thanks Harlix honey ... the threads for Keith's Telecasters are here: [iorr.org]
and here: [www.iorr.org]

and here's ratbag boogie - the index of the various guitar threads: [www.iorr.org]

from another of the fine photos that Rich/WeSellGuitars took backstage this summer (thank you!):


- Bucharest july 16th 2007 by Rich/WeSellGuitars

the red one next to Dwight (de white 345) intrigues me - is that Keith's cherry ES-355, or ... ?
i know he used that one a couple of times on the ABB tour, but i think only in North America.
did any of us see him with a red ES on stage in Europe this summer?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-09-28 12:10 by with sssoul.

... as a result of causes i've gotten interested in the standard finishes on vintage 355s.

Rich/WeSellGuitars recently pointed out on some other thread that this ES-355
that Keith was using on the 69 tour was a dark walnut finish:


- MSG 1969 (don't know who took it, sorry!)

that vintage guitar site indicates that walnut-finish 355s were introduced in 1969: [www.provide.net]
is that reliable, as far as our resident learned patient & good-lookin Guitar Connoisseurs know -
is that guitar most likely a 69 model?

then there's this 355 - that's the lyre Gibson vibrato instead of a Bigsby, right?


- Nellcote 1971 by D. Tarle (courtesy of mainstreet skyblog)

so is that probably a cherry-finish 63-68 model, or am i taking the specifications on that site too literally?

and in related news: was an ebony finish ever standard for ES-355s? i don't see it mentioned on the vintage site,
so ... is Keith's current ebony 355 another custom-finish rarity, like Dwight de white 345?

Aren't the two guitars pictured above one and the same?

i don't know, HM - that's part of what i'm asking.
if the one in the concert shot has a walnut finish, then (according to that vintage site)
it would be a 69 model - which (also according to that site) would mean it would have a Bigsby, not a lyre vibrato.
unless i'm taking that site way too literally, which is very possible.

with sssoul Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ... as a result of causes i've gotten interested
> in the standard finishes on vintage 355s.
>
> Rich/WeSellGuitars recently pointed out on some
> other thread that this ES-355
> that Keith was using on the 69 tour was a dark
> walnut finish:

I am not sure about this...as I am not sure whether there's one or two 355's in '69 - '71.

I have several really clear pictures of Taylor in '71 and '75 with a brand new looking burgundy ES-355. The colour seems like a mix between burgundy and brownish ebony, depending on the how clear the picture is. It's the guitar Taylor uses on Top of the Pops '71 during Brown Sugar, and later with Jack Bruce on the Old Grey Whistle Test. This guitar looks completely new to me in 1971, so I bet it's just a couple of years old. This is the guitar pictured many times in Nellcote in '71.

Then there's the 355 used by Keith on the '69 and '70 tour, mostly for Midnight Rambler, but also on the outtake of Queenie from '69. This guitar might not be the same guitar as the Taylor 355. It has always looked much more like a true ebony 355, and a true '59 one. However, I simply do not have a picture or any footage of the bridge of this guitar. I don't know whether it's a lyre, stoptail or Bigsby.

> and in related news: was an ebony finish ever
> standard for ES-355s? i don't see it mentioned on
> the vintage site,
> so ... is Keith's current ebony 355 another
> custom-finish rarity, like Dwight de white 345?

The 355 was the most luxerious flagship of Gibson, and was available in any colour as long as it wasn't standard. However, there's just a few hundred 355's made until about '64, so any colour can be regarded as Custom colour, with 'natural' being the most rare. White is rare as well, and in a lesser case ebony as well. Cherry is more common, especially after '61.

And now to something else: I learned that the Stones lost several guitars after a Manchester or Birmingham show in '71. Apperently, the Mick Taylor Burst and Keith's moon-motif painted LP Custom were stolen at that point. I do not know how true this is, but it does explain why these guitars are not on any pictures from Nellcote that I know of.

Mathijs

>> there's just a few hundred 355's made until about '64, so any colour can be regarded as Custom colour <<

ahh so - thank you Mathijs!
and i'm glad to know too that i have good reason to be unsure if those two photos above are the same guitar.
same goes for the one in this photo - that 355 slouching in the back there sure looks ebony, but ...


- 1969, courtesy of Mathijs (don't know who took it, sorry!)

meanwhile, i'm pining to know more about this Manchester-or-Birmingham 71 theft!
even though this isn't an LP thread :E
can you give us more details, please please and thank you?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2007-09-30 17:43 by with sssoul.

Keith's white ES-345

This photograph appeared in "Rark Street Music" before.



When it is good please come to myspace.
[profile.myspace.com]

Domo arrigato, Mineko-san! Great pics ! Your website is great, by the way.

thanks Mineko! nice to have a set of portraits of Dwight :E

all right: getting close to Halloween, so it's a good season for Too Much Blood -
what is that Keith's got there, before he trades his guitar for a chainsaw??
you can't see much of it in this screen capture - sorry! - but it's the only one i've got (thank you Rockman!)
i been searching for the right identity of this one like a mustard for a ham, and ... help! :E


- Too Much Blood january 24th 1984 (courtesy of Rockman)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-13 19:21 by with sssoul.

...and here's one of Ronnie's.

Can't tell, but here's the video
Too Much Blood





Too much weekend, Barn Owl?


PS, The guitar re-appears in Undercover of the Night at 1:02






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-13 18:15 by open-g.

thanks Open-G honey - you sure have quick eyes!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2007-10-14 13:13 by with sssoul.

