Lindsey Buckingham creates songs with a distinct sound by strumming the strings of a guitar. Buckingham rose to prominence as a guitarist and singer-songwriter with Fleetwood Mac. What Guitar Does Lindsey Buckingham Play?, though?
Buckingham’s guitar selection influences his signature style, from fingerpicking to slide solos. This article will explore the instruments that have become synonymous with his signature sound. We are going to discuss some of his instruments.
From his early days with Fleetwood Mac to his solo career, we’ll delve into the guitars that have made Lindsey Buckingham one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Let’s take a look at the instrument that gives him his signature sound.
About Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. He has been a member of the legendary band Fleetwood Mac since 1975.
He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band for his distinctive vocals and songwriting. As a youth, he grew interested in folk music and later became a member of The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band.
After quitting the Fritz, he temporarily collaborated with his then-girlfriend Stevie Nicks before joining Fleetwood Mac together. The band has generated over 100 million albums worldwide since its inception in 1967, ranking them one of the world’s best-selling bands of all time.
Buckingham has released six new albums and three live albums as a solo artist. He is also the only guitarist to ever win an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score (for “The Wall” from the 1982 film “An Officer and a Gentleman”).
Top Three Guitars That Lindsey Buckingham Played
Let’s have a look at the best guitars that Lindsey Buckingham loved to play.
1. Fender Telecaster
The Telecaster was the first successful commercial guitar that was not hollow-bodied and has defined guitar ever since. Artists such as Lindsey Buckingham favored it, and it remains one of the most sought-after guitars on the market.
The advances it brought in the 1950s are still relevant today, and this instrument delivers a powerful punch. Moreover, the Telecaster has a very versatile sound, which is why many musicians still use it.
In 2005, Lindsey Buckingham revealed that he plays a Fender Telecaster, which is one of the most popular electric guitars on the market. He used this guitar in his solo career and Fleetwood Mac band. The guitar is known for its versatility, making it perfect for any style of music. It’s also lightweight and easy to carry around.
The Fender Player Telecaster electric guitar is a modern-looking guitar that is a great addition to any musician’s collection. It features the same classic look and feels as a standard Telecaster, with the added advantage of modern technological advancements that make it perfect for live performances and recording.
Features Of This Guitar
The body of the Fender Player Telecaster electric guitar is made of maple and alder wood. It also features a mahogany neck with a 24-inch neck-to-body joint. This acoustic-electric guitar is equipped with two single-coil pickups.
This acoustic-electric guitar also features volume control, tone control, and a 3-way pickup selector. The Fender Player Telecaster electric guitar is easy to play and is ideal for playing blues, jazz, and rock.
2. Gibson Les Paul Custom
The Gibson Les Paul is possibly the most well-known guitar model ever created. Every major rock star has used it on at least one record, and its background is as antique as the guitar itself.
Lindsey Buckingham made Les Paul his most successful commercial instrument by using it on the first few Fleetwood Mac albums. This was most likely a 20th-anniversary Custom model.
Lindsey’s introduction to Fleetwood Mac was fraught with difficulties. He was meant to step in for Peter Green, who played a Gibson Les Paul. He surrendered and had to purchase one in order to obtain this thicker and more forceful tone. He purchased a white Gibson LP Custom for this reason.
Gibson Guitars are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The first Gibson guitar was introduced in 1921, and since then, Gibson has produced a wide range of electric guitars.
3. Taylor 814ce Grand Auditorium
Lindsey Buckingham has a high-end one and uses the Taylor 814ce as his regular acoustic. This instrument is magnificent, with near-unrivaled artistry.
Lindsey has been spotted on-stage and in the studio with this specific acoustic six-string in recent years; it’s frequently utilized for Big Love and several guest appearances.
The 814CE is a cutaway replica of the 814. Although Taylor’s Expression System is normally included, Lindsey likes to use Fishman Prefix electronics.
Features Of This Guitar
Master luthier David Taylor designed this acoustic guitar. It features a solid mahogany neck with a traditional neck profile. It also features a mahogany body with a mahogany rosette. It is finished in a satin gloss lacquer, creating a rich, full sound.
The Grand Auditorium Series guitars feature a unique Grand Auditorium neck profile with a very shallow radius between the 12th fret and the first fret. This makes the guitar easier to play.
The Taylor Grand Auditorium is known for its rich, full sound with its rich, full tone. The mahogany fingerboard is a beautiful and highly figured wood with a satin finish. It offers a warm tone that is perfect for the jazz player.
Features Of This Guitar
The Gibson Les Paul Custom Electric Guitar is a combination of a solid body guitar and a neck with a carved top. This guitar is available in several models. It has a set neck design and a floating bridge design.
It has a very traditional look with the carved mahogany sides and back. The neck is carved on the back with the Gibson logo. This guitar has 3 humbucker pickups, with 2 having a push-pull selector. The third one has a fixed bridge.
Some Other Guitars He Used
Here are some other electric and acoustic guitars that remained a part of Lindsey Buckingham’s music career. Among these, the Rick Turner guitars are the special ones for Lindsey Buckingham.
Turner Model 1-C-LB
Rick Turner is a well-known guitar builder. His guitars are handmade, and there are just a few models to pick from.
In 1979, Rick Turner collaborated with Lindsey Buckingham. He created his masterpiece, the Model 1. Buckingham required a six-string as distinctive as he is in the world of Rock music. This masterpiece was made after separating from standard electric guitars and a disenchanting few years with Gibson Les Pauls at the insistence of his comrades.
