Guitar

From This Might Be A Wiki
John Flansburgh played guitar at El Grupo De Rock And Roll's very first show.
This article is about the instrument. For the song, see "The Guitar". For transcribed chords and tablatures to They Might Be Giants songs, see Guitar Tabs
I think of the guitar in two ways.... One is as a song machine. You sit down and pull the song out of the guitar. The other is as a purely textural instrument to create large slabs of sound in the studio. —John Flansburgh

Guitars have been prominent in They Might Be Giants songs, both on stage and in the studio, since the band's start.

Co-founding member John Flansburgh is the main guitar player. In the late 90s, Dan Miller joined as lead guitarist. Other guitar players have worked with the group over the years, including Eric Schermerhorn, Jay Sherman-Godfrey, and Jonathan Gregg. John Linnell has also played guitar on occasion, notably in "The Big Big Whoredom", "Mainstream U.S.A.", "Mr. Klaw", "Louisiana", and "West Virginia" from his State Songs album.

John Flansburgh[edit]

Flansburgh has used a variety of guitars on stage and in the studio, including:

  • Coral Longhorn (hollow body electric, sunburst) - There are two different, but similar Coral Longhorns used in videos. The one appearing in the video for "Don't Let's Start" (1986) was borrowed [1] from Lary 7, which lacked a pickguard and featured different switches and knobs. [2]. Flansburgh owned the one used in "Purple Toupee" (1988) and "The Guitar" (1992), but sold it "after many attempts to make it practical." [3]
  • Danelectro 56 U2 (black) - a lefty model henceforth seen only in the video for Tender Is The Mind.
  • Danelectro 59 DC - John has played two right-handed models, both strung upside down. He plays a copper one in the video for "Birdhouse In Your Soul" (1990), there being photographic evidence of a black one as well.
  • Danelectro Longhorn (black solid body) - Used in the video for "They'll Need A Crane" (1988).[4]
  • Fender Jazzmaster (candy apple red with an anodized gold pickguard, built by Dennis Galuszka in the Fender Custom Shop) - Purchased in October 2007. A backwards Fender logo was added to the headstock at the request of Flansburgh. John has used this guitar for the majority of the first leg of the Join Us tour. It is now seen in tandem with the blue Fender Telecaster in live shows.
  • Fender Mustang (light blue) - "My first guitar was electric. It was a baby-blue Fender Mustang. I learned to play while working at a parking lot in Washington D.C."[5] He started out with only the top three strings, as it was easier to wrap his hand around and form chords. There are photos of him playing it in about 1980-81, during The Blackouts and The Turtlenecks period.
  • Fender Telecaster - Flansburgh has used three different ones, all left-handed, including:
  • The first, purchased around mid-1985, which was a Japanese 3-tone sunburst Custom model with a white 3-ply pickguard. It was his first actual left-handed guitar. [6] Flans made various modifications to the instrument, such as replacing its pickups various times, removing the tone knob, and replacing its neck. In some promotional photos circa 1985, the Dial-A-Song number is seen embedded as large white numbers in the neck. He retired this Fender in the mid-90's when the neck broke for the third time and the whole thing was "really a beer soaked wreck.” [7]
  • The second is almost identical to the first, and was purchased circa early 2000s. It has had its white pickguard decorated with decals of The Puppet Johns since 2005, and has been seen in several live performances in the mid 2000s. It has been relegated to a backup in recent years.
  • A third Telecaster was purchased in September 2005: a Fender Custom Shop 1962 Sonic Blue Custom model built by Dennis Galuszka with a white 3-ply pickguard, though has greened from age.[8] Flansburgh has since currently favored this one in frequent live performances. [9]
  • Fernandes Guitars Telecaster copy (black) - A right-handed guitar dating back to 1984, this guitar would be seen in early promotional photos with a white "THEY" sticker on it. The guitar also had a white pickguard that would later be removed. Sometime in 1985, it turned into the 'Chessmaster prototype', realized with "foam core and duct tape"[10] and would also be used in the "Rabid Child" music video.
  • Fernandes "The Revival" Stratocaster copy (metallic purple) - Used from around 1985 to 1988. Used on Lincoln [11] and seen during early live shows, such as a taped live performance for Everything Right Is Wrong Again - this guitar is right-handed but strung upside-down. In 1986, the guitar had a white THEY sticker printed onto it, but it was removed sometime in early 1987.
  • Gibson ES-330 (cherry red) - One of Flansburgh's earliest guitars. "I never even thought about other guitars I enjoyed it so much. […] It is the double speed guitar on the recording They Might Be Giants—flown in from the original demo made five years before the album) but alas it was stolen in a big apartment theft."[12] This was the guitar used at the El Grupo De Rock And Roll show.
  • Gibson ES-335 (cherry red) - Purchased around 1995 after the sunburst Les Paul was stolen. [13] Commonly seen on stage from the late-90’s to the mid-2000’s. Relegated to backup duty, but still used in some live performances.
  • Gibson L1 acoustic guitar - Custom built during the John Henry sessions.
  • Gibson L48 - According to Flans, this guitar, which is occasionally seen in promotional photos, early TV Appearances and rarely at live performances, was purchased with his first Bar/None royalty check.
  • Gibson Les Paul (sunburst, gold tops) - Flansburgh has also been known to use Les Pauls from time to time:
  • A sunburst Custom was purchased in 1991, used from 1992 to 1995 [14], and can be seen in live performances from around the mid-90's, such as this one at the House of Blues in New Orleans.
  • Les Paul gold tops have occasionally popped up in live performances and music videos, most notably the one used in the "Doctor Worm" (1999) video. Flansburgh can be seen using a gold top with P-90's throughout the 2000's, such as this live performance at the Polish National Home. He has used this guitar for smaller shows during the Join Us tour.

