Why don't Pete, Eric & Carlos play SGs anymore?

[Moose]

I reckon they damaged their hearing (especially in the treble registers) from the volume they played at when they where younger. Industrial deafness!

To make up for the percieved loss of treble they go for brighter guitar, a la Eric and Pete, a la Stratocaster

I know it's a silly really :

• 
  [li]Eric actually went to a lot a trouble to transition his style as well as guitar[/li]
  [li]Pete was disappointed with the quality of the '70s specials[/li]
  [li]Carlos just moved on[/li]

Still, it not a bad theory eh, more plausible than Elvis still being alive or Gibson putting Brazilian Rosewood on 2009 LPs!

 

[mikeystool]

ehh, at least they went to great guitars...i love strats too....Carlos prolly gets his PRS's for free these days too...

 

[njpaulc]

On a serious note, quality control. Steve Miller, in an interview with Guitar Player back in the '70s, was asked why he switched to a Strat, he said something like, "I can walk into any guitar store in the country pick up a strat off the rack and know what I'm getting, you can't do that with Gibson these days"

 

[mdubya]

Strats are very versatile guitars and usually play very nicely. It is too bad more musicians don't choose to use them for the wild nature that is inherent in them. Most chose them for their nice, tame sound.

 

[oldrockfan]

I would suggest each player switched for customization reasons.

EC - a strat was better suited with his blues playing style and fender was willing to work with him to make a strat with the feel and tone he wanted.

CS - PRS was willing to basically custom design a guitar from scratch to his exact requirements and spare no expense to make it his own.

PT - This is the one I am not as sure about. I really wish Pete still used the SG since I always thought it suited his style perfectly. I'll just guess maybe Pete feels the strat is better suited for his play now that he has toned down his flashy style and extreme volume. The P90s always sound great when pushed to the edge. Maybe a strat works better for him now that he controls volume more than he used to?

The one player that has stuck with the SG for a long time is Angus. Nice to see a player use an SG for decades and continue to crank out great rock and roll with it.

 

[mdubya]

^^^^ Don't forget Tony Iommi, though his SG's are typically not Gibsons.

 

[Kevy Nova]

I don't know about Eric and Carlos but I have read tons of interviews with Pete and I vividly remember him giving these three reasons:

1. They stopped making the Specials that he liked. They made a couple of custom SGs for him but he didn't like them as much as the late 60's Specials.

2. He picks his amps first, then picks a guitar that suits those amps the best. He's been using those Fender Vibro-Kings for some time now and I guess he likes the Strat/Vibro-King combination.

3. He has also said that Fenders are much sturdier than Gibsons (I totally agree here) and although he no longer smashes them, his playing style is much more aggressive these days (again, I agree) and Strats take his abuse much better.

 

[SurfGuitar141]

The Fender Stratocaster is a very unique animal, for a production guitar that (for the most part) are all built the same, they are all very different in sound and feel.....

I've owned 4 over the years, my first Strat was a Vintage White Tex-Mex with a rosewood board.
#2 was a natural ash body American Standard with a maple board.
#3 was a 3 color sunburst Custom Shop '62 Re-Issue with a rosewood board.
#4 was a 3 color sunburst American Standard with a maple board.....

Of the 4, the Tex-Mex was the best playing and best sounding Strat I've had the pleasure of owning, and the one I wish I could get back.
The Natural Ash American Standard was the worse, the most dead sounding guitar I have ever owned.
The Custom Shop Strat was a bit of a disappointment as well, played like a dream, sounded thin and lifeless.
The sunburst American Standard was a good guitar, but after playing it for a while I realized I much prefer a rosewood fret board for both feel and warmth of tone.

I too plan to get another Strat some day, the one that's got my attention at the moment is the new American Standard with the ash body, sienna sunburst finish and rosewood board, if that Strat sounds and plays as good as it looks, it'll be a winner....if not I've always had a soft spot for Surf Green.....

 

[oldrockfan]

Im with you on rosewood with strats. I've tried to like the maple boarded strats and just like the way rosewood feels much more. I have an older american strat that i am not ashamed to say is one of my very favorite guitars. I've owned it a long time and bought it from a pro musician. I've had to have it refretted a couple times but still great playing guitar.

 

[Kevin Brown]

I wonder how much incentives (i.e., corporate sponsorship) plays a role ... At least for why Pete plays Fenders now. I understand why he switched a long time ago. But now he can play anything he wants. But recently, it's been all Fender all the time. Or mostly.

I love Strats (Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore anyone?), but Pete's current tone is nowhere near what it was when he was playing SG's and Les Pauls way back when. And Eric Clapton? His Strat tone has no balls, not like when he was using an SG in Cream. I couldn't believe how bad he sounded at the recent Royal Albert Hall show. No bite.

