But George is probably my pinnacle of inspiration he and people like him. So, many of the solos are on a tiny amp in a big room. Sporting just one pickup and a pair of control knobs, it's the guitar Campbell used for his solo on Petty's classic 1989 tune, Runnin Down a Dream. I think when I was a teenager, there were probably dozens I wanted but couldnt afford. I passed the other day on a Mary Kaye Strat. I don't know. In this photo, Campbell is seen playing the mapleglo Rickenbacker 330. So Id like the opportunity to live a somewhat normal life for a while; our life has really been either on the road or in the studio, and very little else. The guitar carousel in action, he laughs. This guitar looks like the tail of a 1959 Cadillac.
As long as weve been doing this, we still draw from the same places and people who inspired us when we were young. First of all, I dont have that much time.
Mike Answers Questions From Fans - Wild Blue Gator Well, its an interesting record because theres really only three people playing on it me and Tom and Jeff. Decades later, during the recording of Petty and the Heartbreakers' blues-influenced 2010 album, Mojo, another 'Burst became available for Campbell. Get the latest and greatest Guitar news with one of our guitar magazine subscriptions. The solo records are more about a collection of songs, not about a band performance. A lot of bands are like that," says Mike Campbell's guitar tech about the Fender Princeton Blackface Amp. Damn The Torpedoes was kind of a breakthrough record. MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. God, let me think Were on this quest to find another bass as good as this Hfner Club weve got. Im told your guitar collection includes a Rickenbacker that has so far avoided full identification. Martin SPOM 16 10. "On I Wont Back Down, I have the Gretsch Clipper tuned to an open tuning that I use for that slide part. It didnt take long at all because I went in with everything written. I still love to play the bass. But it wasnt like Tom had this burning ambition to be the guy. I think it was Denny who said, We should call this Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, because thats what its turning into. It just seemed to evolve. Brian Jones was a really good rhythm guitarist, I thought, and rhythm guitar is a lost art, you know? And ever since, youve been the guitar player who Tom seems reluctant to go into the studio without. On days off, wed go to pawn shops and guitar stores, and buy anything good. ROLLING STONES GLASGOW SCOTLAND 2003 TOUR SHIRT LARGE NWOT. In your eyes, whats the difference between a Tom Petty solo record and a Heartbreakers album? It was a very collaborative we worked together, wrote together, thought things through, and we were even together when we werent playing. It was just perfect. I like to be able to just pull them out and use them on impulse if I need to. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell both know what a good guitar sound is, so the guitar sound they end up with is the one they wanted. Pinterest. I was about 11 years old, and the music was five or six years past its prime, but I started finding old records.
Mike Campbell's 12-string Rickenbacker - Tone Gems So finally, I just kinda George was sitting there and they were being supportive and all and I said to him, Listen, you should play guitar on this, because it would just feel better if it had your style on it. So he said, Okay, Ill try something. So he plugged into my amp and played that solo. Its a big chunk of work. I cant really remember all of them, but there was a variety of instruments. Michael Campbell has a legendary guitar collection, and he keeps it interesting onstage. Ill maybe do a song here and there, but to do a whole album is really taking on their life.. guitar pick jewelry, which is proving to be a big seller. "It was Toms guitar in the early years for quite a while. Angus Young, Malcom, you know, whatever, it's just solid as a rock. The fuzz is a really unique-sounding, different than anything Ive heard. So Ive been really lucky that way. Im really proud of those records. Its a little-body one. Well, I finished the semester, but then we started getting gigs and I never went back to school. But I dont really buy anything unless I think Im going to use it. Plus, I was also below the weight limit, so I got a temporary deferment and never got called back. At Gil Southworths shop. I like Wildflowers, which we did with Rick Rubin in 1994, because he was fun to work with. Campbell also tells Agnesi about his huge-sounding, well-worn '56 J-200 acoustic guitar which he purchased while recording with Johnny Cash and his 1968 Dove with a double pickguard, among other stalwart acoustics. Mike Campbell is also in my opinion one of THE most tasteful guitar player ever alongside George Harrison. Theres a 1956 J-200 acoustic guitar, a Gold Top Les Paul Standard with coverless P-90s. Thats when we were learning about how to play, how to have a band. Hed put a little blackface Fender Champ with two microphones out there, and most of the time wed just plug in and move the mics around to find a sweet spot in the room for a particular song. Those are our main ones. Its such a good-sounding guitar. It was an f-hole model and it wasnt a good one. The first couple of albums, I had a Broadcaster and Les Paul, and Id gotten a Rickenbacker 660/12 for 120 bucks its the one on the Damn The Torpedoes cover. The best $150 Mike Campbell ever spent! He handed it to me and I pressed the strings down and was like, My God, you dont have to bleed!, Soon, Campbell graduated to electric and met Petty. As we wind down, we ask Campbell why he doesnt take to the producers chair more often. Early on, the Heartbreakers were on MTV a lot. As we begin our nearly two-hour conversation, Mike Campbell admits that even after more than 40 years as the lead guitarist in the venerable Heartbreakers band, the pressure is still on him. Malcolm Young more influential than EVH or Clapton? I think especially the singing sounded really young, Campbell says when we ask him what, after making so many albums, was different this time around. But the 59, theres just something about it, and I think there is a reason why all those guitar players gravitated towards it. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, SPONSORED. I think the first good guitar I bought was the 64 Stra Tom is playing on the current tour. One record that I really studied a lot was Paul Butterfields first album with Mike Bloomfield. Theres a special story behind that guitar, Campbell says of the black Rickenbacker he plays on American Girl, closing just about every show.
