All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Campbell's guitar tech, Steve Winstead, walks us through every guitar, amp, and pedal and lets us in on Campbell's time-tested formula for great tone. Speaking of, thats the track you played on your recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and you guys were amazingly tight. Talk about your red Rick 660/12, the guitar thats very closely associated with you and is pictured on Damn the Torpedoes. He the one. Yeah, well is was back in days of the Vietnam draft, and I had drawn a really low number, so I knew I was going to be called if I dropped out. Mike Campbell | Vintage Guitar magazine Have you thought about where you sit in the pantheon of rock songwriters? And speaking of reverence, one listen to Petty and Campbell as they discuss vintage guitars and amps, and its obvious these are two guys who make no bones about what has inspired them. Madison Square Garden is a big deal, he begins, ticking off the most memorable shows of their recent 30-date US tour with an almost childlike enthusiasm. Mike Campbell - Bio, Net Worth, Salary Age, Height, Weight, Wiki We think whoever had it filed the horn down to make it look like Johns and painted it black. Just lays around the house all day doin' nothing. Well, they all make a different sound, you know? But we also draw from what weve already done, and we try not to repeat ourselves. I wasnt playing guitar yet, but I just loved the sound of it, Scotty Moore stuff, and of course Buddy Hollys guitar playing. I like to be able to just pull them out and use them on impulse if I need to. Finally, theres a mid-60s Gibson SG that Campbells been favoring for this tour after recently digging it out of storage. Well, I was very excited about it. I like Vox guitars a lot. 1989: Petty releases his first official solo album, "Full Moon Fever," co-produced by Jeff Lynne and Mike Campbell. "I have another one from the mid-60s that I use on Free Fallin, Roger McGuinn-style [a 360 with single, rear binding]. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. Mike has been using a small collection of amps with his rig for a while. The Official Mike Campbell Reverb Store is online from Wednesday, July 21. But there were others. No,I had a three-speed turntable, so I could slow down 45s to 33 r.p.m., and 33s down to 16. Its just too valuable now, and Im afraid itll get damaged. Were you paying attention to guitar tones, or more focused on sounding good as a group? The following photos are from the companion book to one of the best music documentaries that I have ever seen named "Runnin' Down a Dream." Thank you for reading 5 articles this month*, US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year, UK pricing 2.99 per month or 29.00 per year, Europe pricing 3.49 per month or 34.00 per year, *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription. But theyre also both inspiring in their own way. In your view, what makes a good bass player? Back in the day, Campbell and Petty used to pair up with the Firebirds. But my favorite Rick is the semi-hollow blond one I played [on The Tonight Show]. He likes that," mentions Mike Campbell's guitar tech while talking about the Fender 1959 Telecaster B-Bender Electric Guitar. Aug 9, 2015 - Mike Campbell's (Tom Petty's Lead Guitarists ) Gator Guitar . For a while, however, Campbells collection grew out of control, and he duly sold off a whole trove of vintage gear on Reverb. Mike Campbell features on the latest episode of Gibson TVs The Collection in an episode that once more it proves that it has got to be one of the best things about being a career pro musician with decades under your belt is the guitars you collect along the way. We get them because we love them as pieces of art and we use them on our records. With so many guitars, is there one that Campbell would choose if he had to? Any particular songs stick in your mind from back then? So if someone said you had to pick three or four electric guitars to record with for the rest of your days, which would they be? His favorite 12-string is the Tom Petty solidbody, which we did use on the record quite a bit. Musicman Stingray guitar vintage 1977 11. 2) The second guitar that comes in sounds to me like it has a Tonebender or Rangemaster on it . The solo records are more about a collection of songs, not about a band performance. They still make them, and theyre really good, actually. February 5, 2023 - Be Prepared | February 5, 2023 - Be Prepared | By I passed the other day on a Mary Kaye Strat. On days off, wed go to pawn shops and guitar stores, and buy anything good. Mike Campbell is also in my opinion one of THE most tasteful guitar player ever alongside George Harrison. Though Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Fleetwood Mac electric guitar legend Mike Campbell slightly thinned his enviable guitar collection with a Reverb.com sale last summer, his stash of vintage six-strings is still world-class. Ive done several things with Rick, including the last Johnny Cash albums that are all acoustic-based. And amongst fans, hes a hero who, while keeping them entertained through parts of four decades, has battled to hold down the retail prices of his albums and concert tickets. Id really like to find one of those. