Texas blues legend Jimmie Vaughan has been touring for nearly six decades. Despite facing two major health setbacks earlier in 2024, the seasoned guitarist bounced back quickly and resumed performing — this time opening for none other than Eric Clapton.
In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Vaughan spoke from his home in Texas, chickens clucking in the background, and sounded optimistic about both his recovery and the road ahead. “I feel fabulous – I’m doing really good, and I’m planning my next album now that I’ve got a little time off the road.”
While his latest releases have explored obscure blues classics, Vaughan hinted that his future music may contain more original material. “I’m always thinking about cutting a record of original material,” he said. “I get up every day, think of ideas and write them down. I’ll probably still throw in a few of my old favorites. In the end I just want to play what I like and what flicks my switch.”
Through the years, Vaughan has kept nearly every guitar he’s owned. When asked to name his top three, he was quick to highlight the ones that shaped his career — from the one that started it all to his current Custom Shop favorite.
Gibson ES-125T ¾ (1957)
“This was my first electric, so I guess that makes it pretty special,” Vaughan said. His father bought it for $50 from a relative. Though it was a ¾-size model — perhaps unintentionally ideal for a young player — it proved the perfect starter instrument.
“My dad knew a lot of guitar players, and they’d come around to our house on a Saturday night and plug into amps. That was what made me want to play,” Vaughan recalled.
The guitar, which featured a P-90 pickup in the neck position, was made in 1957, though Vaughan didn’t get it until 1964 when he was 12. Despite its size, it had the same slim body depth as its full-sized counterpart and helped launch his musical journey.
Later, Vaughan upgraded to a sunburst Gibson ES-330, which he used during his early club gigs. His brother Stevie Ray Vaughan then took over the ES-125. Around this time, Jimmie also began experimenting with Telecasters, inspired by a friend’s loaner model.
This exploration led him to a 1951 Fender Nocaster, which he purchased from Arnold & Morgan in Dallas for $175. “I did use that for quite some time before I got my first Strat, a sunburst ’57,” he said. That Strat would later feature heavily on the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ debut album.
Jimmie eventually gave the Nocaster to Stevie, despite initially being protective of it. “I’d catch him playing it, even though I’d told him not to, and then I realized I wasn’t really playing it anymore,” he explained. Stevie used it for a year or two, then sold it. Years later, the guitar resurfaced at auction and fetched “a million dollars or something.”
Fender Stratocaster (1963)
Another pivotal guitar in Vaughan’s collection is a 1963 Stratocaster, which he purchased from Bill Campbell, a notable figure on the Austin blues scene. “The body is from a ’63 Strat, but the neck is one Bill gave to me, so I guess it’s kind of a ‘parts’ guitar,” Vaughan said.
This white Strat was assembled with help from Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas and Vaughan’s longtime tech, René Martinez. It was a dream come true for Jimmie. “I’d wanted a white Strat for years,” he said. “I remember seeing Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps in an old movie, and they all had white Strats with maple necks.”
Vaughan eventually replaced the rosewood neck with a maple one to match that aesthetic. While some believe the fingerboard wood affects tone, Vaughan disagrees. “I know Stevie always sounded the same whether it was a rosewood or maple neck.”
This guitar became Vaughan’s go-to on the road and featured on every T-Birds album after their debut. René Martinez, who also worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, maintained both brothers’ guitars while they toured together. “There were a couple of occasions where he re-fretted my guitar and Stevie’s Strat between the soundcheck and the show,” Vaughan noted.
This Strat now resides in the Grammy Museum touring exhibition, displayed alongside Stevie’s iconic “Number One” Strat. “I hope they’re taking good care of it,” Vaughan laughed.
Fender later made Custom Shop replicas based on this Strat. “They’re so accurate that I can’t tell them apart, even down to the pin-up girl on the back. People wonder why she’s upside down, but when I play the guitar behind my head, she’s the right way up.”
Fender Custom Shop Signature Strat (2022)
Currently, Vaughan tours with three Fender Custom Shop Stratocasters. The Olympic White version is his favorite, but he also brings a two-tone sunburst and a gold model on tour. These represent his ideal Strat colors.
Though these guitars are modeled on traditional Strats, they include some customized tweaks. “The middle pickup is reverse-wound, which gives a kinda different tone,” Vaughan explained. He worked closely with Mike Lewis from the Fender Custom Shop, who passed away in 2023. Lewis provided a variety of necks for Jimmie to test and offered support to ensure each guitar was built to Vaughan’s exact preferences.
The neck shape was modeled after Vaughan’s original white Strat, and though he once regularly used his Tex-Mex signature models, he now finds the Custom Shop builds hit every note. “These new custom shop models pretty much nail down everything I’m looking for in a Strat,” he said.
One personal touch Vaughan adds is his use of flatwound strings, something uncommon on a Strat. “They don’t buzz like roundwounds, they last forever and actually seem to sound better the older they get,” he said. Vaughan even has his own custom gauge made, with a 10.5 for the high E string.
Despite his deep love for Strats, when he’s unwinding at home, Vaughan gravitates toward his Gibson ES-5s. “I have a few early Fifties models in sunburst, but my favorite is a blonde model from 1951 that looks like the one T-Bone Walker used to play,” he noted.
With a long career behind him and more music ahead, Vaughan feels content with his gear and his legacy. “With the signature Strats and the ES-5s, I guess I’ve got all I need. If I go in the studio, I know what I’m going to use.”
Throughout his career, Vaughan has avoided the heartbreak of lost or stolen instruments. “I’ve never had a guitar stolen, or sold one that I regretted,” he said. “I’ve got everything I’ve ever had that I was bothered about – they’re all safe.”
And in a world full of changing trends and high-tech gear, Jimmie Vaughan continues to make blues music with the same soulful tools that started it all.
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