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Wall Street Journal
by: Michael Driscoll
Willie Nelson has been playing an increasingly beat-up guitar he calls Trigger since 1969, around the time he abandoned Nashville. A documentary
out recently from Rolling Stone tracks the history of the instrument, which wasn’t originally designed for performance or amplification.
“You’re not supposed to play with a pick, these classical guitars,” Nelson says in the video. One consequence of that is the hollow scar that developed beneath the guitar’s sound hole, which means the instrument needs regular repairs to keep it going. Trigger is among a number of well-known guitars and other six-string quirks in popular music.
Neil Young’s Old Black
Singer and songwriter Neil Young has played many instruments in his 50-plus years of performing, but he favors a modified Gibson known as Old Black he got in 1969. The Les Paul is outfitted with a custom tailpiece that allows him to bend notes with his right hand in a way standard versions of the Les Paul don’t.
Read about Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Vedder and other guitars:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/02/20/the-ax-man-strummeth-willies-trigger-and-other-quirky-guitars/