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Rig Rundown: Joanne Shaw Taylor

The British blues player’s simple-but-brawny tool kit for tough tones.

Taylor’s main guitar, a 1966 Fender Esquire, is named “Junior.” She got it when she was 15, thanks to her grandmother, who told Taylor she’d match whatever amount the guitarist could save to buy a quality instrument. Taylor found Junior on Denmark Street, London’s music-shop-packed version of what New York City’s 48th Street used to be. The previous owner had installed the humbucker—which is coil-tapping—and carved the cavity up a bit in the process, which reduced the price of this vintage prize. Junior is strung with Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottoms (.010–.052).

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