Fretful Friday

This blog entry has been a long time coming - honestly, I felt overwhelmed at the thought of compiling all the info/pictures/videos in order to provide a comprehensive overview of George's Beatles-era guitars, especially since I didn't know a whole lot about guitars until I delved into this project! But George loved his guitars, sometimes more than anything else I think, and so this was truly a labor of love. I got a lot of information from other blogs/websites, and I'm sure there are others out there with the same info, but I felt my blog would never be complete without having it here too. And the bonus is that no matter what guitar George is playing in any particular picture or video, I am confident that I could now recognize and name it on sight, which is pretty darn cool. So without further ado, let's meet George's guitars!

1956: Egmond steel-strung Spanish style (vintage unknown)
George made his musical debut with this little guitar, playing his only show with the band he had put together called The Rebels. Trying to make the action lower, he accidentally unscrewed the neck and it sat idle for a few weeks until his brother fixed it for him. It was the cheapest model available at the time - it is now worth about $800,000 and resides at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool.

13-year-old George in 1956:





1958: Hofner President (acoustic - vintage unknown)
George bought this guitar, which was in leaps and bounds an improvement upon his first guitar, with help from his mother. He used this guitar for quite some time, eventually mounting an electric pickup on it. He ending up trading it to a member of another band so that he could play a real electric guitar.

a young George Harrison and John Lennon in 1958:


performing at a wedding in December 1958:





1959: Hofner Club 40 Model 224 (vintage unknown)
All four Beatles signed this guitar before it was given away, though no one is quite sure of its whereabouts these days. Some speculate that it has been kept in a German bank vault all these years. Years later, during his solo career, a sentimental George bought another Club-40 very similar to this one, shown in the second picture -in both pictures, the Club 40 is on the bottom left.






1959: Resonet Futurama (vintage c. 1958)
Brought with George on the Beatles first trip to Hamburg, George said this guitar "was a dog to play. It had the worst action. It had a great sound, though, and a real good way of switching in the three pickups and all the combinations." It was used during the Beatles first proper recording session, which produced "Cry For a Shadow."

November 1960, in Heiligengeistfeld Square, Germany:


in 1961, at the Top Ten Club in Hamburg, Germany:





Cry For A Shadow:






1961: 1957 Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet
George used this guitar for a lot of the Germany shows, as well as at the Cavern Club and the Casbah. He eventually gave it to his friend Klaus Voorman, who had it for 20 years before giving it back to George. You can see this guitar on the Cloud Nine album cover.

young and leather-clad in 1961:




George, with his black eye that he got from being punched by a fan at the Cavern Club shortly after Ringo joined the band:


Spring 1962 at the Star Club:




A video of George with his Duo Jet at the Cavern Club in 1962:




1987 - the Duo Jet on the cover of the Cloud Nine album, 26 years later:




1962: 1962 Gibson J-160E
This guitar was actually John's, as both John and George bought the same guitar on the same day and promptly got them mixed up. Later, John's was stolen and George continued to play his (which was really John's) from Please Please Me through Sgt. Pepper.

George and John at Rushworth's Music House getting their Gibsons in 1962:


1963:


filming Help! in 1965:


in 1967, in the studio for Sgt. Pepper:


A scene from Help!:




1963: Gretsch 6131 Jet Fire Bird (vintage '58-'62)
Another guitar borrowed briefly and used little. Very similar to George's Duo Jet.

at the Cavern Club:









1963: 1962 Gretsch 6122 Country Gentleman
Brought in for repairs in May of 1963, during which time George borrowed another guitar to perform with. While in the shop, his Country Gentleman was stolen. Though later recovered, it ended up in pieces in the road in 1965 after the Beatles limo driver drove over a bump and it came untied from the trunk. This guitar was first heard in the studio recording "She Loves You".

a Gretsch promo picture:


George's guitar, circa 1963:


During the "With the Beatles" session:




one of my favorite pictures of George, and my blog header/banner:








George with both of his Country Gentleman guitars. The 1962 model (on the right) is missing the mute knob, George having taken it off due to his hand hitting it while he was playing:


A live performance of "She Loves You" featuring the Country Gentleman:



1963: Maton Mastersound MS-500 (vintage unknown)
George borrowed this guitar from Barratt's of Manchester, while his Country Gentleman was in the shop for repairs and used it in performances through June and early July of 1963.










1963: 1963 Gretsch Country Gentleman

From the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964:


Baltimore, 1964:


Washington D.C. 1964:


Chicago, 1965:






Ed Sullivan Show:




1963: Gretsch 6119 Tennessean ('62 or '63)
You can see this guitar in the Beatles 1965 Ed Sullivan appearance as well as in the opening musical scene of "Help!" and at the first Shea Stadium concert.

in 1963:


from Oct. 7, 1964 on a show called "Shindig":


August 11, 1964, recording "Baby's In Black":


Backstage at Shea Stadium, 1965:


Shea Stadium Concert, 1965:


March 28, 1965 on a show called "Thank Your Lucky Stars":


The Sept. 12, 1965 Ed Sullivan Show performance:


In 1965, on "The Music of Lennon and McCartney":




Help!



Shea Stadium:




1963: Jose Ramirez Guitarra de Estudio (acoustic; vintage unknown)
George played this nylon-stringed specialty guitar in "'Til There Was You" and "I Love Her". No one knows where this guitar is now.









And I Love Her:




1963: 1962 Rickenbacker 425
George bought this guitar at Fenton's Music Store for $400 in 1963, while visiting his sister Louise in Illinois. It is now displayed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A publicity shot from 1963:


October 4, 1963 on "Ready, Steady, Go!":

from "Thank Your Lucky Stars" December 15, 1963:









During the Swedish Tour:


Ready, Steady, Go!





