Micawber

Keith Richards received an early-1950s butterscotch blonde Telecaster as a birthday gift from Eric Clapton in December 1970, and it soon became a primary tool during the Nellcôte sessions that would become Exile on Main St. He removed the low E string and tuned to open G (G–D–G–B–D) — a method he'd been orbiting since the late 1960s, but which this guitar made practical onstage and in the studio. He named it Micawber in the 1980s after the Dickens character, chosen because it was an unlikely word you could shout clearly across a crowded stage. It has been significantly modified over the decades and, as of 2023, Richards was still using a five-string Tele on Stones recording sessions.

Why This Guitar Matters

• Micawber became central to the rhythm guitar and riffs on Exile on Main St. — the five-string open-G method, applied with this guitar at Nellcôte, is the most studied single element of Richards' technique
• Richards has described the tuning as an "arrangement tool": removing the low E creates space for bass, piano, and horns that a six-string in standard tuning crowds out
• The modification history — from stock Tele to PAF humbucker neck pickup, lap-steel-style bridge pickup, brass bridge, and Sperzel tuners — is unusually well documented for a working instrument
• In 2023, Richards stated a five-string Tele appears on "a good half" of Hackney Diamonds tracks, confirming that the approach established at Nellcôte is still active 50+ years later
• The missing 17th-fret inlay dot and the scalloped bass-side fret wear from Richards' strumming angle are documented physical identifiers

The Instrument

Specs

Micawber's Tone and Rig Rundown

Micawber's tone is built around decisions that happen before the amp comes on:

• Attributable to the guitar: Five strings in open G means every chord voicing, every drone, every riff is filtered through the constraints of that tuning. The reverse-mounted PAF humbucker at the neck brightens what's normally a dark pickup. The brass bridge adds sustain and a slightly more present low-end character than standard bent-steel Tele saddles. The lap-steel-style bridge pickup delivers a different frequency response than a standard Telecaster bridge unit — more open in the upper-mids, and with the two-screw mounting that Babiuk's inspection identified.
• Rig-dependent: Richards primarily uses Fender Twin Reverbs — "Twins most of the time" in his own 2023 words, with the occasional Champ. The amp is relatively clean; the grit comes from how hard the guitar is played.
• Player-dependent: The scalloped wear on the bass-side upper frets tells you something specific about technique: Richards strums toward the end of the fingerboard, near where the neck meets the body, and hard. That placement and attack produce the percussive, slightly muted quality that's as important as the tuning itself.

If you could only copy three things from this setup:

1. Five strings, open G (G–D–G–B–D) — without this, you're playing Micawber's appearance, not its vocabulary
2. A reverse-mounted PAF-style humbucker at the neck — the single most unusual verified spec
3. Fender Twin Reverb at medium volume, played hard with a heavy pick — the aggression is in the right hand, not the overdrive

Provenance: Where It's Been

How the artist got it

Eric Clapton gave Richards the guitar for his 27th birthday in December 1970. This origin story appears in Fender's official write-up, in Guitar World's coverage, and in the museum label text reproduced from the 2019 "Play It Loud" exhibit at The Met. The timing placed the guitar in Richards' hands just as the Stones were heading to France for the Nellcôte sessions.

Ownership timeline

Timeline: How It Changed

The Nellcôte conversion — pulling off a string and retuning — was the transformative decision. Everything else came in service of that. The pickup swaps, the brass bridge, the Sperzels all followed the approach rather than preceded it. The guitar evolved around a tuning method Richards had already committed to.

Visual Record

1971 Nellcôte — Micawber in early form during the Exile sessions. Photo: Dominique Tarlé.

1980s–present Current configuration — five saddles, brass bridge, Sperzel tuners. Photo: luthierdebutant.com.

2019 The Met — the exhibit label identifies it as a 1954 Telecaster. Photo: The Music Zoo.

Essential Listening

Documented Nellcôte/Exile era

These tracks are from the sessions where Micawber's five-string open-G approach was established. Multiple sources place the guitar at Nellcôte in 1971; the guitar was in stock or near-stock condition at this stage.

