Every rock n roll fan should be aware of who Chuck Berry is. He is one that had more than one hits all through his career, and Maybelline was his first hit ever. However, Chuck Berry wasn’t one that slowed down on his career as he recorded more and more iconic songs that ended up as hits, and there is a vast list of his hit songs like;
- Sweet little sixteen
- Johnny B Goode
- Roll over beethoven
- School days
- Rock and roll music
So many people are yet to find an answer to one question, and what guitar did Chuck Berry play is the question on almost everybody’s lips. However, Chuck Berry played some guitars all through his careers, and let us show you a list of some the guitars Chuck Berry was pictured with at different points in his career.
- Gibson ES-335
- Kay K-161 Thin Twin
- Gibson ES-330N TN
- Gibson ES-350T
- Gretsch G6131 DC
- Gretsch 6121 Roundup
- Gretsch 6120
Out of all the guitars we have talked about in this post, the Gibson ES-335 guitar was one that Chuck Berry used for a very long time. This guitar was designed and introduced to the market back in 1958, and hit song sweet little sixteen was released by Chuck Berry in the same year. Everybody is aware of the fact that Chuck Berry made use of the Gibson ES-335 guitar till the time he passed away, and this showed how much he loved the instrument.
After the release of his hit song Maybelline, so many guitarists and musicians were inspired to sing and play exactly like Chuck Berry. There were so many people interested in learning how to play how Chuck Berry played or sing how he sang, and this still happens today. Some musicians that still try to sound or sing like Chuck Berry are Angus Young and Keith Richards, and they consider Chuck Berry as the well or fountain they draw inspiration from.
There are so many upcoming and talented singers today that see Chuck Berry as a form of inspiration, and what makes Chuck Berry one of the founding fathers of rock and roll music is how he innovated his own style of making music. Because of how good Chuck Berry was in his time, he earned the name the grand daddy of rock and roll music. He was also seen with the Gibson guitars, and there are pictures of Berry with the Gibson ES-335 guitar.
There are rumors that Chuck Berry never traveled with any Gibson guitars, but he was always provided with one anywhere he went to. The reason for doing this was to take way any stress that came with flying or traveling with a guitar, but Chuck Berry was also seen with the Gibson ES-330 guitar at some venues and shows. Having a hollow body with a significant feature of the Gibson ES-330 guitar, but Chuck Berry used another guitar in 1980.
Chuck Berry made use of the BB King Gibson guitar which was commonly used by Kenny Rogers at that time. This was the same guitar used by Kenny Rogers during the release of one of his songs titled Lucille. There are other types of guitars Chuck Berry made use of before the year of his death. He made use of the Gibson Super 400 guitar, and there were other times when he made use of the Gibson Cherry Flying Red Vee guitar.
From every guitar we have mentioned so far, it is easy to tell that Chuck Berry fancied working with a Gibson guitar, and the whereabouts of some of his guitars are not known till today. There are some that have been placed in museums, but his beloved Gibson ES-335 was buried with him back in 2017.
Interesting Post – What Guitar Did Jimi Hendrix Play
What Guitar Did Chuck Berry Play
Now that you have an idea regarding the guitar or guitars Chuck Berry worked with, let us tell you a little bit about the early life of Chuck Berry.
Related Post – What Guitar Did Johnny Cash Play
Chuck Berry’s Early Life
Described as one of the greatest musicians and guitarist the world of music has ever seen, Charles Berry or Chuck Berry was born on 18th of October 1962, and he died on the 3rd of March 2017. He is still considered as one of the founding fathers of rock n roll music, and his bio also reads an American songwriter and singer. One of the attributes people loved about Chuck Berry was how he redefined rhythm and blues.
His unique style of music was what formed rock music today, and you can also tell that there are several hit songs to his name which we have showed you earlier. His songs was always targeted at the youths since they were the ones that mostly listened to him, and he had such a massive number of fans all around the world because of how skilled and influential his music was.
Creating a style of play that made it possible for other players and singers to display their creativity is what also made Chuck Berry popular, and it is easy for you to tell his influence in rock music as well. While he was still in high school, Chuck Berry rendered his first ever performance, and he also got a murder sentence when he was still in high school. Moving forward, Chuck Berry spent a total of four years in a reform school.
When he got out, he settled down and got married. One fact that is common with so many guitars is that they have strings they work with. An acoustic guitar string or the flatwound guitar strings were always used by Chuck Berry, but this were mostly the only strings available in his time. You might also be wondering the amps Chuck Berry made use of, and the Epiphone was his first ever amp.
He also made use of the Orange Tops amps and the Fender Dual Showman Reverb amp, but there is no where that Chuck Berry was recorded or pictured making use of an effect pedal. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make use of an effect pedal if you want to sound like Chuck Berry, so you can try out the CatalinBread Formula 5F6 Tweed Bassman Pedal.
Finally, we still want to bring you to remember that Chuck Berry was one of the founding fathers of rock n roll music all over the world. There are other songs he played like calypso, ballads, blues, and country music, and this tells you how versatile this great man was. Constant practice and a high level of dedication are attributes you should have if you want to be as successful as Chuck Berry.
