I should start this post with saying that I'm not an expert on vintage gear, so this post may not be as detailed as it could be (I don't know the specific years these instruments were manufactured, for instance). I should also note that - for now, at least - I plan on covering only the instruments from about 1964 to 1967.
Guitars
Epiphone Zenith
While not the first guitar Atkinson owned (in Claes Johansen's Hung up on a Dream [p. 37] and in the Zombie Heaven liner notes [p. 7], he mentions trading a violin for an old guitar, which was his first), I believe this is the first guitar he used in the Zombies. Johansen quotes Atkinson: "My mother had bought that for me for £15 in 1961 from the local music store. It wasn't expensive, but it was a pretty well-made guitar. I added a couple of pick-ups to it and electrified it myself" (p. 61).
This is the guitar Atkinson used when the Zombies appeared in the Herts Beat Competition in April 1964:
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| [source] |
Here a picture of Atkinson playing it in the studio, either November or December 1964:
It now resides in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Here it is in a picture from when the Zombies visited in 2015:
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| [source] |
The pick-up and pick guard have been removed, but there's a small scratch near the edge that proves this is the same guitar:
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| Click to enlarge |
A few years ago, it was (and - as far as I know - still is) part of an exhibit on the Zombies. According to this article, this is the guitar used on "Tell Her No."
Hohner Acoustic Guitar
I could find very little information about this guitar. In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, Atkinson says, "I had an old Hohner acoustic guitar, which I bought for £15 in about 1963 and electrified it myself, adding two pickups to it, and that's what I recorded with on the early sessions." The liner notes for The Decca Stereo Anthology credit Atkinson with "Hohner acoustic" but don't offer any additional information.
Because The Decca Stereo Anthology doesn't mention the Epiphone and because some of the details here match the account above (the cost of £15 and Atkinson's adding pick-ups himself), I'm wondering if this is actually the Epiphone and is simply mis-identified.
Because The Decca Stereo Anthology doesn't mention the Epiphone and because some of the details here match the account above (the cost of £15 and Atkinson's adding pick-ups himself), I'm wondering if this is actually the Epiphone and is simply mis-identified.
Gretsch Chet Atkins
Atkinson quoted in Johansen (p. 95): "I got a Gretsch Chet Atkins, which was a double cut-away. It's a great guitar, but I ended up not liking it very much. I couldn't get a great tone out of it. In retrospect I should have got the Country Gentleman, which is the George Harrison one. It has a much more cutting tone." Johansen also explains that Atkinson had acquired this guitar by the time of the Zombies' recording session on 31 August 1964, and this is confirmed by Atkinson himself in the Zombie Heaven liner notes (p. 19). Both sources go on to note that Atkinson often used his electrified acoustic in the studio, rather than the Gretsch (or the Rickenbacker that he later replaced it with).
Miming to "Tell Her No" on Shindig!:
Miming to "Tell Her No" on Shindig!:
Here's a color photo from the same appearance to show the orange finish:
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| [source] |
Burns Double Six
By November 1964, Atkinson had a Burns Double Six. In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, he explains that "in the studio [it] sounded good" but he eventually gave up using it because it "kept going out of tune." The liner notes also mention that the Burns was "featured heavily in the album sessions" (for Begin Here) in November and December 1964 (p. 43).
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| Scanned from the liner notes of Greatest Hits Greatest Recordings |
Rickenbacker 360-12
In the Zombie Heaven liner notes, Atkinson says, "I also tried the Rickenbacker 360-12, but you had to have tiny fingers for that" (p. 43). The Decca Stereo Anthology liner notes do list it in the credits, so apparently Atkinson did use it for recording. I think "Don't Go Away" and "How We Were Before" are the only tracks featuring twelve-string guitar that weren't recorded during the Begin Here sessions (they were recorded in 1965, June and July, respectively), so they seem the likeliest candidates for where Atkinson used the Rickenbacker twelve-string (but of course that's speculation).
Rickenbacker Rose-Morris 1997
From the Zombie Heaven liner notes (p. 19): "I eventually sold [the Gretsch], as I didn't really like it. I switched it for a Rickenbacker, which I then played all of the way through on stage, but I still used my electrified acoustic on sessions because it sounded great, chunkier and tougher, on record, and frequently better than the Rick."
This exchange seems to have taken place in early 1965. When the Zombies appeared on Hullabaloo in January 1965, Atkinson still had the Gretsch:
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| [source] |
The Zombie Heaven liner notes mention that Atkinson got contacts in March 1965, and since there are a number of pictures of him still with glasses and with the Rickenbacker six-string, he must have switched guitars before then.
Here's a picture from the Odessey and Oracle recording sessions, dated September 1967:
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| [source] |
This Rickenbacker has an F hole and a straight-edged tailpiece (rather than just a slash for a sound hole and the curved tailpiece that incorporates the R), and these features identify it as a Rose-Morris 1997.
Here's a color picture to show the Fireglo finish:
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| [source] |
Bass Guitars
Homemade Bass
According to Jim Rodford, the first bass that Chris White used with the Zombies was made by a local in St Albans. Rodford and White himself explain that it was used to record "She's Not There."
Here's White (center) with the homemade bass in 1962 before he joined the Zombies:
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| [source] |
An early Zombies gig, probably 1963:
The homemade bass was also used in the Herts Beat competition (as seen in a picture above). Like Atkinson's Epiphone, the bass is now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's exhibit on the Zombies:
Gibson EB-3
Johansen explains that by the recording session on 31 August 1964, "Chris White had got himself a Gibson bass which he would continue to use throughout the Decca period" (p. 95). Here he is using it on the Swedish show Drop-In in November 1966:
The five knobs identify it as a Gibson EB-3. As can be seen in some of the pictures above, it had a red finish.
Here's an-other shot of it, from when the Zombies were in the Philippines in March 1967:
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| [source] |
The five knobs identify it as a Gibson EB-3. As can be seen in some of the pictures above, it had a red finish.
Here's an-other shot of it, from when the Zombies were in the Philippines in March 1967:
Fender Precision
Johansen notes that by the time of the Odessey and Oracle sessions (which started in June 1967) White had "changed from his short-necked Gibson bass to a Fender Precision" (p. 168).
Here's a picture dated September 1967:
"This is a piano" and "This way up" were painted on the bass (apparently by White himself). White later gave this bass to Jim Rodford, who used it (for mimed television appearances, at least) in Argent. Here are some isolated frames from mimed performances of "Hold Your Head Up," which I'm including mostly because they're the only color images I've seen of this bass:
Here's a picture dated September 1967:
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| [source] |
"This is a piano" and "This way up" were painted on the bass (apparently by White himself). White later gave this bass to Jim Rodford, who used it (for mimed television appearances, at least) in Argent. Here are some isolated frames from mimed performances of "Hold Your Head Up," which I'm including mostly because they're the only color images I've seen of this bass:
