THE GUITARS
“The reason I left school was because of that [Strat]. The first day I saw one in a London shop, I just went into a trance” JEFF BECK
Jeff Beck was a Strat man through and through, but this wasn’t to the avoidance of all other models. Author and guitar historian Tony Bacon recounts his past conversations with Beck as he charts the various six-strings that were instrumental in his career
Think of Jeff Beck, guitar in hand, and you might well think Strat. Not a surprise, given that was his main instrument for the last 40 or so years of his long career. We talked about this as Jeff and I sat in the kitchen of his 16th century Sussex pile enjoying a nice cup of tea and a chat about guitars, one of his favourite subjects.
He reflected on the timeless qualities of a Strat. “You don’t get kids saying, ‘What’s that old guitar? Ain’t you got a new one?’ It still looks futuristic,” he said, smiling at the idea, “and it’s still an unbeatable shape, as is the Tele. I don’t think you can improve on those two guitars – the all-time great rock guitars.”
In fact, he added, the Strat was to blame for his early conversion to the power of rock. “The reason I left school was because of that guitar. I mean, that is brain damage when you’re a kid of 14 and you see something like that. It’s just a piece of equipment that I dreamed about touching, never mind owning. The first day I stood staring at one in a London shop, I just went into a trance – and
I got the wrong bus home, just dreaming about it. You know? It blew my brains apart, and it’s never been any different since. It’s taken me all round the world and given me everything I’ve got – just that Strat, really. So it is a particular favourite of mine.”
Beck remained a Strat evangelist, playing a good number of the things through the years. And this continuing allegiance must have helped Fender shift countless units, too, especially after his signature model was added to the line. At first, he’d vetoed the idea and the original design evolved into Fender’s Strat Plus of 1987, but the Jeff Beck Stratocaster, not dissimilar to the Plus, finally appeared four years later.
And before the Strat? Did you say Telecaster, Esquire, Les Paul? Well, yes – but there was a Strat very early on for the young Geoffrey. As he weaved in and out of teenage bands, one of his earliest electrics was a Strat, back in 1961 or so. “It was a ’60 sunburst, which I painted pink or lavender,” he recalled. “I remember it split in two – this big split appeared along the back of it because I’d whacked something with it. But I wanted a car and had to sell it. So, as I travelled on the train to sell it, I touched up the split with my girlfriend’s nail varnish. It matched perfectly! Fantastic story, eh? And they never spotted it.”