But it was a very hard guitar to play. All rights reserved. This is for everything else for 12-strings," says Mike Campbell's guitar tech about the Rickenbacker 1967 375 Electric Guitar. Its got so much history.
Mike Campbell's Guitars, Gear, Pedalboard & Amps | Equipboard England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Its been rebuilt a few times, but its basically the same. Unique Guitars. Whose idea was it? On a lot of records, you hear certain chords, and thats what makes the record, that tone. Vintage Guitar: How were you first exposed to music? 24) Mark in GA asked: What kind of guitar, pick-ups, amps, any effects pedals, etc. Which guitars, amp rigs and setups did you use on Highway Companion. It's what he plays on 'Free Falling," says Mike Campbell's guitar tech while talking about the Rickenbacker 360 Electric Guitar. A subscription makes a thoughtful gift for both family and friends. And of course Mark Knopfler, who I think sounds like he soaks up a lot of J.J.s thing. We have an Ovation 12-string that we made into a high-string we took off six regular strings and just kept the high strings its called Nashville tuning. Any particular songs stick in your mind from back then? This is where the tornado sequence for The. I dont know if it was an homage to the guitar, but we thought there should be at least a token instrument. Was this in the days of strumming chords, or were you picking out the solos at the same time? But this is a great-sounding guitar, and a real workhorse. The stuff no one in their right mind would part with, and it offers a fascinating perspective from which to trace the career of a guitarist and producer who has worked with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, and now of course fronts The Dirty Knobs. Custom Guitar Picks. It saw plenty action, too, before meeting an untimely end. He was real good at that, so it was kind of a fresh direction. I like the Broadcaster just because the way it is, I mean that's what was done on American Girl and all the first recordings was all Tele sub. So he brought it back, and sure enough it was a mid-60s J-45, which I still use a lot. So youre talking in terms of length of time youre out, as opposed to the size of the venues?
Mike Campbell : Songwriter Interviews - Songfacts We made some demos, sent them out to a bunch of record companies, and got rejected by almost everybody except for London and Denny Cordells label, Shelter. And the top horn looks like somebody cut it it used to be like the 12-string on Torpedoes. And then, you know, I learned stuff off records, slowing them down to try to hear the guitar parts and stuff. He was in the Air Force, and hed come home from work, take off his uniform, and put on an Elvis record. It used to be people didnt really want much for them because they were old. My dad was on tour in Okinawa and sent me a $60 Goya electric six-string, he tells us. And weve gone full circle back to using them again.
My Guitars - A New Video Series | HuffPost Entertainment We were just together around the clock, all the time. Petersen Concert guitar model A 6. They laughed at me when I walked in and played it, but once I played Johnny B Goode, they quit laughing.. Its got so much history. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). No matter what you hit, it sounds beautiful.. How old were you when you started writing songs? So sometimes you pick one up and it feels friendly, and sometimes it doesnt. I was watching a Rig Rundown and I saw the settings listed below. On your solo records, do you do most of the bass playing? Those few years of collaboration really made me come back to the band with a more experienced, wider scale of music to work with. CD LOT - Hard Rock, Pop, Metal: Stewart, Aerosmith, Elton. Well, quite a bit. Do you remember how the concept was pitched to you? Campbell relies on a rare Dunlop Camel Toe for his distortion, a Line 6 DL-4, the Green Meanie switch (which brings his Fender Excelsior amp in and out), a DigiTech Whammy II, Line 6 MM-4, a custom switch for his 1962 reissue Fender reverb tank, a Boss RC-30, and a Boss TU-2 tuner. I wasnt playing guitar yet, but I just loved the sound of it, Scotty Moore stuff, and of course Buddy Hollys guitar playing. Im very much in love with the early-60s Fenders. I bought that Gretsch on tour for $200 one day from a video store, he says with a laugh. I worked at a music store for a while when I was 15 years old, and I gained a pretty good knowledge of instruments. Guitarist plays $40 Harley Benton on arena tour, Marshall pedal reissues finally confirmed. And so yeah, I think the 12-string is always that solidbody Rick. The North East has been good to me! I still use mine in the show. Mike from Indianapolis Good interview! COOL !!! We grew up doing this (laughs)! During the middle years of the band, that was pretty much all we u "'64-'65 SG. And I have them set up at home, in my studio. In the history of the band, what are the most important guitars?
Tom Petty and Mike Campbell | Vintage Guitar magazine But back then, $200 was a fortune, but that Strat became my main guitar. Like with Bob, wed worked together for years at that point. Its the third Rickenbacker 12-string ever made.