mojoworking Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I saw Yes in concert this week and as always marvelled at Steve Howe's playing and his impressive choice of vintage guitars. Back in the early 70s when the vintage guitar market was in its infancy Howe was one of the first guitarists to have his collection of instruments featured and discussed in magazines. This week he played his trusty Gibson 175, now modified with three pickups(!), plus a Gibson 345 with what looks like a Byrdland tailpiece. Both of these guitars date back to earliest days of Yes and it's great to see Steve still touring with them. In an interview Howe said this about the 345: "I dont know what it is about the ES-345 that makes it so special. Its that lovely, brown walnut guitar that goes right back to Close to the Edge from 1972. I was given that guitar by Gibson to use in Yes after doing some string advertisements in England. Ive come back to it many, many times over the years. Its a great guitar to improvise on." Full interview here: http://www.innerviews.org/inner/howe2.html Here are some pics I took on the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I saw Yes in concert this week and as always marvelled at Steve Howe's playing and his impressive choice of vintage guitars. Back in the early 70s when the vintage guitar market was in its infancy Howe was one of the first guitarists to have his collection of instruments featured and discussed in magazines. This week he played his trusty Gibson 175, now modified with three pickups(!), plus a Gibson 345 with what looks like a Byrdland tailpiece. Both of these guitars date back to earliest days of Yes and it's great to see Steve still touring with them. In an interview Howe said this about the 345: "I don’t know what it is about the ES-345 that makes it so special. It’s that lovely, brown walnut guitar that goes right back to Close to the Edge from 1972. I was given that guitar by Gibson to use in Yes after doing some string advertisements in England. I’ve come back to it many, many times over the years. It’s a great guitar to improvise on." Full interview here: http://www.innerviews.org/inner/howe2.html Here are some pics I took on the night. I'm a Yes fan from the early 70's and I really like those shots you got..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 Thanks hp. Among the other guitars Steve used on stage was a drop dead gorgeous Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster in blonde with a venetian (rounded) cutaway and humbuckers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I like those action photos!!! What is the 'gadget' in his right hand playing the 175? E-Bow, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 I like those action photos!!! What is the 'gadget' in his right hand playing the 175? E-Bow, perhaps? I only noticed that device just as I upload the photos. We had second row seats and I didn't spot it on the night. He played a Fender pedal steel at one point, so could it have something to do with that? Or a remote for his pedal board perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 I hope he modded a Signature SH ES-175 and not his original. Good point. I can't find any pics online of the 175 with three pickups, so I'm guessing it's a recent modification. As you say, let's hope it's not his original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I hope he modded a Signature SH ES-175 and not his original. That's what I also thought first when viewing the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Love Yes and Steve Howe..saw them twice this past summer once at the Ryman auditorium great as usual, all together since 1976 I have seen them 11 or 12 times..I have seen them twice with out Howe and did not really get into it as much. I did see him Solo once about 10 years ago, just him and his guitars..it was very good after the show I was in the mens room and some young guy comes in and while he is doing his business he says "Who the hell was that old fu**ing man tearing up that guitar". LOL he had no idea he just came because there was a small show going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 As I said, we were on the second row and being so close, we were hearing Steve's guitar straight from his amp and not through the overall PA mix which made it seem much louder than everything else. He used a very clean sound with no overdrive at all, except on Owner Of A Lonely Heart which he played on a Fiesta Red (or possibly Candy Apple Red) Strat. But for the big Gibsons it was a clean sound all the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 That is one of the things I love about him it is almost all clean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8_4thesh0w Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Far and away my favorite group. I've seen them several times. On the Close To The Edge tour they tried going into a rendition of "Nashville Cats". It didn't go over too well. After that they knew we were there to hear that wonderful brand of rock that only Yes can play. Still one of my all time best concert experiences with the green lazers and moving mirrors above. Magical! As far as the modding goes, I think the fact that its Steve's guitar would offset any reduction of value. Σß Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Why play Owner. That was not his era of Yes. You've still got to play the "hits". The worst dichotomy of this nature I ever saw was a few years ago seeing Craig Fuller's band he still calls "Pure Prairie League". Fuller was originally founding member, band leader, guitar player, singer, etc.... (I'm sure most of you have heard the song "Amie"), but... PPL's biggest hits BY FAR were when a young, unknown singer/guitarist by the name of Vince Gill had replaced him (I believe due to some "legal" troubles). You could see the pain and disgust on Fuller's face when he had to sing the Gill era songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I think about 90% of the people going to see Yes these days would rather them not play Owner, and would rather see them play the the stuff from the 70's. Agree the past two tours have been great since they did the entire albums of Close to the edge, Going for the one and The Yes album along with their hits for the encore. I agree as well the greatest moment for me was my very first Rock concert was the Green lasers etc..would love to find some really good footage from their solo's tour.