Paul Simon

Martin D-18 was used during the 1960's, as seen in this photo. While some say this guitar was used to record "The Boxer", there is no source for so.

Paul can be seen playing his Yamaha at the Gorge in George in 1999 here; https://images.app.goo.gl/mQ79coPPsXVMkxwP6

Paul Simon is seen using a Martin OM-42 acoustic guitar, notable for its use in C# tuning, in a 2011 photograph.

Paul Simon uses the Guild Songbird S4CE-NT Acoustic Guitar as his main instrument for playing in half-step down tuning with a capo on the 4th fret, as shown in a photo from GuitarToneTalk.

Played in the concert in Central Park and documented in this Forbes article.

Bizarre guitar choice to play a very clean acoustic sound Paul Simon is playing a Parker Fly guitar when guesting at a gig with Bob Dylan.

During his late career, Simon uses the cherry red Epiphone Riviera, the 12-string version. Although it looks new, this Epiphone article says that this is a vintage Riviera. He also performed "So Beautiful or So What" on this guitar during the Saturday Night Live performance.

According to this Sound on Sound interview with producer Roy Halee, the M49 was used extensively for Simon & Garfunkel.

"Right from the start, I loved their sound because it had a classical feel," he now says. "It was very beautiful, very legitimate, with these two voices on one microphone. They never worked with two separate microphones, never. It would not work. You couldn't use two [Neumann] M49s, separate those voices and then mix them together."

Halee goes on to explain that the M49 was revisited during the recording of Graceland.

"For microphones, we used the usual selection of tube Neumann 49s, 87s and 67s. In fact, Paul's mic always seemed to end up being a tube 67 thanks to how it helps with sibilance, enunciation and all-around fullness. I tried different mics with him through the years, but I always went back to the standard M49 or U67."

Paul used this guitar during the 1980, most notable for The Tower Theater concert, where he can be seen with it at around 3:11 minute mark.

Through the entire appearance with Sting on February 16, 2014 Paul can be seen using his Fender Classic Esquire Telecaster in Butterscotch with a rosewood neck.

According to this Sound on Sound interview with producer Roy Halee, a PCM3324 was used to record the Hit Factory sessions of Graceland. The result, however, required heavy editing.

At the Hit Factory, Halee sat behind an SSL console, used a Sony PCM3324 digital multitrack, and monitored on United Western speakers which he describes as "unlistenable. They were totally wrong, with no bass and the top end just screaming at you. I raised so much hell there, they hated to see me arrive. I'd ask, 'Can you voice these speakers, please?' and they would, but then another session would come in at night and somebody would change them! Unlike at Columbia, there were no standards whatsoever. You never knew what you were going to hear, and anything you did hear bore absolutely no relationship to what was on the tape. So, I brought in my own speakers — a pair of little Westlakes that we kept there — and everything was fine."

As things turned out, the most laborious and time-consuming aspects of the Graceland project took place at the Hit Factory.

"The amount of editing that went into that album was unbelievable," Halee asserts. "We recorded everything analogue, so it sounded really good, but without the facility to edit digital I don't think we could have done that project. The first thing I did was take the material to New York and put it on the Sony machine. Then we edited, edited, edited like crazy, put it back on analogue, took it to LA to overdub Linda Ronstadt or whoever, brought it back to New York, put it back on digital and edited some more. We must have done that at least 20 times, and if not for digital we could have ended up with just as many generations of recordings."

According to this Sound on Sound interview with producer Roy Halee, the U67 was used to record Simon's vocals for Graceland.

"For microphones, we used the usual selection of tube Neumann 49s, 87s and 67s. In fact, Paul's mic always seemed to end up being a tube 67 thanks to how it helps with sibilance, enunciation and all-around fullness. I tried different mics with him through the years, but I always went back to the standard M49 or U67."

From ACOUSTIC GUITAR [July / August 1993] No. 19, "Gearbox", p. 94:

"His favorite acouistic guitar is a Gurian. 'In a way, this should be the guitar that I build the microphones in and bring out to play on the stage," he says. But this is the guitar that I record with, so I don't want to fool with it because I don't want to take a chance that I'll alter the sound."

From FRETBOARD JOURNAL [May 2011] - "Paul Simon Stays Cool" by Jason Verlinde:

"A month or so ago, Paul Simon played an extra show while stopping through Seattle. He could have packed another full-sized arena but, after playing at the cavernous, arena-esque WaMu Theater, he did a show at the much smaller Showbox at the Market. This is the kind of venue he hasn’t played for years… a place that only holds a few thousand folks and has amazing sightlines no matter where you stand. And he seemed to have a great time playing this club; it almost felt like a thank you gift to his fans for supporting him over the years.'

"Then, a couple of weeks back, there was a nice Rolling Stone feature on Simon and his new album. As a guitar geek, the most impressive thing for me was the guitar of choice in the opening photograph of the article: it’s Simon holding his old Size 3 Gurian. Sure, Simon has a signature model Martin but the axe he grabbed when the photographer from RS came by was his “old friend,” the Gurian. What a cool gesture."

Paul Simon is associated with a Sadowsky Custom Guitar, styled like a white Strat, as detailed on Biglobe's "Paul Simon's Gear" page.

Producer Steve Hoffman has stated his use of the LA-2A for Simon.

My Teletronix LA-2A, ganged for stereo or mono reproduction via the handy toggle switch in the center of the two units. (...) I've used it on countless projects, Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, Beach Boys, Doors, Eagles, Ringo, McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee, Jethro Tull, Chuck Berry, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Van Morrison, White Stripes, Tom Petty, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ella Fitzgerald, Yes, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Steely Dan, Steppenwolf, Bad Company, Jim Croce, Elvis Presley, Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Dave Mason, Paul Simon, America, The Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Cars, ZZ Top, James Taylor, Art Pepper, Steve Miller Band, Queen, Rod Stewart, Duke Ellington, John Lee Hooker, Al Jolson, Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., The Who, Lightnin' Hopkins, Bill Haley & his Comets, Miles Davis, Mamas and Papas, Blue Öyster Cult, The Byrds, Eric Clapton, Bill Evans Trio, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Phil Collins, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Doobie Bros., Faces, Grand Funk, Heart, Billy Joel, Linda Ronstadt, Ten Years After, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Pat Benetar [sic], Elton John, Leon Russell, Metallica. etc.