“Common sense said to me, ‘That’s a lot of money to spend on an amp. Don’t be doing that.’ But God, I wish I’d spent the money”: Keith Urban tells the tale of the Dumble that got away – and why he let down the buyer of his ’Burst
The country superstar shares his love for holy grail amps, writing riffs on cheap guitars, and the Nocaster once owned by Cinderella’s Tom Keifer that’s “worth every cent”
Do not read the following interview if you are suffering from G.A.S. because Keith Urban is an enabler of unnecessary gear procurement.
He’s got the Gear Acquisition Syndrome bad, and in this instalment of Bought & Sold, an interview detailing his life in guitars, amps, pedals, he talks about some super-rare aspirational vintage pieces – that Nocaster, huh? – but also explains why every guitar has got something to it.
And sometimes, that crappy tone is so ‘wrong’ that it just be right. Just ask the Stooges.
What was the first serious guitar you bought with your own money?
I guess, to me, they’re all serious! That’s all relative because my first guitar was an Ibanez copy, and it was 146 bucks. At the time, because I was nine years old, that was way more money than I had, so that was serious [laughs].
Aside from that, the first one that comes to mind would be a 1982 Fender Strat in Candy Apple Red. It was the actual ‘STRAT’ model that they made for a short period; I bought that when I was 15, and it was close to $1,000, which was massive money for me at the time.
What was the last guitar you bought, and why?
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I haven’t bought one in a while, but I bought a 1972 Fender Mustang bass, so it wasn’t a guitar but a bass. I love playing bass as well and write quite a bit with bass guitar – and I’ve been known to play it on a few of my records, depending on the song.
What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve ever had when buying guitars?
Boy, that’s Joe Bonamassa territory, there, isn’t it? [laughs] Well, Tom Keifer from Cinderella, for some reason, sold his Nocaster. I was at Gruhn’s many, many years ago. I played it, fell in love with it and bought it.
Right now, I can’t remember what I paid for it; it wasn’t cheap. I absolutely love that guitar, so that’s definitely one that I feel was worth every cent. It’s just an unusually great guitar with probably, hands down, the most ferocious, dynamic pickups I’ve ever heard in a Telecaster. It’s all original.
The whole thing is original – everything, you know? Well, maybe not the frets and so forth… but the electronics, hardware and everything else. It’s amazing. I don’t know why Tom sold it; maybe it served its purpose in his life, like they do, and it was time for someone else to own it. I’m very grateful to have it and be its current custodian.
What’s the strongest case of buyer’s remorse you’ve ever had after buying gear?
I haven’t had buyer’s remorse, but I’ve had missed-out remorse! I was at Carter’s [Carter Vintage Guitar in Nashville] many, many years ago, and they had David Lindley’s snakeskin-wrapped [Dumble] Steel String Singer, which is so iconic. I didn’t buy it and I’ve regretted it ever since.
I know where it is and it’s gone through the roof in value – and it’s not because of that, I just really wish I had bought that amp. I would still own it and I’m sure I’d be playing it. It’s one of those funny things where common sense said to me, ‘That’s a lot of money to spend on an amp. Don’t be doing that.’ But God, I wish I’d spent the money.
Have you ever sold a guitar that you now intensely regret letting go of?
Yeah, for whatever reason, I had a black Squier Stratocaster through the 80s when I was playing in my cover band. It wasn’t a special guitar, but I just put up a lot of miles on it and really loved it. I don’t know why I sold it, I probably traded it in for something, but I wish I hadn’t done that. It’s because of the sentimental value for me with that guitar.
So I haven’t had that happen in a while, though I was about to sell a guitar recently and I reneged on it. I went, ‘No, I don’t really want to sell this one.’ It was a ’58 ’Burst. Weirdly enough, I hadn’t played it in a while. I pulled it out, played it and I’d forgotten how beautiful the neck was.
It’s an unusual shape for a ’58 – it’s not as fat as normal ’58 ’Bursts. It feels a little… just slightly leaner for a ’58. It’s not like a ’59 slim, but it’s not a fat ’58; it sort of fits in between, which to me is like Goldilocks. It just had such a beautiful neck.
