Vintage Gibson Barney Kessel Models | Regular vs Custom

[@jackhaskell694]

I apologize for being senile. I saw Barney Kessel play a few times around Phoenix in 1980-83. One time, in the Doubletree lounge, with less than a dozen people in the audience, the subject of signature models came up. In fact, I think it was Herb Ellis that mentioned that Barney had a signature guitar. Barney acknowledged it and then kind of shrugged it off. I don’t remember what he said though.

[@philippe_durel]

Hi R.J ! Luthiers call them "5 PIECES NECKS", as the 3 main longitudinal pieces of wood have a very thin layer of darker wood between them. These 5 pieces necks are EXTREMELY STABLE, the same neck architecture can be found in many PRESTIGE Ibanez guitars for a reason : the Ibanez "wizard necks" are extremely thin and they need all the rigidity and strength of a 5 pieces neck to withstand the string tension. You will also find this specific extremely strong "multi-ply" neck architecture in high-end basses which accommodate a lot of strings, in order to survive extreme string tension. That's it R.J ! YOU'RE THE BEST ! P.S.: Why hasn't Rick Beato interviewed you yet ??? You're the TASTIEST stylist there is.

[@wandering_satellite]

Forget about Beato he never speaks of crazy good guitarists and vocalists like Todd Rundgren etc.

[@billnorswether3720]

@@wandering_satellite Be serious. Beato recently interviewed George Benson.

[@lemmoneye]

Love that o.o.p sound too, always have! Recently had a push/push tone pot put in my Strat so can go o.o.p on front/mid and mid/bridge. Sounds fantastic. Can get a really unique tone and so the Brian May thing perfectly!

[@Ryan-Hall]

Hey Brett , miss our Saturdays brother but hope all is well?, So it just changes the phase on the mid pu? Sounds interesting did U change out the pu to a diff pu like higher ohm than or lower than the bridge or neck pu? Don't encourage bad tone😉 T.C. my Music-In-Law, keep on Rockin 🤘🎸🤠

[@lemmoneye]

Hey Ryan, hope all's well with you man! Haven't had a reminder for a Sat.morning live for a few weeks, has R.J had any? They're also around 4.30/5.am for me in N.Z so crazy time... With the o.o.p phase wiring, it's just a push/push to set either bridge or neck pickup o.o.p with the middle. Same pickups , I believe they're '69 specials, they sound great. It's a 60's Player series, Custom Shop designed, Mexican made, such a a great sounding and playing gtr man. Wasn't quite sure how the o.o.p would sound but works beautifully, you can get some really unusual and otherworldly sounds out of it, plus that real Brian May scream with higher gain. Hope to catch you online sometime man. Go easy bro!🤘👍🎶✌️

[@elevenAD]

Jason Newstead just put his Kessel up for sale on Reverb a few hours ago, also put a pretty sweet Firebird up!

[@KellanMeigh]

I have a spruce top '65 standard. The Barney Kessel guitars are special, for sure.

[@vivdelima3253]

You are are an amazing guitar player. very underrated. You're up there with the best. You can play anything rock and Jazz and do iy well

[@bills48321]

Great out of phase tone. They look good and sound good when you are playing them.

[@davidsummerville351]

I used to use 14s. Love the thick sound. Chords are so rich and full.

[@humbucker08]

Omg you did a whole video on this. I’m such a big Barney Kessel fan I thought the IG videos you made were all we were getting

[@iancpowell]

I’ve always wanted one of these & the Trini Lopez version, these and the 70’s more 335 double cutaway. Just something fun about these big guitars, the sound, look, feel and just pure vibe. And seems B.K. would put his name on anything, with the Kay models being something also he didn’t play but just had his name on them.

[@christianlassen3948]

IMHO That model is the COOLEST one of all the Gibson Archtops - it is a manifest of the modernist design philosophy of the era, it's bold, HIP, the perfect equivalent of the majestic tail-finned Cadillacs ... But that's just the looks : Boogaloo Joe Jones or T-Bone Walker and more recently Ed Cherry were/are players who make them SING !

