It's important that you guys also know about the rosewood fretboard without the traditional Ric lacquer. That's just his 360, though.
Here's one of my old posts on the official Ric forum:
"I had a thread on an R.E.M. fan forum on "How to Sound Like Peter Buck", which had lots of information on his style, tone, and ability. I used to be obsessed with REM, and have since done years of research into my hero's sound.
My main problem with other fans is that they are often mistaken about Peter's sound. Many ask questions, and receive the wrong answers.
For starters, Peter used a Tele on the first single (Radio Free Europe/Sitting Still), and then had it stolen, so he bought a USED 360. Of course, years later, the same guitar would be stolen and returned (Which makes no sense to me, because Peter usually only plays copies of his original on the road).
Peter's next big acquisitions would be a Gretsch (May have been used on Reckoning, being in the video for So. Central Rain, but mostly just used live), Tele Custom ('72, I think), and his fab Gib LP. He has tons of other guitars, but these are the ones that pop up the most (Along with an SG Jr used on Monster).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpCudRXpZ_w << A video of me explaining Peter's use of his LP.
He bought the Gib (I know there are rules here about other Manufactures) around the time Document was being recorded, and first used it for the solo on The One I Love. This guitar was used extensively on Green, and the proceeding tour. The next time it was brought out was on Monster, and has been seen with Peter on a regular basis ever since.
As far as amplification, Peter used Fender amps extensively in the eighties, and used Vox more in the past twenty years. Mesa, Marshall, and other brands have been on stage with him as well. His sound is not really so much the amp, but the Ric and way he plays."
Here are some pics from my HUGE Peter collection. This was all from before I owned a Ric, and I can't say that my collection will expand much since I've sold my Ric and don't care about the company anymore.
Notice the fretboard - Rosewood, no lacquer
By the way, Peter never used Toasters on his original 360 - So many people make that mistake.
The latest addition to his collection - 12/620
By the way, I saw Mitch onstage with the guys back on the Accelerate tour - Johnny Marr was onstage later on. I was disapointed that Peter only used his 360 - Should have picked up that Les Paul some. I saw his SG Jr. on the side of the stage, though.