Guitars of lesser note[edit]

John Flansburgh has been known to keep his social media updated with his instrument purchases, including:

In addition to the guitars listed above, Flansburgh has also been seen using these guitars on live performances or photoshoots:

  • In a duo performance of "Particle Man", as shown in the "Flood Promo" (1990), Flansburgh is shown playing a sunburst Gibson ES-335. He also used it during a few shows in 2016. Additional specifics are unknown about this guitar.
  • During a show in 1992, Flabsurgh was photographed playing a yellow Fender Telecaster or a copy with a black pickguard. Very little is known about other usage of this guitar. It may have been borrowed.
  • Fender Squier Stratocaster (tan) - This guitar was borrowed from a friend of an attendee of a private show in 2005, after the guitar Flansburgh had brought to use in the show was damaged during air travel.[17][18]


Flansburgh has spoken at length about the difficulties of playing right-handed guitars strung for left-handed players.[19]

Gallery[edit]

  • Flansburgh performing with the Gibson ES-330 guitar at Dr. B's, 1983.

  • John Flansburgh with the black Fernandes Telecaster guitar copy in a promotional photo with the white pickguard removed, 1984.

  • The Fernandes Telecaster guitar copy in a promotional photo, before it was turned into the Chessmaster prototype, 1984.

  • Flansburgh with the Fernandes Telecaster guitar copy, now turned into the Chessmaster protoype, 1985.

  • Flansburgh performing with "The Revival" Stratocaster guitar copy alongside John Linnell, 1986.

  • Flansburgh performing with the Yamaha FG-160-BK guitar, 1987.

  • Flansburgh performing with the sunburst Fender Telecaster guitar alongside Linnell, 1987.

Dan Miller[edit]

Miller has used:

  • Gibson ES-335 (yellow, black pickguard) - Purchased in 2001. Used in the video for "Cloisonné" (2011) and recorded with on Join Us. [20] It was used occasionally between the early 2000s all the way through the mid-2010s, excluding the late 2000s.
  • Gibson Les Paul Deluxe (goldtop, white pickguard) - Part of Dan's live guitar rig since 2005, and has since been frequently used in live many live performances throughout most of the late 2000s and 2010s.
  • Gibson Les Paul Special (TV Yellow, black pickguard) - Used on a Late Night With Conan O'Brien performance in 2007, and in several shows during the summer of the same year.
  • Burns Drifter (red with white pickguard) - Used in a 2004 performance of Experimental Film on Late Night With Conan O'Brien.
  • Gibson SG Zoot Suit (rainbow) - Purchased in 2010; occasionally acts as a backup guitar. It was used occasionally in some shows in 2010 and 2011.
  • Fender Stratocaster (black, white pickguard) - Purchased sometime in the late ‘90s. Miller has favored this guitar in many live performances. The neck pickup has been replaced with a humbucker. It is currently outfitted with a whammy bar.
  • Fender Telecaster (red, white pickguard) - Purchased around 1999. Used on Here Come The ABCs and seen in several music videos from the album. A red guitar strap with "I❤NY" printed has been outfitted since 2002, to match its body. Used occasionally in several live shows in the early 2000s, and has frequently favored this guitar for several live shows in the 2010s.
  • Hamer XT Series SATQ (honeyburst; no pickguard) - Miller has used one in some shows in 2001.
  • Danelectro 56 U2 (blue) - Dan's original guitar. In the early 2000s, it was used as a MIDI guitar for live performances, often on songs such as "She's Actual Size".
  • Epiphone Acoustic PRO-1 (natural; black pickguard)- Used in live performances when acoustic guitar is featured on certain songs. Sometimes fitted with an acoustic pickup when needed. Miller has used favored this acoustic guitar in frequent live performances between 2004 until 2011.
  • Epiphone Acoustic Hummingbird Pro - Used in several live performances in 2012.
  • National Val-Pro 82 map guitar (scarlet) - played on The Tonight Show and occasionally appears as a stunt guitar at hometown shows.
  • Gretsch Country Club (olive green) - single cutaway hollow body with a Bigsby and two Filtertron pickups. Miller frequently used this guitar during the first leg of the 2018 tour, used in a TV performance on Conan O'Brien.

See also[edit]

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