[@martydibergi5228]

In 1964 I saw a full size cardboard cut out of Trini holding the Deluxe model. Dreamt of one since. Bought one in 1998, a 1968 model. The pickups sounded thin. Guitar tech said they were factory mid-wired. He re-wired them. Just found out through you that perhaps that was the way they were to be wired? Oh my gosh. Should I get it wired to “standard” factory? Also the pick guard disintegrated. I had one made in Toronto, but it is too dark. Is there a place to order these that you know of? Thanks This video is Awesome❤ Huge fan of yours!

[@RJRonquillo]

Check out 1929 Pickguards on Instagram

[@martydibergi5228]

@@RJRonquillothank you❤

[@paulschauerman2052]

I've never played one, but l've loved these since l first saw one in the Ultimate Guitar book by Tony Bacon.

[@tonybaker1836]

My fifties ES175 came from the factory with the 90s out of phase - same thing- turn down one pickup just a hair and it was nice and fat. I flipped the magnets in one pickup though, as I’m primarily a rockabilly guy and not blues- and the middle position is where I play most of the time Glad you like them- I enjoyed this video

[@Ryan-Hall]

RJ is there that much diff in sounds on flats as round? and blue's styles sound Best with, Congrats on finding 2 BR K. guitars and thanks for background on the BR K.Gibbis, didn't know that much. Hope U R having a great one My Music-In-Law Brother 🤘🎸🤠

[@RJRonquillo]

There is a difference in sound on the wound strings. Flat wounds aren’t as bright. Feel is also much different.

[@jfinester]

Are all Barney Kessel Standards out of phase in the middle position? Gibson was experimenting with out of phase sounds from 1949 with the ES-5, which had an out-of-phase middle pickup, then three-pickup Les Paul and SG Customs after 1957. I remember seeing a catalog description of the Barney Kessel which mentioned a special magnetic field on the bridge pickup-catalog-speak for “out of phase”? I bought a 1961 Epiphone Broadway in 1973 from the original owner, that was out of phase in the middle position. The owner said he hadn’t modified it; it came that way from new. Was it a mistake? Somebody at the factory not paying attention? Or was it on purpose?

[@salgvegas]

Hi RJ, I seen a video of you cutting up on the Eastwood Prince Mad Cat... Nice! I was wondering what size pick you use? Hehe,, might be a silly question.... seems like a have to switch back and forth between a hard pick for Rock lead and a 60mm for funk rhythm... Like I need to figure out how to play with one pick the way you do. Thanks RJ!

[@benspeeds]

Something about that crazy ass bright cherry red fading into that yellow orange totally reminds me/makes me think of images of 1970's muscle cars. It's so over the top, but in a good way. There are so many guitars that go over the top in a gross way. These suckers just look badass! I would love to see someone make a model based on these with a center block and a smaller body ala ES-339-ish size. Fun to dream about guitar designs.

[@Doctor-Shoebill]

Nice sounds on those. Pretty sharp looking, too.

[@g2theg]

Zappa played one in the early days of the Mothers Of Invention; would love to have one but the prices!!

[@archtopeddy]

NIce guitars R.J. How would you compare the neck dimensions as compared to similar year Gibson models like the ES-175 or ES-335?

[@wandering_satellite]

The Custom is fancier, as you say, but the 1st thing that pops to my eye is the fretboard of the "Standard" model which is much darker than the one of the "Custom", and the fretboard inlays also look more "classy expensive" on the "Standard" model. But it's just a question of taste, and rosewood can also become darker when using certain specific fretboard conditioning products, so, maybe the darker fretboard has been taken care of with such conditioning products.

[@chrispile3878]

Double sweet, RJ. I used to have a Norma copy of a cherry sunburst Barney Kessel with the note inlay back in the early 80's. Man - what a FUN guitar that was. Why did I sell it?

[@waynehicks1969]

They sound great. Having 2 is quite an indulgence. Are you still playing with Judith Hill?