Rick Turner’s so-called Model One was the solution. The music and guitar industries were experimenting at the time. Therefore, building a solid-body guitar that would perform the role of an acoustic one was enough of a wild notion to work.
Features
The Model 1 has a very striking appearance. The instrument, like all of Rick Turner’s guitars, was meant to look and feel wonderful as well as sound amazing. The body of this guitar is clean and compact, with a stocky neck.
The entire instrument is bonded together and has a natural wood finish. Because the body is crafted of genuine bonded mahogany, it offers a rich, deep tone. The 5-layer laminated maple and purpleheart neck is a unique and unusual choice for a guitar neck.
The contour of the body adds brightness, while the layers of the neck add sustain. The construction on this guitar is impressive, but the pickup is where this instrument truly shines.
Rick Turner Renaissance Baritone Guitar
The Renaissance Baritone guitar was one of the most distinctive instruments to emerge from his collaboration with Rick Turner. Aside from the odd but highly elegant semi-hollow body shape, a Roland MIDI pickup can be found immediately beneath the bridge.
The goal here isn’t to utilize it totally as a synth guitar but rather to give that extra something to “pump up” the tone.
Features
In its original configuration, the guitar includes the D-TAR pickup system. It’s a piezo pickup below the saddle with a very strong 18-volt preamp, designed by Rick Turner himself. This is a little out of the ordinary for a six-string guitar. It not only amplifies the instrument’s electrical output but also increases its tone brilliance.
This guitar is said to be one of the most delicate and responsive 6-string guitars ever produced, designed to move with the player.
Taylor T5-C1
Taylor’s T5-C1 is another instrument he’s used to some extent during the 2010s. He had, and most likely still has a sunburst finish. These are most likely among the most intriguing and inventive instruments to have come from Taylor’s manufacture.
Features
T5-C1 has four intelligently and elegantly designed soundholes above and below the strings, rather than a standard soundhole. This steel-string guitar has quilted or flamed maple tops, while the other materials vary considering the availability and other circumstances.
Despite having a piezo pickup system and the standard electro-acoustic settings, we can’t decide if this is an acoustic or an electric guitar.
Here is the list of other guitars that have been played by Lindsey Buckingham throughout his career:
- Gibson 1974 Les Paul Custom
- Ovation Balladeer
- Gibson 1975 Les Paul Custom
- Gibson EDS-1275
- Alembic Series I 12-String
- Rick Turner Model 1-C-LB
- Rick Turner M-27
- Gibson Chet Atkins CE
- Martin D-18
- Asher Ultratone T Deluxe
- Rick Turner Renaissance Baritone Guitar
- Taylor T5-C1
- Taylor 814CE
- Fender Acoustasonic Jazzmaster
Among these, the most common are Rick Turner guitars and the custom-made Gibson Chet Atkins. These are considered best due to their tone controls, string vibration, hiwatt amps, premium quality knobs, and exceptional sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, we will answer a few faqs to clear your mind further.
What strings did Lindsey Buckingham use?
He uses the D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Wound 10-46 string set to thread up his Model 1. He does, however, have one Model 1 guitar that utilizes EXL145 12-54 gauge strings for the bottom E, A, D, and G strings, while the higher E and B strings use the standard 10-46 gauge.
Is Lindsey Buckingham Still Crazy About Stevie Nicks?
Buckingham and Stevie split up while recording their album “Rumours.” Despite their breakup, the pair managed to collaborate on tours and CDs, and they have a good friendship to this day. Buckingham even asked Stevie on stage in 2017 to sing “Never Going Back Again.”
When did Lindsey Buckingham start playing guitar?
His earliest instrument was a Mickey Mouse toy guitar that he could play fairly well, prompting his parents to purchase a Harmony guitar for him.
When he was 13, he became attracted by folk music and founded “The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band,” in which he started singing and playing the bass. Stevie Nicks was encouraged to join as a second vocalist; the rest is history.
What Pickups Did Lindsey Buckingham Use?
Lindsey really likes the sound of Taylor guitars with Fishman electronics and Roland GK pick-ups. He even uses Rick Turner humbuckers, LR Baggs t-bridges and piezo pick-ups. In addition to the humbuckers, he also uses a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system.
The first one was a white Gibson LPC-1, which he used for the entire time he was in Fleetwood Mac. The second one was a black Gibson LPC-2, which he used for the last three albums he worked on with the band.
What was the construction of Lindsey Buckingham guitars?
Most guitars were made of solid wood such as Sitka spruce, Indian rosewood, and Mahogany body. His guitars also included “Guitar rig,” an amp made by Native Instruments. The preamp, knobs, and pickups were of high quality by companies such as piezo.
What was Lindsey Buckingham’s Guitar in “Go Your Own Way”?
With six among these guitars, one of them can be utilized as a backup for Rick Turner’s Model 1: The first Buckingham signature guitar. He performs the original song on the third fret of “Come,” tuning it a half step higher. Those versions are also available in D standard, where they may be heard playing “Go Your Own Way” and “I’m So Afraid.”
Conclusion
Finally, Lindsey Buckingham’s choice of guitar has been an important component of his music. The Martin OM-28 has been a mainstay in his acoustic set. For electric performances, his signature Fender Telecaster has been a go-to.
He’s also been seen with a Taylor 814ce because of its versatility. Lindsey Buckingham’s musicianship and use of various guitars have given him a distinct sound. This was all about What Guitar Does Lindsey Buckingham Play?