What guitar did your hero play?

Subject: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 12:33 PM

I was watching TV tonight and there was footage of Carl Perkins playing this beautiful blue guitar. The headstock looked Fender-ish but nothing else looked like any Fender I've ever seen. Then I thought twould be nice if we made a list of our favourite players and the kinds of guitar they played. You will know about artists that you followed, just as Ifollowed some players for years.

Ralph McTell for example played a Gibson J45, when I first saw him in 1968. For much of his career he played a dreadnought Yammaha LL16, and a small bodied Yamaha APX for open tuning songs. Then about twenty years ago he switched back t

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 12:39 PM

(sorry interrupted)
Ralph switched back to the J45. I seem to remember a dalliance with a Zemaitis 12 string.

Derek Brimstone played a Gibson acoustic through the 1960's and seventies. For the rest he played a Kasuge with a highly ornate carved neck. Both dreadnoughts.

Wizz Jones played an Epiphone (Ranger model I think).

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,johnmc
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 12:43 PM

I would gaze at Dylan's J200 on the cover of Nashville Syline and wonder at its beauty.
( Did we subsequently learn George Harrison gave him it ? )
At the time, I had no idea what it was.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 01:05 PM

Blonde Gibson Jumbo J200

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Fred
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 01:23 PM

He played a white Vox Teardrop. That's the one he was most associated with, but he had several. Hugely talented guitarist who could play many other instruments. I met him on a train when I was a teenager who thought I was a good guitarist. With a smile he showed me that I wasn't even in the same ballpark, and he wasn't even out of first gear!


He was the late great Brian Jones, co-founder of The Rolling Stones. RIP mate.

-F

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,PHJim
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 03:14 PM

The first few times I saw Jackie Washington (the Canadian Jackie Washington from Hamilton, Ontario), he was playing a Kay flat top, but for most of his carreer he played a red sunburst J-45.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 03:54 PM

Just to enlarge upon what BAW says, Ralph did play a Gibson (not sure it was a J45) but, at least for a time, he played an exact copy he’d had built.

My guitar hero was the late Tony Rice who usually played a modified Martin D28 originally owned by Clarence White. He sometimes played a copy of this produced by Santa Cruz - not surprisingly the Santa Cruz Tony Rice Model - one of which I also own. (I remember Tom Paxton playing one as well as Simon Nicol.). Martin also produced a copy of this - The D28 LSH which I have always referred to as a Martin copy of a copy of a Martin!

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Nick Dow
Date: 26 Oct 25 - 07:48 PM

For regular tuning, go for a Yamaha FG. I've been using an FG365se for over 40 years internationally. I owned a couple of Fylde guitars years ago, and they were OK for open tunings until I got bored with them (the tunings, I mean). You may be amazed at how many people still swear by Yamaha guitars. Quite a few heroes, I think.
All my heroes were singers.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,PHJim
Date: 27 Oct 25 - 01:08 AM

While Jackie Washington was my first guitar hero since I first saw him in the early sixties, and still is a strong influence, I have other players whom I admire, and whose guitars I lust after. I am 81, so many of the players I admire have left the planet.

John Herald - most often an old D-18
Mose Scarlett - a OO-18 given to him by Bruce Cockburn
Mississippi John Hurt - a Guild F-30 (John is often pictured with a sunburst F-30, but when I saw him in Toronto in 1964, he was playing a blonde F-30.)
Libba Cotten - OO-18

Many of the players I admire played a variety of guitars throughouit their careers

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 27 Oct 25 - 08:53 AM

On the cover of Doc Watson On Stage Doc is pictured with a Gallagher dread but I recently learned, after hearing his long time musical partner, Jack Lawrence, disclose on a podcast
that he was actually playing his 1945 Martin D-18 on that LP. That album meant so much to me and I got a little revved up to find out that Doc was playing the same model guitar that I was while learning some of the tunes and songs off it back then though my D-18 was about 15 years younger than his.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 29 Oct 25 - 04:03 PM

