Glen Campbell Forums

Not wishing to jump in ahead of Jay, but you are right Dee, those blocks are the pickups. As the strings vibrate they cause a change in the magnetic field in the pickup which is converted into an electric signal which is then fed to the ammp to make it louder. I am sure I recall reading that Glen did adjust a pickup on one of his early guitars to improve the high end sound quality. I think you said that Jay?.
Dee, what was your issue with the guitar pick?

Yes...Jerry and Chet, Jerry and Glen...Jerry seemed to bring out the picker in both of them. Jerry is playing a Godin, I believe and Chet is playing a Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gent. Chet had become dissatisfied with Gretsch due to poor workmanship, so he signed with Gibson and they made the Country Gent for him. Well...two. I believe that one is the original...and it was heavy and Chets back started giving him problems and he had them redesign it for a lighter model. I am honored to say that Chet had two pictures in his office that I took of him in the early 80's. When he passed, Paul Yandell posted one of them on his website. As with Glen, Chet was a true gentleman and very fan friendly. Those type guitars are hollow body electrics. All the big names have them in their lineup. Ovation made the Thunderhead , which Glen played...in fact Wayne Reid actually has Glens Thunderhead (and Jerry's, I think).

I have added some history about Glen's Ovation Thunderhead to the forum.

Hi Jay,
I saw this clip on YT of Chet Atkin's playing what looks like a very similar guitar. I thought it sounded great. Here he is with Jerry Reed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNvwxJsGN5Q" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Mike,
Thank you. I think that other than the missing leather jacket, the guitar is in the very same condition, in that HOF picture, that it was when Glen last played it in the 60's, except for the 5th fret marker, which looks like it was repaired from the time the portrait and stair pictures were made. Dee saw it in person at the HOF and could probably give you a better description, but I have seen several high res pictures and it didn't appear that they cleaned it up before displaying it. The guitar shows quite a bit of "experience". Here is a picture of it in 2012. Look at all the wear on the bottom, where Glen rested it on 1000's of floors. The bridge and tailpiece have been replaced at sometime in its history. If I were a betting guy, I would bet Glen bought it used.

Jay, that is a fantastic potted history of a great guitar.I assume the way it was personalised by Glen was later removed or am I totally wrong about that.

The Zephyr De Luxe Regent was Epiphone’s second-from-the-top electric guitar produced from the late 1940s through the mid ’50s. The instrument went through several name changes, from Zephyr De Luxe Cutaway in 1948, to Zephyr De Luxe Regent, in 1950, to the DeLuxe Electric around 1954. The Zephyr Deluxe Regent is a wonderful example of the meticulous craftsmanship and beauty produced by Epiphone.

To my knowledge, The first time Glen is photographed with his Epiphone, is with his uncle, Dick Bills, in Albuquerque, around 1954, while with the Sandia Mountain Boys:
Late 1958, Glen joins The Western Wranglers, who are backing up singer Jimmy Williams, at The Hitching Post in ABQ (he later takes over as frontman) and is still playing the Zephyr:
After leaving New Mexico, ending up in California, we see him with the Champs in 1960 still using it (The pickups have been changed...which is no surprise. The original Zephyr pickups were sub standard and it appears that Glen slanted the neck pickup to get a slightly hotter treble out of the upper register and Glen has added a custom leather sleeve):
And finally with Fred Carr and the Customs
Once Glen starts working as a studio musician, the Zephyr disappears, until after Glen is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It becomes clear that Glen still held a fond place in his heart for this guitar.

It reappears front and center on the staircase in his Malibu home:
And then in a poignant portrait:
Finally, and rightly so, at the Country Music Hall of Fame: