3 of Paul McCartney’s Most Famous Guitars

While Paul McCartney’s recently returned missing bass guitar has been making waves in the news over the last couple of years, the former Beatle has used a few different guitars throughout his career that are similarly legendary. Let’s celebrate old-school gear and take a look at a few of Paul McCartney’s most famous guitars!

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1. Classic Fender Esquire

One can’t deny that Paul McCartney loved a good Gibson. However, he was also somewhat of a fan of classic Fender guitars as well. During The Beatles days, both McCartney and John Lennon employed the use of Strats quite extensively. 

McCartney didn’t play Fenders often, but he did pick up a stunning 1964 Fender Esquire while recording the legendary Beatles record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney modified the guitar to be able to play it left-handed, and it can be heard prominently on “Good Morning Good Morning”, among other tracks. It’s a solid, classic instrument.

2. Epiphone Casino ES-230TD

This is just one of several Epiphone guitars that Paul McCartney used through the years, but it’s a solid guitar that he has used for quite a long time. The Epiphone Casino ES-230TD was used for McCartney’s initial early-career electric guitar tracks. The former Beatle himself said that Jimi Hendrix inspired him to get this particular guitar, though that statement doesn’t make much sense considering Hendrix came to England in 1966, while McCartney’s Epiphone was purchased in 1964.

Technicalities in music history aside, that pretty sunburst Casino was McCartney’s grab-and-go guitar for early recordings. You can hear it in “Taxman” and “Paperback Writer”, among other songs. He still brings it out for some of his live performances today, though he saves it for the classics.

3. Epiphone Texan FT-79

Before he was strumming along in studios with The Beatles, Paul McCartney had a number of guitars. He enjoyed a Zenith Model 17 (acoustic) guitar for a while, as well as a Hofner Club 40 that was previously used by Lennon. McCartney decided to do something different when the band first started recording music, so he picked up the Epiphone Texan FT-79.

This classic 1962 guitar is one of McCartney’s most famous acoustic instruments, and you can hear it on songs like “Yesterday” and “I’ll Follow The Sun”. He used it live for years until the band quit touring in 1966.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

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