Anyone played the guitar of a famous guitarist??

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by boombox

Not super well-known as a guitarist, but in college, many, many moons ago, we had Dave Cousins and Brian Willoughby of The Strawbs at our folk club. We were short on floorspots so the chairman asked me if I had anything. I replied, "Perhaps, but I don't have my guitar with me." Dave reached over and lent me his trusty Ovation 6-string and I recall I did a Cat Stevens and a Country Joe McDonald song. The guitar played easily, but I do remember too that bowl back was really weird to play sitting down.

I remember Dave Cousins playng an Epiphone Texan ? He still owes me the 10 shillings I loaned him!

[Silly Moustache]

I went to see Guy Clark in south west London, and my friend (a freelance writer was "interviewing him during the wacky baccy smoke break and I asked him if I could look at his Heiden Super Jumbo style guitar - he leaned over, pulled it out of his Calton case and gave it to me to play.
It was in a heck of a state .. really needed a good set up.

Toby played my DelArte 12 string once when he gigged in my town, and I took a weird "Reliance Archtop (a Henshall) to show Pokey Lafarge and his guitar player.I sat there with them for a bout ten minutes, then they had to get ready. The Amp had blown on their set up, so the roadie took me home in the band van (not pretty sight) and they used my Peavey mixer amp for the evening.

The most significant to me was when I was opening for Isaac Guillory and he lent me his Martin D35-S because I was whining on about the thin neck on my J40. That ten minutes changed my whole direction - 12 fret wide necks from then on. Bless him.

I played Rory Gallagher's D35 when it was in for a set up with a luthier pal of mine. I think he did some stuff for Pete Townshed too but I was never an electric player.

Oh,same luthier pal took me to a trade show in London where he had a long chat with Dan Armstrong who asked me to sit and"demo" a plexiglass electric with a single sliding pick up.

and Diz Disley bought a D35 off me and paid my asking price and gave me two front row tickets for a great concert in our local theatre featuring a famous American jazz guitarist (Joe Pas?) and a classical player, then they introduced a young lad called Birelli Lagrene.

I don't know why he wanted myd35 - he always played a Selmer Maccaferri.

[icuker]

Not quite on topic but while in college in the mid 70's I bought a 12 string Alvarez from a lady who told me Tommy Smothers played the guitar at a local political rally.

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by PiousDevil

Maybe you have some insight on this. The Lewis and Clark expedition is clearly part of American history and the American mythos. I'd be surprised if they get much mention in history classes in the rest of the world. What inspired Tommy, an Austrailian, to title a song in their honor?

He played a show at Lewis and Clark college in Oregon and had no idea who they were. He started reading about them and was taken back by the story. He knew he had to write a song about it.

[Texsunburst59]

I've not played any guitars of famous people, but they've jammed on my guitars.

Eric Johnson jammed on my '99 Tom Anderson for a few minutes at Austin Vintage Guitar. I got him to sign the back of the headstock too.

I has the Texas Country artist Kevin Fowler use my Takamine acoustic for an early afternoon short acoustic set at a gig we shared together.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

At Rudy's Soho (NYC), he handed me Mark Knoplers' red Stratocaster and told me to play it.

It was intimidating. I sounded nothing like Mark.

The guitar must have been having an off day.

[Methos1979]

Lol - I got to not only play but own TWO of Eric Clapton 000-28EC guitars!

Seriously, though. Closest I came was getting a backstage tour of an Aerosmith concert back in 2012. Got to see all of Joe and Brad's guitars up close and personal and got my photo taken with Joe's clear plexiglass Dan Armstrong guitar that he used to open the show for the song, Draw The Line.

I put together a YouTube video stringing together some photos and video clips of this show. It was an anniversary gift for my wife with VIP tickets where we got the tour, got to meet the band and got some amazing seats. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime show for us. We'll never forget it.

[tpbiii]

In bluegrass, it is not odd to swap guitars in jam sessions and it is not odd to jam occupationally with well known musicians--especially if you have old guitars. In that situation, you get handed iconic guitars now and then.

We also have traded for and now own some guitars owned by fairly famous players. The most famous is this 00-40H which once belonged to Norman Blake. He played it regularly during the 1990s and up to 2005 when we made the trade. It is an amazingly powerful instrument -- it is easy to see what attracted him to it. It is the center guitar in this picture. We got the others from him too, but those are not so famous.





Let's pick,

-Tom

[Scootch]

I’ve a friend that bought Marty Stuart’s paisley Tele from Marty. (They are friends). And I was allowed to play it.

Not a guitar, but I bought a Danelectro Bacon’n’eggs from Tracii Guns. He had his gf clearing out his old stuff on eBay. After I bought it she said FWIW...

[M Sarad]

Alex deGrassi let me play his Somogyi, Traugott, and signature Lowden.

Tony McManus handed me his Kelday the first time we met and his PRS when he was using it on his first tour.

These guys are real people in every respect.

[Mr Fingers]

Norman Blake's playing on those small-bodied 12 fretters is miraculous. I once read a description of his setup on those -- maybe yours? -- that seemed to me a mis-reporting, as the gauges were very heavy. What did you find on it when you got it? And that one was a converted Hawaiian neck, no? I just love and respect Norman Blake, and am so thankful for his example and inspiration, playing outside of the Dreadnought Universe. Beautiful guitars. As for me, I've never played a famous person's guitar, but David Crosby played my '96 Collings 0002HCE. Said: "Nice guitar."

[tpbiii]

Originally Posted by Mr Fingers

Norman Blake's playing on those small-bodied 12 fretters is miraculous. I once read a description of his setup on those -- maybe yours? -- that seemed to me a mis-reporting, as the gauges were very heavy. What did you find on it when you got it? And that one was a converted Hawaiian neck, no? I just love and respect Norman Blake, and am so thankful for his example and inspiration, playing outside of the Dreadnought Universe. Beautiful guitars. As for me, I've never played a famous person's guitar, but David Crosby played my '96 Collings 0002HCE. Said: "Nice guitar."

Yea, he has his own unique setup. The Almcrantz we got from him he used as a slide guitar, but both the 00-40H and the Larson had the "Norman setup." Basically he does two things. First he changed the string spacing, giving more room on the low end. He does that by cutting new (extra) string slots in the nut and by notching to saddle to match. Then he uses his custom string sizes -- extra heavy on the low E (60) and very light (10) on the high end.



I could not play that setup because I kept pushing the low E off the edge.

Best,

-Tom

[Earl49]

I have played:
- Tony McManus acoustic Paul Reed Smith (complete with Paul's personal inscription on the back of the peg head)
- Chris Proctors Taylor signature model
- Peppino D'Agostino's personal signature model Seagull
- Mississippi John Hurt's well-used old mahogany Guild (in the Denver Folklore Shop)

.....and maybe a couple of others along the way.

[jtaylor996]

I did a famous guitarists's electric for about 30 seconds (one of SRV contemporaries). My response was "are you kidding me!". I had no idea at the time what could be done with a 50's strat.

Then I went and learned how to do proper fretwork on my own. My response would be much more muted at this point, as I feel like I've achieved the play-ability that instrument showed me was possible.

[Rodger Knox]

One smoky night at the One Knight back in the late 70's, I swapped guitars with SRV for a few minutes. I played his #1 (which still had most of the finish at the time), and he played my Vox Ultrasonic. It didn't last long, my Vox had 8s that Stevie hated and I could barely fret the 13s.