The Guitars of Kevin Shields

Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine is one of the most innovative and influential guitarists of modern times. Between pioneering shoegaze, creating the “glide” guitar technique, and his heavy use of effects pedals, he’s a guitarist who has forged new sonic ground and inspired countless guitarists. 

Though he’s most known for his large pedal boards and Jazzmasters, he’s utilized a wide variety of guitars over his career—ranging from Jaguars and Strats to Firebirds and Gretsch hollow bodies. In today’s blog, we’re going to take a closer look at the guitars of Kevin Shields. 

Fenders and Offsets

Let’s start by discussing the guitars he’s most known for—Fenders and offsets. Shields mainly plays Jazzmasters, but he’s had numerous other Fenders and offsets over the years. So let’s dive deeper into his collection.

Ibanez Jazzmaster

Shields’ very first offset and Jazzmaster-style guitar was actually an Ibanez Jazzmaster copy. 

According to a Rolling Stone interview, he already had a couple of cheap guitars prior to this—a Gibson SG copy with a Bigsby, a Cimar, and a Yamaha SG.

However, he was leaving Ireland to record and decided he needed another cheap guitar. That guitar ended up being an Ibanez Jazzmaster that would forever change his taste in guitars. 

As you’d expect from a lawsuit era guitar, it was remarkably similar to an actual Jazzmaster. Outside of some minor construction details and wood choice, the only noticeable differences were the pickups, knobs, and lack of a tremolo. The pickups were scaled-down P90s with a chrome cover, and the knobs were Gibson-style top hat knobs. 

Though it didn’t have the tremolo Shields would later become known for using, he loved the offset shape and it was enough to get him interested in offsets and Jazzmasters. 

Fender Jazzmaster 

Shields has used many, many Jazzmasters over the years. However, the information on individual guitars is surprisingly scarce. Instead of focusing on each individual guitar, we’ll instead look at how Shields typically sets up and utilizes his Jazzmasters, as well as some interesting stories relating to them. 

His first Fender Jazzmaster was actually borrowed. In 1988 when Shields and My Bloody Valentine were approached by Creation Records with the offer of making an album, he only had his cheap guitars. His friend Bill Carey offered to let Shields borrow his guitars, one of which was a 1964 Jazzmaster. 

With the Jazzmaster in hand, Shields headed for their first block of studio time. He quickly became fond of the tremolo and worked out his now famous “glide” guitar style. It didn’t take long for him to realize he loved Jazzmasters, and they’re still his go-to guitar to this day. 

Shields generally uses his Jazzmasters fully stock, minus an adjustment to the tremolo. Because of his “glide” style and preference for going down and not up, he sets up his tremolo in a very specific way. 

He uses tape on the arm to prevent it from seating fully, and he keeps the tremolo in a high position. This allows him to easily press the tremolo down with the palm of his hand, perfect for his unique style. He also claims this helps with tuning stability, a common issue with Jazzmasters when using the tremolo. 

Since borrowing that first Jazzmaster, Shields has owned and used numerous Jazzmasters. Shields says that he currently owns around a dozen Jazzmasters, a testament to his love for the model. 

Fender Jaguar

Outside of Jazzmasters, the only other guitar really synonymous with Shields is the Fender Jaguar. He began using Jaguars around the same time as he did Jazzmasters, even using one on parts of Loveless. 

His first Jaguar seems to be a made in Japan model. In an old interview with J. Mascis, Shields said he put a lot of work into getting that Jaguar in good shape. However, this interview is seemingly lost to time, the information coming from those who remembered reading it. 

Based on photos of Shields, it doesn’t appear that he makes many large modifications to his Jaguars. They generally look stock, minus some custom paint jobs. 

Like his Jazzmasters, Shields sets the tremolo up high and with tape on the arm to prevent it from seating fully. 

Fender J. Mascis Signature Jazzmaster

While most of Shields’ Jazzmasters are fairly indistinguishable from one another, he does have one that stands out—a Fender J. Mascis Signature Jazzmaster in purple sparkle.

The J. Mascis Signature models are different from typical Jazzmasters in a few ways. They have a satin finish neck and a reinforced tremolo arm. They also feature an adjusto-matic bridge, helping with the tuning instability common to Jazzmasters. 

And as usual, Shields sets up the tremolo in his typical style to allow for his “glide” style.

Fender Classic ‘69 Blue Flower Floral Stratocaster

This Fender Classic ‘69 Blue Flower Floral Stratocaster is an interesting entry on this list. Shields does not typically play Stratocasters, and this seems to be his only Stratocaster. 

These guitars are an homage to the original floral and paisley Telecasters Fender released in 1968 and 1969. While the print is a bit different than the original, they capture the Summer of Love vibe just like the originals. 

As for specs, they have a thick “U” shaped neck, Fender Fat 60s Strat single coil pickups, oversized headstock, thin vintage-style frets, and a maple or rosewood neck. Shields’ guitar has a maple fretboard and appears to be unmodded. 

Shields doesn’t seem to use this guitar very much, especially with My Bloody Valentine. However, he has been seen using it a few times on video. Either way, this is an interesting standout in a collection largely consisting of Jazzmasters and Jaguars. 

1980s Fender Acoustic

Even though most of Shields’ songs are electric, he does use acoustics from time to time for songs. He also uses them for writing. 

