Sometimes it is wise to start small and if you are good, the gigs will come in and so will the money. We see him in some videos and He used it on the last UK tour in late ’65.Įquipping a Tribute band that performs all the Beatles eras does cost a fortune. In late 1965 George was seen using a Gibson ES-345TD.
It sold in September 2018 for $ 453,510 us dollars. George borrowed this guitar while his regular guitar was in the shop. You can see him on stage in some rare photos. He was seen with the Maton onstage in July and August 1963. The one he used had the Bigby vibrato and the bow tie bridge. Red when he purchased it George had it painted black to match John’s. He appeared lip-syncing on “Ready Steady Go” with this one. Before the Beatles hit America, George had traveled there to visit his sister. Standard Toaster Toaster Pick-up 320 type High-Gain Pick-up Bigsby B5 Accent vibrato Trapeze tailpiece R tailpiece Here are some of the different tailpieces and pick-ups. So he apparently did use that one on stage. There is a picture of Lennon standing backstage with this one. The “1996”, which is also a 3/4 size in fireglo with an F-hole. The 350V63 with a trapeze tail, The 320 had the R tail and had high-gain pick-ups. Over the years Rickenbacker made other copies and re-issues. Rickenbacker later made a full-scale version named the 355 with the trapeze tail. Rickenbacker 350-12Īll these were 3/4 scale guitars. He was seen lip-syncing Rickenbacker Rose Morris 1996 In 1964 Rickenbacker gave Lennon a black 325, a fire glow 1996 and a 350 twelve-string version. By that time Lennon was using Hofner tea-cup knobs. The Bigsby vibrato came with a Bigsby bow-tie bridge. Burns knobs and a Bigsby B5 vibrato were installed. It is rumoured to have been painted by an automobile shop. On “I’ll get you”, He uses a diatonic in the key of “G”. On “I’m a loser” and “I should have known better” Lennon used a Marine Band type “diatonic” in the key of “C”. The Chromatic harmonica has a little push-in lever that switches the holes so that you can play all the sharps and flats. So little is know that I asked Mark Benson from “1964 the Tribute” what he used to achieve those authentic sounds.įor songs like “Please please me”, “Love me do”, “Chains”, “There’s a place”, “From me to you”use a chromatic harmonica like the “Horner Chromonica” in the key of “C”. Two more instruments that are rarely mentioned with any detail are John’s harmonicas. Later we saw John with his painted with psychedelic colours. Both John and George had these and used them on stage from 62 to 65. Other instruments The Beatles used on stage include the Gibson J160 acoustic with built-in pickup and control knobs. Rickenbacker 360-12 second edition Epiphone Casino George was using his new Rickenbacker 360-12 with slighter softer looking horns and the “R” tailpiece. Both Paul and George had Bigsby vibratos on theirs. Paul still uses his Epiphone Casino live on stage. John George and Paul all bought Epiphones. In the Beatles film “A Hard Day’s Night”, we see the Ramirez classical guitar and in “Help” the 12 string Framus Hootenanny.ĭuring 1966 Tours, the last year that The Beatles toured, we saw Both John and George playing Epiphone Casinos seen below. Gretsch Tennesseanįor more details consult Andy Babiuk’s great Beatles Gear book.( see above)Īnother instrument we saw on the 1965 Sullivan show was Paul’s Texan by Epiphone. The Tennessean was first seen on stage in December ’63 and at the London Palladium show on January 12th, 1964. Which was a bit strange but this saved him from switching guitars to play the next number “You can’t do that.” 360-12 original styleīy the time of the Shea Stadium gig in 1965, the only noticeable change was George playing a Gretsch Tennessean. He even used this to play Twist and Shout. 325c64 Miamiĭuring the 1964 US tour, George used his new Rickenbacker 12 string. Rickenbacker later gave a 12 strings model 360-12 to George, and then a 350-12 and a 1996 model to John. It was a gift to John Lennon from Rickenbacker. The guitar pictured below was 1st seen on the second Ed Sullivan show from Miami. Most Beatles tribute groups insist on having the model with the mute even though they were probably never used by George. Years later Gretsch released The Country Classic which is virtually identical but is missing the mute and the mute switches. Both of George’s Gentlemen had the mute with the mute switches. BTW George had two country Gentlemen at one time. Paul had his newer model Hofner 500 with the pick-ups spread apart. On Feb 9th we saw John’s natural finished 325 was now painted black.