The Players
News and happenings from the world of your favourite guitarists
One of Bob Dylan’s Martin acoustic guitars is expected to sell for more than $300,000 at Heritage Auctions this month. The ’63 D-28 was used by Dylan for his set at George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, as well as his Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 75 and 76. It is being sold by Larry Cragg, Dylan’s tech who bought it from the musician in 1977. “It has the same bridge pins, everything is just like it was when he had it: same case and everything, just like it was 40 years ago,” says Cragg. “It’s kind of past being a guitar now. It’s the kind of thing that you’d think that people would put in a glass case or in a museum.”
Guitarist was saddened to hear of the passing of Dubliners guitarist Eamonn Campbell on 18 October after a short illness, aged 70. Campbell officially joined The Dubliners in the 1980s before joining The Dublin Legends. He was on tour with the latter when he was taken ill last month.
October also witnessed the passing of former Easybeats guitarist and AC/DC producer George Young, aged 70. The older brother of Angus and Malcolm produced seven of AC/DC albums, including 1978’s Powerage, after enjoying success with the Easybeats, including co-writing their 1965 hit Friday On My Mind. “Without his help and guidance there would not have been an AC/ DC,” the band wrote in tribute. “As a musician, songwriter, producer, advisor and much, much more, you could not ask for a more dedicated and professional man.”
Billy Corgan (pictured) has confirmed he’s working with Electro-Harmonix on a reissue of the op-amp Big Muff, after the Smashing Pumpkins main-man helped make the pedal famous on the band’s classic 1993 album
Siamese Dream. “Mike Matthews, the company founder, actually contacted me because he felt we made [the op-amp Big Muff] the fuckin’ sound,” Billy enthused to MusicRadar.com. “That was an incredible honour! I told him I didn’t want anything: I want to do it because they changed my life. That sound is the sound! So they’re bringing the original op-amp series back, which is great, because the Soviet versions were never quite the same.”
Ryan Adams has revealed the prototype that confirms his long-rumoured signature model, and it’s certainly distinctive. There’s not just triple-colour binding on a sparkle black finish, but white binding on the black scratchplate too, which looks to be from California design company Decoboom. But the HM Stratinspired black headstock and decal are sure to be just as much of a talking point. A few more tweaks are expected to the design before it’s ready.