Here’s a really cool article written by a great friend of mine. BOB MYTKOWICZ is a fine musician with whom I have had the pleasure of playing in a few different bands. He’s an accomplished guitarist, vocalist, bassist, keyboard player and drummer. He’s also valued by many as a Beatles Authority. I believe his trips to Liverpool and London happen at least twice yearly these days. Here’s an article that Bob did for Guitar Player Magazine and he has also given permission for me to reprint it here for those who want to be in the know about these guitars that played such a huge part in the history of the instrument. Many thanks, Bob! – Jack
I can still see Ed Sullivan standing there saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!” That’s how seventy three million other people and I were introduced to the Beatles. Although I was quite young, the Beatles left an indelible impression on me. John Lennon stood on the right. In his straddle stance, he bounced slightly to the rhythm and strummed a small black guitar. George Harrison in the center, almost hidden behind a large double cutaway guitar, concentrated on his playing. Paul McCartney on the left, the most animated, played a violin-shaped guitar. The drummer, Ringo Starr, perched on a riser behind, broke into an occasional grin.
It is safe to assume that most people see this picture when they envision the Beatles. Press and photo coverage escalated when world fame struck the Beatles in 1964, and most photos show them playing the same instruments. The Fab Four did use this same gear for most of their touring years, but they possessed and used much more. As the Beatles’ studio experience grew, they often tried one of their ever-growing collection of instruments. Of course they also used other equipment on stage as well.
This article is based on photos mostly from the Beatles Book, the official Beatles monthly magazine. The Beatles Book originally ran from August 1963 through December 1969. These original issues have since been reissued, and a new version of the Beatles Book still hits the news stands each month. Beatles Book photographers had more access to the Fab Four than any other photographers. They snapped exclusive shots of the boys in both the recording studio and on stage. This article provides a thorough accounting of the Beatles’ instruments, however I’m sure there are some that were never captured on film. I am confident the equipment photographed was the main equipment they used between 1960 and 1969.
In 1960, the Beatles played Hamburg, Germany for the first time. At this point there were five Beatles – John, Paul, and George on guitars, Pete Best on drums, and Stuart Sutcliffe on bass. Only Teisco Del Rey could appreciate the instruments they played then. John used a Hofner guitar, model 126/B. This was a single pickup, blonde finished guitar similar in shape to a Les Paul. George paid his dues on a sunburst Futurama Resonet. It was a poor copy of a Strat. Paul played a Rosetti Solid 7. If Batman played a guitar, this would be the one. It was a solid body, two pickup model with double cutaways. The “bat-like” cutaways must have been designed with the Dynamic Duo in mind. Sutcliffe used a jumbo Hofner President bass, model 500/5. It was a single cutaway, two pickup, hollow body bass in a shaded brown finish. Best kept the beat on a Premier drum kit with a white pearl finish. Their amps were small nondescript models.
During this trip to Hamburg, John saw “Toots” Thielemans playing a Rickenbacker guitar. He immediately fell in love with the look and sound of this guitar and soon purchased one for himself. His first Rickenbacker was a 1958 Capri, model 325 finished in the Hi Lustre Blonde color. It had three pickups, a 3/4 scale length, a stock Kauffman vibrato, and gold Lucite pickguards. John soon replaced the original vibrato unit with a Bigsby vibrato. By January 1963, John had his Rickenbacker 325 refinished black. It was still the original, but very beat up blonde finish when the Beatles recorded “Love Me Do.” When John got this Rickenbacker, Paul adopted John’s Hofner 126/B.
By mid-1961, Sutcliffe left the Beatles and Paul took over on bass. Paul’s first bass was a Hofner model 500/1. This violin-shaped bass had a hollow body, came in a shaded brown finish, had two pickups, and had a thirty inch scale length. The 500/1 from this period had a neck pickup and the second pickup centered between the bridge and the neck. Paul’s reasons for buying this bass were first, its affordability, and second, its symmetrical shape. At that time, he couldn’t afford a Fender Bass. Since he played left-handed, he liked the symmetrical body shape. Paul has stated in past interviews that his Rickenbacker Bass was his first left-handed bass. In every early picture I have seen of him, he played a left-handed bass. He possibly used Sutcliffe’s right-handed bass until he got his own. All of the six string guitars Paul owned were right-handed models. He just reversed the strings to play left-handed.
Also during 1961, George picked up a Gretsch Duo Jet, model PX6128. His Duo Jet, a late 1957 model, featured a solid body, “cloud” inlays, a Bigsby vibrato, black finish with a silver pickguard, and two DeArmond pickups. The body style was similar to that of a Les Paul. George’s early influences included Chet Atkins and rockabilly music, so his choice of a Gretsch guitar was obvious. He owned several Gretsch models through the years. George also had a newer model Duo Jet. It had the “Neo-Classic” or thumbnail inlays, a red top with black pickguard, a trapeze tailpiece, and Filter’Tron pickups.
By now the Beatles’ amp situation had improved slightly. Paul used a Truvoice amp, John a late 1950′s tweed Fender Deluxe amp, and George a Gibson GA40T...
https://www.beatles.ru/books/paper.asp?id=2411
