Keith richards

[jacobhimself]

what kinda gear does keith richards use? i know he uses teles, but does anyone know what year? what mods are done to them? what the hell did he use to get that sound on satisfaction? you know, the main riff.

[Lance Uppercut]

he has also used gibson 335's and someone told me he busts old slight distortion and probably a phaser or something

[Electric Gypsy]

Keith Richard's set-up has changed a lot over the years, Amps ranging from Fender to Marshall, to Vox, and even Mesa Boogie. His guitars have stayed pretty much the same though with a new one added in here or there as for the basics:

Guitars:
Keith's guitar name: Micawber
'50s Fender Telecaster (Butterscotch finish, 5 strings)

Keith's guitar name: Malcolm
'50s Fender Telecaster (Natural finish, 5 strings)

Fender Telecaster (Sunburst finish, 5 strings)
Music Man Silhouette
‘58 Fender Stratocaster (known as the Mary Kay)
Gibson ES-335 Arch-top
Gibson J-200 Acoustic

Amps:
’57 Fender Twin (Brown Tolex, 4 6L6 tubes)
Marshall Head
’56 Fender 4x10 Bassman
*Fenders are used for clean sounds*
*Marshalls for dirty sounds*
*Keith almost always plays through 2 amps at once*

Tunings:
Open G: D,G,D,G,B,D low to high
Open D: D,A,D,F#,A,D low to high

As for mods done to his guitars the pickups are normally all switched from stock to another kind, and as you can see Keith's Tele's all had the 6th string taken off them because most of the root notes used showed up on the A string. As far as the riff on "Satisfaction" Keith used a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face.

Peace

[AlK2MT]

To the last poster: Not to be a pain but you are incorrect on your Fuzz Face. Although he may have used a Fuzz Face now and then the Pedal that was used on "Satisfaction" was a Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz. They are no longer made but they pop up now and then on E-bay. When asked about that guitar part Keith said that he wanted to get the sound of a horn section playing that little riff in a fuzz pedal so that's why he liked the FZ-1. The rest of the stuff looks good. He has so many amps and guitars that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what he is using at a given time.

[Electric Gypsy]

AlK2MT
Good call on the Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz. Thanks for the correction and indeed you are right. I just got done reading an article about it so if you hadn't made the correction than I was going to.

Peace

[stratocaster83]

I have to say something about the tuning: they're right, but you must specify that the man loose the lower string (in oreder to have the tonic always on the fifth string with the open G); so he uses:

Open G: G,D,G,B,D low to high
Open D: A,D,F#,A,D low to high

he goes throgh capos with open tuned 5 strung, such as in "gimme shelter" (my favourite stones song)...

I think I'll start to call keef "rock 'n' roll himself"... I'll be more accurate about the dudes rigs in june, when I'll see them!!!

[cormac]

Hi guys --

Hope you don't mind me resurrecting this one but was hunting down a thread for Keith's sound on "Sympathy" -- what does he use to get that awesome tone on the solos?

[guiampeffects]

Originally posted by AlK2MT
To the last poster: Not to be a pain but you are incorrect on your Fuzz Face. Although he may have used a Fuzz Face now and then the Pedal that was used on "Satisfaction" was a Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz. They are no longer made but they pop up now and then on E-bay. When asked about that guitar part Keith said that he wanted to get the sound of a horn section playing that little riff in a fuzz pedal so that's why he liked the FZ-1. The rest of the stuff looks good. He has so many amps and guitars that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what he is using at a given time.

You can buy a brand new reissue at
www.musicyo.com
They cost $149.95. They're Great.

[guiampeffects]

One more thing.
They are TEMPORARILY sold out.

[Welladjusted]

i always thought keith was just vintage fender amps and axes. i'm seeing them at the SARS benefit concert in toronto, so i'll tell you after what i see. if i see anything at all