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder (opens in new tab) and Unrecorded (opens in new tab). I did take it out to one of the local gigs back when we were doing a soundcheck in LA, and [front of house engineer Robert] Scovill came out and said, Whats that? Most of the record is acoustic-guitar based. But I also wont sacrifice [tonal] colour for convenience.. Nobody else wanted to do it (laughs)! Mike Campbell Interview: Fleetwood Mac, Heartbreakers & Dirty Knobs Mike Campbell, guitar player from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers does not clean his guitars either. One guy had a Gibson, one guy had a Fender, so youd learn the differences and how to use them. So what age were you when you asked for a guitar? I have a 50-watt Marshall that I really like, a little 60s amp in red. They wanted me to do a Tom Petty model of that guitar, and I did, though I changed it a bit; I made the neck wider because I always thought the neck was a little cramped at the end. Mike says your rhythm playing is so solid that it frees him up to concentrate on fills. What do you remember about opening it up on that Christmas Day? Bath Meanwhile, I fell in love with Scotty Moores playing. "This is one of my favorites. Campbell has been of significant play in the Heartbreakers and has been co-writers with petty for many of the band's hit songs. Guitarist plays $40 Harley Benton on arena tour, Marshall pedal reissues finally confirmed. And I said, You gotta get this! Mike Campbell Heartbreaker American Standard Telecaster Electric Guitar We're sorry-this item is unavailable. Each instrument includes a small number of guitar picks used by Mike Campbell on the last Heartbreakers tour. They laughed at me when I walked in and played it, but once I played Johnny B Goode, they quit laughing.. But I stick really closely to the groove with the instrument. And we did it at Jeffs home studio. If it fits into a certain bag or feel, I think generally thats an accident! And I dont know if I ever really learned much on it I couldnt figure out how to tune it. In fact, I was starting to think you were tracking, which didnt make any sense. Angus Young, Malcom, you know, whatever, it's just solid as a rock. 103 views, 0 likes, 1 loves, 4 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Peace Lutheran Church: February 5, 2023 - Be Prepared We grew up doing this (laughs)! And of course Mark Knopfler, who I think sounds like he soaks up a lot of J.J.s thing. Mike from Indianapolis Good interview! I didnt have an idea of playing until I saw the Beatles, and then I thought, This might be something I can do.. Theyre tools, and I look at them like colors or paint brushes; each has a different texture or color, and if thats what you need, only that guitar will make that sound. This is the bypass switch for the Whammy. I didnt care what year it was, he says. So Ive been really lucky that way. George was the leader, for sure. It was a very collaborative we worked together, wrote together, thought things through, and we were even together when we werent playing. He seems really keen on getting good songs, I said, And, hes got a really cool vibe. So thats how we started working together. All rights reserved. Tom Petty & Heartbreakers - Echo (2 Lp's) - Vinyl | TNB Records And weve gone full circle back to using them again. Thats the one I used to record The Waiting and all those classic 12-string numbers. $24.99. Mike Campbell Rig Rundown | The Gear Page Which guitars, amp rigs and setups did you use on Highway Companion. Call us at 800-449-9128. Its smaller, but really nice 50s Fenders a Telecaster, the three Strats, a couple of nice Fender six-string basses. As we begin our nearly two-hour conversation, Mike Campbell admits that even after more than 40 years as the lead guitarist in the venerable Heartbreakers band, the pressure is still on him. We were band members again. That one is actually owned by Mike. Then I got a 64 Strat, which I still have, and weve played on almost every record weve done. The legendary Dan Erlewine, luthier Gene Imbody and Berklees Tomo Fujita have shot a 6-point lesson video to help, Sample diggers use Google Assistant to reveal the source of previously undiscovered samples in music from Daft Punk, "We are changing vintage guitar collecting forever": Gibson officially launches Certified Vintage program, Producer Mura Masa says that PinkPantheresss Boys A Liar was made in a couple of hours, and that he didnt know about the Ice Spice 'Pt 2' remix until he saw the video. When did you and Tom first work with Rick? It was just perfect. Here are some highlights. says Mike Campbell's guitar tech about the Gibson Firebird Vintage Electric Guitar. Effects Is there any particular guitarist who influenced the way you play guitar? She got the sugar, oh yes she does. Look around you. Love all those guys. Loves the long road and on through the set," says Mike Campbell's guitar tech ab "That's a custom tweed. Thats a good amp, but for me, theres something in the tone of the Fender tubes thats just fantastic those blackface Deluxes, the Princeton I love those in the studio. And I asked him, Are you high? Of course, I didnt have an acoustic, and was dying to get one. This is really solid and it's for W "It's an original Camel Toe. this is what he uses for 'Running Down a Dream.'" As for effects, there is a Boss GT6 multi-effects unit on sale, but don't spend all your money on that until you've considered the MKII Watkins Copicat tape echo, which would look nice in your home studio, right? I want to get back and finish those things. Featuring a Laminated Flame Maple back and sides with a Laminate Spruce top, this semi hollow design with sustain block allows for a stable, rich, resonant and dynamic tone. I think its better that they get used. Its a really nice, warm, woody-sounding room. How about the difference from a listeners perspective? Tom Petty and Mike Campbell change guitars like some people change radio stationsafter damned near every song, but they do have certain favorites that they keep returning to: Les Paul Gold Top, Fender Strat, California "This is the input right here. Pettys third solo album, Highway Companion, was released last month, debuting at #4 on Billboards Top 200 album chart, and he and the Heartbreakers spent the summer on the road in support of it. So, many of the solos are on a tiny amp in a big room. My dad was stationed in Okinawa, he was in the Air Force, and he picked up a $60 Goya electric and gave it to me. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, That palm wah is really cool, and the fuzztone in them sounds great.