Music

The Iconic Guitar Gear of Jeff Beck

January 17, 2023

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Author Greg Prato shares a bit of his e-book “Iconic Guitar Gear” highlighting the guitars, amps and pedals that fueled Jeff Beck’s propulsive and revolutionary sound.

Scant few veteran rock guitarists have been in a position to hold their technical talent as much as snuff and efficiently traverse by means of musical tendencies coming and going over the course of a number of many years. Jeff Beck is actually one of many fortunate few to have pulled off this spectacular feat – and within the course of, explored blues/psychedelic pop (Yardbirds), helped create heavy steel (the Jeff Beck Group’s Truth and Beck-Ola), and fused collectively jazz and rock (Blow by Blow and Wired). Here, Beck knowledgeable Wolf Marshall takes us on a guided tour by means of a lot of the makes and fashions of guitars, amps, and results Jeff has performed.

Fender Esquire, Fender Telecaster, Les Paul Standard, Fender Stratocaster, “Seymour Duncan” Les Paul, Jackson Soloist, Gretsch Duo Jet; Vox AC30, Marshall, Sound City, Fender Super Champ amps + results

Jeff within the Yardbirds – the early Yardbirds, after he took over for Eric Clapton – he was seen with the Fender Esquire. Like, a classic black guard sort – that might have come out within the ’50s. And it was a maple fingerboard – so that’s per ’50s, in ’59 and the ’60s on, they made plenty of Telecasters with rosewood fingerboards. And they modified the pickguard to white – sure beauty issues. I consider you may see that guitar on the duvet of the American model of the album Having a Rave-Up with the Yardbirds – the place they present them with their devices on the duvet. I consider he additionally had a Telecaster, after which he alternated between these two guitars. Esquires have been nonetheless fairly standard – their tone community was a little bit totally different than a single pickup guitar.

Vox amps – AC30’s. Which was the usual factor within the mid-60s. I consider he used these amps all the way in which till he started experimenting with greater stacks. And that might have been within the later ’60s. And that is after I really noticed Jeff in particular person for the primary time – in a bunch that he had with Rod Stewart because the frontman. I consider it was ’68 and he was touring behind the album Truth – which is considered one of my favourite albums of all-time. But it is also the album on which he started to play the Les Paul guitar – the Les Paul Standard, significantly. Like, that was his foremost guitar. And that is after I noticed him – it was a flame high Standard.

I’ve precise photos – it was at a spot known as the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. I had a photographer with me who took a bunch of shade photos of Jeff on stage. We have been proper within the entrance row. You can see his amps – they’re huge Marshall 100-watts. Big stacks. And he used clearly a wah-wah pedal – which in all probability in these days would have been a Vox wah-wah pedal. Later on, they made the CryBaby. But he used a Tonebender Fuzz Box, which really, he began utilizing fuzz packing containers again within the Yardbirds. I consider he used one made by Sound City – the Sound City Tonebender. I consider Jimmy Page used that within the studio, as effectively.

And you hear totally different guitar tones on the Truth album – which are associated in a option to the final interval of the Yardbirds, the place Jeff additionally did use with the Yardbirds a selected Les Paul. Not the one I noticed him with. The one with a black pickguard. Those are the essential tones he used by means of the ’60s. And then should you hearken to the album, Beck-Ola – which was the follow-up to Truth – you hear that he’s clearly utilizing a Fender Stratocaster. That’s instantly from the affect from Jimi Hendrix – he really mentioned that in a number of interviews. Because individuals have been contemplating Stratocasters again within the mid-60s – the Beatles used them for “Nowhere Man.” So, it wasn’t solely like Gretsches, Rickenbackers, and Les Pauls – they have been utilizing Strats. They simply tended not to think about them as a contemporary guitar, I assume – due to the Shadows. Ritchie Blackmore performed a 335 at the moment, and plenty of various things have been happening.

But he additionally alternated plenty of Les Pauls – in addition to the Strat. The well-known Strat that has been stripped right down to the wooden – you may see when he is taking part in with the band on Rough and Ready. And there’s TV performances of that – so you may really see that guitar. And that is in all probability the Strat that he had on Beck-Ola, and he simply stored taking part in it. I consider he performed it with Beck, Bogert & Appice, and I feel he performed it into his early section of fusion – when he began taking part in with individuals like Jan Hammer and doing Blow by Blow and that interval. Also, at that time, he had a sure Les Paul that was put collectively by Seymour Duncan – which regarded black, but it surely was really a darkish brown oxblood coloured Les Paul [spotted on the cover of Blow by Blow]. It’s a conversion from an early ’50s mannequin – it is not a Standard – but it surely has humbucker pickups I consider, and Seymour Duncan did these.

