“Ted Newman Jones builds beautiful guitars. He made some five-strings for Keith. He’s great”: Played by Keith Richards and Billy Gibbons, Newman guitars are some of rock’s greatest secret weapons – and a new model seeks to preserve their legacy

Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones performs live at Ahoy in Rotterdam, Netherlands on October 13 1973.

Not too many small, independent guitar-makers can list The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, not to mention James Honeyman-Scott and Joe Ely, as owners and players of their guitars. There are plenty more, too, and that includes a relatively recent convert in Billy F Gibbons.

The brand in question is Newman Guitars whose roots take us back to the glory days and Ted Newman Jones III.