Gretsch
Twang Machine (rectangular)
Top 5Seen using
Gretsch
Twang Machine (rectangular)Seen in Cigar Box Guitars and the Twang Machine, February 2023
No store page for this one.
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Independent research by truerecs. Not affiliated with, endorsed or verified by Bo Diddley. Every item links to its public source.
5 items · Last checked What guitar does Bo Diddley play?
Bo Diddley was seen playing the rectangular Gretsch Twang Machine, one of three guitars Gretsch built with him alongside two Jupiter Thunderbirds. He later played a Gretsch he nicknamed Big B and a Chris Kinman build called The Mean Machine, through a DeArmond Model 60 Tremolo Control.
Top 5
Where to start with Bo Diddley's gear.
What guitar gear Bo Diddley uses: a sourced gear guide
Independent research by truerecs: every item links to the public source it comes from.
Guitars
Gretsch
Twang Machine (rectangular)
Seen using
Gretsch
Twang Machine (rectangular)Seen in Cigar Box Guitars and the Twang Machine, February 2023
No store page for this one.
Gretsch
Jupiter Thunderbird
Seen using
Gretsch
Jupiter ThunderbirdSeen in Cigar Box Guitars and the Twang Machine, February 2023
No store page for this one.
Gretsch
Big B (rectangular)
Seen using
Gretsch
Big B (rectangular)Seen in Bo Diddley Was A Guitar Slinger, July 2008
No store page for this one.
Kinman
The Mean Machine (rectangular)
Seen using
Seen in Bo Diddley Was A Guitar Slinger, July 2008
No store page for this one.
Effects
DeArmond
Model 60 Tremolo Control
Seen using
DeArmond
Model 60 Tremolo ControlSeen in Bo Diddley Was A Guitar Slinger, July 2008
No store page for this one.
Questions
About Bo Diddley's gear.
What guitar did Bo Diddley play?
The rectangular Gretsch Twang Machine, a semi-hollow guitar with two DeArmond single-coil pickups that he developed around 1958. Gretsch also built him two Jupiter Thunderbird guitars and a similar rectangular guitar he nicknamed Big B.
What was Bo Diddley's first guitar?
A homemade cigar box guitar he built in 1945 from the pickup of an old Victrola record player, clamped to a metal tailpiece. He went on to build dozens like it.
What effects did Bo Diddley use?
In the early years his guitars ran through a DeArmond Model 60 Tremolo Control, one of the first effects boxes. His later Kinman-built Mean Machine had Gibson humbuckers and onboard EQ, delay and chorus circuits.
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Named in this guide
BD
Bo Diddley
About this guide · Last checked
Bo Diddley (1928 to 2008) was the rock and roll pioneer behind the Bo Diddley beat. This legacy guide covers the rectangular Gretsch Twang Machine he developed around 1958, his Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbirds, his later custom guitars and the DeArmond tremolo unit that shaped his sound.
truerecs put this guide together from public videos, interviews and posts. Each item says how we know and links to the source. Bo Diddley didn't write it or choose anything on it. How we source gear guides.
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