The first time I heard of Martin guitars was in the 1960's when we all wondered what guitar Bert Jansch played. The first time I heard a Martin was in the hands of Derek Hall at THe shades Coffee Bar in Reading, 1965. The stories and legends about Bert was that he would turn up at a folk club and just borrow any guitar from a local. THis I never witnessed.
However one day I was at Rob Armstrong's guitar workshop in Coventry, I was shown Bert's Yamaha, that was in for a service Rob was cooing about the quality of the Yamaha, but it didn't strike me as anything fabulous.
At the time he made the record for Shanachie, on the cover of the CD he was holding one of Rob's ceations./
In one of his final interviews, Bert said the he loved Yamaha. They had always given him guitars when he was broke.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 29 Oct 25 - 04:23 PM

I haven't any Yamahas lately but they made some good guitars and were sort of popular in the D.C. area in the '70's.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 29 Oct 25 - 04:26 PM

insert "heard"

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Hagman
Date: 29 Oct 25 - 06:36 PM

James Burton - Telecaster(s)

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,PHJim
Date: 30 Oct 25 - 02:02 AM

My wife's first guitar was a Yamaha FG-75 which we still have. It has been converted to our house high-strung guitar.

My only acousytic in the early 1970s was an FG-180 which I gave to my first wife when we split. My son now owns it.

I taught guitar for a few decades and was always pleased when a student showed up for his/her fisrt lesson with a Yamaha.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 30 Oct 25 - 04:16 AM

Besides that old Martin, Clarence White used his 1954 Telecaster with a Parsons/ White "B Bender" as a studio player and with The Byrds. Marty Stuart owns it now and it seems to be his primary electric on stage.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,Folkypete
Date: 04 Nov 25 - 02:18 AM

Rory Gallagher….Fender Strat, Fender Tele, and others. But the worn out looking Stat was the main one. It’s in a museum in Ireland now.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: The Sandman
Date: 04 Nov 25 - 03:00 AM

Andrés Segovia primarily played guitars from Hermann Hauser and José Ramírez, with his most famous being the 1937 Hauser and the 1912 Manuel Ramírez (built by Santos Hernández). He also had a 1969 Ramírez guitar and a variety of other instruments throughout his career, often collaborating with luthiers to develop his "Segovia model" guitars.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Sol
Date: 04 Nov 25 - 12:01 PM

HBM : Red Strat

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 04 Nov 25 - 12:35 PM

Jimi Hendrix- off the rack right handed Strat (among others) played played upside down.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 07 Nov 25 - 07:49 AM

The Coodercaster was up for sale a few years back, not sure about now.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 12:38 PM

I can amplify (sorry!) / add minor corrections to Big Al's statement/s above when he wrote:

>Ralph switched back to the J45. I seem to remember a dalliance with a Zemaitis 12 string.

>Derek Brimstone played a Gibson acoustic through the 1960's and seventies. For the rest he played a Kasuge with a highly ornate carved neck. Both dreadnoughts.

>Wizz Jones played an Epiphone (Ranger model I think).

The round shouldered, 1960s Gibson J-45 (sunburst; J-50 when in natural finish), was the "working man's" grade, but great tone, Gibson flatttop of the day. Ralph McTell, John Renbourn and James Taylor (J-50) and Donovan + others (J-45) all played them and got a great sound - distinct low end "thump", silvery trebles plus a slight mid range "scoop". The Beatles also played the version with discreet added pickup (J-45E).

Gibson also introduced square shouldered models in the 60s (Country Western/Southern Jumbo/SJN - the same instrument in different finishes). As stated, Derek Brimstone had a beauty, although later he played a fancy Tama copy of a deluxe Martin Dreadnought on stage. Mike Silver had or has another. I was so impressed with the sound of these that I bought one to be like my "heroes" (no longer have it unfortunately).

Another great sounding, mid priced (for a professional grade instrument) acoustic model from the 60s was the round shouldered Epiphone Texan (not Ranger) which seemed to be a bit more readily available in the UK than its Gibson equivalent - it was built in the Gibson factory but they used the Epiphone designation (they had bought out the old Epiphone firm and had the rights to use the name) and was essentially a longer scale J-45/J-50. Again, the best of these sounded great, being the favourite guitars of (among others) Wizz Jones and Dave Burland (and Graham Nash). I would have liked one of these as well, but eventually started dabbling with Martine which took over a bit in my affections! But the best of the 60s Texans (they were a little inconsistent) still have a terrific sound.

