Keith Richards is an electric guitar icon, but he prefers playing acoustic – and his unplugged Rolling Stones approach is full of smart ideas

Keith Richards with a Gibson J-45 acoustic.

Picture Keith Richards, and your first image is probably of the Tele-toting, bandana-wearing wildman of rock. However, explore The Rolling Stones’ back catalogue and you’ll see that acoustic instruments feature heavily, from strummed and picked acoustic guitars to 12-strings, mandolins and Nashville-tuned guitars (the high strings from a 12-string set).

For the acoustic singer-songwriter or accompanist, the styles of Richards and his accomplice Ronnie Wood are essential study.