Some guitarists change the game and one of those is Muddy Waters. A pioneer of what we now know as the 'traditional' rock band, i.e. two guitars, bass, drums and vocals, Muddy innovated for a generation of blues guitarists.
Muddy Waters is one of the most influential and inspiring musicians in history. In guitar circles, he’s hailed as an inventor, a pioneer and a tastemaker, as well as, for lack of a better phrase: “a guitarist’s guitarist”. Inspired himself by the dark, brooding blues of Robert Johnson, Muddy grew up in Mississippi, his exact year of birth not being conclusively known. Raised by his grandmother and nicknamed ‘Muddy’ because of his affinity for playing in the muddy water of a nearby creek, Muddy grew up playing and singing in church, teaching himself the harmonica as well, and had his first guitar by age 17. The rest, as they say it, is history.
Guild S-200 Thunderbird Electric Guitar
Muddy is reasonably well known for playing Guild guitars (and amplifiers – but we’ll get to that in a moment!) Muddy played multiple Guild guitars with different pickup configurations, including the single-coils in the video below.
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The S-200 Thunderbird is a uniquely offset electric guitars, generally featuring dual humbuckers, arriving from the factory with Guild’s own Little Bucker design pickups. Not quite a mini-humbucker and not a full-size standard humbucker, the Little Bucker matches perfectly with Muddy’s pursuit for a snarly bite of a single coil, but being equally at home playing warmer, fatter rhythm sounds. The Thunderbird helped Muddy poke out from the mix is his own unique way, while settling back to let his howling, moody vocals take the centre stage when need be. An incredibly versatile guitar, the Thunderbird was Muddy’s choice!
Guild Starfire II
Sometimes opting for a more hollow, acoustic sound, Muddy also played a hollow-body Guild at times, choosing a Starfire for that job. The Starfire is still in production today, featuring a single-cut body style (also available in a double-cut, 335 style, but Muddy liked the single!), paired with Guild HB-2 humbuckers (full-size this time) for a warmer sound overall, balanced nicely with the acoustic resonance of the Starfire’s semi-hollow, arched maple body.
1960’s Guild Thunderbird – amplifier
As a Guild endorsee, Muddy also played a Guild Thunderbird amplifier for a period during the 60s. Armed with tremolo and reverb, the Thunderbird amplifiers were only produced for a short time, their crisp, clear and clean tones still available on the used market. A tube amp, the Guild Thunderbird featured was a short-lived, but well-loved amplifier for Muddy.
1965 Fender Deluxe Reverb
More famously known for his use of a Fender amplifier, the Deluxe Reverb was a no-brainer for Muddy Waters. At just 22-Watts, the Deluxe Reverb screams “60s”, with a silverface design, and nine tubes overall. Four 12AX7 and 12AT7 preamp tubes are amplified by two 6V6 that serve as the power tubes and a tube rectifier with a 5AR4. Featuring a nice, now famous, reverb sound, as well as a tremolo channel (marked “Vibrato” on the faceplate), the Deluxe Reverb has high-headroom, for crystal-clear American blues tones. The knobs on Fender amps also inspired Muddy’s own modification of his…
Fender Telecaster
A workhorse, a stalwart and an icon, of course Muddy Waters played a Fender Telecaster. While today, the Fender Telecaster has been featured on countless recordings and performances, Muddy bought his 1957-58 Blonde, maple fret-boarded Telecaster. The early 60s saw Muddy have the neck and fretboard replaced with a rosewood fretboard, originally intended for upmarket, edgebound Custom Telecaster, the headstock also featuring ‘Custom’ on the headstock. The original, metal knobs of the Tele were replaced by the black, plastic, numbered knobs that the Fender amplifiers featured. They served two purposes, they were able to be more secure on the pot shaft, as well as the numbered knobs being more recallable, for lack of a better word.
Harmony Monterey
Harkening back to his Delta-blues roots, Muddy Waters also used a Harmony Monterey, a hollow-bodied guitar not unlike what the forefather of Delta-blues himself, Robert Johnson, would have played. An archtop with a solid birch body, the Monterey was produced from 1932 – 1972. Muddy’s featured the addition of a pickup near the bridge and tailpiece, allowing the guitar to be amplified rather than just mic’d up. The Monterey did not featured electronics traditionally.
The legacy of Muddy lives on. Watch, read and more at the official Muddy Waters Instagram here.
