Keith Richards

Richards acquired this butterscotch Telecaster in 1971. Nicknamed "Micawber", after a character in Charles Dickens's novel David Copperfield, it is set up for five-string open-G tuning (-GDGBD), and has only five bridge saddles. The neck pick-up has been replaced by a Gibson PAF humbucking pick-up, and the bridge pick-up has been replaced by a Fender lap steel pick-up (similar to a Fender Broadcaster pick-up). "Micawber" is one of Richards' main stage guitars, and is often used to play "Brown Sugar", "Before They Make Me Run", and "Honky Tonk Women".

This is a picture of Keith Richards playing his sonic blue 1966 fender telecaster. He acquired it in '66, and it was famously played by Brian Jones on the Jumpin' Jack Flash promo video in 1968, as well as being used by Keith until sometime in 1969.

["Keith named this guitar “Tumbling Dice” (or “Dice” for short) after a decal of a pair of dice that once graced the front of the guitar near the control knobs. Note that the remnants of the white dice decal near the knobs that has been worn off. A set of Grover tuners and a Leo Quan Badass adjustable bridge have replaced the original factory parts. “Dice” has been one of Keith’s main guitars over the decades. A pair of Fender Tele knobs replaced the original Gibson volume and tone knobs.

This was the same model as Keith’s 1960 wine red Les Paul Junior with one black P-90, the main differences being its TV yellow color and a tortoiseshell pickguard instead of a black one. Keith used this guitar in standard tuning, usually with a capo on the seventh fret."](http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/20345-book-excerpt-rolling-stones-gear)

In this rather infamous video of The Rolling Stones performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" live in 1981 at Hampton Coliseum in Virginia, Keith Richards plays his beloved black 1975 Fender Tele Custom. He acquired the guitar during the 1975 Tour of the Americas, and played it for a good decade (or more) afterwards.

In this particular performance, at around the 1:10 mark a fan appears out of nowhere and rushes the stage. Keith Richards takes his Telecaster and takes a big swing at the "attacker", fending him off. He then straps the guitar back on and resumes playing, not missing a beat.

Keith can be seen in this image playing a Gibson Hummingbird. Gibson writes in this article "Or, depending on your taste in guitar heroes, the foundation of the Hummingbird mystique may have been laid by Keith Richards. He has preferred the ’Bird as his acoustic guitar of choice since 1964, and the model has fueled such famous Rolling Stones cuts as 'Street Fighting Man,' 'Not Fade Away,' 'Brown Sugar,' 'Angie,' 'Wild Horses' and 'Jumping Jack Flash.'"

Keith Richard used the Silhouette for the standard tuned songs on the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

This rather renown photo is from a photoshoot by Annie Leibovitz. It's for a Louis Vuitton advertisement, where Keith Richards can be seen strumming his 1959 black ES 355 mono.

An article on Gibson's official site says, "His black 1959 ES-355 has been used for live versions of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Oh No Not You Again,” “She’s So Cold,” “Little T&A” and others." (source: http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/keith-richards-0502-2011.aspx)

The stock photo shows a newer model 355. The Keith Richards original one does not have a pickguard, and obviously differs since it's a vintage from 1959.

In this photo, one can see Richards with a Gibson Les Paul Custom.

Gibson writes : "By 1966, Richards was using three-pickup Les Paul Customs (the so-called “Black Beauty”). He had four, at least. He first used one in ’66, but that was stolen on tour in 1967. He purchased a new one in London, and this one was later painted by himself and then-partner Anita Pallenberg. It is now apparently owned by a U.K. guitar collector.

So why did that one go? Various stories say Keef gave it away or forgetfully left it in a Canadian guitar shop. He bought two new Les Paul Customs for the Stones’ 1969 tour, and used one for open-G tuning on “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Street Fighting Man” (live), the other in standard tuning. Both these Black Beauties were reportedly stolen from Nellcote in July 1971. Bad luck or simple carelessness? By ’73, Keef was still using a ’54 Custom for “Midnight Rambler” on The Stones’ ’72-73 tours. The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus film shows Keith rocking one of his early LP Customs."

Keith Richards plays a 1958 Fender Stratocaster, known as the Mary Kaye model, in standard tuning for songs like "Miss You" and "Under My Thumb." This usage is evident in a close-up photo available on Wikimedia.

Keith Richards is seen here with a Martin 00-21.

