Mike’s Guitars and Equipment

mikerutherfordnet.com/mikes-guitars-equipment

“People have this thing about these being the guitars to use and those
ones not. I go purely on sound.”
Mike Rutherford, Beat Instrumental, August 1977.
Mike has used a wide variety of guitars and equipment over the course of his career.
Here we have collected a selection of the gear he’s used, as well as some of his
comments.

1960s

Höfner Colorama electric guitar

“When I went to Charterhouse I started writing some songs with Anthony Phillips. And
there we formed a band called Anon. By then I was using a Höfner Colorama electric,
and the whole group went through one small amp – an RSC.”
(Guitar Player, January 1981).

Dewtron Mister Bassman bass pedals

“I started off with pretty shaky gear, and I discovered as time went on that I needed a
wider range of equipment. I started playing bass pedals – they were called Mr. Bassman
pedals – and 12-string guitar. Pretty soon, I got an amp system that had a two-way
crossover so that I could get more clarity”. (Guitar Player, January 1981)

Hagstrom and Eko guitars (models unknown)

“We were mainly an acoustic group for [From Genesis to Revelation]. We used Hagstrom
and Eko guitars – I forget which models.” (Guitar Player, January 1981).

Gibson EB-O bass

“I also played a Gibson EB-O bass [on FGTR]. The challenge of playing the bass was rather
enjoyable; it was so different. I plucked the strings with my fingers at first, but because
no one could hear me, I started using a pick. I needed a sharper attack, more cut.” (Guitar
Player, Jan 1981)

1970s

Rickenbacker 4001 bass

“I started using a red Rickenbacker 4001, which was ideal. I went stereo straight away,
sending my treble pickup through a Screaming Bird treble booster and into a WEM amp
with four 10” speakers. The bass end went right into a Hi-watt amp.” (Guitar Player, Jan
1981).

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Hagstrom acoustic and Rickenbacker electric 12-strings
“I’ve spent a lot of time developing the sound of two 12-string guitars together. It’s very
distinctive. [Steve Hackett and I] did some 12-string duets, such as “For Absent Friends”,
on [Nursery Cryme]. We played Hagstrom acoustic and Rickenbacker electric 12-strings
then.” (Guitar Player, Jan 1981)

Mike’s First Double-neck

Mike with his home-made double-neck: the Rick 360/12 and

Rick 4001 bass taped together. Photo by Tim Stewart.

Rickenbacker 360 12-string and Rickenbacker 4001 bass double-neck

“Around that time [Foxtrot], I had [the Rickenbacker 4001 bass] and a Rickenbacker 12-
string joined as a double-neck. I took it to a guitar maker named Dick Knight, told him
what I wanted, and got a double-neck.” (Guitar Player, Jan 1981)

“For the first version I went into a guitar shop with my 12-string Rick and my Rickenbacker
bass and said, ‘Can you cut that one and that one and join them up?’ The guitar maker [Dick
Knight] said, ‘You’re not serious, are you?’ He wouldn’t do it at first, but I said, ‘Someone’s
going to do it, so why don’t you do it?’” (Premier Guitar, March 2015)

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 The finished product: the Rick 360/12 and Rick 4001 bass joined together. Photo by Michael
Putland.

Custom-made Zemaitis 12-string acoustic

“I had also gotten a custom-made Zemaitis 12-string acoustic. It’s one of those weird
guitars that sounds beautiful when you play it live but never seems to record very well.”
(Guitar Player, Jan 1981)

Moog Taurus bass pedals

“I had gotten a bin-and-horn speaker set-up; it was a three-way system with deep reflex
cabinets for the bass guitar and

[Moog] Taurus bass pedals, plus a high-frequency horn and a Crown amp. I found that
the Taurus pedals were also a great improvement over my old ones. They’re designed so
that if you make a tone or octave change while a note is sounding, the change won’t
occur until the next note is hit. That’s very handy.” (Guitar Player, Jan 1981).

Microfrets 6-string bass

“Throughout [The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway ] I used a Microfrets 6-string bass. The
company that made it only lasted a short time. It’s a really great bass, and I still use it –
primarily for mellower parts, such as on ‘Snowbound’ [And Then There Were Three]”.
(Guitar Player, Jan 1981)

Rickenbacker 360 12-string and Microfrets Signature baritone double-neck

“[Mike’s] first [double-neck] was a Rickenbacker 4001 joined to a Rick 360/12 that was
used on the Selling England tour. He then switched to a Rick 360/12 with a Micro-Frets
Signature baritone neck built in, which proved to be troublesome on stage. Both guitars
[the Rick 360/4001 double-neck and this one] were built by luthier Dick Knight, who then
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built Rutherford a 12-string with a baritone 6-string
neck, which also proved unstable. Finally,
Rutherford went to Shergold instruments.” (Premier
Guitar, December 2009)

Mike’s Signature Shergold Double-neck

The Rick 360 12-string / Microfrets

double-neck. Photo via Premier Guitar.

Shergold/Rutherford Custom double-neck

“I tried a Shergold 12-string in a shop, and I liked it very much, so I said, ‘Do you make
basses?’ And they said yes, and I tried that. Very nice sound – it had the sort of treble attack I

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like, and the bass warmth. I said ‘Can you do me a double-neck?’ I’ve always had this idea of a
changeable instrument, to give me the scope during
a live show to swap over easily, and they came up
with that.”

“Mike’s contribution to the design was actually

little more than the idea of being able to detach
the two halves and clip on separate pieces to
convert them back to “single-neck” guitars. ‘It was
fairly easy, really.’ [Mike says] ‘They had to come
up with just a system of screws, and the electrics
from the top half all come out of one cannon
socket at the bottom. There are little prong
things that connect them.’

