"[Out of] all these guitars, [the 'Burst] is the only one I put back in the case when I'm done with it.". Do you remember how the concept was pitched to you? He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halens Panama. That album cover sort of put Rickenbacker back on the map. Mike Campell is the curly-haired guitarist who has been knocking off tasty solos alongside Tom Petty for nearly three decades. In the eighties, the Sonic Youth leader emerged as indie rock's premier guitar radical, mixing strange drone tunings, jamming screwdrivers or drumsticks under his strings, and blasting out. Well, I dont know its over 100, and theyre all really good ones. And weve gone full circle back to using them again. In the history of the band, what are the most important guitars? I think I gave it to a friend when I got a Stratocaster. A pair of 50s Teles follows those as well as a Gretsch 6186 Clipper tuned to open-G for "I Won't Back Down." This is called Little Ricky. According to Leilani Laca, Tazzy founder, the major impetus for Mike and Marcie . 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? The Hfner Club, which I think weve used for everything for the last 10 years now. I didnt have an idea of playing until I saw the Beatles, and then I thought, This might be something I can do.. Then it splits off. Fast forward to you first bands, the Epics, and then Mudcrutch. When I play it on another guitar it sounds okay, but it just doesnt have the same magic it does in that key with that voice. It was Georges. You guys are doing Handle With Care on this tour. Product Description To commemorate over 30 years of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, Duesenberg have along with Mike Campbell created a beautiful signature guitar brings you classic Doozy tones in a hot rodded semi hollow design. Theyre not in cases, theyre actually in a hallway where theyre visible and easily accessible. If youre playing with the same five or six people throughout an album, you make a different noise than if, say, its just yourself on several overdubs. "The Deluxe is probably a '54 or a '55," says Mike Campbell's guitar tech about the Fender Deluxe Amp. And which electrics can we hear on the album? Well, I finished the semester, but then we started getting gigs and I never went back to school. Today, nearly 50 years beyond Love Me Tender and Love Me Do, he is the personification of the rock star created by the Beatles appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. And 30 years after his band, the Heartbreakers, formed in Gainesville, Florida, he is still making an impact, still being a force in a medium famous for devouring all but the biggest of its stars. The laconic raconteur of rock very much appreciates that his style never goes out of style, and in selling some 50 million albums he has pandered to nobody not fans, not managers, not record labels. And of course in the late 80s you were doing the Wilburys with some of your personal rock heroes George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Dylan. I dont really care as long as it comes out good! And of course Mark Knopfler, who I think sounds like he soaks up a lot of J.J.s thing. The fuzz is a really unique-sounding, different than anything Ive heard. Do you think the guitar, more than any other instrument, has propelled your success? Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Talk about your red Rick 660/12, the guitar thats very closely associated with you and is pictured on Damn the Torpedoes. Wed love to stay in touch, sign up for The Pick team to contact you with great news, content and offers. Youve said that this could well be your last big tour, is that right? Heres how it works. I was going to ask how big that number might be. I met him years later and told him I had that book, and he said, Really? "As weve gone along, thats become a bit of a good problem to have. The thing about it was he was on vacation in Hawaii in thereally late 80s early 90s and just happened to walk into a shop and this was hanging th " '64 Firebird lll, His tech is mistaken; it's not a VII. If you were looking for something that little bit different with a stunning iconic tone then this is the guitar for you. Check these guitars out and more in the video above, where you will also find proof if needed that often all you need from a guitar is a single pickup and a slab of mahogany to create music history. 24) Mark in GA asked: What kind of guitar, pick-ups, amps, any effects pedals, et Campbell himself mentions the Daddy O in this September 1999 "Spotlight on a Heartbreaker" interview from the official Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers website. It was his concept, and he came to each of us. On the subject of television, you, the Heartbreakers, and MTV kind of grew up together, and your early videos are just chock full of the guitars that fans came to know pretty well through the years. Thats the one I used to record The Waiting and all those classic 12-string numbers. Do you keep a pretty close inventory of all guitars? Mike had some really weird little guitar that he played slide on. So we pooled our money and drove to Tulsa on our way to L.A., where we met up with Denny and signed to Shelter. My approach to guitar, I think, is probably a lot like his in terms of fitting into the song and not overplaying. King and was recommended to Campbell by the Cars, plus a variety of Fender combos. He is quoted as saying "I have a Fender Telecaster I call Red Dog. So I was looking at my options, not really sure what I wanted to do. It kinda moved us up to headlining status. When you turn down the other Ricks, they get a little sloppy with the lower pitch, but this one sounds great.. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Yeah, Breakdown, American Girl, I Need to Know a lot of those solos and rhythm parts were on that Broadcaster. It also inspired him to write Good Enough from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' 2010 album Mojo. Vintage Guitar: What goes through your mind when you think about the fact that the first Heartbreakers album is 30 years old come November? You look up after 30 years of being on the road, and youve never done anything else. Im really proud of those records. Each instrument includes a small number of guitar picks used by Mike Campbell on the last Heartbreakers tour. What was it like, standing in a room playing alongside those guys? Jul 28, 2013. It was also seen on 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee during the quartet's performance of " Listen to the Band ," and again in 1969 when The Monkees performed live on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour . I just woke up the other day and realized that I have been collecting guitars and amps my whole life and I just don't have room for a lot of them anymore, said Campbell. Amps It was a very collaborative we worked together, wrote together, thought things through, and we were even together when we werent playing. I have decided to sell some of the nicer pieces.. That soon changed, though. Why is he selling them? Martin SPOM 16 10. And again, we have a lot of songs to record. "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. He had a band called Mudcrutch, kind of a country-rock band, that was playing around the university. Ive refinished it since that day. Campbell relies on a rare Dunlop Camel Toe for his distortion, a Line 6 DL-4, the Green Meanie switch (which brings his Fender Excelsior amp in and out), a DigiTech Whammy II, Line 6 MM-4, a custom switch for his 1962 reissue Fender reverb tank, a Boss RC-30, and a Boss TU-2 tuner. Mike Campbell, guitar player from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers does not clean his guitars either. Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. Tom had just gotten some new signature-model Martins, and we used those on quite a few things. Wed build tracks up, usually with acoustics, and overdub the other instruments to finish it off. So finally, I just kinda George was sitting there and they were being supportive and all and I said to him, Listen, you should play guitar on this, because it would just feel better if it had your style on it. So he said, Okay, Ill try something. So he plugged into my amp and played that solo. I could make it work. As long as weve been doing this, we still draw from the same places and people who inspired us when we were young. It's not just electrics on tap, though. He handed it to me and I pressed the strings down and was like, My God, you dont have to bleed!, Soon, Campbell graduated to electric and met Petty. Campbell has been at Pettys side throughout. Yeah, it was interesting to know what thats like, backing somebody. I still use mine in the show. We took it to Rickenbacker, and they called it a mystery. They didnt know what it was. Mike Campbell Reflects on His Long Career as the Rock Guitarist's Guitarist By Joe Bosso published April 23, 2020 From his 40+ years as Tom Petty's right-hand man to his current roles in Fleetwood Mac and his own group, The Dirty Knobs, Campbell looks back on an incredible career (Image credit: Kevin Scanlon) In this source video Mike Campbell is playing a Rickenbacker 325 Capri in black. Its hard, theres just so many great guitarists from that era, its just hard to narrow them down to who your favorites are, but George is definitely one of mine. She may not be the best cook. Hes a lot of fun to play with. Pay me back later. So I was lucky to get that guitar I didnt pay her back for like five years. Ive played on several things over the years with Rick most of his acoustic records, and on the new Johnny Cash record, American V, I played on the whole thing. But I stick really closely to the groove with the instrument. Meanwhile, I fell in love with Scotty Moores playing. "Then there were certain songs that were done on a 12-string, so you kind of need the 12-string to make those songs sound special. So it has the same wiring and sound as Georges. It was a fantastic time, really very exciting. And speaking of the Heartbreakers as a band, in the 80s you guys backed Bob Dylan. Pick up an astonishing new guitar with this Duesenberg Signature Series Starplayer TV Mike Campbell Guitar at Andertons! As soon as I got the guitar and knew a few chords, I tried to write songs, because I didnt know a lot of songs. Once we started making money, we were just buying them left and right. So every lead on those first two records is probably that Broadcaster? Howie was a great bass player. The North East has been good to me! Mike Campbell was best known as Tom Petty 's right-hand man for decades. All rights reserved. Theyve cloned it for me and are going to reissue that soon. Re: Mike Campbell Playing Rickenbacker Mando with the Heartbreake. Yeah, absolutely Carl Wilson was absolutely an influence. COOL !!! Still Thrilled. Like Neo., See Eric Clapton make a surprise guest appearance with Jerry Douglas to pay tribute to Jeff Beck and play While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Larry Carlton demos his $641 Sire signature guitar, Nuno Bettencourt explains his secret to playing difficult guitar solos it involves getting his leg up, Music meets gaming in the Beat Machine, the world's first music-making arcade machine. Tom played it on a couple of tours in the 80s, and if you look at it closely, even though its been painted black you can see where it used to be red underneath. The bottom line is about tone. Which we didnt discover, but George Harrison discovered because he had the second one. I bought and used it on the early records and I still use it on some records. The 64 Strat. "It doesn't have the buckle wear and tear like the other ones do, but I love it anyway," Campbell says. So when we started doing that song live, I just wanted to honor him. To follow the signal path, next are the effects. So I thought, Well, okay. As a subscriber enjoy big savings off the shop price! One day, I think Tom was banging on it, and it broke It never worked again (laughs)! Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). I was about 11 years old, and the music was five or six years past its prime, but I started finding old records. Ours was the first solidbody one. The Official Mike Campbell Reverb Shop Chicago, IL, United States Send Message Preferred Seller Listings 89 Feedback 58 Info & Policies Oops, Something went wrong. How much does the guitar influence the way you write songs? We found three of them. 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. Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. In the Wilburys, you were with Harrison and Dylan. I used this with The Heartbreakers for a string of dates we did at the Vic in Chicago," Campbell says. What I remember most was that all of us fell out of the front-man thing, you know? So I have to give Tom credit for talking me down the other path. Watch Mike Campbell show off his epic guitar collection By Jonathan Horsley published April 08, 2022 The Dirty Knobs frontman sits down with Gibson to talk guitars and reveal some of his favourites, from the Runnin' Down A Dream SG Jr to the obligatory '59 Les Paul Standard It makes a beautiful sound. We recently caught up with Petty and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, with whom Petty has been working since the earliest days of the band. Mike got us a green one and then we brought it in "The Princeton is probably a '63 or '64. 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. George was the leader, for sure. In your early days, did you buy guitars more out of necessity rather than an Oh, Ive gotta have that! mentality? They know what works to achieve a particular sound, and there's a little bit of room to see what else might be interesting. "There's a special story behind that guitar", "The truth is, I could do our whole show with one guitar if I wanted to", "We actually still like each other and, when we play together, it's still like the first time in the garage", Damon Albarn reveals that the beat from one of Gorillaz best-loved songs was an Omnichord loop preset, It looks like Gibson is going to start selling vintage guitars including a '59 Les Paul Burst, Deadmau5 delivers his verdict on AI music production: Its scary in the sense of how stupid music already is anyway, Confused about setting up your guitar?