“I’ve had many people hand me their guitars, and I’m like, ‘No, thank you’”: Rick Beato was offered the chance to play guitars from Peter Frampton, Larry Carlton and more – here’s why he turned them down

For Rick Beato, sitting with David Gilmour and being surrounded by some of the electric guitars, amps, and effects that were used to create some of his most iconic Pink Floyd tones was a pinch-me moment. It doesn’t get any better.

The musician/producer turned YouTube star has welcomed scores of the greatest players in the world to his show. But, as he admits in a recent video interview with Guitar Player, having Gilmour sitting there beside him, playing through his Fender Stratocaster (not the Black Strat, that was sold at auction) was particularly surreal.

“Oh, I mean, that was unbelievable,” says Beato. “Because he has all the original [gear]. He’s playing through all the original gear that he used on these famous records.

“When you hear that Benson echo and he’s demonstrating his whammy bar and everything, it’s just, like, wow! And it sounds pristine. It was going through, like, five different amplifiers right near me.”

Just think of some of the famous players who have been on the Rick Beato Show, and the guitars they brought with them. But would you want to play your hero’s guitar?

Beato says he's had the chance and every time he has declined. Gilmour never asked him if he wanted to play his guitar, but if he had, Beato would have said no.

“Never. I try and never touch anyone’s instruments,” he says. “Even if they do [offer], I’m like, I don’t want [to]. I’ve had people hand me things.”

And it turns out these “things” he's been handed are pretty cool. Even with such a policy, there must have been a bit of Beato that wanted to see how Peter Frampton’s legendary Phenix would play.

Rick Beato: “What I learned from sitting next to David Gilmour” - YouTube

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“I had Peter Frampton, the first time I met him, he handed me his black Les Paul and I handed it right back to him,” says Beato. “Larry Carlton handed me his [Gibson ES-] 335. I handed it right back to him. ‘I’m not going to play this.’ I’ve had so many people hand me their guitars, and I’m like, ‘No, thank you.’”

Oftentimes, it’s not the gear that’s wowing Beato. It’s the player, and seeing these guitarists up close gives him an all-new appreciation of what makes them special – players such as Neal Schon from Journey, his latest guest.

“I’ve watched Neal play a thousand times but you can’t tell what people are doing unless you’re right next to them,” says Beato. “Like his right hand? I can’t… He showed me how he holds the pick, and how he picks and everything, and he kinds of uses it at an angle, but he is so relaxed.”

Elsewhere in his recent interview with Beato, Schon recalled the time Albert King yelled at him for picking up his Gibson Flying V. In a separate conversation, Beato also explained why he stopped playing solos for 25 years – and why it was good for his playing.