Mike Campbell bought this mid-1960s Gretsch 6186 Clipper in Hartford on the same day he purchased the Gibson SG Junior later used on “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” The Clipper can be seen in the “Jammin’ Me” music video, and Campbell used it to record the solo on “I Won’t Back Down.”
By the early 1990s, the guitar had been heavily modified. Its original single-pickup setup was replaced with two Firebird-style mini-humbuckers, and a Bigsby vibrato was added. The controls were also expanded with a second volume and tone control, along with a three-way selector switch in a Les Paul-style layout.
In the 2000s, the guitar was refinished in ice blue by Toru Nittono. In its fully modified form, the Clipper can be seen during performances of “Lost Children” and “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” on Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ, filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.
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