Pretenders - Stop Your Sobbing (1980)

BRILLIANT

Anyone know what kind of guitar JHS is playing here? (Or pretending to play, since they're miming.) Sounds like a Rickenbacker on the record, but that's definitely not a Ricky in the video.

it's a Travis Bean Wedge. Aluminum neck. As also played by Keith Levine when he was in P.I.L.

Sounds like a Ricky on the record but I'm pretty sure he only used a 335 and a Les Paul on Pretenders I, so I imagine it's the former of those. Put it in the middle position, slap some chorus on, and jangle city!

Thanks for the info. In all these years, I've never seen one before. Aluminum neck, huh? Interesting.

You may be right about the 335 and or Les Paul being used on the studio version. There's another clip here on YT of them playing "Up the Neck" in Paris in 1980 -- live, not mimed -- and he gets a jangly, Ricky-like sound from the Les Paul he's playing. Really surprised me. Any idea what amps he used back then? Vox's maybe? He's not getting that sound from a Marshall stack! *laugh*

Live he was all about the Marshalls. 100 watts for better headroom and he used Boss Chorus, Compressor, and Overdrive pedals. You can definitely jangle on Gibson guitars, it's just all in playing. My guitarist is all about JH-S and he used to jangle away on an SG.
As far as the Marshall amps, well, if he ran them mostly clean, and with the chorus going, he could make it work. Chrissie could probably hack in there with the barely audible Tele here and there.

Thanks again. To clarify my previous comment, I meant it didn't sound like he was getting the jangly sound from a Marshall stack. The distorted stuff though, sure. If, as you say, he did in fact get the 'jangle' by running them clean, coupled with chorus or whatever, then kudos to him. Not knowing, I'd have guessed Voxes or Fender Twins or something like that.

I guess I don't have a good frame of reference for what Marshalls can sound like clean. *laugh*

Surely this and the PIL guitar are one and the same, theres less than 20 white wedges worldwide and I know Pretenders/PIL hung out.
The first lp was all done on a red 70s les paul std with the exception of an overdub on Mystery Achievement (335) and Kid (chrissie's white tele) I think the bulk of the second album was done with this les paul as well - there are loads of pictures of Jhs using this - I wonder where it is now?

Kinks are awesome but this version is actually better !

RIP James Honeymoon scott! God knows you left your trade
mark in rock in roll History with Chrissie....

Their 1st album was fantastic. I saw them play the last show at Wollman Rink in NYC's Central Park in 1980.