“All Shergold guitars come with modules, of

which there is a choice of around five.
Rutherford’s is module 4, which is straight stereo
with a tone control and volume for each pick-up,
and a three way selector switch. ‘The phasing module’s not that great. For me, the best
thing about them is not the modular idea but the sound. And things are very easy to
replace. The neck went, abroad, and
so they sent one out to me so I could
change it straight away…They have a
recording module, which is quite
nice, which gives you an in-
phase/out-of-phase range.’ Despite
the greater flexibility afforded by the
dual guitar, he still makes changes
during the set. He uses an 8-string
Hagstrom bass “I Know What I Like”,
since the weight of the Shergold
begins to make a deep rut in his
shoulder if worn for too long.” (Beat
Instrumental, August 1977)

Mike’s custom Shergold double-neck

consists of a set of detachable
“halves” which can be clipped
together to form the double-neck, or
clipped to separate pieces in order to
convert them back to single-neck
guitars. The four original “halves” are
a 4-string bass, two 12-strings, and a
6-string with single coil pickups.
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Additionally, Mike has another natural finish six string top, probably made by Roger
Giffin (source).

Two halves with clip-together modulators. Photo via Shergold.co.uk

Alvarez acoustic
“I’ve got an Alvarez guitar, which no-one seems to have heard of. It’s got a similar feel to a
Martin, and it costs a hundred quid. It’s my favourite guitar – beautiful action, lovely
sound. Better than any Gibson I’ve found…” (Beat Instrumental, 1977)

Stratocaster and ARP Avatar / Roland GS-500 guitar synthesizers

“I use the Strat to control the Avatar, and the Roland has its own guitar. I find the two
synthesizers behave differently: the Avatar’s hexaphonic fuzz sounds great, but the
Roland is polyphonic, so I can play chords on it. I used synthesizers extensively on my
solo album [Smallcreep’s Day], and I also played it a lot on And Then There Were Three.
(Guitar Player, Jan 1981)

1980s

The Steinberger M Series

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 Mike and the Steinberger M series

“The original small model was so crude, with the graphite body, and the wooden ones never
quite did it for me. I’m working on a new thing now where I’ve got my old small one out, and I
have some very lightweight wood that will just be attached in a couple of places with rubber
washers, but the extra wood won’t even touch the guitar. Basically, I’m a big, tall guy, and
those guitars felt so small. Their sound is quite special, but I want a guitar with a bigger feel.
We’ll see. I like doing weird stuff with guitars.” (Premier Guitar, March 2015)

The guitar that would go on to become the Steinberger M series was designed and built
by Mike, his guitar technician Geoff Banks and luthier Roger Giffin in 1987. Mike liked the
Steinberger sound but had some issues with the size and shape of the guitar.

“I’ve got a little Steinberger which I love – there’s always an element of luck with guitars
and I happened to find a special one – but I do sometimes feel a bit big for it, so I went to
Steinberger and asked them if they’d make one with a more ‘guitar-shaped’ body. After
all, there’s a lot of good things about the Steinberger and personally if something sounds
good I’ll play it, but so many people won’t go near it because of the looks, which seems a
pity. However, they had no interest at all, so I went away and designed a guitar-shaped
version with Roger Giffin and Geoff Banks, my guitar roadie, then built it myself using
one of their necks and took it back to Steinberger. They said it was fabulous, so they
borrowed it and copied it to make the new Steinberger shape.” (International Musician,
March 1989)

1990s

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Fender Strat Plus / Rickenbacker 12-string / Guitar Factory electro/acoustic
“Any guitar I pick up I’ll play for three or four
weeks, and that’s my favourite guitar. I’ve got a
roadie who deals in guitars. I’m a lost cause to
him, really. […] We may do ‘The Musical Box’ in
the medley, and that calls for an incredibly weird
tuning, which I’ll be playing for three minutes.
Then there’s a song where I play a different
guitar which has got a different funny tuning.
You’ve got a guitar for each bit, which is a drag”
What he’s dragging along, then, are four Fender
Strat Plusses (“Old ones don’t do it much for
me”), three Rickenbacker 12-strings and a Guitar
Factory electro/acoustic.’ (Musician, June 1992).

Moog Taurus bass pedals

“Can’t beat ‘em, They have real depth and power.
Why they never caught on, I don’t know.’”
“On stage I used to feel like George
(Musician, June 1992).
Formby” (The Living Years)

Yamaha TRB 4P bass

“I found a new bass for this tour [We Can’t Dance] – a Yamaha TRB 4P. I first heard Daryl
Stuermer playing one and it sounded great, so we’re using that.” (Guitarist, February
1993)

2000s-present

Photo © Stuart Barnes

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Eric Clapton model Fender Stratocaster
“I love the Strat because it can play the roles of many guitars. You can access such a
diverse range of tones—which makes it extremely attractive as a touring instrument. It’s
also a simple case of habit and familiarity. I’ve been playing Strats for decades, and, at
this point, I’d feel wrong playing anything else.” (Guitar Player, August 2007)

Gibson EDS-1275 and Yamaha TRB-4P bass double-neck

“I decided to have a new double-neck made that combines two guitars I really like for
playing the earlier Genesis material, as opposed to going with a totally custom job where
you don’t know what you’re going to get until it’s complete. I got a British luthier team
called Charlie Chandler’s Guitar Experience to take the 12-string top half of a Gibson EDS-
1275 double-neck, and combine it with a Yamaha TRB-4P bass for the bottom half. We
went with the Gibson EDS-1275 because there are so very few solidbody 12-strings made
these days that we could marry to a solidbody bass. You lose some of the resonance
when you go this route, but the overall sound of both instruments is still mostly there.””
(Guitar Player, August 2007)

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