The headstock reminds me of the Ibanez line
...but it's tough to tell from those pics

[upload.wikimedia.org]
edit: not really relevant



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-06 16:20 by open-g.

i see what you mean, Open-G honey - it does & doesn't look like an Ibanez, and a few other makes too.
thanks for taking an interest (and for reassuring me that there are good reasons for my confusion) :E

eureka: it's a Jesselli, so i'll move it on over to the Customs & Oddballs thread: [www.iorr.org]

Yes, that IS a Louis Vuitton guitar case!

About this picture: I heard on the radio tonight, interview of Antoine (?) Arnauld : it was shot at the St Regis (Keith's prefered hotel) just before christmas (Dec. 21st).

He also said Keith told him the guitar in the shot was given by John Lennon a few days before he was murdered.

... i hope this turns out to be the right thread for this: do we have any details about the guitar
that Keith gave to Buddy Guy at the second Beacon show? the moment's in Shine a Light,
so we'll be able to get a better look at it, but meanwhile: i know people who were at the show
who thought it was the ebony 355, but when watching the film the gallant and sharp-eyed open-g
pointed out that it's a Guild!?! which means it's one we haven't seen Keith use on stage.
i admit that for a while there i had a theory that it was actually Buddy Guy's guitar,
which would lend all new meaning to Keith giving it to him with the words "it's yours"
but in the new Uncut interview that Rockman so gallantly posted for us, Keith is quoted as saying
the guitar he gave to Buddy was an "old favourite". so ... cool, another Keith Mystery Guitar!

a] any theories about what model it is? (it is a black/ebony double-cutaway hollow or semihollow, right?)
b] does anyone have any photos of it from the show, by any chance? to tide us over until the film?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 15:48 by with sssoul.

hey - *i* have a photo of it! courtesy of timbernardis.
and isn't that interesting - Keith used his white ES-345 for Champagne & Reefer the first night
and this black Mystery Guitar the second night. and it's pretty clear why people mistook it for the ES-355 -
but not that much else is super-clear, i'm afraid. still, maybe someone recognizes the model?


- november 1st 2006 by timbernardis





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 16:17 by with sssoul.

That is a dark green Guild Starfire V Deluxe.
Buddy Guy played Guild Semi Hollows for many years.
There is the great DVD "Jamming with the Blues Greats" with Buddy, Junior Wells,
Albert King, Mick T and others playing with John Mayalls Bluesbreakers.
Buddy plays a Guild in that concert.
I also have an old Guitar Player issue with a Guild advert. with Buddy and that guitar in it.

Phil



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 15:44 by Phil Good.

... you mean it is Buddy's guitar, not Keith's gift to him?! LoFL!

thanks too for the model information - i was just rooting around in some old Guild catalogs
and was about to post a page with Starfires as a first guess.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 16:19 by with sssoul.

in case it's of interest, let's see if that page is legible ... a bit big, sorry! and apologies for the gap down the middle.
it's from a 1966 Guild brochure, which of course is probably not the right year,
but it's the only Guild catalog i have with Starfires in it. and i reckon it gives the general idea.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 17:28 by with sssoul.

way cool: some old Guild adverts, including one with Mr Buddy Guy: [www.vintageguitars.org.uk]
and some old Guild catalogs: [www.vintageguitars.org.uk]
and a Starfire page: [www.vintageguitars.org.uk]
and ... okay, now i get it: the Starfire V is the deluxe model.
here's a more detailed page on it: [www.vintageguitars.org.uk]

but ... is that Beacon instrument really Buddy Guy's guitar
that Keith simply gave back to him after borrowing it for the song?
that is hilarious. ~*KEITH!*~



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 17:56 by with sssoul.

meanwhile, our cohort Phil Good asked this Good Question on another thread,
and i reckon we want it in this one, in case an answer appears:

>> [In the Vuitton advert] there is a small black stripe or tape on the top of the neck pickup of Keith's black ES 355
It covers the pole screws of the p/up. I never saw that stripe in other pics of that guitar before.
Anybody here who can explain about it? Thanks <<

I don't know if it was Buddy's or Keith's guitar. Saw Keith with that model for the first time now.

>> I don't know if it was Buddy's or Keith's guitar.

ah okay, thanks for clarifying that - well, it's Buddy's now in any case!
sorry i got carried away with my kooky idea that it was always his - that would be funny, though. :E

>> Saw Keith with that model for the first time now. <<

yeah, i believe the last time he was on stage with a Guild was 1966.
it's so cool when we get to see some from his hidden arsenal.

>>sorry i got carried away with my kooky idea that it was always his - that would be funny, though. :E <<

I'd be shocked actually, if that where true.
Keith had quite a few guitars given to himself, so he knows how to appreciate it.
maybe Pierre was sent out to scout and find a very special Guild Starfire. just guessing though.

i'm just being silly, i know - my sense of humour gets a bit warped sometimes, sorry!
and of course giving the guitar to Buddy is a beautiful gesture - especially at that moment in the show,
it's a very ... samurai-like thing to do. honouring the master. beautiful to see.

i like your idea of Keith seeking the guitar out specially as a splendid present, but
doesn't Keith say in the new Uncut interview that it's "an old favourite"?
(i'm not sure he specified *whose* old favourite, though! no no - that's me being silly again, sorry!)

ahem - any theories about that odd stripe on the ES-355 in the Vuitton ad?
a goofy photoshop idea? a band-aid? Keith's missing moustache?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-03-07 20:44 by with sssoul.