Ours was the first solidbody one. (Specs Below). Are you on the lookout for anything in particular? It saw plenty action, too, before meeting an untimely end. Ever loyal to their roots, both Petty and Campbell play through very cool looking Vox Super Beatle amps, jazzed up with Echoplex and MXR Dyna Comp. It's not just electrics on tap, though. "I believe strongly that you just take whatever the gift has given you that day. It sounds incredible. We just discovered things as we went along. "The Garden has always been one of my favourite places. God, let me think Were on this quest to find another bass as good as this Hfner Club weve got. Highway Companion I think I wrote entirely on guitar. It's so haunting and demonic in many ways, both in lyrics and music. Theyre not noticeably different. Theyre both difficult in their own way. His tours are not sponsored by corporations, and his songs are not used in advertising. Vintage Guitar: How were you first exposed to music? And after the first album, and with Damn The Torpedoes breaking out, you could buy pretty much anything. Well, I finished the semester, but then we started getting gigs and I never went back to school. The same with Carl Wilson. If its not, Ill feel like I didnt do my job. And we did it at Jeffs home studio. Oh, yeah my god I wouldnt want that responsibility (laughs)! Here are some highlights. Weaned on Elvis, Johnny Cash and the Beatles, he liked the bright jangle of Rickenbackers and used a Fender Broadcaster in the early days. When you turn down the other Ricks, they get a little sloppy with the lower pitch, but this one sounds great.. And weve gone full circle back to using them again. Well, it got me interested in the music, but it didnt make me want to play guitar. Mike Campbell was best known as Tom Petty 's right-hand man for decades. Ill do it. And I loved it. I bought this Rickenbacker six-string bass from the 60s. They made a thousand of them, then kept making them, but without calling them Tom Petty models. Those are the things that come to mind. In your view, what makes a good bass player? They know what works to achieve a particular sound, and there's a little bit of room to see what else might be interesting. 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. Therell be a certain sound that we want, and cant get with a Stratocaster, but a Gretsch makes that sound. Except for the signature models, were talking 60s guitars, or. Product Description To commemorate over 30 years of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Duesenberg have along with Mike Campbell created a beautiful signature guitar brings you classic Doozy tones in a hot rodded semi hollow design. So we met up with them and Benmont (Tench, keyboardist for the Heartbreakers) to put a demo session together. Next is a recent Fender Custom Shop Tele with a B-Bender used as a backup, then a pair of Rickenbacker 12-stringsthe one on the right is used on "Free Fallin." Well, I was very excited about it. $24.99. Yes, they thanked me prolifically and I mean a lot. It was Georges. In the eighties, the Sonic Youth leader emerged as indie rock's premier guitar radical, mixing strange drone tunings, jamming screwdrivers or drumsticks under his strings, and blasting out. I was telling somebody the other day, the only place I feel pressure when we tour is the Garden. Talk about your red Rick 660/12, the guitar thats very closely associated with you and is pictured on Damn the Torpedoes. I prefer to have the Broadcaster out but for whatever reason he'll take it out. I used it on Fooled Again [(I Dont Like It)], Strangered In The Night, even the solo on Listen To Her Heart is doubled on a 12-string with this underneath to make it thick. All rights reserved. Well, that may be true, Im just not nuts about putting that much time in on the road. Mentioned in this March 1983 Musician article. We took it to Rickenbacker, and they called it a mystery. They didnt know what it was. Campbell reveals to Agnesi that he had been offered a 'Burst for $50,000 in the '80s, but declined, due to the guitar's darker tone conflicting with the trademark jangly and bright sound of the Heartbreakers. That was my main guitar for the first three years I wish I still had it. Thats where the 62 Gibson SG Junior and Runnin Down A Dream comes in It also just goes to show that sometimes you can pickup the best guitars in the weirdest places. Those are our main ones. But no, I dont think its the last tour. Fellow songwriters from Stevie Nicks to Bob Dylan have waxed fervently on what Petty songs mean to them. Tom Petty and Mike Campbell change guitars like some people change radio stationsafter damned near every song, but they do have certain favorites that they keep returning to: Les Paul Gold Top, Fender Strat, California "This is the input right here. The truth is, I could do our whole show with one guitar