abstamaria wrote:I read, and I’m no expert here, that pickups for acoustic guitars improved enough for stage use only in the 1970s. Glen Campbell and Ovation are mentioned in that regard. In the early 1960s, I understand that the only way to get a good acoustic sound was with microphones, the pickups then not having seen the technical breakthroughs that would come a decade later. Mic’ing an acoustic on stage would have been impossible, what with Bruce moving about. Apart from looking cool with an electric guitar, the difficulty of playing an acoustic on stage was probably another reason why Bruce didn’t use the J200. Cliff, on the other hand, performed in front of a microphone, and that may have been sufficient to amplify the J200 at the volume needed. Besides, Cliff was probably backed up by a guitarist.
My thoughts only.
Andy
Oddly, you may think, I can remember at least one live television appearance where Bruce played the sunburst Gibson J-200. This was for a Sunday Night At The London Palladium show in late 1962. The Shadows played their new record -
Dance On! - with Bruce playing that acoustic guitar, amplified by a microphone on a stand. They didn't do much stage movement for that song so the mike technique was adequate. At the end of that tune, Cliff walked on and Bruce came forward and handed the Gibson to him. He was in turn handed his red Stratocaster by a stagehand and Hank moved across to piano for a performance of
Bachelor Boy - probably the first time most of us had heard it (and
Dance On!).
After
Bachelor Boy, it was the end of the programme (there was just one item each from the Shadows and Cliff & The Shadows, which wasn't all that unusual), and compere Norman Vaughan walked on from the wings as all the performers started to form up for the traditional revolving stage farewell. Speaking over the orchestra playing the theme tune, he announced that due to an attack of laryngitis, Cliff (and by extension, The Shadows) had
mimed the last number.
But
Dance On! was played live, with that jumbo acoustic for rhythm guitar.