Regarding Martins, well the trio of D-18, D-28 and (later) D-35 dreadnoughts are hard to go past, each with their own "sweet spot" for tonal quality, if you like the dreadnought sound (the smaller guitars can also sound great but lack the bigger bass of the dread, for fingerstyle and/or stage use they can be preferred by some or even many these days). I like and have owned one or 2 of each; you can find heroes who play them all, especially in American music... in the UK, Dougie Maclean, Paul Metsers and the late Isaac Guillory all played the D-35 model which also happens to coincide with my personal long term favourite playing instrument. Paul M. and Isaac G. played the 12-fret variant "D-35S" which to me is the "holy grail" of sound (considerably more full and resonant than the more "standard" 14-fret model, i.e. 14 frets clear of the body), although I have never found one for sale local enough to me (you can find them sometimes in the USA), but they are not cheap! (I contented myself with the next model down, A D-28S).

I could go on for ever but am sure that is enough for a start!!

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 12:50 PM

I was not fortunate enough to see Sandy Denny in her early years (1960s) but she favoured a Gibson acoustic as well (round shouldered Country Western from the late 50s) and got a lovely sound. She bought it from a visiting American - along with other US-made instruments (arguably the best back then) they were not commonplace in the UK shops at the time I believe - which led for a while to the emergence of some UK brands to fill the gap; most of these (apart from the boutique makers) disappeared in the early 70s as the cheaper instruments started appearing from Japan (many of the latter initially straight copies of Martins at half the price, or less). When I was starting out (early 70s) "cheap" Yamahas were the order of the day for the starting-out player; in my mind they are/were mostly associated with lower-end instruments but they did make some, little advertised, high grade ones for e.g. Bert Jansch as stated (but those never appeared in shops, at least not the ones that I frequented!).

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 01:00 PM

Plenty of interest for the guitar nerd in my collection of photos of (mainly UK) musicians on and off stage here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Tony_1212#Music_related_2 ... I can supply more details (normally not included in captions!) on request! You will find (as discussed above) Derek Brimstone with his Tama, Wizz Jones with his Epiphone Texan (plus several others similar), Paul Metsers with his Martin D-35S, and much more (including several of my own instruments, not identified as such!).

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 01:35 PM

john hurt from avalon what guitar did he play?

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 02:27 PM

From https://umgf.com/what-guitar-does-mississippi-john-hurt-play-t23461.html we have the following comprehensive reply, from contributor "Outfidel":

"For his 1928 sessions, MJH played some guitar provided by the studio. His own guitar at that time ("Black Betty", make unknown) was not considered of good enough quality for recording.

At the time he was "rediscovered" by Tom Hoskins in 1963, MJH didn't even own a guitar. When he came north to record 2 albums on the Piedmont label (Avalon Blues and Worried Blues), he borrowed Hoskins' Gibson (probably a J-45, might've been a J-50) for the recording sessions.

After his unannounced & triumphant appearance at Newport '63, the folks from the Newport Folk Festival wanted to buy him any guitar he wanted, at any price. They took him to Marc Silber's Fretted Instrument Shop at Greenwich Village, and showed him a Martin 00-42 with pearl inlays. But John was a modest guy, and he chose a simple sunburst Guild F-30 (000 size) instead. (Alas for C.F. Martin & Co. - perhaps today we would have gotten the 00-42MJH signature model?)

Most of his live performances were with the Guild, including his live Vanguard album. He occasionally played a Regal resonator as well.

For his 3 Vanguard studio albums (Today!, The Immortal MJH, and Last Sessions), he borrowed Stefan Grossman's 1930s OM-45. To my ears, these are the best-sounding of all MJH recordings. How much can be attributed to the OM-45 and how much to Patrick Sky's production, who knows?"

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: The Sandman
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 03:44 PM

thanks, he was a big influence on both my guitar and concertina playing

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 08 Nov 25 - 04:35 PM

Mississippi John Hurt also had a "no name" custom guitar made for him by a local(?) luthier called Jack Alderson that he kept at his home towards the end of his life. He plays this one on the well known 1966 "Rainbow Quest" video segment (Pete Seeger's program), here:

Mississippi John Hurt - You Got To Walk That Lonesome Valley (1966)

- Tony

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: The Sandman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 03:22 AM

Eddie Lang what guitar did he play, what a great player

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 06:26 AM

I believe it was a Gibson L-5.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 02:36 PM

Eddie Lang was indeed most famous for playing the L-5, having graduated to this from the L-4 oval hole model, some time around 1928. Prior to that he was photographed playing a variety of non-Gibson instruments before settling on the Gibson(s). Details can be found online, as ever...