I played it for about 10 minutes before I was putting it in the case to take it to the guy who was coming to buy it. I did put it back in the case, but then called the guy, and said, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m not selling this.’
What’s your best buying tip for anyone looking for their ultimate guitar?
I’ve got no brand loyalty, anything’s up for grabs. Any guitar’s got some inspiration in it
Oh, that’s a good one! Well, play it for one. Can you afford it? That’s another. I don’t know… I think maybe it’s about bonding with something. That’s all it is for me. I usually base it on if I pick it up and play it, and a riff or something comes out of the guitar that I’ve never played before, I get very excited about that particularly.
It happens on really cheap guitars, too. I’ve walked into stores and found fairly cheap guitars, you know, for a couple hundred bucks, and kind of gone, ‘Wow, I’ve never played that riff before.’ Then maybe another riff comes out of it, and I go, ‘This guitar’s got some stuff in it.’ So I’ve bought guitars based on that.
When was the last time you stopped and looked in a guitar shop window or browsed online, and what were you looking at?
I haven’t been to a guitar shop in a while, although I do love going. I’ll just wander around looking at things that grab my eye. It can be vintage, new, solidbody, hollowbody, anything – or any brand. I’ve got no brand loyalty, anything’s up for grabs. Any guitar’s got some inspiration in it.
If forced to make a choice, would you rather buy a really good guitar and a cheap amp or a cheap guitar and a top-notch amp?
The guitar comes first, but… Man, that’s a great question. I was going to try to give an answer, and I was like, ‘You don’t believe that, Keith’ [laughs]. Because, really, either one works. I mean, first, we have to define what ‘good’ means because that’s such a relative thing. To me, ‘good’ is something that pulls something out of me that feels and sounds really good.
Regardless of how much it is, what brand it is or anything about it, to me, that’s a good guitar. That beats tone, even because the tone could be shitty and that’s actually part of the character of the guitar you just played.
It’s like if Iggy and The Stooges or the MC5 played a high-quality ’58 Les Paul – it wouldn’t work, you know? It’s all relative to what you’re trying to get out of the thing. A good guitar is the one that you’re inspired to play, even if it means the guitar fights you; fighting creates inspiration.
If you could only use humbuckers or single coils for the rest of your career, which would it be and why?
Single coils. It’s what I cut my teeth on. I just personally think there’s more total character in a single coil. I’d rather have a low-output single coil and then just crank the amp. That would be my preference.
Keith’s Go-To Rig
For the last few shows we’ve done, the rig has been pretty consistent: that’s a Dumble Overdrive Special Reverb that I’ve had for a long time and a Fender Dual Showman. Both those heads go through two custom 2x12 cabs; I run them at the same time. It’s not really a stereo thing, it’s just a blending thing between the two characteristics of the two heads.
Then I have a bunch of pedals in front, a couple of [Boss SD-1] Super Overdrives, including a vintage early 80s one that a buddy of mine gave me; it sounds really, really good.
I’ve got a [Boss BD-2] Blues Driver, a Klon – there’s a few different overdrives that I use depending on whether it’s single coil or humbuckers. I’ve got a vintage [ProCo] Rat that I love as well. Then I have the Fractal, mostly for delays and ’verbs, and I use a [Mr Black] SuperMoon for a couple of songs because it’s such a unique, cool-sounding ’verb.
Guitar-wise, I’ve been working with PRS on a custom guitar, so I’ve been mostly playing this PRS prototype guitar for the last bunch of months as my primary guitar. I’ve also got a ’64 Strat and ‘Clarence’, which is my 40th Anniversary Tele, a Clapton Strat that I keep tuned down half a step, and a ’52 Goldtop Les Paul – that one’s super good to have around for everything, it’s a great guitar.
- HIGH is out now via Capitol Nashville
- This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.
Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Bass Player, Guitar Player, Guitarist, and MusicRadar. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Morello, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
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