1. "Tumbling Dice" (Exile on Main St., 1972) — The five-string open-G voicing is audible in how the chord hangs: no bottom string anchoring it, just a drone and a shuffle. The most accessible Nellcôte riff.
2. "Rip This Joint" (Exile on Main St., 1972) — The fastest track on the record. The scalloped fret wear makes sense when you hear this: hard strumming, near the end of the fingerboard, constantly.
3. "Rocks Off" (Exile on Main St., 1972) — The Exile opener. The rhythm guitar sits back in the mix the way Richards has described it should: not the featured element, but the thing everything else hangs on.
4. "Happy" (Exile on Main St., 1972) — Richards sings lead and plays simultaneously here, which is a different physical challenge from the rhythm tracks.

Signature open-G repertoire

Tracks from later eras where a five-string Tele — Micawber specifically, or the same method applied to similar instruments — is the documented approach.

5. "Before They Make Me Run" (Some Girls, 1978) — Fender explicitly cites this as a Micawber track. The brass bridge is in place by this era; the tone is slightly different from the Nellcôte recordings.
6. "Start Me Up" (Tattoo You, 1981) — One of the most recognizable open-G riffs in rock. The fully modified configuration (PAF, brass bridge, Sperzels) is in place by this point.

Manufacturer-associated (interpret with context)

Fender's official Micawber feature cites these tracks as examples where Richards "wielded" the guitar. This language may encompass live use rather than the original studio recording — at least one of these songs predates the December 1970 gift. Treat as strong associations, not confirmed studio provenance.

7. "Brown Sugar" (Sticky Fingers, 1971) — Open-G in a more straightforward rock setting; Fender associates it with Micawber, though the recording predates or is contemporary with the gift.
8. "Honky Tonk Women" (1969) — The foundational open-G Stones riff, and the song that demonstrates why Richards was exploring the tuning before Micawber arrived.

Current work

9. Hackney Diamonds selections (2023) — Richards stated a five-string Tele appears on "a good half" of the tracks. He didn't name Micawber specifically; the five-string approach is continuous with the method regardless of which instrument.

Market Context

The comparable basket

"Early-1950s Fender Telecaster, blackguard era (1950–1954), ash body, maple neck, butterscotch blonde, original pickups or documented period-correct replacements"

The year dispute (1953 vs 1954) matters because production differences between early blackguard years are documented and collectors track them. Pickguard, control plate, and pickup specs changed through the early '50s. The ash body / maple neck combination is standard for the era.

Relevant AxeDB model pages: Fender Telecaster

What actually drives price in this segment

• Year precision — 1950 and 1951 "Broadcasters" and early Nocasters command the highest premiums; 1952–1954 production Telecasters are still exceptional but slightly more available
• Finish originality — butterscotch blonde is the standard blackguard finish; a refin drops value significantly in a segment where originality is paramount
• Pickup originality — blackguard-era Tele pickups are among the most studied single-coil designs ever produced; original matched sets drive premiums over any replacement
• Neck shape — early-'50s necks are very chunky by modern standards; shaved or reshaped necks reduce value significantly
• Hardware completeness — original screws, bridge plate, control plate, and strap buttons matter at this level

Famous-guitar premium vs instrument premium

Micawber is not available. A comparable stock instrument — an early-1950s blackguard Telecaster in butterscotch with original pickups — currently trades in the $50,000–$150,000+ range depending on condition. Richards' specific guitar, with the provenance, the documented modifications, and 50+ years of Rolling Stones history, would be a multi-million-dollar auction event.

Get Your Own

Off the shelf

Fender has issued a Keith Richards Micawber Telecaster as a limited Signature model. When available, it comes in butterscotch blonde with a PAF-style neck pickup, a bridge pickup approximating the lap-steel-style unit, and arrives set up for five-string open-G with brass saddle hardware. New prices when available run in the $2,500–$3,500 range; used examples appear occasionally and hold value well. Check the Fender Telecaster page for current used inventory.

For something available now, the Fender American Vintage II 1951 Telecaster (around $2,000 new) gives you an ash body, maple neck, and period-correct pickup voicing without the PAF swap. You'd add the humbucker separately.

Vintage sweet spot

A genuine early-'50s blackguard Telecaster is a serious purchase in the $50,000+ range. Most buyers chasing Micawber's tone don't need that — what they need is the tuning and the pickup configuration. The most cost-effective approach: a late-'50s or early-'60s Telecaster in solid condition ($5,000–$15,000), modified at the neck position for a PAF-style humbucker (Seymour Duncan Seth Lover or similar), fitted with a brass bridge plate (Glendale or similar), and strung as a five-string in open G.

