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/)

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)

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"