One of the greatest musicians we can say boldly walked the surface of the earth is Johnny Cash, and you can tell that someone or a musician of this description wasn’t known for being a one hit wonder. His reputation preceeds him as he recorded a good number of hits during his time, and what also made him popular was how he played the guitar. What guitar did Johnny Cash play particularly is what so many people have been looking for an answer to.
Playing the guitar made Johnny Cash the perfect example of what a rock n roll artist should be like, and you will be able to tell whenever Johnny Cash was singing and playing as he had a distinct and unique voice. In his time, he was regarded as one of the best selling artists ever, and it is a fact that Johnny Cash made a record ninety million music sales all over the world throughout his career. Do you know what types of music Johnny Cash specialized in?
Johnny Cash was known for folk, blues, rock n roll, and also country music, but one question you are going to keep finding on the lips of everyone is what type of guitar did Johnny Cash make use of. So many people asked this question regardless of the fact that they were his fans or not, and we want to show you an detailed list below of the guitars Johnny Cash played during his career.
- Fender Telecaster
- Martin D-28
- Gibson J-200
- Martin D-42JC
- Martin Johnny Cash Custom D-35
- Martin D-35
- Guild D60 CSBE
- Martin D-355
- Fender Malibu Acoustic
If you want to deduce conclusions from the list we just provided you with, it is easy to tell that Johnny Cash made more use of the Martin brand of guitars. Furthermore, he also made use of Martin Lifespan 2.0 medium strings, and this string was one of the best as at that time as it came with properties that made it resistant to corrosion. This is why the string was protected against its tone and action getting damaged.
Surprisingly, there are people who still asked or doubted if Johnny Cash was really a good artist in his time. Let’s be realistic and factual, Johnny Cash was a very good artist in his time, and the way he sings was one of the characteristics that really made him popular and loved during his time. He also had his own unique style of singing which also contributed to his fame, but the type of guitar he played was what people were more interested in.
Johnny Cash is a good guitar player to walk the surface of the earth, but considering him as one of the most proficient guitar players would be a wrong thing to do. The fact that he had an iconic style of playing is what set him apart from other guitarists in his time, and surrounding himself with other exceptional guitar players also helped in grow in every area of music.
Now that it is clear Johnny Cash’s name might not be among the list of best or top guitar players, you might wonder why such a popular musician and guitar player’s name will be missing from such list. Well, the answer lies in the fact that Johnny Cash focused more on playing music and not playing the guitar, and boasting of an iconic look and playing style also made him one of the best in his time.
His deep baritone voice was one that almost everyone was in love with, while having an incredible singing style is also another reason why he is being regarded as one of the best musicians to walk the surface of the earth.
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What Guitar Did Johnny Cash Play
Like we mentioned earlier in this post, Johnny Cash was known for playing with Martin brand guitars more than any wother brand. However, one guitar that he was seen with most of the times was the Martin D-35 guitar, and we want to talk about this guitar in our next lines.
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Martin D-35 Guitar
There are several guitars Johnny Cash was pictured using during his time, and it didn’t matter whether he was using it during a live performance or stage or he was using for a recording in his studio. Another fact about Johnny Cash is he had iconic stage performances, and he was spotted for so many years using the Martin D-35 during his stage performances. What people loved about this guitar was its black finish that spiced up Johnny’s appearance.
It is a fact that Johnny Cash made use of the Martin D-35 guitar for about twenty years, and this even led the Martin brand to name one of their guitars after Johnny Cash. They called the guitar the Johnny Cash D-35 in honor of the iconic singer, and trust the Martin D-35 guitar to offer topnotch sounds. It also boasted of having a high quality material construction and bracing that made it stand out from so many other guitars on the market.
Its excellent construction and shape is one of its greatest selling points, and you shouldn’t be surprised when we say Johnny Cash played this guitar for a lengthy part of his career. He was evidently attached to this guitar, and this was the same guitar in his possession when he parted ways with Columbia music. At this point, Johnny Cash made up his mind to stop being a part of labels.
Johnny Cash’s Brief History
What people do not know about Johnny Cash is the fact that he started playing the guitar at the age of twelve, and people that helped him learn how to play were his friend and his mother. It was until he became the member of the Airforce and was serving in Germany that he had his first guitar, and this guitar cost about five dollars at that time. While serving in Germany, he joined a musical band, and he also wrote Folsom Prison Blues with this band.
Not making use of effect pedals was another outstanding feature of Johnny Cash, and this is because he also played the acoustic guitar. Making use of heavy pickup is yet another familiar style of Johnny Cash, and Jim Dunlop was the person that designed this heavy pickup. His favorite pickup style was the carter pickup style, which involved the use of the thumb when playing alternate bass.
Final Thoughts
An outstanding voice and a unique style of play are two main attributes of Johnny Cash, and there is no way you would not recognize Johnny’s voice on any song. This tells you how unique his voice was, but what we want you to know is learning how to play and sing like Johnny Cash isn’t out of reach. All that is demanded of you is a lot of dedication and focus.
