Ron Wood
with a Strat with a whammy bar, or a slide, or a
B-Bender. I didn’t use a B-Bender on this album,
which I would have liked to have done—but I
did use a pedal steel, so that’s even better.
Do you remember which particular guitars
and amps you used the most?
Not really, but I suppose my old standby is
my ’ 55 Strat and a Champ amp. “Have guitar and amp, will travel!” [Laughs.]
What’s the year on the amp, roughly?
It’s a tweed from the ’50s.
Keith Richards (right) wields a then-recent Tele while Wood rocks a trusty Strat on February 22, 1999, at the Stones’
No Security tour stop at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan. Photo by Ken Settle
Do you feel like your concept of what
constitutes good guitar tone has changed
over the years?
Well, I think, like wine, the matured sound of
a ’50s Strat is more or less a stable part of
my diet—like with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page
and Eric Clapton. They’re just very comfortable. You get that reliable sound that comes
from a ’50s amp and a ’50s guitar, whether
it’s an acoustic or an electric. Y’know, you go
to a Martin for an acoustic—or an old J- 200.
But some of the new guitars that are available, they’ve got a bloody good sound.
Did you use any other amps or guitars
besides the Strat and the Champ?
Well, yeah, I’m always open to ideas. I
mean, I’ll use a Les Paul once in awhile. But
that’s another thing—if you’ve got Slash
around, you know you’re going to have a
Les Paul sound. So, I’ve got the Fender side
covered. But, amps-wise, a Boogie or an
old Vox AC30. They’re all there if I want to
use them.
Is the Boogie an old Mark IIC or something?
Just the regular Mesa/Boogie with the EQ
on the front. I don’t know the model name.
An older one—the little combo?
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photo credit: Rodney Dabney
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