The specifics on this guitar are minimal. The source for Shields owning it comes from a now inaccessible interview with his then-girlfriend and current member of My Bloody Valentine, Belinda Butcher. Thankfully, the interview was copied into an offset guitars forum post which is still viewable. 

In the interview, she mentions “an acoustic Fender in darkwood that Kevin used to write songs with when he couldn’t sleep, like ‘You Made Me Realize.’” Since that song was released in 1988, it’s likely the guitar was from the 80s. 

While this is fair from conclusive, it seems like the only darkwood acoustic Fender made in the 80s was the Newporter. There’s a good chance that is the guitar she’s referring to unless his acoustic was actually older and from the 60s or 70s. 

Non-Offsets 

With the expected Jazzmasters and Jaguars covered, let’s look at some of the more unexpected and surprising guitars Shields has used and collected over the years. 

Mosrite Combo

Shields used a Mosrite Combo guitar during some of his playing with the band Primal Scream. While these guitars look very different from Jazzmasters, they’re actually surprisingly similar. 

The guitar is a thinline hollowbody with an offset shape. It has Mosrite pickups which are sort of like a hotter P90, so somewhat similar to Jazzmaster pickups. It also has a tremolo, though closer to a Bigsby style than a Jazzmaster. 

Why Shields decided to use this guitar with Primal Scream is unknown. However, it’s an interesting addition to his collection that stands out from the wide array of Jazzmasters. 

Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Hollow Body

Like the Fender acoustic above, this is another guitar with limited information. However, Shields can be seen with this guitar in a photo with the rest of My Bloody Valentine. 

Based on the photo, it appears to be a Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Hollow Body. That may be incorrect though as it’s hard to tell based on the photo. 

It’s also possible that this guitar belonged to one of the other band members. Since the photo is just the band in front of a bunch of guitars, there’s a chance it was one of theirs and not Shields’.

Gibson Non-Reverse Firebird III

The only Gibson on this list, this Non-Reverse Firebird III stands out quite a bit from the rest of Shields’ guitars. 

Based on the photo and limited information about this guitar, it seems like he only used it briefly at some point in the 90s or early 00s. It also appears to be unmodified outside of a shortened vibrato arm, likely to help accommodate his unique playing style. 

Unlike most Firebirds which have two mini-humbuckers, his appears to have three P90s—an indication that it is a Firebird III. This is a somewhat rare configuration for Firebirds, but it makes sense he’d choose this one given his love for Jazzmasters and their pickups. 

Yamaha SG600

This Yamaha SG600 is likely the guitar Shields was referring to in that Rolling Stone interview mentioned earlier. He can be seen using it in this short clip, so it can be confirmed that Shields owned and used this guitar. 

Again, information is limited. Most likely though, this is a MIJ model. Specs-wise, it’s what you’d expect out of a mid-budget Yamaha SG copy: two humbuckers, two volume and two tone knobs, Gibson scale length, no tremolo, and a “just different enough from an SG not to get sued” body. 

Though these are generally considered solid guitars, it’s not hard to see why Shields abandoned it in favor of Jazzmasters. Jazzmasters have pickups more suited to his playing, a tremolo that he uses constantly, and a body shape that Shields said he loves. 

Ibanez AE410BK

One of three acoustics on this list, this Ibanez AE410BK can also be seen in the same photo as the Gretsch from earlier. However, there are other photos of Shields using this guitar throughout his career. 

This guitar is incredibly thin for an acoustic, its side profile looking more like an electric. It features onboard passive electronics with a tone and volume control. They were made in Japan throughout the 1980s. 

Shergold Custom Masquerader

This guitar can be seen in photos from My Bloody Valentine in early 1988. This was probably one of the early, cheap guitars Shields used prior to borrowing Bill Carey’s Jazzmaster later that year. 

These guitars were made in England in the late 70s and early 80s. The most interesting thing about these guitars are the pickups and electronics. They came with two humbuckers, but each humbucker could be split or run out of phase. 

As with the Yamaha SG600, it makes sense as to why he stopped using this guitar. He discovered Jazzmasters were the perfect fit for him and just didn’t have much use for the Shergold. 

Takamine EN-20C Jumbo

The last guitar and last acoustic on this list, Shields used this guitar on the song “Sometimes.” While he doesn’t seem to use it much live, a Japanese ad confirms Shields’ use of the guitar. He supposedly provided the photos for the ad himself, and a rough translation of the ad from an Equipboard user reads:

“Kevin used the Takamine EN-20C Jumbo Acoustic Guitar in the recording of the track ‘Sometimes.’ He explains how he recorded the acoustic guitar by running it through his VOX Tone Bender Fuzz into his Marshall amplifier and layering it seven times, panning each of the seven layers from left to right in a ‘clock-like’ position.”

He might be a Jazzmaster user, but everyone needs an acoustic from time to time. And it seems like this guitar is one of Shields’ go-to acoustics for recording. 

A Diverse Collection

Kevin Shields is known first and foremost for his use of pedals and Jazzmasters/Jaguars. Despite that, he has used quite a large variety of guitars over the years. Cheap SG copies, Grestches, Ibanez acoustics, and more have all been an important part of his development and career as one of the world’s most unique and influential guitarists. 

However, Shields will always be synonymous with Jazzmasters and his experimental tremolo usage. So if this article inspired you to buy a Jazzmaster to channel your inner Kevin Shields, don’t forget to throw on a new set of Stringjoys!