Keith Richards’ 1960s Guild M-65 Freshman

This guitar appeared sometime in late 1965. One of the first major gigs ever played with the Guild was The Ed Sullivan Show on February 13, 1966, and it was also seen on May 27th, 1966, when the Stones performed on British TV’s Ready, Steady, Go.

THE ROLLING STONES Live 1966 Ed Sullivan Show

From that point on, the guitar served as Keith’s main axe during the June–July 1966 North American tour. It was seen on numerous occasions, including at Cleveland Arena on June 25th, 1966, and at Virginia Beach on July 4, 1966. This seems to be the last to feature the said guitar.

Modifications

A stock Guild Freshman model from this time period always came equipped with a single pickup in the neck position. This means that Keith, or someone before him, modified this Guild by adding a second single-coil pickup in the bridge position. Also, two additional control knobs were installed for this pickup, and the master volume knob was added right next to the pickup selector knob on the upper horn.

Beat Instrumental, April 1966 issue shows Keith Richards with the Guild Freshman guitar.

According to some sources, and based on the looks, both of the pickups were DeArmond DynaSonic single-coils, with metal shielding around the edges.

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