Roger McGuinn Playing South Orange NJ Sept 18, 2011

[stsang]

21-fret Rick, so it's something of an oddity... no surprise, given the odd one his son sold.

Just found this thread from 2007: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=348302&start=30

We went through this several months ago.
Yes, his guitar from the early 70s has hi-gains.
Yes, it has the cut-through headstock.
Yes, he had it modified.

Remember, I e-mailed Roger and posted his response with the "J" number.

And I posted photos of his guitar from the Fur Peace show showing that the background can be seen through the headstock.

Ring a bell?

Is it possible the guitar Roger used at the show was his early 1970s 370/12 mentioned by firstbassman? Is this his regular gigging guitar these days? Anyone know? Thanks!

[JakeK]

Is it possible the guitar Roger used at the show was his early 1970s 370/12 mentioned by firstbassman? Is this his regular gigging guitar these days? Anyone know? Thanks!

That would be it. Tom O'Keefe snapped a pic of Roger on that early '70s Ric and it had Lightshow-style pickups. It wouldn't surprise if that was the same guitar. I still wonder what happened to his '88 Limited Edition...

[beatbyrd]

Is it possible the guitar Roger used at the show was his early 1970s 370/12 mentioned by firstbassman? Is this his regular gigging guitar these days? Anyone know? Thanks!

That would be it. Tom O'Keefe snapped a pic of Roger on that early '70s Ric and it had Lightshow-style pickups. It wouldn't surprise if that was the same guitar. I still wonder what happened to his '88 Limited Edition...

One thing that I noticed that I haven't mentioned..... when he plays the Rick, the 3 way switch is down (away from the pickups). When he puts it back on the stand, he switches it up (towards the pickups). I have heard that Roger (or Camilla) thinks the Rick is noisy and I'm thinking that the switch has been wired as a master on/off. I may be wrong on this, but Roger does automatically flip that switch up when he's finished playing the Rick.
Roger has had some bad luck with stolen/damaged guitars in the past and he may have decided that the '88 was too valuable for the road. I wonder what Mr. Roman would charge for that one.... Tom

[stsang]

One thing that I noticed that I haven't mentioned..... when he plays the Rick, the 3 way switch is down (away from the pickups). When he puts it back on the stand, he switches it up (towards the pickups). I have heard that Roger (or Camilla) thinks the Rick is noisy and I'm thinking that the switch has been wired as a master on/off. I may be wrong on this, but Roger does automatically flip that switch up when he's finished playing the Rick.

Good point, I had forgotten that until you mentioned it, but I noticed the same thing. When he first put his Ric back on the stand after playing it on his intro, My Back Pages, it buzzed and he flipped the switch up immediately. I wonder if it's because of this kind of trouble that Roger now primarily plays his acoustics during his performances.

Roger has had some bad luck with stolen/damaged guitars in the past and he may have decided that the '88 was too valuable for the road. I wonder what Mr. Roman would charge for that one.... Tom

Yes, it's really not right that people profit from stolen merchandise...

[mrtamfan]

The night I saw him in Syracuse (Sept. 10), the guitar he was using was one of his McGuinn Limited Edition signature models. I got a chance to look at it fairly closely before the show while it was still on its stand -- the pickups on it were toasters and the headstock was channeled, not slotted through. He may well carry more than one guitar with him when touring and as one needs adjustment or restringing, he'll go to the other if he hasn't had time to make any needed adjustments or changes. It may also depend on the quality and characteristic sound of the PA system in a particular venue as to which one sounds better, and that's the one he decides to use.

All I can say is that I've seen him perform four times previously, and I don't think I ever heard his Rick or his voice sound better than that night. I had two people with me who had never seen him in concert before, and they were absolutely blown away.

BTW, I posted a tribute to him on my blog last week after seeing his show.. I normally write a comedy/humor blog, but wanted to post something while the magic was still there inside me. Note: It's not a blog or post tailored to hardcore McGuinn/Byrds/Rick fans since most of my regular readers are a cross-section of people, but rather a broad overview of Roger and the influence he's had on popular music. You can find it at:

http://tomquigley.blogspot.com/2011/09/ ... nd-me.html

Or type "Tom Quigley Sideways" into your favorite search engine and it should come up right at the top.

-- Oh, and RM has read it and let me know he enjoyed it!

Tom Q.