VIDEO: Jeff Beck talks through his guitar collection

The mighty Geoffrey Arnold Beck
The mighty Geoffrey Arnold Beck

It's always nice to unearth a YouTube gem. Apropos of nothing in particular, here's a wonderful clip that's been doing the rounds on the guitar blogs lately that sees Jeff Beck talk candidly about some of the pieces in his guitar collection. He also can't resist giving a few of them a quick workout.

Points of interest include Jeff lamenting the departure of his Yardbirds Esquire - it's reassuring to know that even the greats have their 'one that got away' - and the way that his old Gretsch Duo Jet brings out his inner Cliff Gallup. In contrast, the Gibson ES-175 (mistakenly referred to as an L-5) finds him instantly in Scotty Moore mode.

The audio is a little out of sync, but this is essential viewing for any guitar fan. If you need another Jeff Beck fix, check out our recent interview in which he discusses his new Rock 'N' Roll Party DVD, and his favourite guitar solos of all time.

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.