[@TarenLeitzke]

Semi-hollows are my favorite type of guitar. I really like the look of the sharp horns on a semi-hollow, too, though unfortunately all the ones that have it seem to be custom or vintage Gibsons. I'd love to see Epiphone release an "Inspired by Gibson" version of something like one of these guitars for an affordable price!

[@Wileylikethehawk]

My dream guitar. A buddy just bought one and then didn’t want it…. But I was cash poor and missed out. Blast. Enjoy yours!

[@dosurf1180]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[@george-st-george]

Excellent report !!!! thank You !! and i dig that out of phase tone !!!!!

[@petermoss208]

damn man, anytime another Jedi discovers a model no one is really into, I get super stoked for that person. the best thing about finding your own sound or dharma as a professional isn’t just your brand or “sound” that you leave. But it allows you to choose gear based on who you actually are as a person and musician instead of just buying what everyone else has, aka, what John Mayer uses. I’m also really happy that you’ve made enough money to buy a James Tyler. When I was a kid in guitar stores, that was the first boutique company I ever saw have their stuff in stores. at least that i can remember. Pensa and James Tyler were ahead of their time…Among other luthiers i’m forgetting

[@billregan1981]

That’s awesome. I’m always here for that T bone playing!

[@ptrisonic]

I saw a new one in Selmer's window (I think it was late '66) The colours were really "loud"!

[@stevenbeecheymusic]

Great video and love that out of phase!

[@victorbeebe8372]

Aloha RJ! Great video I like both those guitar and how you set them up. Mahalo!

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

I could listen to an Instrumental 80mins worth of that out of phase on that Guitar, an album like those Freddie King "Early stuff". Trini Lopez played on ( I believe) on a live TV show doing " If I has a hammer" and he looked like he was really digging it. Keep both.

[@rockabilly12]

Great guitars! RJ did you study every type of music when you were young?

[@RJRonquillo]

Only the styles I liked lol

[@stephenparsons3532]

Are there flat wound strings on them

[@RJRonquillo]

I have flat wounds on the Custom, round wounds on the Regular.

[@phillygguitarman]

Good morning RJ!

[@Smart-Alex]

Beautiful guitar. I prefer the sound of the Custom!

[@LeStraTele]

Excellent t-shirt.

[@stevegamiello6476]

RJ You're awesome> love the lessons and the gear reviews. I always learn something just from watching you. Thanks for that. I've always loved the BK models and have dreamed of owning one. reality is I probably won't ever, But I've got enough and I'm happy.

[@JonManProductions]

Man... in 2024 money, the Custom would be over $5,892.18 with inflation. Even back then I can see why it didn't sell, that was expensive compared to the likes of the ES-335 or a second hand Les Paul (since the SG would have replaced it by 61)

[@rinosphere]

I was waiting for some rockabilly licks haha

[@andyc5392]

Good fun!

[@damham5689]

Just for fun. 1961 dollars in todays dollars Standard 1961 $400. 2024. ~ $4,100. Custom 1961 $550. 2024. ~ $5,700

[@BlueberryStinkFinger62]

No way I'm staying with my 2021 high end Epiphones..

[@jazzman1954]

Did he mention that Barney Kessel hated them and never played one in public. He played pretty much one guitar his entire career and it wasn’t one of these.

[@rodwoodruff5493]

He does mention that Kessel had no real association with these guitars

[@vincentpeck5829]

Really…is this true??!!??

[@jazzman1954]

@@vincentpeck5829 Absolutely. Kessel endorsed several guitars made by Kay and Gibson. Never played them. Only ever played his old Gibson Es350 throughout his entire career. He removed the Gibson logo.

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

I still can not figure out why Gibson makes it so if you are a dirt sound guy and set your sound for a killer fat sound on the bridge PU when you go to the neck PU that sound you set up turns the neck PU into total mud. daaaah. I just checked it is 2124. I guess they need another decade to fix the damn problem. They might want to see what neck PU is in the Barney K.

[@rodwoodruff5493]

What’s happening to the KZbin guitarists? Nothing new from RJ in 3 weeks, nothing from Darrel Braun in a month? Hope nothing’s wrong!

[@snapfinger1]

Tik Tok sucks.