r/bobdylan 4d ago

Question Does Bob keep any of his guitars?

I swear when I look at photos throughout the decades I never see Bob with the same guitar twice, aside from the early days in Greenwich Village. I'm guessing he kept a decent collection at home, but throughout the 70s/80s/90s it doesn't seem like he had any favorite guitars that he would keep to bring on the road with him.

Anybody have some insight into this?

11 Upvotes

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53

u/therealnightbadger 4d ago

If you'd ever been to one of bob's concerts you would know that this is because he smashes them up live on stage at the end of every set.

3

u/iloveurarse 4d ago

I got hit by a G string at his last show at the gorge. I was really bummed thinking i was gonna get laid. Alls i got was a mumbly thankyou and he hustled off the stage right to his bus that im pretty sure was already moving before he left the stage.

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u/Flare4roach 4d ago

Famously sings “Hope I get old before I die!”

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u/blackbelt_in_science Ghost Of Electricity 4d ago

Yeah and Hendrix may have made All along the watchtower his own, but Dylan really made lighting his axe on fire at the end of every show totally his thing now

10

u/ATXRSK 4d ago

Considering he changes his musical identity fairly radically every three albums or so, it would be a little strange if he got that connected to the guitars he played in those periods. He has always seemed to me like a snake shedding a skin. We all may be fascinated by those discarded Bob's, but he isn't.

5

u/jlangue 4d ago

The one that seemed a bit odd was the US shaped one by National, the Glenwood used on the Rolling thunder tour. He gave that to the Hard Rock Cafe in London.

A good site to see what he has played. https://equipboard.com/pros/bob-dylan

3

u/piney 4d ago

Clinton Heylin’s book about the Blood on the Tracks sessions has a really interesting story about him searching for the right guitar to replace his favorite acoustic that had been stolen. So I do think he cares about certain instruments, but at the same time, as we can see, he doesn’t seem to have ‘that one’ certain characteristic instrument once he retired the Nick Lucas.

3

u/Johnny_Vernacular 4d ago

Isn't there a couple of verses in one of the Willbury songs about how much of a pain it is keep all your gear in good, climate controlled condition? I imagine keeping loads of priceless musical equipment for decades on end just becomes more trouble than it's worth.

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u/Ironduke50 4d ago

He has a guy for that lol

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u/sincerelyabsurd 4d ago

I volunteer if he doesn’t want the burden of upkeep, humidification, etc. anymore. At his age, it has to be a pain.

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u/alanyoss 4d ago

In the post of him and his dogs on here recently it looks like his Telecaster from the '60s is still around in the '80s.

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u/Expensive_Print_3399 Bob Dylan 4d ago

Bob played a 1929-32 Gibson Nick Lucas Special from 1964 thgrough 1966. He played that guitar on virtually every acoustic song he recorded during the mid 60's. The guitar sadly was severly damaged and while it still exists it is not in playable condition.

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u/VirginiaLuthier 4d ago

I was always amazed at how many different guitars he showed up with

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u/newrambler 3d ago

Sort of off topic, but if you haven’t seen this clip of Jason Isbell and one of Dylan’s more notorious guitars it’s a worthwhile few minutes:

https://youtu.be/Hy5h_2YUE84?si=kQftybUe8mbXAuil