And then as you may see from Wired, he had a distinct Strat – a white Strat. So, I feel he alternated between that stripped down one and the white Strat. And I do know that white Strats all the time appealed to…possibly it is Hendrix, however Jeff is utilizing one once more now. When you view present movies of Jeff, you see him with a white Jeff Beck Strat. So, that Strat interval in all probability goes again to 1969/’70. Plus, he generally used the Teles, as effectively – like should you have a look at the video for “People Get Ready,” it exhibits him with a Tele. A transformed Tele…but it surely’s nonetheless a Tele. And I consider that was additionally a Seymour Duncan factor – he had one mannequin that had a humbucker in it. So, these are the three “streams” that he had.

And you may simply have a look at totally different intervals and see that he often used a distinct guitar – like within the ’80s, he used a Jackson Soloist. A pink one and it has Tina Turner‘s identify carved into it. I feel he used that on the session with Mick Jagger – She’s the Boss. I feel he used it within the interval for Rod Stewart’s Camouflage. I feel he used it as a stage guitar – as a result of it regarded cool. Other than the Strats, Teles, and Les Pauls, I consider he often dabbled right here and there with these different guitars – however they have been by no means actually a everlasting factor.

I feel someplace within the ’70s too, he began experimenting extra with amps. I feel there’s photos of him with Beck, Bogert & Appice utilizing a Sound City stack. Which is form of like a Marshall, in a manner. I do not suppose he ever used Hiwatts or Orange stacks that some individuals have been utilizing – it was both Marshall or Sound City. And he additionally used smaller combo amps within the studio. I consider the amp that he used apart from widespread combo Fenders like Bassmans and Tweeds…the Tweed Deluxe, everyone used these little amps within the studio – Billy Gibbons, Joe Walsh. But I feel he had a selected Super Champ that he used on Guitar Shop. It’s a excessive acquire Fender combo that they made briefly. I feel Paul Rivera designed it for Fender within the early ’80s. I keep in mind that it had a sure acquire sound that was very cool that lots of people preferred from a little bit combo amp. It was only a totally different tone, and I feel Allan Holdsworth additionally raved about that amp – the Super Champ. So, in all probability by telling you that, everybody goes to begin going out and shopping for that, and it is going to be not possible to seek out them on eBay anymore!

And there’s the factor that occurred when the Fender firm was led by Bill Shultz. I used to be an endorsee of Fender precisely at the moment, so I labored with the Custom Shop lots, and I noticed the beginnings of the Jeff Beck Signature Model. I’ve two now – a surf inexperienced and a midnight purple. They’re great guitars. Jeff does not play them as a result of he solely likes single coils, they usually did have a humbucker within the again – two coils put collectively. So, I feel he wished to return to the straight single coils. But he had numerous totally different classic Strats that he simply pulled out in the course of the making of Guitar Shop, and different albums in that late ’80s interval.

I do not suppose he was utilizing the Les Paul a lot in that ’80s interval. But he did come again to it and another odd guitars within the 2000s. But he did play his Jeff Beck mannequin lots and held it in photos – however everytime you noticed him reside it was all the time that single coil surf inexperienced in that interval of after ’87. But one factor that he specified that was notably essential in regards to the Jeff Beck mannequin – no matter what pickups it had – was the truth that it had the Wilkinson nut. That’s actual essential. On the album Guitar Shop, there’s a tune known as “Where Were You” – it is form of based mostly on a Bulgarian folks music, and he is bending lots with the vibrato bar. I do know when he was ready to report that monitor, he was ready for a selected guitar from the Fender Custom Shop that had the Wilkinson nut, as a result of he mentioned the opposite guitars could not have the secure tuning bending notes like that. And he relied on it – as a result of he did so many bending notes and phrasing with the vibrato bar.

I feel after the 12 months 2000, he did go to a Standard Jeff Beck mannequin with noiseless pickups. The present one he performs is the white one. Because I consider the one with humbuckers solely received made till 2000. And when he was doing the tribute to Cliff Gallup, he performed the Gretsch Duo Jet. And the tribute to Les Paul, “How High the Moon,” for that one music I noticed him pull out a Gibson ES-155.