Keith Richards used the 1958 Gibson Les Paul TV Junior for nearly a decade. This is detailed in the Premier Guitar book excerpt "Rolling Stones Gear."

In this photo, one can see Richards with a Fender Telecaster Thinline.

Keith can be seen in this image playing a late 50s Gibson Flying V. Guitar Aficionado confirms Keith's use of this guitar by saying "Keith Richards also caught many guitarists’ attention when he played a late-Fifties V at the Rolling Stones’ Hyde Park concert on July 5, 1969." You can watch the concert in its entirety here.

In this photo, Richards is visible with Gretsch 6128 Duo Jet.

In this photo, one can see Richards playing a Gibson ES-335.

Richards can be seen using a Rickenbacker 360/12 in this photo.

Used during the Muscle Shoals sessions, particularly for "Brown Sugar", as stated by mix engineer Jimmy Johnson in this September 21, 2018 ProSoundWeb interview.

What guitar was Keith playing?

It was a Gibson, but not a Les Paul. Do you know that model that was right under the Les Paul, the solid body double cutaway-what is that? Oh yeah, the SG. I think it was an SG, and as I recall it was black. I remember it had those sharp horns on the cutaways. That’s what he played most of the time he was here.

In this photo, one can see Richards playing a Gibson Firebird VII.

In this photo, one can see Richards playing a Epiphone Casino.

In this photo, Richards is seen with Gibson SG Custom. This guitar was used around 1973.

At around 197, Keith Richards used this Dan Armstrong Plexi Electric Guitar quite a bit. On this photo, he plays the Ampeg guitar at the England Empire Theatre, in Liverpool, in 1971.

In this video Keef can be seen playing a Gibson Les Paul TV Special

On this photo we can see Keith Richards playing on a Gibson L6-S

At 0:12 in the trailer for the Netflix documentary Keith Richards: Under the Influence, Keith can be seen playing a 1928 Gibson L-1. He played the guitar throughout the sessions for his album "Crosseyed Heart," including the title track. It is featured heavily in the Under the Influence documentary, and at 13:20 of the film, Keith's longtime guitar tech Pierre De Beauport discusses the guitar, the model's association with venerated bluesman Robert Johnson, and its unique suitability for fingerstyle blues: "it almost takes you there, it makes you play that way - the notes last the right amount of time; the balance between the high strigns and what's going on in the low end, the snap."

Keith also mention in this Instagram post that this guitar is a 1928 by captioning it:

My 1928 Gibson L1. Same guitar as Robert Johnson!

Keith used the Guild Aristocrat in 1965, At the Ed Sullivan Show.

In this performance of Little Red Rooster with James Cotton, you can see him using this guitar.

According to this site, it is a "2006 Guild Custom 10 String acoustic".

2006 Guild Custom 10 String Acoustic is used on Wild Horses, in place of the 12 string Keith used to use before.

Richards can be seen playing a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop in this photo.

In this photo, one can see Richards using a Gibson L5-S.

Keith Richards used the Gibson Black Beauty Les Paul in this performance of "Sympathy For The Devil."

"Keith Richards reportedly owns 3000 guitars and he once jokingly said, 'give me five minutes and I’ll make them all sound the same.'

But there’s something about the guitar on “Gimme Shelter” that’s very different.

The song contains one of The Rolling Stones’ best-known riffs, it comes from one of their most critically-acclaimed albums and it has one of the most fascinating backstories in their entire catalogue.

And what was Keith Richards playing on it? A Fender Telecaster? A Les Paul Standard? A sunburst Gibson ES-330TD?

None of the above. It was a Maton SE777.

The story of how Richards ended up with an Australian guitar in his hands while recording 'Gimme Shelter' in 1969 is a happy accident.

Like so many things from that time, Richards forgets the name of the person who owned the instrument, but remembers him staying at his London apartment for a while.

“He crashed out for a couple of days and suddenly left in a hurry, leaving that guitar behind,” he recalled in a 2002 interview with Guitar World. 'You know, ‘Take care of it for me.’ I certainly did.'

Well, not exactly. In fact, the guitar ended up in two pieces. Richards played the Maton throughout the Let It Bleed sessions in February and March 1969 and particularly on 'Midnight Rambler' and 'Gimme Shelter'.

'It had been all revarnished and painted out, but it sounded great,” he said. “It made a great record. And on the very last note of ‘Gimme Shelter’ the whole neck fell off. You can hear it on the original take.'"

Visible in this photo.