never looked at Mick's outfit that closely, but you're right.
as far as i know there was only one show on january 18th, though, so ...
hm, it's a mystery.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2010-12-21 01:15 by with sssoul.

Keith played the L6S on stage in Paris in 1976, for the two Billy Preston songs. That´s the only time I see it.

The L5S was custom made for Ron Wood, but borrowed by Keith during the Winos tours. Ron still plays it accaisonly, for example during rehearsels in Toronto.

Mathijs

By the way, the L6S is ugly as hell.

thanks and thanks, Mathijs! i'll have to dust off my Paris 76 and have a look -
i always skip Billy's numbers (sorry Billy!).