Guitars

Gibson ES-345

1

“I originally started out on my grandfather’s guitar – he had this 1962 345 that I naturally became very used to. So about three years ago I started working with Gibson. They asked what I needed on the road and I explained I was tired of playing clubs with it… I would always end up taking it to the bathroom with me or riding the subway, wherever I went. It became this real cumbersome thing because I had it in a huge roadcase to keep it safe. Honestly, I wanted something that had less sentimental value and less monetary value! And this is what they gave me – a lot of parts were based on the Rusty Anderson model, who is Paul Mccartney’s guitar player, like the pickups and also the aged colour that they used for the body and neck binding. Jim Lillard at Gibson in Memphis put it together for me, they did it in a flame-top just as a stylistic thing. Now we are working on my signature – actually, when I get home from this tour I will have the prototype to check out, before bringing that out on the road. The pickups are fantastic – very similar to the PAF clones, but a little bit different… they have this sharper attack. I still keep my grandfather’s guitar at home, very safe. That guitar had a maestro tailpiece on it, which is really interesting – you won’t find any other 345s with that kind of tail. It’s the one from those really early SGS, like what Sister Rosetta Tharpe played. It had a tremolo system you pulled in with your pinky instead of whammying down and this custom-made plaque. It was fixed onto the guitar incorrectly actually! That’s what made this guitar really different and my signature will be identical, coming out next year.”