if I wanted to, he admits. (November 18, 1999 -- Please note: Mike looked over the questions and answered the ones he could. We were just together around the clock, all the time. Fender Princeton Combo Amp (original issue Blackface & Silv Fender 1959 Telecaster B-Bender Electric Guitar, Rickenbacker 325 Electric Guitar - Capri Black, Rickenbacker 360/12 12-String Electric Guitar. Today, nearly 50 years beyond Love Me Tender and Love Me Do, he is the personification of the rock star created by the Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. And 30 years after his band, the Heartbreakers, formed in Gainesville, Florida, he is still making an impact, still being a force in a medium famous for devouring all but the biggest of its stars. The laconic raconteur of rock very much appreciates that his style never goes out of style, and in selling some 50 million albums he has pandered to nobody not fans, not managers, not record labels. Its been our mainstay for many years. Well, I would get together in the garage with buddies, but I never really joined a band until I met up with Tom in Gainesville, after Id gone to college. Plus, I was also below the weight limit, so I got a temporary deferment and never got called back. We have a live album that Mikes producing, and a Heartbreakers album that was started a year ago and is a quarter of the way done. What do you remember about opening it up on that Christmas Day? MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Its so easy to play. 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. Mike Campbell features on the latest episode of Gibson TVs The Collection in an episode that once more it proves that it has got to be one of the best things about being a career pro musician with decades under your belt is the guitars you collect along the way. Then, of course, a few years later, I saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan like everybody else my age, and I figured, Well, thats what I want to do!. I played that right up until Tom sat on it and broke it off, says Campbell. And I was so happy because he took the heat off me, you know? Theres a lot of Heartbreakers records that weve had to build up, as well. Pick up an astonishing new guitar with this Duesenberg Signature Series Starplayer TV Mike Campbell Guitar at Andertons! "This one, '59 B-Bender, it's tuned for 'American Girl.' Yamaha SG1000 13. Explore Mike Campbell's incredible vintage guitar 'carousel' in new episode of Gibson TV's The Collection By Jackson Maxwell published April 12, 2022 The Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Fleetwood Mac guitar legend tells the story of his '59 'Burst Les Paul, the '62 SG Junior he played on Runnin' Down a Dream and more Just lays around the house all day doin' nothing. Aug-16-2009, 3:58pm #4. Each day, wed bring a new one to check out. Well, I have complete control of a solo album; the democratic process is gone. Yeah, its about time, you know? Yes, I always loved Luther Perkins. Well, it sort of built. Yeah, Heartbreakers records are a democratic process; everybodys got input and its all shuffled around. Keith Richards, thats my hero. But if I had a choice, Id probably use my old D-28. Well, I liked the first album a lot because that was sort of us discovering what we were gonna be. Duesenberg Starplayer TV (best guitar I've owned - awesome!) Mike Campbell Reflects on His Long Career as the Rock Guitarist's Guitarist By Joe Bosso published April 23, 2020 From his 40+ years as Tom Petty's right-hand man to his current roles in Fleetwood Mac and his own group, The Dirty Knobs, Campbell looks back on an incredible career (Image credit: Kevin Scanlon) He knows when I come in that its going to be hard for me to walk out without buying something. So the non-Tom Petty model specs out the same. This is really solid and it's for W "It's an original Camel Toe. That was a real exciting time. Together, the two have been the key to an unmistakable rock and roll sound created by one of pop musics longest-lasting entities. The sunburst 64 Strat youre touring with now and have played for years, is that Mikes guitar? Yeah, with a 12-string I need a little more room at the end. His reluctance, and his clearly busy schedule, leads to an obvious question: with the Heartbreakers on such a high after Hypnotic Eye and a successful tour, how long does he think it will go on? And I go, It sounds like Clapton and Jimmy Page, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield, like it reminded me of those tones. SPONSORED. The sound textures. Here are some highlights. As for guitars, perhaps the most noteworthy items are a Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite that has an onboard compressor a far-out choice that he used while rehearsing with Fleetwood Mac and a B-Bender-equipped 1970s Gibson Les Paul Standard. Rickenbacker makes mandolins, but