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 02:41 PM

Eddie Lang’s Guitars: Part One

Eddie Lang’s Guitars: Part Two

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 02:47 PM

Sorry, "as ever" was a bit snarky/uncalled for. I just meant that in most of these well documented historic cases, others have already done the research, so whatever I may state is not original but just a regurgitation / reference to published work elsewhere. However, for the more recent or obscure performers, sometimes a little original research or special knowledge is indeed useful.

Onwards and upwards,

Cheers - Tony

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 05:07 PM

Do you think we obsess a bit too much about what guitar models our heroes played? The fact that players like John Hurt and Bert Jansch tended to just play whatever box was to hand suggests they sounded good on any guitar. Whilst the likes of Eddie Lang, Robert Johnson and Django Rheinhardt tend to be associated with a particular model, I suspect they too would have still sounded as good whatever guitar they picked up.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 07:02 PM

While I do not disagree with Guest.Jerry above (a good player can transcend their instrument), I believe there is room for both angles - one can listen to the player's abilities, and also listen to the instrument itself for the sound it can produce. Some great instruments out there, but often what is affordable to the top players is not necessarily affordable to the amateur (unless they sell a kidney or several...) - but often educational to listen to, to get a feel for what make, body shape and style, and materials used can produce a sound that grabs you...

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 07:09 PM

Also I think we should add Fylde guitars to the list of ones played by "notable stylists" over the years, particularly in the "English Folk" genre. Others (particularly Fylde owners, and Nic Jones / Chris Foster / etc. admirers) will have their own take on this as well I am sure.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Hagman
Date: 09 Nov 25 - 10:18 PM

Trevor Lucas told the story of booking Richard Thompson for a session, and when he turned he couldn't get a sound out of the guitar he had brought. They looked at the lead socket, and it was rusted out. RT had just picked up a random case at his front door as he left for the session - the guitar hsadn't been played for years....

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 04:20 AM

It’s just that I think we have to be wary of deluding ourselves into thinking we can sound like one of our heroes just by playing a certain model. Yes, you can get a fair bit closer - Hank went for a Red Strat to sound like Buddy Holly (allegedly), but it didn’t need to be red, and besides he went on to create his own rather different sound surely.

One of the guitars in my collection is an L00, but it’s never going to make me sound like Robert Johnson, just as my F5 mandolin is never going to make me sound just like Bill Monroe, but I guess if they managed to get a good, distinctive sound out of those, then there’s a good chance maybe I could too.

I think artist associations are more important for the instrument makers, hence the plethora of signature editions that will appeal to dedicated fans. I’m sure many EC model Martins have been bought by Eric Clapton fans, but if it helps them to go on and develop their own style/sound then that can be no bad thing surely. I worry a bit though that we spend too long trying to sound like someone else rather than ourselves, but I guess that how most of us learn.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 06:25 AM

My hero was Nelson Mandela. He didn't play a guitar.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 07:07 AM

It's not the guitar that makes the player, Tony Rice, whose guitar tone was so coveted by so many played a lyrachord bowl back Ovation on the title cut of his landmark Manzanita LP and on all the cuts but one on his Backwaters album, a personal favorite of mine. I'd always assumed he was using his famous pre war D-28 to get those sounds but it seems they emanated from his head, heart and hands.
But still, it's always fun to talk about guitarists and their instruments.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,rick stokes
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 07:26 AM

Big Al Whittle, above ;
Snap! Derek Hall, yes, 1965, yes, Shades folk club, yes - also Mike Cooper with his National tricone - both had huge impact on me as I started to learn to play - was in correspondence with Derek towards the end of his life, & he told me that he accidentally put his foot through that D28 while stepping down off a chair after changing a lightbulb! ( Sort of negative lightbulb moment?), causing him to revert to a modest Harmony acoustic. How he must have laughed..