 

[Moose]

[quote author=oldrockfan link=topic=20200.msg244092#msg244092 date=1262648736]
Im with you on rosewood with strats. I've tried to like the maple boarded strats and just like the way rosewood feels much more. I have an older american strat that i am not ashamed to say is one of my very favorite guitars. I've owned it a long time and bought it from a pro musician. I've had to have it refretted a couple times but still great playing guitar.
[/quote]

I bought a maple neck strat back in '74. (blame Jimi Hendrix).

Still got it. Sentimental value now but I never could get into it. Rosewood or ebony for me.

 

[mikeystool]

[quote author=Kevin Brown link=topic=20200.msg244104#msg244104 date=1262658225]
I wonder how much incentives (i.e., corporate sponsorship) plays a role ... At least for why Pete plays Fenders now. I understand why he switched a long time ago. But now he can play anything he wants. But recently, it's been all Fender all the time. Or mostly.

I love Strats (Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore anyone?), but Pete's current tone is nowhere near what it was when he was playing SG's and Les Pauls way back when. And Eric Clapton? His Strat tone has no balls, not like when he was using an SG in Cream. I couldn't believe how bad he sounded at the recent Royal Albert Hall show. No bite.


[/quote]i think with Pete, his volume has changed due to his hearing since his Gibson days...plus they have a 2nd guitarist...so his whole attack(mindset?) has changed when it comes to shows...but id say he is playing better than evr these days...id rather see , and hear him on the SG though roolin:

 

[oldrockfan]

now days, Pete is getting into acoustics alot more. For those that haven't seen him, he plays some very sweet riffs on acoustic too. Check out some of his more recent vids and I think you will be impressed. His acoustic version of pinball wizard comes to mind as a very good one but he has done a bunch on acoustic.

I also agree I would love to see EC get back to his SG for some music. I actualy lihe the strat for his blues stuff but for his harder rock stuff, that SG bass and SG guitar really went well together. That plus the amazing drum beats ginger laid down. He has become one of my favorite drummers.

Carlos is teh only one of those 3 that I accept teh PRS as his sound now. Don't know if he would get that same feel with an SG and besides PRS deserves someone really good to front their stuff and I think Carlos is a great fit for their guitars.

 

[Kevy Nova]

Even though the Strat will always be my number one, I'm really glad to see that I am not alone in hating Clapton's current tone. Overall, I honestly don't think he's ever done anything to deserve half the praise he gets (god? really?) but I do like his playing from the Yardbirds/Cream days.

 

[dbb]

[quote author=Kevy Nova link=topic=20200.msg244080#msg244080 date=1262642716]
I don't know about Eric and Carlos but I have read tons of interviews with Pete and I vividly remember him giving these three reasons:

1. They stopped making the Specials that he liked. They made a couple of custom SGs for him but he didn't like them as much as the late 60's Specials.

3. He has also said that Fenders are much sturdier than Gibsons (I totally agree here) and although he no longer smashes them, his playing style is much more aggressive these days (again, I agree) and Strats take his abuse much better.
[/quote]

check out http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/equipment/guitar/equip-townshendgear-intro.html


"Pete Townshend’s use of Fender Stratocaster guitars on stage from 1966 to 1968. Pete moved from Rickenbackers to Fender Telecasters for their durability and reparability. He began using Stratocasters for the same reason: they could handle the stage abuse. Moreover, it was Jimi Hendrix’s guitar of choice."
"1972

In August 1972, Pete Townshend began using Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars — primarily cherry sunburst at first — as his main stage guitar, replacing the Gibson SG Special, of which the model Pete preferred had been discontinued and were no longer available in mass quantities. Earlier, in late 1971, he began using Les Paul Deluxes occasionally, intermixing with SG Specials. In late 1972 to the lone March 1973 gig, he briefly used Polaris White pre-1965 Gibson SG Special guitars intermixed with the Les Paul Deluxes, switching permanently to the Les Paul Deluxe by the proper 1973 tours that began in October (though he flitted briefly with a ’60s Gretsch 6128 Duo-Jet for some late-1973 European shows)."

Page 149 of John Entwistle's book (Bass Culture) - re SG Specials: "I still think Pete Townshend got his best stage sound using one of these" I was lucky, the only time I saw the Who was in 1971, and Pete was playing his SG.

Good points about hearing loss ; I never thought that maybe it had something to do with it, but it makes some sense.