they look like this: Attached Thumbnails. Please try again. Wed love to stay in touch, sign up for The Pick team to contact you with great news, content and offers. I told her that Id seen this guitar, but couldnt afford to get it, and she said, Yeah, Ill buy it for you. In this photo, Campbell is seen playing the mapleglo Rickenbacker 330. My dad was stationed in Okinawa, he was in the Air Force, and he picked up a $60 Goya electric and gave it to me. I think the first thing I learned to play was Wooly Bully.. Youve said that this could well be your last big tour, is that right? The well that Petty, Campbell and company draw from certainly is deep. Guitarist Mike Campbell spent four decades as Tom Petty's co-captain, co-writing hits like "Refugee," "Runnin' Down a Dream," and "Here Comes My Girl." The Florida-born musician also co-wrote "Boys of Summer" with Don Henley, "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" for Stevie Nicks, produced Roy Orbison, recorded with Bob Dylan, and in 2018, became a . I like Wildflowers, which we did with Rick Rubin in 1994, because he was fun to work with. What I remember most was that all of us fell out of the front-man thing, you know? Ive done several things with Rick, including the last Johnny Cash albums that are all acoustic-based. But there are certain songs where I use a certain guitar on the record that just has a certain colour and when I use the same guitar as I did on the record, it just sounds better because its perfectly right for that song. Amps I try not to (chuckles) because thatll wear you out. Adds character. And because it was a friendly situation, it didnt feel intimidating at all? I passed the other day on a Mary Kaye Strat. "[Out of] all these guitars, [the 'Burst] is the only one I put back in the case when I'm done with it.". We used them on the new record. Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. "For instance, on I Wont Back Down, I have the Gretsch Clipper tuned to an open tuning that I use for that slide part. Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. Was this in the days of strumming chords, or were you picking out the solos at the same time? 65, or 66. My guitar tech has been bugging me to go and actually take pictures of them and make a computer file. And he just gave it to me. Damn The Torpedoes was kind of a breakthrough record. Like Neo., See Eric Clapton make a surprise guest appearance with Jerry Douglas to pay tribute to Jeff Beck and play While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Larry Carlton demos his $641 Sire signature guitar, Nuno Bettencourt explains his secret to playing difficult guitar solos it involves getting his leg up, Music meets gaming in the Beat Machine, the world's first music-making arcade machine. Some were iconic, on his wish list from his earliest days playing the guitar. Mike got us a green one and then we brought it in "The Princeton is probably a '63 or '64. Then it splits off. Here he's playing a late-'60s Dan Armstrong lucite model. But there was no specific discussion when we came to make Hypnotic Eye that were going to draw from a specific part of the well, because each song just comes in from wherever it comes. CD LOT - Hard Rock, Pop, Metal: Stewart, Aerosmith, Elton. Its a more deliberate way of working, I sort of know exactly what I want to do. I used this with The Heartbreakers for a string of dates we did at the Vic in Chicago," Campbell says. Thats a good amp, but for me, theres something in the tone of the Fender tubes thats just fantastic those blackface Deluxes, the Princeton I love those in the studio. Its the one Ive used the most, and I bought it because Roger McGuinn played one. The series is currently premiering exclusively on TomPetty.com for members of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Highway Companions Club Plot summary Add synopsis Genre Documentary Parents guide Add content advisory Details Release date Guitar World is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Thats my favourite, Campbell admits. Mike Campbell is selling a trove of vintage gear on Reverb, including a number of electric guitars and amps he has used through the years with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Don Henley and Fleetwood Mac. Mike says your rhythm playing is so solid that it frees him up to concentrate on fills. And I think its really a great group of songs. But I havent been able to find one. I use that on American Girl because its got the right tone, and we lowered the key on that song a half step over the years. A new episode of Gibson TV's The Collection hosted by Mark Agnesi explores Campbell's literal "carousel" of stunning guitars, how he came to own some of them, and what role those magical instruments played in his lengthy, incredible career. The Beatles were a big deal, and in 1964 everyone wanted a guitar.