Best all-round guitar for Beatles songs?

[Red Paul]

I play in a sixties covers band, including lots of Beatles stuff. :wave1:

I play a Fender Strat Plus at the moment, but am thinking of investing in another guitar.... so, what do you think is the best (lead) guitar for a variety of Beatles songs? I'm thinking Rickenbacker, but which one? Solid body or semi-acoustic, 6 or 12 string...?

[Dylan.]

Honestly, I can preform any song by them with just a Strat or a tele for earlier tunes and a Les Paul Studio for post Revolver songs. If you can afford a Ric, go for it, 360-12 would be the best choice, seeing how George's 12 string was what defined the early Beatles.

[Johnny Rhythm]

How about a Modelling guitar?

I know Gibson and Fender do the robots and the VG Strat respectively, but there are cheaper alternatives....

A LIne6 Variax - for example.

It has loads of sounds pre-loaded....including A passable Rick 12 - and they wont break the bank...

http://line6.com/variax/

I have played one live and they are very much useable, if unexciting to play.

Also, saw the guitar player in The Rutles use one for their whole live set, It was great!

just a thought,,,

[62hofner]

That's a hard one to call as they used so many different guitars throughout their career as a band.... Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Epiphone, Fender, Gibson....

If you are going to buy just one more guitar to compliment your Strat, I'd suggest a Gibson Les Paul or an SG. George played both at one point or another. So, you'd not go wrong with either of those.

As someone else suggested, get a Pes Paul Studio so as not to break the bank... and you can get an SG for even less.

Have fun! :wave1:

[62hofner]

Then again... there is THIS! The ultimate Beatles guitar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Epiphone-Limited-Ed-Casino-Electric-Guitar-w-Bigsby_W0QQitemZ250394180728QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGui tar?hash=item250394180728&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1240%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

... and this one comes with a Bigsby - like Paul's has!

[Red Paul]

Then again... there is THIS! The ultimate Beatles guitar:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Epiphone-Limited-Ed-Casino-Electric-Guitar-w-Bigsby_W0QQitemZ250394180728QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGui tar?hash=item250394180728&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1240%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

... and this one comes with a Bigsby - like Paul's has!

Now that's the kind of thing I had in mind! :cool1: Coooooool! :teeth1:

Thanks for other comments....
Dylan: Yes, I play them all on my Strat Plus at the moment - but the question was, if I can afford the luxury of a second guitar, what would give an authentic sound...? The Ricky 360/12 is kinda where my heart is at the moment.

Johnny Rythm: A Modeling guitar is an interesting idea, and you're right about the sound combinations... but I was really thinking of something more authentic in terms of look and feel too - ideally a genuine 60's vintage guitar - not only for playing in my band but a collectable guitar (http://guitar-collector.org/viewforum.php?f=12) too.

A bit like the difference between a modern modeling amp and a genuine Vox AC30.

Keep the suggestions coming!

[BeatleJim]

First of all it depends on whether you are playing John's parts or George's parts. A Strat would probably do the best overall job for either one of them. The one thing about the Beatles is that with few exceptions they gravitated towards single coil pickups.
Someone mentioned the Ric 360-12 or a Rick 12 string. Although people think of the Beatles when they hear that sound, there are not really a lot of Beatle songs with that sound. Maybe 10 or so total.
Thnik of it, there's nothing on the first two albums. There are about five on A Hard Day's Night and a few more scattered about the next few albums.
George recorded most of the early stuff on a Gretsch Duo Jet and mostly on a Gibson J-160e. Starting around the time of Rubber Soul, he used a Strat a lot.
Although we think of John playing the Ric 325, many of the early recording were made with his J-160e.
Then begining around Rubber Soul he too used a Strat a lot. Guitar solos were also often played by Paul on his Epiphone Casino. The Casino was also used extensively by John, George and Paul from 1966 on.
If you're looking for a guitar with the Beatle vibe that will cover a lot of their signature sounds, the Epiphone Casino is probably your best bet. You can pick up an Elitist Casino for about $1200.

[BeatleJim]

That's a hard one to call as they used so many different guitars throughout their career as a band.... Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Epiphone, Fender, Gibson....

If you are going to buy just one more guitar to compliment your Strat, I'd suggest a Gibson Les Paul or an SG. George played both at one point or another. So, you'd not go wrong with either of those.

As someone else suggested, get a Pes Paul Studio so as not to break the bank... and you can get an SG for even less.

Have fun! :wave1:

George play an SG for a very short period of time. I think that Rain may have been the only song recorded with it. He also played a Gibson ES-345 stereo for a short time, but never recorded with it. The only songs that might be done with his Les Paul are Revolution and Something. Although a lot of people are beginning to think that Something was his Strat named Rocky.
Gibsons with Humbuckers are definitely NOT Beatle sounding guitars.

[BeatleJim]

I only play John's parts so here's what I have:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/jcfraser/DSCF0699.jpg

[Red Paul]

... The only songs that might be done with his Les Paul are Revolution and Something. Although a lot of people are beginning to think that Something was his Strat named Rocky.


I can believe that - I play Something on my 90's Strat Plus Deluxe and manage a pretty authentic "Something" sound... but mine's got Lace sensor pickups, which presumably George wouldn't have had?