First of all, tell us about the monkey sticker. Does it have a particular significance?
“Well, I had this jacket that I bought from Take 6 in London. I just barely afforded it and I wore it all the time. I wanted to make it a bit different for on stage, so I started putting metal stars and things on it. Then I found these monkeys and I thought, ‘I’ll put a couple of them on, and I’ll put one on the guitar as well.’ So I put one on the guitar and it became known as the ‘Monkey’ guitar.”
And how did the idea come about to recreate the Monkey SG with Gibson?
“It’s been talked about for quite a while. When the new owners came in they said, ‘Let’s do it’ – because that is my original guitar that was on all the early albums. I had a right-handed SG, upside-down, which I strung left-handed. But I heard of this guy who’d got a left-handed SG; he was righthanded and he played his upside-down. I didn’t know him from Adam, but we arranged to meet in a carpark. It looked a bit dodgy, but I finally got a left-handed SG.
“I had a Strat, which I played mainly, and I wanted another guitar as a spare. But when we came to record the first album [Black Sabbath], I played the very first song, Wicked World, with the Strat, and the pickup went, which is weird. In those days you couldn’t just go to the shop and get a pickup, and we only had two days in the studio. So I thought, ‘I’ve got to use this SG,’ and I ended up playing several albums on it.
Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Guitarist.
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Denne historien er fra March 2020-utgaven av Guitarist.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sonic Shaper
Electro-Harmonix revisits the effect that launched the company with the LPB-3 Linear Power Booster and EQ
Platinum Blonde
PRS has updated its Texas-voiced David Grissom signature amp with more features, lower wattage and a more approachable price tag
TAN LINES
Many of us regard straps as a bit of an afterthought, but to find one that matches the quality of a custom or vintage guitar, Rod Boyes of Pinegrove Leather can help
ELECTRIC STRINGS
Your tone starts with your strings - strike a balance between sound, tuning and durability with six of our favourites
DIFFERENT WINDS
While there's no end to repros of all the classic pickup styles, more and more pickup makers are mixing things up to move forward - Cream T is a good example
Long termers
A few months' gigging, recording and everything that goes with it - welcome to Guitarist's longterm test report
Top Guns
Chapman's new factory move coincides with a bit of a rethink. We track down the key players all around the world
the Wishlist
Dream gear to beg, borrow and steal for...
Reach For The Star
Earlier this year Guild reorganised its 70s-era Polara range. We spent some time with this mid-range 2024 model: a modern pawn-shop prize or a copy too far?
HIGH FLYER
Adrian Thorpe of ThorpyFX remembers the flight path - and turbulence behind Chris Buck's Electric Lightning overdrive/boost, named after a fighter jet and packing a bona fide valve
