Not quite so famously, his guitar was an unusual model, a new Rosewood Telecaster that he'd recently received from Fender.( Excerpt from source:reverb.com)
In fact, it was the fourth Fender guitar that The Beatles had acquired. During their early years, the group hadn't owned any Fenders, although George had written to a friend in 1960 that the guitar he "might manage" was a Strat. Instead, he decided to indulge his passion for Gretsch guitars—the brand used by one of his six-string heroes, Chet Atkins—and bought a secondhand Duo Jet, and, later, a couple of Country Gents and a Tennessean.
At first, Don tried to persuade the group's manager, Brian Epstein, to get the boys more visibly into the brand. "It was the only time we ever tried to buy somebody off," Don told me. "I sent a member of my staff to try and buy Brian Epstein off." That plan backfired, and The Beatles continued to be seen on stage with guitars by Gretsch and Hofner and Rickenbacker and the rest.
Nonetheless, the Fender boss came away happy with a deal to supply the band a pile of Fender gear: a Fender VI six-string bass, some Fender Rhodes pianos, a Fender Jazz Bass, a selection of amplifiers, including a PA system, and the guitar that we're interested in, a Fender Rosewood Telecaster for George.
The body of the prototype Rosewood Telecaster had a thin layer of maple sandwiched between a rosewood two-piece top and back, with a clear satin poly finish to highlight the beauty of the natural wood, and a two-piece rosewood neck fitted with (what else?) a rosewood fingerboard.
Roger and Phil selected the best body and neck, assembled and double-checked the guitar, and put it in a case. A courier took it to the airport and flew with it in the seat next to him, delivering it to The Beatles' Apple HQ at the end of 1968, just after the release of the group's White Album.
The fate of the other three prototype Rosewood models is less clear. The Rosewood Stratocaster intended for Jimi was completed around April 1970, but for some reason it was never sent to the guitarist, and he died that September.
That instrument, the other Rosewood Strat, and the second Tele disappeared, although online chatter suggested that around 2012 a Chicago dealer sold a guitar as the Rosewood Strat that never reached Jimi, and a Rosewood Tele prototype said to have been sent to Elvis Presley went unsold at an auction in 2018.
Later in 1969, George gave away his Rosewood Tele to Delaney Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie. Delaney kept the instrument until he sold it at auction in 2003, two years after George's death. It fetched a staggering $434,750, bought by an intermediary for George's widow, Olivia Harrison.
To read the full article click here - About the author: Tony Bacon writes about musical instruments, musicians, and music. He is a co-founder of Backbeat UK and Jawbone Press.
Recently another guitar played by George Harrison whith The Beatles in Hamburg in the early 60's was set to fetch £300,000 at auction.
The Czech-made Futurama Resonet has been unseen since 1964 when it was first prize in a magazine competition. The winner, AJ Thompson, of Saltdean, Sussex, chose cash because he didn’t play and the magazine kept it.
Harrison, who died in 2001, recalled going, aged 16, with Paul McCartney to buy the guitar in Liverpool in 1959. His mother had to sign the purchase agreement which was later paid off by Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
‘Huge interest’ is expected by auctioneers Bonhams at the sale in London on June 12.
in September 2018 the Australian-made Maton Mastersound MS-500 was played by Harrison during the appearance at Liverpool’s famous venue in the summer of 1963 was sold for 340,000£.
His regular guitar was being repaired on the night – but Harrison was so impressed with the replacement he continued to use it.
He finally returned the guitar to the repair shop, Barratts in Manchester, where it was later bought by Dave Berry And The Cruisers guitarist, Roy Barber.
Barber went on to have hits with Memphis, Tennessee and The Crying Game.
The guitar remained in storage for several decades but was exhibited at The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool after Barber’s death in 2000.
Last May George Harrison’s first electric guitar is up for auction. Julien’s Auctions says Harrison played the Hoffner Club 40 when The Beatles played around Liverpool, England, as The Quarrymen
Harrison traded his acoustic guitar for the electric model with Ray Ennis, who was a member of The Swinging Blue Jeans.
Harrison donated it to a band competition in 1965 and it was won by a member of a German band who died in 2017. His widow is putting it up for auction.
The auction house estimates the guitar will sell for between $200,000 and $300,00
George Harrison had a fantastic guitars collection. Since the early times with The Beatles and solo career. watch here Videos, photos, and tips on his guitars.
George Harrison played many a classic guitar during the course of his career,
In the Sixties, during his time with the Beatles, he helped make famous the Rickenbacker 360/12 electric 12-string, a rosewood version of the Fender Telecaster, and the Gibson J-160 acoustic/electric. Dhani Harrison, they will be available for all to see and hear in exquisite detail, courtesy of The Guitar Collection: George Harrison, a new iPad app developed by Dhani. (guitaraficionado)
he plays (and/or displays) a Gibson ES-5 (not one of his Beatles guitars, despite the Hamburg-era leather jacket he’s sporting as he plays it), his legendary 1963 Rickenbacker 360/12, his original Epiphone Casino (the same guitar he played on the Beatles’ final tour in 1966) and his 1957 Gibson Les Paul, also known as “Lucy.”