1964: 1963 Rickenbacker 360-12
George's 12-string Rickenbacker was my favorite - given to George by Rickenbacker president F.C. Hall. In 1987, George picked her back up to record "Fish on the Sand" for his "Cloud Nine" album.

July 14, 1964:






In the studio, 1964:


stringing takes longer when there's 12 strings, George learns:










George with his 12-string in the mid 1980's:


You can see the guitar in A Hard Day's Night (song: I Should Have Known Better)




1964 Gretsch George Harrison Model
Were they trying to get George back to Gretsch? I don't know, but if so, it didn't work. George never liked this electric 12-string and ended up giving it away.




1965: 1965 Rickenbacker 360-12
On August 21, 1965, Harrison was given this guitar by B-Sharp Music, in association with radio station WDGY in Minneapolis. Harrison retired his old 360/12 and began to use this one. It's first heard on "If I Needed Someone". This guitar disappeared and its whereabouts are unknown.





One year later, performing at Crosley Field in Cincinatti:


Same day, second show - this time in Missouri:


Shea Stadium, 1966:


Dodger Stadium, 1966


And at the last Beatles concert, in Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California:


If I Needed Someone:




1965: 1961 Fender Stratocaster
George had wanted a Fender since he was a teenager. After sending Mal Evans out to pick two up - one for George and one for John - George immediately began using it on Rubber Soul and later on Revolver. First used on Nowhere Man, this guitar went through a psychedelic makeover in 1967 with help from some neon paint and George's wife Pattie's nailpolish. You can see this guitar on the "Magical Mystery Tour" movie as well as on the "All You Need Is Love" broadcast. George also used this guitar in 1995 when the Beatles recorded "Free As A Bird" for Anthology.

during the recording of "Revolver":


Magical Mystery Tour:










I Am The Walrus:




1965: Gibson ES-345-TD (vintage '63-'65)
This guitar first shows up during the filming of promos for "We Can Work It Out", "Day Tripper", "Help!", "Ticket To Ride", and "I Feel Fine" in 1965 at Twickenham Studios.

filming a promo in 1965:




During the final British tour:


Shefield, England - December 8, 1965:






Day Tripper:


Ticket To Ride:




1965 Russian Guitar
All four Beatles (even Ringo) were given some Russian guitars as gifts, but not much information is known about them. It is doubtful that they ever recorded with them.



1966: Epiphone E230TD(V) Casino (vintage unknown)
George and John both got an Epiphone around the same time. Paul had already been playing one for a couple years at this point. You can hear George playing his Casino on "Paperback Writer", some of the Sgt. Pepper album and on the "Hello, Goodbye" promo video. George stripped the finish off of it at one point, as he believed some guitars sounded better when they were naked.

Backstage, 1966:


Shea Stadium, 1966:


Budokan, Japan, 1966:


Crosley Field, Cincinatti Ohio, 1966:


Sgt. Pepper session:






"Hello, Goodbye" promo:


the Casino in the mid-80's on the wall to the left of George:


Hello, Goodbye promo video:


1966: 1964 Gibson SG Standard
First used in the Revolver sessions, and later for the Lady Madonna promo. It was only seen in two live performances and in 1969, George gave it to a friend.

From the "Hey Bulldog" promo:




Filming "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" promos:


May 1st, 1966 at the NME Poll Winners Concert at Wembley.








"Rain" promo (one of my favorites):



"Lady Madonna" promo:
(you can see John at times also playing George's Gibson SG)



1966 Burns Nu-Sonic Bass
Not much is known about George's use of this bass. He used it during the Paperback Writer/Rain sessions and then it was never seen again. It is assumed that he borrowed it from the "Sound City" which was a Gretsch dealer in London where George had bought a few of his guitars.

In the studio:




Paperback Writer:



1967: 1966 Vox Kensington
This guitar was given to George and John in 1967 by Vox. It was only ever seen in two photo shoots - the rehearsal for the "Hello, Goodbye" promo and the rehearsal for the Magical Mystery Tour song "I Am The Walrus". John gave it to a friend of his and it was sold at auction.

at a trade show (on right) before it was given to George and John:


"I Am The Walrus" rehearsal:



1968: 1957 Gibson Les Paul Standard
This guitar was given to George by friend Eric Clapton.

"Revolution" promo:


unknown Apple session:


Revolution Promo:



1968: Gibson J-200 acoustic (vintage '62-'68))
The rumor goes that Bob Dylan gave this guitar to George in 1968. You can see George playing it while singing this blog's namesake, "For You Blue", in the Let It Be film.

George singing "For You Blue":














recording session for "For You Blue":




1968: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Fender sent the Beatles a bunch of instruments in 1968. This particular bass was a right-handed bass. Paul couldn't play it, as he is left-handed, so George played it on "Back in the USSR" and it is thought that he also played it on "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight" and a handful of other songs.



Back In The USSR:



1968: 1968 Fender Telecaster
This guitar was a gift to George from Fender and was one of only two made!



During recording of the film "Let It Be":






On the rooftop during the filming of "Let It Be":




Don't Let Me Down (Rooftop Concert):



and in the studio recording "Get Back", just because they all make me laugh:



Fender Bass VI
The Fender Bass VI was a 6-string bass that could be played like a guitar and was often referred to as a "baritone guitar" depending on how it was strung and tuned. It was used by George and John during the recording of the White Album. George plays it on the "Hey Jude" promo.



Hey Jude: