Shawn Mendes covers Billie Eilish on acoustic and electric guitars with some surprising choices

Shawn Mendes can count John Mayer amongst the fans of his songwriting, and he's even gifted electric guitars in the past to the young self-confessed collector. The Canadian has his own signature Fender Musicmaster now but even in a room surrounded by guitars makes a couple of surprising instrument choices here for his Radio 1 Live Lounge cover of Billie Eilish's Happier Than Ever.

He starts the low-key performance strumming a nylon-strung classical guitar before the unexpected switch to what looks to be a Silvertone 1449, a '60s 'pawn shop' design that can be bought as a reissue now for around £250. 

Mendes's looks to be an original 'amp in case' red silver flake burst version from the early '60s that came shipped with a 5-watt (later 6-watt) tube amp that you could turn on in the case.  The model was replaced by the 1457 in 1967 that looks nearly identical, so it could be that. If it's a 1449 it's the rarer of the two. 

Shawn Mendes talks heroes, acoustic roots and lessons learned from megastars