Procol Harum - is this a G&L ?

[Tom Valentine]

I'm going to see Jethro Tull on Friday, with Procol Harum opening .. so figured I'd check out some recent Procol vids on YouTube in order to get pumped up for the event. Found one of a 2001 show of "Conquistidor" and was amazed at how full and rich the guitarist's axe sounded .. noticed a humbucker at the bridge and P-90 at the neck with standard single-coil in the middle. Then it panned up and I saw this:



Noticed 'the tit' immediately, and so the question goes out --- Is this a G&L? If so, what model might it be and would anyone know the name of who is playing and/or any history of this guitar?

Thanks,
-- Tom V

(full video link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=119S3IraYcw

[Craig]

I'm going to see Jethro Tull on Friday, with Procol Harum opening .. so figured I'd check out some recent Procol vids on YouTube in order to get pumped up for the event. Found one of a 2001 show of "Conquistidor" and was amazed at how full and rich the guitarist's axe sounded .. noticed a humbucker at the bridge and P-90 at the neck with standard single-coil in the middle. Then it panned up and I saw this:



Noticed 'the tit' immediately, and so the question goes out --- Is this a G&L? If so, what model might it be and would anyone know the name of who is playing and/or any history of this guitar?

Thanks,
-- Tom V

(full video link below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=119S3IraYcw

Hi Tom,

I did a google on Procol Harum and found out the guitarist name. It's Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn. There is a link to his gear and I found the type of guitar he was using. It's not a G&L, it's a Fret-King Corona SP.

BTW, that's a super version of Conquistidor, and you are right about the guitar tone.

Thanks for posting, as I'm a fan of Procol Harum and Jethro Tull.

Enjoy the show. Let us know how it was.

[suave eddie]

Was lucky enough to see Procol Harum back in '69 (that dates me) with the original group with a scrawny Robin Trower on a gold top Les Paul. What an awesome show--doing material from their first two albums.

[Tom Valentine]

I did a google on Procol Harum and found out the guitarist name. It's Geoffrey Charles Whitehorn. There is a link to his gear and I found the type of guitar he was using. It's not a G&L, it's a Fret-King Corona SP.

BTW, that's a super version of Conquistidor, and you are right about the guitar tone.

Thanks for posting, as I'm a fan of Procol Harum and Jethro Tull.

Enjoy the show. Let us know how it was.

Craig,

Thanks for the response and excellent detective work in tracking down who and what! I knew it wasn't Robin Trower, and at first glance the headstock sure looked like a G&L but then again didn't look quite right either ... figured that was most likely due to camera angle or distorted YouTube rendering of the video. The lack of any visible markings on the headstock was also a bit quizzical.

Apparently this Fret-King Corona SP is one first rate guitar, designed to exacting specifications for demanding applications ... the price ain't so bad either, 1600 UK for a basic model. (wonder what that translates to in US dollars currently?)

On the Conquistidor video it appears that Mr Whitehorn is set on the bridge humbucker position, which is giving plenty of shimmering highs but also with a deeper 'growl' and rich harmonics. Beautiful tone. And from reading the specs and description of these Fret-King's, these are not stock pickups but individually wound and meticulously matched for each instrument. Can't wait to hear what the 'P-90' style pup sounds like at the concert ... will be keeping a close eye (and ear) on that

I've seen Procol Harum before, opening for Tull in the early 90's, possibly opening for Santana mid 80's (don't remember! /laughs), and Gary Brooker on one of Ringo's All Starr tours. But this time I have decent floor seats, 36th row or so, whereas the other times it was up in the 'cheapies' ... should be a great show and will keep ya's posted. Tull is an all time fave of mine, and with Procol its just icing on the cake

Cheers,
-- Tom V

[Tom Valentine]

Jethro Tull / Procol Harum - Jones Beach, 06-11-10

Great show!

Procol opened with several songs which I didn't know, (Shine on Brightly, Homburg, Pandora's Box, Whaling Stories, Wall Street Blues, The Blink of an Eye, Simple Sister), and ended with "A Salty Dog" "Conquistador" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale", which are the three Procol songs that I do know!

Gary Brooker's voice is still remarkably powerful, given his age he sounds just the same as way back when - back when I first heard "Conquisidor" in 1972! The performance is very similar to the video link posted at the OP of this thread.

Which leads to this pic I took at the show:



Geoff Whitehorn played this white Strat (???) thruout their entire set, but you can spot the light blue Fret-King Corona SP sitting nearby ... on 'standby' I suppose, just in case ... too bad he didn't play it, as doing so would have rounded out this thread nicely. Oh well, maybe he just doesn't visit GbLDP all that often


Jethro Tull

What can I say? It's TULL !!! Opened with "Nothing Is Easy", closed with "Locomotive Breath", with plenty of classic Tull in between. Ian's voice is still rather weak, has been for some 20 years, but as always he gives it a good go, with his magnificent Flute playing, stage presence (and antics!), a Tull show is always a fun one




-- Tom V