It’s often said that the sound comes from the player rather than the guitar. For example, there’s a well-travelled anecdote about Ted Nugent picking up Eddie Van Halen’s guitar at a soundcheck and sounding like Ted Nugent, even through Eddie’s rig. While there’s a lot of truth in such stories, it’s also correct to say that different guitars can influence how we play.
Gary Moore’s differing approaches to playing a or are great example of this. While still unmistakably Gary Moore, there are ways he explores the different tone and features of each instrument, some of which I’ve aimed to highlight in the two example solos below. Gary often favoured a Strat in the mid-to-late ’70s.
On Colosseum II’s from 1977, you can hear the characteristic wide vibrato he would get from the – similar to Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purple’s at times, though with a touch of Jeff Beck in there, too. Of course, the (the fabled ’59 once belonging to Peter Green) also had some time in the spotlight. Gary’s own album from 1978 features a mix of Strat and Les Paul, with the Strat often being employed for the cleaner, more sensitive moments.
By the early ’80s, Gary had moved primarily to Strats, especially his red ’61, though Ibanez, Charvel and Hamer also came in to play later in that same decade. Most of these had and a locking vibrato, which seemed to encourage Gary’s more ‘Les Paul’ approach. By 1990, Gary had switched primarily to blues, but this had always been a.