#1
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Southern rock - 70s gear.
I'm sitting watching a BBC compilation of US Southern Rock bands from the '70s - you know those guys, Ozarks, Black Oak, Allmans, Dickey Betts etc.
I'm looking at all these skinny beardy, long haired guys in tight pants, western hats, & boots etc., but there's another thing that they all seem to have in common : Standard issue : 1x sunburst Strat, 1 x Les Paul (options: black, burst or gold top), and 1x Fender Precision. That's it! Did they issue these guitars at the door? Notable exceptions - two or three ES335s, 1 x SG, and Johnny Winters playing a red Gibson firebird. Great music! I bought those albums, but was still riding a drumkit then.
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#2
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Southern rock - 70s gear.
I’m guessing back then (I was just a little kid) bands went with solid, proven, road-worthy gear.
Gibson and Fender probably had everything covered.
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2015 Martin D-18 1982 Martin HD-28 2013 Taylor 314ce 2004 Fender Telecaster MIM 2010 Martin DCX1RE 1984 Sigma DM3 Fender Mustang III v2 Last edited by ChrisE; 07-17-2020 at 08:09 PM. |
#3
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Well, let's see, shall we...
I'm from the South and was playing in bands back then. We were surrounded by country bands playing Teles and were trying to do something that sounded new and different. We didn't want chicken pickin', we wanted girth and sustain. There was a certain attitude afoot in the South that a Les Paul was a manly instrument and Teles and Strats were somehow... less manly. Now, I'm just reporting what I experienced, not what should be. And as far as variations in finish are concerned, you've got to remember that there weren't that many options back then. Nevertheless, there were exceptions: Allman Brothers: Duane Started on a Tele and then got a Strat in the Muscle Shoals days but moved to a sunburst ES-335. Eventually he moved to a gold top Les Paul followed by a cherry burst '58 and eventually settle on a Tobacco burst '59 with a broken headstock. Dickie started on an SG ('61 Les Paul/SG) and eventually got his hands on his own burst which he repainted red. He did eventually spend a couple of years on a Strat in protest of something. Berry Oakley hacked up a Jazz Bass to add a Hagstrom pickup that ended up so ugly the band called it his "tractor." Skynyrd featured Gary on a '59 LP and an SG for slide, Allen on first a Firebird, then an Explorer, then a Strat, and Ed King, usually on a Strat or SG. Poor Ed King fled after he was abused for a while and his sound was filled by Steve Gaines (RIP) on a Strat. Bassist Leon Wilkeson was known for a Jazz Bass and then a Thunderbird Forward. But the Outlaws did indeed feature a Gibson LP Custom, a Strat, both in black, and a Pbass. But remember that the South developed slower than the North, largely because of the economic damage of the Civil War. I had friends come down from the North to the South and say, "Why is everything so small down here? Guitar stores, auto dealerships, motorcycle dealerships, everything?" As a result there were simply less choices in guitar. The cost of living, and by the same token, the average salary, were quite a bit lower than in other parts of the country and still are to a degree. That placed the relative cost of a guitar higher because they were priced in Kalamazoo and Fullerton, not in the South. And now, a reflection of the times, the band I played with in '77. We had two guitarists and somehow ended up with the same year and model of Les Paul Standards that we'd both bought used. The "Bob and Bob show," Bob Haymes on the right and myself on the left. His was a dark tobacco burst (these days called a Traditional Sunburst) and mine was a "Dark Wineburst" (these days called a Bourbon Burst). Neither of these guitars were in the Gibson catalog, which only listed one sunburst, the Tobacco Sunburst. His is long gone. I still have mine. Here's a pic from 2016 but I played it yesterday. As we've gotten older we've both gotten heavier. But I lost my weight after this pic and it didn't! It's a pretty rare finish for the period. Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#4
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Great post, Bob! Those late 50's Les Pauls ('58-'59-'60) drove a lot of music in the late '60s and '70s. And what did Gibson do when they introduced the Les Paul in '68? They put on mini humbuckers because they had a bunch of Epiphone pickups. Lots of Les Pauls were routed for humbuckers in the 70s'
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#5
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Thanks for that Bob. Great post!
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#6
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Quote:
I bought this used in 1977 from Pick n' Grin in Knoxville, TN when I joined a hot band. You could really see the difference between it and its Nashville brethren. Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#7
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I don't play it very well, but I enjoy listening to and trying to play 70s Southern Rock...
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#8
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Agreed! Remember, though, that Gaines also used a black les Paul custom....he was an amazing player. Scary to think of what Skynyrd could have been... |
#9
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Quote:
Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#10
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he was an amazing player.
Watch a youtube with him in it... his fingers are like giant spiders... -Mike |
#11
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Stash back in the day that's about the only good guitars to be found. The big jazz boxes were expensive. Gibsons were more expensive than Fenders. And that's all that was available really, Gibsons and Fenders. Once John Mayall's boys and Michael Bloomfield started using Les Pauls guitarist wanted one. I believe they were not being manufactured any longer. Once established it had it's own momentum.
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#12
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Besides the fact that those were the dominant brands then (& still now) the LP/Strat or Tele thing is pretty easy to understand. Definite and recognizable tone contrasts.
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Roy Ibanez, Recording King, Gretsch, Martin G&L, Squier, Orange (x 2), Bugera, JBL, Soundcraft Our duo website - UPDATED 7/26/19 |
#13
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Those were the guitars that were built in the 70s. The alternatives were the innovative Japanese Ibanez, guitar synths and other brands that were emerging and if you listen to progressive or fusion music of the time you can hear some other guitar brands as well.
Now what kind of acoustics were played in those days? |
#14
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I was in high school during the late 70's and Southern Rock had gained wide spread popularity, even in SE Ohio. There were great bands and great songs that provided part of the sound track of our lives.
Bob, very nice Les Paul. It's great you still have it. |
#15
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70s Southern rock? Yeah, I did that...
That's me on the right with my ES335; still have it. The other guitar player was playing an SG. The bass player has a Precision. Pretty much the standard back then. I think this image was from 1975.
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Some CF, some wood. |