The Gibson SG was one of the most popular guitars of the sixties, and the SG Standard was a guitar seen on the stages of many a psychedelic ballroom.
Thanks to its overall popularity upon its introduction in late 1960, the SG underwent very few changes through the 60's. In 1965, the nut width changed from 1 11/16" to a narrower 1 5/8" and the hardware w ent from being nickle plated to having a shinier chrome plating. In 1966, the neck heel, which was prone to breakage, was elongated for strength, and the pickguard became the so-called "batwing" style as seen on this guitar.
The earliest of all Chet Atkins Gretsch models, the 6120 model was introduced in 1955 and featured western motifs such as cactus inlays and a large "G" cattle-branded onto the body. The western touches were lost relatively early on, and the guitar changed quite a bit by 1962, then remained relatively unchanged throughout the 60's.
In late '61, Gretsch introduced the "Electrotone" body; namely a hollowbody guitar without any open soundholes (the tradition 'f" holes on the top are painted on). This closed body reduced feedback, and was introduced thanks to a suggestion from Chet Atkins himself. Fortunately for rock n rollers, the closed body helped reduced howling feedback. Also, the closed body called for the open hole in the back of the guitar in which to load the electronics (as seen in the photos).
This model is commonly confused with the Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, and while the shape is similar, the lower bout of the Nashville measures (approximately) 16" across, while the larger Gent is ((approximately) 17" wide at the lower bout and was also featured in a dark "walnut" stain.
Introduced in 1965 to capitalize on the folk-rock craze spearheaded by The Beatles "A hard Days Night' (specifically, George Harrison's use of a Rickenbacker 12 string electric on the record and as seen in the film), Gibson took their incredibly popular ES-335 (introduced in 1958), elongated the headstock and VOILA- instant jangle, with a twist of the Gibson 'growl".
This '66 example is finished in what's been dubbed (unofficially) "iced tea sunburst"; a light sunburst shade that was commonly seen on '60's Gibsons.
Probably the most famous use of this model was by Lou Reed in The Velvet Underground days, and it was heard in a big way on their brilliant, self titled third album.
This gleaming cherry red model was built in 1968; a few '68 Gibson models (ES-335, J-45, B-25) have the cool stenciled logo on the pickguard.
The Epiphone Texan is one of the most HEARD acoustic guitars in history, yet it remains relatively unknown to the guitar fanatics at large.
In 1964, Paul McCartney purchased a Texan while the Beatles were on tour in the US. This guitar became a favorite of his which he uses to this day. The iconic status of this guitar is cemented , however, because his Texan is the guitar heard (tuned a whole step low- DGCFAD, low to high) on the 1965 recording of "Yesterday".
The Epiphone Texan is similar in many ways to the Gibson J-45/J-50, of which it shares its slope-shoulder dreadnought body. The biggest difference, however, is that the Texan is a long scale guitar (25.4") compared to the short scale J-45's (24 3/4"), making the Texan louder and with a more focused low end. All in all, Texans are fabulous guitars, although many modern players don't care for the narrow nut width (1 5/8"). Texan backs and sides also featured a mahogany stain that is very light, and almost blonde in color.
Throughout the '60's, Epiphone guitars were made side by side in the Kalamazoo, MI Gibson factory. The Epiphone brand was used by Gibson as a way to open up more dealers to their product and not compete with other retailers who were selling the distinguished Gibson brand; there is no difference in quality, yet the Epiphones had a slightly lower retail price during this era. In 1970, Epiphone production shipped to Japan, effectively closing the books on US production of this brand.
Prototyped in December 1963 with its unique "reverse" set up (namely, the string is struck before the octave string), this design became the finalized Rickenbacker 12 string electric guitar, which turned the music world upside after it was seen on the big screen in the summer of '64 in the hands of George Harrison. This exotic "Rickenbacker" guitar brand was also seen (earlier) in the hands of John Lennon (specifically, his incredibly rare 1958 model 325), and had also become one of the most famous guitars in the world (albeit one that practically no one could purchase, as they were made in such miniscule numbers).
It was after seeing "A Hard Day's Night" that folkie Jim McGuinn decided to "plug in" a 12 string Rickenbacker and form the Byrds, stamping out a sound that was copied in garages worldwide with the jangly tone of a twelve string electric.
Rickenbacker saw the same type of mass hysteria for their products as Gretsch, and also ramped up production to record numbers between 1964-1968.
The Model 450 was evolved into this shape and these features as seen in 1962, and remained virtually unchanged until it was dropped in the early '80's. Just like Lennon's 325, the model 450 is a short scale guitar; unlike the 325, the 450 is a solid body. 450/12's were made in very limited numbers, and although production totals are "lost" for 1967, only 109 black 450/12's were made in 1966.
This guitar is exceptionally cool as it pulls together three "Beatle" models; it has the 12 string thing, the black and white 'tuxedo' look of John's 325, and also George briefly played a 425 solid body (essentially a single pickup version of the 450) for a brief time in 1963, which he purchased that year, pre-Beatlemania in the USA, on his first trip to the states to visit his sister in Illinois.
The 450/12 was used quite often by The MC5's Fred 'Sonic' Smith:
While they would have been appropriately descriptive, I suppose Vox couldn't call it the "LSD" model or perhaps even "Acid Head", so they had to settle on "Starstream". This guitar, in all its red sunburst glory, is the musical instrument equivalent of one of those psychedelic exploitation films that were all the rage post-Summer Of Love.
After their UK factory couldn't keep up with demand as the British Invasion caused the Vox name to blow up in popularity worldwide, sometimeinlate'64 amplifier bearing the Vox name began production at Thomas Organ Co. in California, and guitar production was farmed out to the EKO company in Italy (where this guitar was built) with production that began in the summer of' 65. The image of Brian Jones with his (UK made) Vox Mark Teardrop guitar became a staple for garage bands worldwide.
The Starstream model took the basic outline of the Teardrop guitar ad added such coolness as built in fuzz tone (and it is EXTREME fuzz!) and the weirdness of a faux wah wah, "E" tuner and tremelo-like "repeat percussion". The model was produced in limited numbers til around 1970, and was made most famous in the 1980's when Sonic Boom (aka Peter Kember) of UK psych revivalists Spacemen 3 took to using the Starstream.
One has to hand it to Fender; Leo and his team were always tweaking ideas, whipping up new designs and in the process, innovating and revolutionizing the world of electrified stringed instruments. The Bass V is one of the oddest creations from this mighty company, and this beautiful example is finished in Lake Placid Blue with matching headstock that has gently faded while still retaining most of its original hue.
While a five string bass is a common sight on contemporary stages, the Bass V with a high "C" string is completely unlike a modern five string, which has a low "B" as the fifth string, which is lower in pitch than the traditional low "E" on a four string bass. The scale length is full, yet the body is longer than a traditional Fender bass. Odd stuff indeed, and this instrument never found a market. The Bass V appeared in Fender catalogs between 1965-70, and it is estimated that only 1000 instruments were built.
