Taj Mahal

At 0:22 there is a great shot of Taj playing his 3-holed McPherson acoustic. He also discusses it in an interview with Vintage Guitar: "I’ve had some of those McPherson three-holed guitars. I love them; they’re clean and record really well. You can play any style on them. I’ve got two six-strings – a 00-18 size and the regular, almost J-200 shape, which I also have in a 12-string. All three of them are black. They’ve got piezos under the bridge, but it’s got a Baggs system that goes into a preamp – so you can get the volume up without plugging into an amp. With the preamp, you can get a fat note that’s in the room like everybody else." (https://www.vintageguitar.com/2969/taj-mahal/)

Discussing how he amplifies his resonator guitars live, Taj says: "I just put little cheap mics in there and plug them into a Boss volume pedal, a Boss stereo chorus, and then plug that into Fender Bassman amps." (https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25789-taj-mahal-and-keb-mo-team-up?page=2)

In an interview with Vintage Guitar he is asked about his use of chorus effects and specifically calls out the CH-1: "I’ll use it a little bit, but nothing too crazy – a Boss Super-Chorus." (https://www.vintageguitar.com/2969/taj-mahal/)

In this video, Taj can be seen playing his Bart Reiter built Whyte Laydie style banjo. Taj has also discussed it in several interviews: "My banjo is a Whyte Laydie. I think Fairbanks originally made that model. It’s pretty spartan looking; it’s not very ornate, but it’s sure got the right kind of cluck in it." (https://www.vintageguitar.com/2969/taj-mahal/)

"That was a Bart Reiter copy of a [vintage] 5-string Fairbanks Whyte Laydie banjo." (https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25789-taj-mahal-and-keb-mo-team-up?page=2)

Around the time of his albums "Taj Mahal" "The Natch'al Blues" and "Giant Step / De Ole Folks at Home" Taj played a National Duolian resonator guitar: "I was playing a National Duolian, and I played banjo on “Farther on Down the Road.” When I was in college, a guy showed me around on the instrument. Eventually, I borrowed a banjo, locked myself in my house trailer for a weekend with a bottle of Jack Daniels, and went at it [laughs]. When I opened the door and came up for air, I could play!" (https://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/blues-legend-taj-mahal-talks-on-his-first-40-years-in-the-business)

On his live setup for resonator guitars: "I just put little cheap mics in there and plug them into a Boss volume pedal, a Boss stereo chorus, and then plug that into Fender Bassman amps."

In an interview with Vintage Guitar, Taj says, "If the pickups are good, I can take almost any guitar and play with any kind of ensemble, but of late I tend to play my Epiphone Emperor, which has a cutaway and a Johnny Smith floating pickup – just a tone control and volume control." (https://www.vintageguitar.com/2969/taj-mahal/)

Taj plays a Recording King tricone resonator during his performance with Keb' Mo' at the 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival. During an interview with Premier Guitar he confirms, "The tricone I’m playing at that show is a Recording King." https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25789-taj-mahal-and-keb-mo-team-up?page=2"