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 12:59 PM

I bought a small (1960s, Gibson era) Epiphone acoustic because a number of local players I admired played the larger models (Texans) and that was all I could afford at the time (entry level US-made guitar available on the used market in the early 70s). One later purchase was a Dick Knight luthier build because I had seen one on the cover of a John Renbourn album, but that turned out not to be a keeper, also a Gibson Southern Jumbo because I was super impressed by the sound that Mike Silver got out of his, and (much later) a 12 fret slothead Martin dreadnought because I was impressed with the sound other players that I admired got out of them. So yes, an element of influence for sure, but ultimately I could say those players opened my ears to particular guitar tones which spoke to me at the times (and still do), even though I do not really emulate their playing. A long winded way of saying that (these days) I chase my own sound (or really sounds, having 4 different nice acoustics to choose from), but certainly hearing my "heroes", often up close, opened my ears to what was possible with particular instruments.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 10 Nov 25 - 10:02 PM

I must confess that some 30 years back, when I saw an Ibanez George Benson guitar for sale locally, part of the attraction for buying it (which I did, and kept it for a while) was the thought that some magic residing in the guitar might improve my skills in the George B. direction. Didn't work, unfortunately...

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 11 Nov 25 - 06:18 AM

Pierre Bensusan playing Voyage for Ireland on the Old Lady.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 11 Nov 25 - 12:30 PM

Aha - I was familiar with his sound and the fact that he played a Lowden, but not that there was a mystique about it - you can read more here:

Lowden Signature Series: PB "Old Lady"


Now I am better informed...

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,Jim Yates
Date: 12 Nov 25 - 01:19 AM

Tony Rees said, "Regarding Martins, well the trio of D-18, D-28 and (later) D-35 dreadnoughts are hard to go past, each with their own "sweet spot" for tonal quality, if you like the dreadnought sound."

I love my Brazilian D-21 and wouldn't trade it for a D-18, D-28 or D-35.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 12 Nov 25 - 07:43 AM

Joe Pass played a Gibson ES-175 on some of his most famous recordings and when I was studying Jazz guitar in the 70's I traded for one, primarily because it was what my hero played but also because it was affordable and back then there weren't too many archtops around that were. I wish I had that one back. Nowadays you can get a good sounding, playable Ibanez for $400.

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 12 Nov 25 - 01:15 PM

Jim Yates pointed out the fact that I omitted the D-21 from my list of (arguably) iconic/well known/often seen Martin dreads, for reasons touched upon below. For those that do not know, the D-21 in its original version could be described as a rosewood version of a D-18, with mostly the latter's appointments (slightly "plainer" than a D-28's, rosewood not ebony fingerboard and bridge) but otherwise equivalent materials to similar vintage D-28 (Brazilian rosewood back and sides in that era), for slightly less cost.

Martin did not produce a huge number (for some reason most purchasers were happy to pay a bit more for the D-28) but they were in production from 1955-1969 (original run) as compared with the D-28's 1931-present. I have never played one, but believe they sound as good as an equivalent D-28 of the same era (which is a good one), so my apologies for omitting it. Having said that, not many "heroes" seem to have played them, although I could be wrong; Jim Croce apparently toured with a borrowed one for a couple of years, and I have no reason to doubt that it sounded really good. The omission was really due to the fact that, despite being a bit of a "lazy guitar spotter" for some 50 years, they had not really infiltrated my consciousness very much, for which I apologise! Now of course they are fairly uncommon (by the standards of other Martins), and appreciated by buyers to be of similar quality to a D-28 of the same age, without quite the price tag (which is getting pretty high!).

Subject: RE: What guitar did your hero play?
From: Tony Rees
Date: 12 Nov 25 - 01:40 PM

The "higher end" Martin styles (style 41, 42 and 45) offered/offer more fancy presentation (pearl/abalone inlay) and possibly, the highest grade timbers, for an increased price of course, however with a few notable exceptions (Joan Baez with her historic 1929 0-45, Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young with their D-45s) most notable players seem to have "stuck" with the plainer models, apart from some older style country stars who liked the D-45 "luxury" on stage but were not necessarily noted for their guitar playing (I could be doing some a disservice here, of course).

As an example I offer the great Gene Autry, noted star of the "singing cowboy" genre; while I have never really studied his guitar playing (and probably never will), his custom built guitar (the first ever D-45, costing him $200 in 1933, plus a little more for his name on the fretboard) would probably be worth a cool million today, or very close to it. Martin issued some replicas in the 1990s that seem to sell for a bit less than the original $60k asking price on the used market, a high price for a "recent era instrument" perhaps, but what a sound! (There are a few videos of different examples on YouTube if you hunt around). If anyone is looking for a Christmas present for me this year, you know what to get me!