Jeff Beck’s formative years were defined, predominantly, by his use of a Gibson Les Paul. But as he went from fresh-faced Yardbird to solo artist phenomenon, the Fender Stratocaster became his weapon of choice.
A recently resurfaced clip of him showcasing the Fender flagship axe’s versatility shows why he made the switch, and it has stark parallels with one of Joe Bonamassa’s viral guitar lessons.
The Yardburst LP, given a Custom Shop reissue in 2024, is a highly storied electric guitar. It was his go-to instrument during his Yardbird days, including his brief tandem with Jimmy Page, and has since been played by Lenny Kravitz's guitarist Craig Ross and Marcus King following the record-breaking auction of Beck’s gear last year.
When Beck teamed up with Beatles super producer George Martin for Blow by Blow, it was a peculiar and “cobbled together” Oxblood Les Paul that he coaxed his magic out of. But soon after that, he turned his back on Les Paul’s altogether.
After slamming Fenders as being “cheap in feel” during a Guitar Player interview in 1973, he countered it with, “You pick up a Les Paul and it's heavy and it really means something.” But, in his own words, Blow by Blow was the end of his Les Paul “fling.”
Speaking to Malcolm Gerrie on Sky Arts' "Jeff Beck Talks Music" in 2013, the avant-garde virtuoso preluded his glowing review of the Strat by addressing his lineage.
“I did play Les Pauls because, to be honest, I loved the way Eric [Clapton] sounded with [Cream],” he says. “You need the richness, and the Strat was too thin-sounding; the Tele was definitely too thin. The fatness of the Les Paul low-end was amazing.
“Then Jimmy [Page] came along and he almost had his fatter sound as Eric with the Strats, I thought ‘That's it.’”
Gerrie then asks him the eternal question: “What is it about the Fender Strat that you love so much?”
“Because it's endless color,” he replies, before mutating the guitar's voice in a myriad of ways, from snarling, overdriven bite to gentle, rolled off cleans, all achieved through manipulating its Tone and Volume controls.
“It's the same guitar,” he adds after showcasing the first two wildly different sounds before continuing the unfurl a range of different tones.
While the clip has its similarities with JoBo’s viral lesson, where he showcased the range of sounds one can get out of a Les Paul’s on-board controls, there are also similarities with the bluesman’s claim that the Strat is the “Swiss army knife of guitars.”
“You can do anything with a Stratocaster,” he explains to Guitarist. “I‘ve seen Strats perform all kinds of guitar music and flourish in that environment because of the third pickup.”
Beck, though late on the uptake, was prone to agree. He made the instrument sing like no one else.
Since his passing, Beck's Custom Shop Strat has ended up in the hands of John Mayer for a one-off performance, and Ritchie Blackmore has recently reflected on his genius, revealing that he wasn't always as positive-minded about his craftsmanship as his peers.
Meanwhile, Mick Rogers claims to own Beck's last-ever recording, but says there's one matter keeping it from being released.
