A BIT ABOUT...
BONO's GUITARS:
In the early days of U2 Bono could be seen having a strum on a Fender Lead II during
"A Day Without Me" and that was about it. Starting with The Unforgettable Fire tour, Bono began playing a lot more guitar.
Initially, toting a Washburn Festival Acoustic for a song here and there.
That said, for the majority of U2's career Bono seems to have favored Gibson and Gretsch guitars.
By The Joshua Tree tour, The Gibson J160-e and various Telecasters began making
appearances.
For Zoo TV Bono began playing a black Gibson ES-175 for a lot of his guitar
'duties'.
Popmart tour saw two the retirement of the black ES-175 in favour of two custom
finish sparkle ES-175's [one in blue the other in red]. Bono also brought out his Gibson Les Paul Custom for a few shows as
well as a custom metallic finish Gibson Les Paul Custom for "Last Night On Earth"; althouth most nights saw him playing
this song with his red sparkle ES-175. The Gibson Hummingbird with star stickers, was put to use for the acoustic/b-stage
moments and his Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean was used for "Gone".
The Elevation 2001 tour saw Bono playing Gretsch electrics. Early in the tour it was his Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean
was used for "Gone" and his cadillac green Gretsch Country Club. The Country Club was later replaced by custom built Gretsch
"Irish Falcon". This 'custom' guitar is now available as a production model.
The Vertigo tour has seen Bono concentrating more on singing and playing less guitar. For most guitar duties, Bono still
plays his Gretsch "Irish Falcon",
Another thing to keep in mind is guest appearances and promo spots. It is not always the 'given' that Bono will be using
his own guitar. There have been some performances in which Bono has been seen with a guitar and not seen with it again. This
does not mean 100% that it was a loaner or rented for the occasion but it does leave this as a possibility. Examples? One
example would be the 1999 Net-Aid show. Bono was seen playing a black Takamine (electric acoustic). I am not 100% certain
of which model. But I do know that I have not seen video or pictures of Bono using that guitar before or since the Net-Aid
show. Another example would be the 2003 Pavarotti and Friends show. Bono was seen playing a Gretsch Black Falcon. While it
is a similar make and model to his "Goal Is Soul" Irish Falcon, I've not seen Bono use the Black Falcon before or since the
2003 Pavarotti and Friends show.
Enjoy!
