Warren Haynes says he and Gibson have been working on a pair of signature guitars that are at prototype stage, and they will present a change of pickups – and expanded range of tones – for the Gov’t Mule frontman and former Allman Brothers Band guitarist.
Speaking with American Musical Supply, Haynes says he is working on a Les Paul and a Firebird, both of which will see him swap humbuckers for P-90s, and he says the change will do him good.
“I am working on some prototypes with Gibson, an upcoming Les Paul with P-90s and an upcoming Firebird with three P-90s,” he said. “I am about to delve into P-90 world pretty hard. I have always played humbuckers for the most part but whenever I pick up a guitar with P-90s in it I get some inspiration from it, so I am excited to do that.”
Haynes has put his name to a number of Gibson guitars in the past. There was his 2007 “Inspired By” Les Paul Standard, which featured the Haynes Burst a pre-Murphy Lab-era Custom Shop replica of his 1958 model. In 2014, Gibson launched a limited run Memphis-built version of his 1961 ES-335.
Haynes didn’t say when these new signature Gibson electric guitars would be released, but they have been in the works for a while, and it sounds like one will be based on his Custom Shop Firebird and will feature a trio of P-90s.
“Well, we’ve been talking about it for a long time,” says Haynes. “When I first brought up that I wanted to do another signature model Les Paul, P-90s became the obvious choice, and they had made me a Custom Shop Firebird one time with three P-90s in it, and I had never played a three-pickup Firebird before.
“It took some getting used to with the middle pickup, but once I got used to that, the tonal options were great. You could get so many different sounds, and so I loved experimenting with all the different possibilities.”
“I am looking for new inspiration, something to change the way that I play at any given moment, because I love the fact that I have settled into a great sound with my Les Pauls through the years, but it is nice to challenge yourself sometimes – it creates a new spark that takes you into some new directions.”
One three-pickup guitar that Haynes is desperate to get his hands on his red Custom Shop Stratocaster that was stolen in New York City in the early ‘90s. This was one of his go-to guitars throughout the ‘80s. He never replaced it.
By the time the ‘90s were in full swing he was in the Allman Brothers Band and his Les Paul was seeing a more of the action anyway, but Haynes hasn't lost all hope that he and the Strat will be reunited one day.
The few years that I played that Strat, I got really used to it. that particular guitar I was very fond of. I hate that it’s missing
“I was always a Gibson guy, and I grew up playing Gibson guitars,” says Haynes. “The few years that I played that Strat, I got really used to it, but of course the scale length is different, so the way you bend the strings is different, everything about it.
“But that particular guitar I was very fond of. I hate that it’s missing and I got a report that somebody thought they had found it but it wasn’t. Weirder things have happened and I have not given up hope that’ll come back one of these days.”
You can watch the full interview above, in which Haynes discusses his touring gear, his new solo album, Million Voices Whisper, and his relationship with Derek Trucks, who guests on the album.
Subscribe to the American Musical Supply YouTube channel for more. Million Voices Whisper is out now via Fantasy.
