George Thorogood plays a Gibson ES-125. This hollow body electric guitar was first produced by Gibson in 1949 and is still a popular choice among professional blues guitarists today. It features two P-90 pickups, an adjustable bridge, and a floating pickup selector switch to produce a variety of sounds. George Thorogood has used this guitar on stage for decades, making it his trademark instrument.
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George Thorogood’s Early Guitar Choices
When looking at George Thorogood’s music career, one of the questions that often comes up is what guitar he plays. For much of his early career, he was playing a Gibson Firebird V Non-Reverse model from the early 1960s. This particular guitar was the only electric that Thorogood had access to for several years and quickly became his signature instrument due to its distinctive sound.
The Gibson Firebird V featured two mini-humbuckers and a simple yet effective control panel with individual volume and tone controls for each pickup as well as a three-way toggle switch. The combination of these components gave Thorogood the perfect balance between clarity and power while still remaining versatile enough to use in all kinds of musical settings.
For live performances, Thorogood could rely on the solid construction and reliable performance that this model offered. It enabled him to explore various genres such as blues, rock & roll, country, punk and many more – all with an unmistakable sound that would be instantly recognisable as George Thorogood’s own. His choice of instrument has remained unchanged throughout his career – demonstrating just how powerful an influence it has had over him since those early days when he first started out with it in hand.
The Gibson ES-125: George Thorogood’s Most Iconic Guitar
When it comes to George Thorogood’s style and sound, one guitar stands out among all others: the Gibson ES-125. This electric semi-hollow body guitar has become synonymous with George Thorogood’s music, allowing him to capture his signature bluesy tones. The ES-125 is a prime example of the classic Gibson models from the 1950s and 1960s that shaped rock ‘n’ roll history. With its simple yet versatile design, this instrument was perfect for a wide range of players – from blues greats such as Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, to jazz icons like Miles Davis and Wes Montgomery.
George Thorogood first got his hands on an ES-125 in 1978, when he purchased a used model for $100 at a pawn shop in Wilmington, Delaware. It quickly became his go-to guitar both onstage and in the studio – seen in countless photos and heard on many of his classic recordings including “Bad To The Bone” and “I Drink Alone”. Its distinctive tone can be attributed to its P90 pickup configuration; two single coils provide snappy attack with plenty of clarity while two humbuckers add warmth and depth to round out the mix.
In addition to its sound capabilities, this particular guitar was also built like a tank; made with a solid mahogany neck reinforced with 12 steel rods inside the body cavity, which gave it superior sustain over other guitars available at the time. This was important for George Thorogood because he often plays heavy riffs filled with string bends that require significant amounts of power behind them. With their thick bodies providing extra resonance, these vintage Gibsons were well known for their ability to cut through any mix without sounding thin or brittle.
Modifications and Customizations to George Thorogood’s Guitars
Since his early days as a traveling blues musician, George Thorogood has been known for his unique, hard-driving guitar style. His iconic red Gibson ES-125T and the Fender Telecaster are two of the most recognizable instruments in all of rock ‘n’ roll history. However, Thorogood’s guitars have not always looked exactly as they do today. Over the years, he has modified and customized them to fit his own distinctive sound and style.
To begin with, while many other players favor necks that are straight or slightly arched, Thorogood prefers an extra flat neck on both of his primary axes. This allows him to keep closer contact with each fret board during fast leads and riffs without the interference of string tension warping the neck too much when bending notes. Since 1978 he has employed vintage Bigsby vibratos on both guitars to give them a bit more personality than standard bridges provide. While many guitarists focus solely on their pickups when it comes to tone shaping, Thorogood also makes use of various pot values to fine tune how each knob affects output level and tonal response from every pickup position.
For example, rather than having one master volume control for both pickups combined together like most guitars feature these days; George prefers separate controls for each humbucker so that he can get more precise adjustments depending on what position he’s playing in at any given moment – something which is necessary when doing live shows where you need to be able to switch between rhythm and lead tones quickly and easily.
Other Guitars in George Thorogood’s Collection
When it comes to George Thorogood, he has become a household name and is most commonly associated with the blues guitar. While his signature sound can be heard playing an old Gibson ES-125, this isn’t the only instrument in his vast collection. Thorogood has been known to play various models of Gibson Les Pauls during live performances as well as studio sessions. He also owns several Fender Telecasters that are customized to fit his unique style.
Thorogood’s other beloved guitars include a Bigsby B6C vibrato with a Gibson custom finish, and one of his own signature model Epiphone Casino guitars. When it comes to tone, these two instruments offer different styles which add variety to Thorogood’s music catalog. The Casino features a P90 single-coil pickup that gives off an unmistakable sound when combined with a hollowbody build, while the Bigsby provides an extra shimmering effect on clean tones or thick distortion alike.
Aside from these three classic electric guitars, George also utilizes acoustics such as Ovation Celebrity CC257 models and Santa Cruz OM/PW models for many of his songs that require softer sounds instead of heavy distortion riffs. He even sometimes uses resonator guitars in certain tracks like “I Drink Alone” or “Willie and The Hand Jive” when some more twangy licks are needed for the song arrangement. It’s clear that Thorogood has created quite an impressive arsenal over the years filled with versatile instruments that help him create his trademark rock n’ roll tunes whenever he takes center stage at live shows or records new material for albums.
The Influence of George Thorogood’s Guitar on his Music
As one of the most legendary blues rock performers, George Thorogood has always been known for his affinity for a certain type of electric guitar. Since he first came to fame in the 1970s, it has become almost synonymous with him and his signature sound. It’s no surprise then that his choice of axe has had an immense impact on his music and career.
The instrument in question is none other than the Gibson ES-125 TC Electric Guitar. A hollow body six-string made from mahogany wood with a thinline body shape, this model was popularized by jazz players such as Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell in the 1950s and ’60s. But it was Thorogood who truly made it famous when he started playing it during live performances in 1977 and soon became well known for its unique tone.
This distinct sound played an important role in propelling Thorogood’s success as a musician throughout the decades since then. His original songs like “Bad To The Bone” were heavily influenced by the twangy tone produced by this very same instrument, giving them an unmistakable feel that contributed to their lasting popularity among fans worldwide. Many covers performed by Thorogood such as Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me” have also benefitted from its special character.
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