Radiohead and Rickenbacker

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:33 am

Radiohead have been playing Rickenbacker guitars since they came onto the scene in the early nineties.

Guitarist Ed O'Brien played a Mapleglo 360BT around the time of the band's first two albums, Pablo Honey and The Bends. That guitar was stolen in 1995. After the theft, Ed started playing a 360FG and a 360/12JG, which he has been using since 1996/97.

Singer/Guitarist Thom Yorke uses two identical 330JG's, one remains in drop-D tuning. He has also used these guitars since 1996/97, around the time of the bands third album, OK Computer.

In the liner notes for OK Computer, I noticed that it says this:

"Guitars by Rickenbacker and Plank (Plank is the band's guitar tech), drums by Premier, cymbals by Zildjian, all other instruments at retail price."

It would appear from this that Rickenbacker was supplying the band with guitars during the making of the album, can anyone confirm or deny this? If it's true, then I had no idea Rickenbacker did anything like that.

moopysanchez · Post by **moopysanchez** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:42 am

Radiohead is one of my favorites.
Here is a picture of Ed, Thom, and Johnny and Ed has a 360JG maybe 12?.
http://www.djurvall.burken.nu/Hultsfred_03/184%20-%20Radiohead..jpg

But in the linear notes for The Bends, it says "guitars by fender gibson musicman & plank"

Maybe OK Computer was the only album where Ric supplied them with guitars.

chronictown · Post by **chronictown** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 7:30 am

Good question, John. I hope someone can provide a definitive answer, as I was wondering the same thing after reading those liner notes.

I've seen Thom play a 330/6FG as well as his JGs, and there was also a video (My Iron Lung? I can't remember...) where Johnny played a 350v63/6JG. Haven't seen any other shots with him playing that model, though.

Welcome to the forum Michael. Good to see another Radiohead fan here.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:00 am

Maybe they just mean that they used Ric guitars on OK Computer, but that RIC never supplied them with any? I saw them in concert two years ago and they didn't use any RICS,...just Teles. But they still sounded great!

4003360man · Post by **4003360man** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:44 am

They used Rick's earlier than "OK Computer".

I distinctly remember seeing a 360 in the Video for "Creep" and also on their apprearence on the Aresineo Hall show where they played "Creep" as well.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Thu Jul 07, 2005 6:53 pm

Yes, I've seen them use them earlier than OK Computer, and they still do, but they only listed them as being used on the OK Computer cd. Maybe they're playing a game of some sort with the public?