When Did George go 12 String?

[servant]

...his new '61 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster.
...in addition to his Strat and new 360/12, George bought a '64 Gibson SG ...
...Fab Guitars of the Beatles suggests it was around Abbey Road studios in spring 1969, after which it was stolen, along with John's '61 Strat...

Pardon me for going (only slightly) off topic. If John's Sonic Blue Strat was stolen in 1969, and George's remained painted (and became known as Rocky) since 1967, what is George playing in the How Do You Sleep video?

See 0:23 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK7CLXHSr1M

I always assumed that was John's old Strat. Now that I look at it again, I notice it is a maple neck model. Didn't both Beatle Strats feature rosewood necks?

Now back to 12-string Ric talk.

[idealassets]

I heard that McGuinn got his Rickenbacker 360/12 after seeing A Hard Day's Night, so it was a certainly a good marketing move by Rickenbacker.

It can't be that it was just salesmanship that made this guitar great. It was a great product, evidently whose time had come.

I was previuosly a drummer (sorry about that). At that time, nearly every guitar looked and sounded the same to me. But now that I play and own a few guitars, I see that there is not only sound to consider. The overall design of the guitar, action, and appearance on stage possibly has a lot to do with how successful the sales of a guitar might become.

I don't think that George missed a beat back in '64, when he endorsed the Ric 12 string. Strange that both John and Paul mostly didn't go for the 12 string sound. During the same time the Byrds and the Hollies were well into it. I didn't discover any of this until just recently. Part of the reason: most local bands shy away from any 12 string songs, both originals & covers. That makes me all the more into it.

Craig

[wmthor]

... most local bands shy away from any 12 string songs, both originals & covers. That makes me all the more into it.

Craig

It appears that you Dare To Be Different. That's been my motto for years.

[JakeK]

I always assumed that was John's old Strat. Now that I look at it again, I notice it is a maple neck model. Didn't both Beatle Strats feature rosewood necks?

Yep

http://www4.images.coolspotters.com/pho ... allery.jpg

[thymecube]

for all ye non- believers.... BEHOLD.... the HOLY GRAIL and two knights of the Round Table!

[Ivan3000]

His new style 360 broke after falling off of a truck

[idealassets]

It appears that you Dare To Be Different. That's been my motto for years.

Richard,
What happened in my case is that when I got my first 12 string acoustic Guild (10 months ago), suddenly certain songs began to work well on it for me. And I really liked the the sounds I could get. Then I Began to look into Roger McGuinn, but it took longer for me to get the Ric 360/12 due to the more complexity of the additional equipment. Then I discovered from this forum that incidently the Beatles, Beach Boys, Hollies, and Tom Petty used the 12 string; and also some specifics involved.

Being different was not by design, but came as an added benefit of delving into and studying 12 string material and musicians. Next is to learn some more exemplary 12 string technique, such as the rhythm runs on "I Call Your Name". Perhaps its easy to do, but then again not many folks are doing it either.

This is great stuff.

Also I liked the image of Roger McGuinn & George Harrison with the 360/12. Is that the model that George played?

Craig

[jps]

Here is a 12 string guitarist not mentioned too often on this forum. Sink your fingers into this!

[Ivan3000]

Here is a 12 string guitarist not mentioned too often on this forum. Sink your fingers into this!

Thats sounds crazy nice!

[idealassets]

Here is a 12 string guitarist not mentioned too often on this forum. Sink your fingers into this!

Folks, Leo Kottke is very impressive. And there are few guitar players that could match his style, such as Leo does it. I wonder if he ever thought of going electric? I am posting one of my favorite 12 string guitar compositions to share with you all: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGI6qQHFlPk

This song is a very influental 12 string song in my book, in that it sold me on wanting to learn to play the instrument. I really like the melody and the 12 string chime here. We might say it is not a complex song. However consider what it took to write such a piece, with so many varied segments, that all seem to fit together nicely. Also this song features a 12 string acoustic as the lead instrument (in the original version by Supertramp), with no additional guitar burning required.

Its not George Harrison, but I really get into all the other 12 the string material & artists who play it.

-Craig

[drumbob]

[quote="jimk"]It may be that the last time George used his 360/12 string was on "If I Needed Some One" on "Revolver." He used it on their tour of Asia in 1966. But by this time, he had switched to the modern 360/12 string with the rounded edges, the first one having been stolen. /quote]

It was not stolen. George's family still owns the guitar. They did sell the rosewood Telecaster a while ago.

[jimk]

OK. I stand corrected.
JimK

[teeder]

His new style 360 broke after falling off of a truck

I thought that was one of his Gretsch's?

Pardon me for going (only slightly) off topic. If John's Sonic Blue Strat was stolen in 1969, and George's remained painted (and became known as Rocky) since 1967, what is George playing in the How Do You Sleep video?

See 0:23 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK7CLXHSr1M

I always assumed that was John's old Strat. Now that I look at it again, I notice it is a maple neck model. Didn't both Beatle Strats feature rosewood necks?

I always assumed that was John's with a replaced neck. It does have some battle scars on the body in the video. Maybe we can match those up with pictures with the rosewood board.

[Billsbro]

It appears that you Dare To Be Different. That's been my motto for years.

Richard,
What happened in my case is that when I got my first 12 string acoustic Guild (10 months ago), suddenly certain songs began to work well on it for me. And I really liked the the sounds I could get. Then I Began to look into Roger McGuinn, but it took longer for me to get the Ric 360/12 due to the more complexity of the additional equipment. Then I discovered from this forum that incidently the Beatles, Beach Boys, Hollies, and Tom Petty used the 12 string; and also some specifics involved.

Being different was not by design, but came as an added benefit of delving into and studying 12 string material and musicians. Next is to learn some more exemplary 12 string technique, such as the rhythm runs on "I Call Your Name". Perhaps its easy to do, but then again not many folks are doing it either.

This is great stuff.

Also I liked the image of Roger McGuinn & George Harrison with the 360/12. Is that the model that George played?

Craig

So much great detail in this Thread...THANKS!
And I think the common element is that yes, 12-strings, electric and acoustic just have such a beautiful sound and tone!
My first real 12er was also a Guild (1977 Rosewood). It has that classic sound. I am a nut for 12s so I also have one of the classic jumbo Taylors (the typical brighter sound and easy playability are so nice) and speaking of Leo Kotke (see above), I also have the Taylor LKSM-12 which is made to be tuned 1 and 1/2 steps lower than the usual 12. So it is the opposite of the chimey sound...the thing is a cannon and so different than most 12s. I wish I could get an electric 12 like a Ric but I am still recovering from my 4003 purchase.

Beatles: like so many of you, the Beatles shaped my love of music and I never tire of reading about how they put together their classic songs. So much wonderful music. The 12-string sound of Mr. Harrison is essential to their early output.

Again, Great Thread! I hope I didn't digress too much!

[Ivan3000]

...his new '61 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster.
...in addition to his Strat and new 360/12, George bought a '64 Gibson SG ...
...Fab Guitars of the Beatles suggests it was around Abbey Road studios in spring 1969, after which it was stolen, along with John's '61 Strat...

Pardon me for going (only slightly) off topic. If John's Sonic Blue Strat was stolen in 1969, and George's remained painted (and became known as Rocky) since 1967, what is George playing in the How Do You Sleep video?

See 0:23 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK7CLXHSr1M

I always assumed that was John's old Strat. Now that I look at it again, I notice it is a maple neck model. Didn't both Beatle Strats feature rosewood necks?

Now back to 12-string Ric talk.

They both got identical sonic blue strats.