Perhaps it’s a detail of John Lennon‘s poured-over artistic career that’s often overlooked. While his lauded status as one-half of the Lennon-McCartney song factory has been the subject of endless fascination, and his second life as a political activist and peacenik contrasting with the private tyrant he often could be provoking endless discourse around the merits of his iconic cultural standing, fan scrutiny of the particular guitars he used may be the niche interest of the most dedicated Beatles gearhead.
While a complete list of the guitars Lennon used isn’t possible, several were known to be close to Lennon’s heart. There was the Gibson J-160E, an acoustic guitar Lennon played on ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and featured on the ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ clip from Help! which included an all-important ‘pick-up’ for amp plugging.
Author of Recording The Beatles and general Fab Four expert Brian Kehew explained in Greg Prato’s ’21 John Winston Ono Lennon: “One of the strangest parts about The Beatles and the studio is that I think they often took those acoustic guitars, and you could mic them up in the studio and get a good sound. That is the point of an acoustic guitar in the studio – it doesn’t matter about the volume, you can move the mic and get all these different sounds. Whereas a pick-up is a fixed sound.”
There’s also the Epiphone Casino, most remembered for its use on The Beatles’ impromptu rooftop gig atop Abbey Road in 1969. Manufactured by a branch of Gibson and released in ’61, Lennon had its signature finish sanded down to “improve the tone” on the advice of Donovan during their Mahreshi retreat in India. Kehew praises the guitar: “That’s an interesting concept. There is a Gibson called a 330, which is essentially almost the same thing – maybe a little nicer, in most cases – but all three guys kept the Epiphones, all three guys used them, and those guitars get used a lot. However, I think people have come to find they’re great guitars.”
One guitar has always been associated with Lennon, however, credited with symbolising both sonically and visually the British invasion, inspiring countless artists who witnessed their iconic American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Used to thrilling effect on ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Day Tripper’, Lennon’s trusty and favourite Rickenbacker 325 had an unlikely entrance to his life.
Stumbled upon by chance in the band’s infancy, still sporting leather jackets and cutting their teeth in the Hamburg clubs, Lennon spotted the German model designed by luthier Roger Rossmeisl and immediately became attached. George Harrison recalled the moment vividly: “He just fell in love with it. He liked the sound. The Rickenbacker was his guitar!” Roundabout the same time as the purchase of his Rickenbacker, Lennon also picked up a new Fender Tremolux amp, a tweed-covered, valve, 10-watt amplifier with a single 10-inch speaker.”
While it’s undeniably interesting to consider the hardware behind The Beatles’ distinct jangle in their mid-60s pomp, Lennon reportedly was never one to fuss over technical details. A representative of Vox Amplifiers who knew the band well revealed to Prato: “Paul was Mr Sociable – ‘How’s your wife? How’s he kids?’ Good to see you again, mate. What’s happening?” And George was like, “What does this new amp do? What’s different about it? What is this one going to give me that the other ones didn’t have?” And he said, “John didn’t really care about equipment.”
