B.C.'s Gear - B.C. Williamson - The Official Website

What instruments does B.C. use?

B.C. has had a long and varied career, and as a consequence has picked up many guitars along the way. While certain musicians will stick to one guitar throughout their career, B.C. has played over 75 different guitars on his records and live performances, from his customized Gibson ES-335, to Gibson Flying Vs, and Fender Telecasters. Below are a selection of the many guitars B.C. has used.

GUITARS

Cigar box guitar

Unable to afford a real guitar in his teenage years, and determined to sing the blues, B.C. constructed this small cigar box guitar in a few days of work, assisted by one of his fathers during a brief parole release. He used a classic Havana cigar box - which has since been customized with logos and stickers - and a small piece of wood as a guitar neck. The guitar shown here is the original model, fitted with normal string wrapped around turning eye bolts to tune up. He later removed the guitar tuning pegs from a friend's acoustic, and added metal strings. It was at this point that B.C. added a small electroacoustic pick-up to the inside of the guitar, which was then wired to an input jack on the end of the guitar. This allowed B.C. to play amplified for the first time. B.C. still has the guitar, which was used for the unplugged performances on the classic live album, LIVE!

Stella acoustic

The B.C. Williamson guitar story begins with this Stella acoustic guitar, obtained in the early 40s. After hearing that the famous blues legend Robert Johnson had originally played one, and that Leadbelly had played a twelve-string model, he was determined to buy himself this legendary guitar. However, the poverty of the Deep South experience halted this, until he found this guitar under mysterious circumstances. He continued to play this into the late 40s. It now hangs in the so-called 'North Wing' of Williamson's Memphis house.

1951 Gibson ES-175

B.C.'s first electric guitar was purchased in the early 1950s when rhythm guitarist Ray Jay Robertson recommended the model. B.C. had previously played only with an acoustic guitar, but found the sound too small to satisfy large club audiences. Many die-hard fans objected to the switch to a jazz guitar, with a small group of fans screaming abuse at B.C. during his first all-electric gigs, however by this stage, according to Williamson's memoirs, after hours of playing, B.C.'s hearing was so damaged, he thought their expletive-laden diatribes were in fact calls of "thank you." This vintage guitar was lost in 1957 after a concert, prompting him to purchase an early Gibson ES-335. This was the last guitar he owned without the custom 12-knob set-up.

1958 Gibson ES-335

One of the very first models of the guitar to go onto the market, this ES-335 has remained with B.C. throughout his entire career. He owns many different models of it, in both black and red, but he most frequently uses his original vintage one for live performances. The guitar features in most of his classic albums after 1958. In 1965, B.C. met Ted McCarty, the head of Gibson guitars at the time. They designed a special 'B.C. Williamson' model ES-335, with over ten tone knobs, to achieve extremely precise tone control, roughly two controls per string. Tick-Tock Turner, a keen electrician, had been custom-wiring B.C.'s Gibsons that way for many years. The model went on sale in late 1968, and has been a modestly-selling product ever since.

The special B.C. WILLIAMSON ES-335 can be purchased in red or black from all good musical retailers for $3,995/£3,500.

"A true joy for any guitarist to play, I would presume" - Tick-Tock Turner, drummer

1959 Fender Telecaster

The story of B.C.'s false arrest for stealing a Fender Telecaster in 1952 is well-known, but it is not so well-known that B.C. would later use a Telecaster, a butterscotch one purchased legitimately a few years after the event on the albums "White Not Blue", "Rise", and "Me And The Blues". He recently brought out the Telecaster again for some tracks on the "Larger Than Life" album. B.C. is fond of the guitar, counting it among his most admired possessions, though he comments that the trademark sophisticated 'Telecaster snap' the guitar possesses is often unsuited to his harder blues songs.

1969 Gibson Flying V

Inspired by his contemporary Albert King's use of the guitar, B.C. was prompted to purchase this famous Gibson guitar when he saw it in a Los Angeles music room, prior to recording "Ready For Re-Entry". He enjoyed the guitar, but found the heavy strings unsuitable for his style of playing. The guitar was soon abandoned for his Gibson ES-335, and given to Tick-Tock Turner's son as a birthday present. The guitar was recently sold for $115,000 at an auction in New York to an anonymous bidder attempting to purchase one of Hendrix's Flying Vs.

1972 Fender Jazzmaster

Long-famed for being the guitar of surf-rock and grunge guitarists, the Jazzmaster is not often seen as being a blues guitar, with its thin sound. However, B.C. bought a pair for him and his backing band during the recording of "I'm Back", lending the album a modern and sophisticated tone. On certain tracks, B.C. can be heard to over-enthusiastically using the guitar's tremolo arm. The guitar was later left unused. It was sold 3 years ago to a Texan collector.

1953 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop

Though by his own admission not a fan of the heavy humbucker sound of the Les Paul, B.C. did however purchase this now invaluable Les Paul Goldtop, fitted with its original P-90 pickups. This short-lived guitar lended itself to the harsh sounds of "Fatal Discharge", and also appeared on "And That's Why They Call Me Johnny". The guitar was later sold privately.

1965 Epiphone Sheraton

Williamson purchased this guitar in 1970 upon the advice of friend and colleague Benny Newport, from a small shop in New York. An electrics enthusiast, long-time friend Tick-Tock Turner modified the guitar by rewiring the electronics, adding a small delay device in the bridge pickup, and adding his customary tone knobs. When both pickups were activated, a natural out-of-phase effect was created. B.C. used this guitar heavily while recording "White Not Blue", and later added a ring modulator, tremolo device and pre-amp to the side of the guitar, affording him a very customizable tone. Sadly close friend and guitarist JJ Smith would step on the guitar in late 1970, and, having gained considerable weight due to drug abuse, he destroyed it beyond repair.

OTHER INSTRUMENTS

ARP 2600 synthesizer

A synthesizer user since the late 1960s, B.C. owns a variety of synthesizers, from one of the earliest Minimoog models to the Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 (used heavily on "Lamp Post Blues") to the famous Yamaha DX7. But it was the ARP 2600, used also by musicians ranging from Pete Townshend to Joe Zawinul to Stevie Wonder, that B.C. used most regularly, starting in 1973, when he started experimenting with it in Cuba. Always interested in experimental composition, B.C. has used the synthesizer, in conjunction with various effects devices (including a highly expensive Lexicon reverb), on many ambient pieces.

Vox Continental

Though he has often employed other musicians for keyboard parts, Williamson has always been a closet keyboard player. This Vox Continental was used in the studio and in live performances throughout the Sixties. For live performances, Williamson now utilizes a Clavia Nord C2, which imitates the classic Continental tone.

Hohner Marine Band

B.C. uses a harmonica on many of his hit records - including "Picasso Was Never as Blue as Me, Baby" and "Believe Her 'Till I Leave Her". This Hohner Marine Band was used by the vast majority of harmonica legends, including old friend Bob Dylan. B.C. is reported to own around 1329, calling himself an "avid collector of all type of metal products."

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