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 I saw him with Asia in 2010 and he was playing something different (this is my own footage :)) He pulls some very odd guitar faces indeed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 It's funny how he had this interview with Gibson about how after buying scads of guitars he realized that nothing would be as good as his old ES-175 so he went back to that one and in the interview linked on this thread he's talking about how he uses around 12 different guitars. Perhaps the ES-175 is the best he owns but variety is the spice of life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 Why play Owner. That was not his era of Yes. I guess it was just a crowd pleaser. On the night they performed Close To The Edge and Fragile in their entirety, plus a couple from their latest album and Owner... to finish. I also saw Yes in Oxford (UK) in May this year and the set was Close To The Edge , Going For The One and The Yes Album in their entirety, plus an encore of Roundabout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Nice. Steve has always been one of my guitar heroes, but my question is does he think he is still pulling off rocking the long hair while being half bald at his age? My wife made the same observation! As I said in the OP, Steve was one of the first players to have his collection featured in magazines back in the early 70s when the vintage guitar craze was still in its infancy. A few years back a book dedicated to his guitars appeared: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Nice. Steve has always been one of my guitar heroes, but my question is does he think he is still pulling off rocking the long hair while being half bald at his age? I see a lot of more stupid things in rock including Edge always wearing a hat because he is bald or balding..I am one who believes just go with what you have. I agree he should cut his hair but hey I guess he can do what he wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I see a lot of more stupid things in rock including Edge always wearing a hat because he is bald or balding..I am one who believes just go with what you have. I agree he should cut his hair but hey I guess he can do what he wants. Leaving aside the long hair of my youth, my equally balding head tends to grow its remaining hair mainly because I can't be bothered to waste time (and listen to their incessant drivel) at the barber's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I think about 90% of the people going to see Yes these days would rather them not play Owner, and would rather see them play the the stuff from the 70's. I agree. It wasn't without Steve Howe, and it's not Yes now with Jon Anderson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 I was unsure about the new Yes singer too at first. But if we can't have Anderson then Jon Davison is a perfect replacement. He sounds and looks very much like Anderson (and even has a similar name!). Most importantly, those famous songs sound exactly like they did when Anderson was out-front. Replacing original band members with sound-alikes (often from tribute bands) seems to be a trend these days. Toto has done it with great effect and I've heard of several others too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I was unsure about the new Yes singer too at first. But if we can't have Anderson then Jon Davison is a perfect replacement. He sounds and looks very much like Anderson (and even has a similar name!). Most importantly, those famous songs sound exactly like they did when Anderson was out-front. Replacing original band members with sound-alikes (often from tribute bands) seems to be a trend these days. Toto has done it with great effect and I've heard of several others too. Like Journey too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Like Journey too Sorry, I intended to say Journey and I somehow typed Toto. Saw them supporting Deep Purple last year and the new singer was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Sorry, I intended to say Journey and I somehow typed Toto. Saw them supporting Deep Purple last year and the new singer was perfect. Lol... And don't forget Mark Wahlberg.. oh wait a minute ;) actually based on(well, inspired by) the Judas Priest story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 I was unsure about the new Yes singer too at first. But if we can't have Anderson then Jon Davison is a perfect replacement. He sounds and looks very much like Anderson (and even has a similar name!). Most importantly, those famous songs sound exactly like they did when Anderson was out-front. Replacing original band members with sound-alikes (often from tribute bands) seems to be a trend these days. Toto has done it with great effect and I've heard of several others too. I agree they got it right with Jon D. the previous lead singer was bad I thought, I usually go them when the come anywhere near but when they had Benoit I did not bother..then I listened to Jon D. and decided I would give him a spin and have seen them 4 times with him and loved it...Love J.Anderson still wish he were back but what do you do?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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