Johnny Marr’s 1962 Epiphone Coronet is his go-to guitar for Nashville tuning, a unique setup where the lower four strings of the guitar are replaced with higher-pitched strings, similar to the octave strings found on a 12-string guitar. This tuning creates a brighter, more shimmering sound, often used to complement or layer with standard-tuned guitars.
Marr used this guitar extensively during The Smiths’ recordings. Notably, it was featured on tracks like “The Headmaster Ritual”, “The Draize Train”, “William, It Was Really Nothing”, and “Half A Person”. In some cases, such as “William, It Was Really Nothing,” the Coronet was used to double-track other guitar parts. In contrast, on tracks like “Half A Person”, the Coronet served as the primary guitar.
I use Nashville tuning all the time. I’ve got an Epiphone Coronet with one pickup, and I string it with the high strings from a 12-string set. It’s a really zingy, trebly guitar. I used that on a lot of things that people think are 12-string, like the end of ‘The Headmaster Ritual’. I also used it on the studio version of ‘The Draize Train’.
Johnny Marr – original source needed
Presumably, Johnny got the guitar sometime around mid-1984, as “William, It Was Really Nothing” was released as a single in August of that year.
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