Watch out for reshaped necks (hard to undo), replaced necks, and refins. UV light, paint-check on routes, ask for pot code photos.

Build your own

Parts list:

• Body: Ash, butterscotch blonde; period-style nitro lacquer; single-coil routing in neck position (route for humbucker or use a standard-sized PAF with adapter ring)
• Neck: Maple, period C-to-D profile; 7.25" radius; vintage fret spec
• Neck pickup: Gibson PAF-style humbucker, reverse-mounted — Seymour Duncan Seth Lover '59 or PAF Classic; orient backwards (screw poles facing the bridge) to approximate the brightness Fender describes
• Bridge pickup: Fender lap-steel-style — TV Jones Starwood or a Broadcaster-wound single-coil; treat this as "best available approximation" given the ongoing identity dispute
• Bridge: Solid brass Telecaster bridge — Glendale or similar; remove or omit the sixth saddle
• Tuners: Sperzel locking tuners, chrome, standard Tele headstock spacing
• Strings: Custom five-string set: .011, .015, .018, .030, .042 (Ernie Ball makes a dedicated Keith Richards set)
• Setup targets: Open G (G–D–G–B–D); action medium; no tremolo

Myths and Disputes

• Disputed: Model year (1953 or 1954) → Richards said "Micawber is a '53" in a 2002 Guitar World interview, explicitly contrasting it with a second Tele he called Malcolm ("that's the '54"). Museum exhibit labels and published gear-book documentation label it 1954. Both sources are credible; working vintage guitars accumulate mixed parts over decades, and the physical guitar may have construction details that complicate a clean year attribution. "Early-'50s, commonly cited as 1953 or 1954" is the defensible framing.
• Disputed: Bridge pickup identity → Babiuk's inspection account describes a Fender lap-steel-style unit with two-screw mounting. Guitar World's 2016 investigation documented competing theories: Broadcaster-era pickup, lap-steel pickup, and an unusually hot-wound early Tele bridge pickup (per unnamed former Fender employees). No definitive parts identification has been published.
• Uncertain: Wiring scheme → Guitar World reported that Richards is often observed with the selector in the bridge position, yet the sound implies some neck humbucker contribution — leading to long-running speculation about a non-standard blend wiring, possibly Broadcaster-style. No teardown has confirmed this. Treat wiring as unresolved.
• Myth: The five-string open-G approach originated at Nellcôte → Richards was experimenting with open tunings before Micawber arrived. The Nellcôte sessions are where the approach became a committed method tied to this specific guitar, not where he first discovered the tuning.

FAQ

When did Richards first use Micawber on a record? Multiple sources — the Play It Loud museum label and Babiuk's account — place Micawber's first recorded use at the Villa Nellcôte sessions in 1971 that became Exile on Main St. The guitar was in stock or near-stock condition at that stage; the open-G conversion happened during those sessions.

What tuning is Micawber set up for? Open G: G–D–G–B–D (low to high), five strings only. The low E string is removed entirely. This is the setup Richards has used on Micawber since 1971.

Why only five strings? Richards has given several answers, but the core argument is arranging space: removing the low E opens up frequency room for bass, piano, and other instruments. He noted in 2023 that the constraint also forces chord shapes and voicings he wouldn't reach on a six-string. The missing string isn't a limitation — it's the compositional tool.

What pickups does it have now? A Gibson PAF-style humbucker at the neck (reverse-mounted) and a Fender lap-steel-style unit at the bridge. The humbucker swap happened around the 1972 tour era. The exact identity of the bridge pickup remains disputed.

What strings does Richards use? A custom Ernie Ball five-string set: .011, .015, .018, .030, .042 — nickel wound, as documented by Babiuk's inspection of the guitar.

Has Micawber ever been at a museum? Yes — it was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll" exhibition in 2019. The exhibit label identified it as a 1954 Telecaster.

What amps does Richards use with it? Primarily Fender Twin Reverbs, per his own statements in Guitar Player (1992 and 2023). The occasional Champ for something different. The amp is relatively clean — the grit comes from playing dynamics, not amp saturation.

What's the closest guitar I can actually buy? The Fender Keith Richards Micawber Signature Telecaster when available (check the Fender Telecaster page for used inventory), or build your own with a blackguard-style Tele platform, PAF neck humbucker, brass bridge, and five-string open-G setup.