Mick Mars
Mick Mars' Guitars
Mick Mars plays a 1962 Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar in Fiesta Red, white pickguard, and a rosewood fingerboard. He has had it refretted, but otherwise maintains it is in great condition.
"Literally hundreds of instruments passed through his hands in the Eighties alone, from the trusty black 1972 Les Paul Custom that he used to record the band’s early albums to various Kramers, Charvels and Hamers in every imaginable shape." - Guitar World.
Throughout the earlier years of Crüe, specifically through the Girls Girls Girls era, Mars could be seen wielding an assortment of Kramer guitars. Most predominantly a pair of Kramer Tele guitars with tits painted on the back of them and reading Girls Girls Girls across the top. He would also use a version of the Kramer Tele with a mirror plating.
In a December 1987 issue of Guitar for the Practicing Musician, Mars stated:
Kramer sent me a few of the guitars that I've designed. I call it a Strato-Tele-Paul. It's like a Stratocaster contour with a Telecaster body and Les Paul setup with the double pickups and the Les Paul switches. The pickups I believe are Schaller.
Mick used a Gibson Flying V on the Shout at the Devil Tour (photo here). He also appears on Guitar magazine's August 1984 issue with the same guitar model.
Mick can be seen in this video using a B.C. Rich warlock with a trem
Mick can be seen playing a black Kramer Baretta Special at 2:30 in the Smokin’ in The Boys Room music video and in Kramer guitar magazines from the 1980’s.
One of three types of guitars Mick uses is a PRS CE-22 according to Guitar Geek.
In a gear guide by Lee Glynn on Pmtonline, Mick Mars is noted for using a Kramer Pacer Vintage Electric Guitar in a Tiger-Stripe finish.
A user-uploaded photo shows Mick Mars playing the Hamer USA Mick Mars Explorer in Yellow with Black Streaks.
Mick Mars plays a 1964 Gretsch G6120TM Chet Atkins Signature Hollowbody, as noted in an article by Lisa Sharken in Vintage Guitar® magazine.
Mick Mars is noted for using a 1972 Gibson Les Paul Standard, as detailed in Lee Glynn's Motley Crue Gear Guide on Pmtonline.
"These days, Mars may be an avowed Fender player, but he still appreciates classic Gibsons, like the Les Paul Custom he played during Mötley Crüe’s early days. At one time he owned three sunburst Les Paul Standards—two 1959s and a 1960—but he currently owns just one 1960 Les Paul Standard, which was a relatively recent replacement for the ones he was forced to sell." - Guitar World.
The headstocks if some of Micks guitars are shown in a shot from a video he did with Ernie Ball and you can see the distinctive headstock of an Ernie Ball Music Man guitar (which I believe is a cutlass).
«My Fiesta Red Strat is a ’62 with a small headstock and spaghetti logo» (Mick Mars)
Late-’64/mid-’65 Fender Stratocaster in black is mentioned by Mick Mars, while showing his guitar collection. https://www.vintageguitar.com/3836/mick-mars/
In this article, Mick explains: "(...) I got that guitar when they were first coming out. Jerry Garcia wanted it, but I had asked Gibson first! I used it to record “Without You” and some of the other stuff on the Dr. Feelgood album."
One of the custom Stratocaster in HSH configuration used by Mick on stage. In this article is said "Currently one of Mars’ main stage guitars, this Fender Stratocaster is pieced together with parts from ’63, ’64, and ’65 Strats with J.M. Rolph pickups and a Floyd Rose vibrato."
This is a community-built gear list for Mick Mars.
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Discography