[quote author=Kevy Nova link=topic=20200.msg244150#msg244150 date=1262714187]
Even though the Strat will always be my number one, I'm really glad to see that I am not alone in hating Clapton's current tone. Overall, I honestly don't think he's ever done anything to deserve half the praise he gets (god? really?) but I do like his playing from the Yardbirds/Cream days.
[/quote]

There are some things he did on the Strat I really liked - the Derek and the Dominos stuff including "Let it Rain", but overall I dislike the tone he got on so many things...."Lay Down Sally" is a good example of what I do not like from Eric's Strat.
I too LOVED his tone on Humbuckers! (LP's, SG's, 335, Bydland, etc.).

[quote author=oldrockfan link=topic=20200.msg244148#msg244148 date=1262713277]
now days, Pete is getting into acoustics alot more. For those that haven't seen him, he plays some very sweet riffs on acoustic too.... His acoustic version of pinball wizard comes to mind as a very good one but he has done a bunch on acoustic.
[/quote]

Even the original "Wizard" had great acoustic work, as did a lot of the Who's music - like "Magic Bus", lots of "Tommy" and "Who's Next", etc. Pets has a great sound on acoustic.

As for Santana, he seems well suited to his PRS, but I think he could get his tone on almost anything as long as he has that AMP!

Also a good point about Angus and his long-term use of the SG. Sometimes I wonder if the SG is still sort of seen as an "old" guitar; it was really popular in the later 60's early 70's but has never been forefront since, except with us. It also didn't help that Gibson changed the SG series so many times.

 

[mdubya]

[quote author=Kevy Nova link=topic=20200.msg244150#msg244150 date=1262714187]
Even though the Strat will always be my number one, I'm really glad to see that I am not alone in hating Clapton's current tone. Overall, I honestly don't think he's ever done anything to deserve half the praise he gets (god? really?) but I do like his playing from the Yardbirds/Cream days.
[/quote]

Don't forget the Bluesbreakers. EC went off the rails when he decided he wanted to be a singer/songwriter and not a guitar god IMO. But we all change. And that move certainly didn't end his popularity. Derick and the Dominoes was his last great work IMO.

Wouldn't we all love it if they did a Cream reunion and he played an SG or a 335 or a Firebird or a Les Paul through a JTM 45?

 

[dbb]

[quote author=mdubya link=topic=20200.msg244155#msg244155 date=1262716574]
Don't forget the Bluesbreakers. EC went off the rails when he decided he wanted to be a singer/songwriter and not a guitar god IMO. But we all change. And that move certainly didn't end his popularity. Derick and the Dominoes was his last great work IMO.

Wouldn't we all love it if they did a Cream reunion and he played an SG or a 335 or a Firebird or a Les Paul through a JTM 45?

[/quote]

You said it - Derek was the LAST GREAT WORK Clapton did.
It was Delaney Bramlett that got Clapton all worked up about being a singer, and it was on tour with him that Clapton got "Strat fever".

Oh, and wasn't there a recent Cream reunion?

 

[the_guitar_collector]

I love the PT years with his SG, i think they were the heaviest.
The full Woodstock gig in my opinion is the heaviest gig sounding and i just love watching Pete throw around his SG like it was made of paper. Awesome.

CS looked and sounded better again in my opinion with an SG.

I have a huge collection of B.C. Rich guitars from the 80's, i started that collection because i liked the look of them and i was playing a lot of extreme metal.
I then joined a 60's/70's heavy rock band and started collecting Epiphone's & Gibson's i have a lot of G-400's that have had the hell modded out of them.
I then started playing 80's thrash and started collecting Kramer's.
The point of this is that i have 4 main guitars that i use to cover all moods/feelings/sound & styles.
SG=Hard Rock, Pacer=Thrash, Bich=Death Metal & Wilshire=Blues.

So i do understand why these great musicians have changed to another type of guitar, i just does not change the fact that i personally think there music was better when they used an SG! :)

 

[Kevy Nova]

[quote author=mdubya link=topic=20200.msg244155#msg244155 date=1262716574]
Don't forget the Bluesbreakers.
[/quote]

I almost mentioned them (for his tone) but to tell the truth, he just sounds like a white Freddie King to me on those recordings.

 

[Moose]

[quote author=Kevy Nova link=topic=20200.msg244150#msg244150 date=1262714187]
Even though the Strat will always be my number one, I'm really glad to see that I am not alone in hating Clapton's current tone. Overall, I honestly don't think he's ever done anything to deserve half the praise he gets (god? really?) but I do like his playing from the Yardbirds/Cream days.
[/quote]

Eric absolutely was God. I remember the first time I heard him with the Bluesbreakers in the '60. Absolutely fantastic. He played with so much passion and agression, which he carried through to Cream. That Rolling Stone review really pulled the wheels off his juggernaut, and the Band just changed everthing.