Songs like “Gold and Silver,” “Who Do You Love” and “Pride of Man” gave Quicksilver Messenger Service a sound that stood out from other hippie-era San Francisco bands.
But it was the impossibly slender lead guitarist John Cipollina (1943-1989) who stole the spotlight with his peekaboo ’do, biting tone and signature warbly vibrato.
Wearing two fingerpicks, Cipollina played a cherry-red Gibson SG that he customized with batwing pickguards, binding and a Bigsby tailpiece.
He also inlaid the fingerboard with ivory, added slabs of ebony on the headstock and neck heel to enhance sustain, and topped the control knobs with San Francisco Mint Mercury dimes.
This unique electric guitar was wired for stereo so that he could feed a rig consisting of a pair of Standel solid-state bass amps for the low frequencies and a pair of Twin Reverbs for the highs.
“I like the rapid punch of solid-state for the bottom and the rodent-gnawing distortion of the tubes on top,” he said.
Cipollina could also kick on a Fender Dual Showman tube amp head that powered six Wurlitzer horns, and his effects included reverb, an Astra Echo, a Standel Modulux vibrato, a Maestro Fuzz-Tone and a Vox wah.
“My love for electronic gadgetry has been a shaping influence on my playing,” he revealed. “The trick, however, is learning how to use them just a little bit.”
Browse the Quicksilver Messenger Service catalog here.
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