Warren Haynes Discusses the SG That Shaped His Early Gov’t Mule Sound]

This month on Cover Stars, we are turning the clock back to July 1994, a hot summer in which Guitar World was paying tribute to the late Kurt Cobain, interviewing the high-flying Zakk Wylde, and featuring the Allman Brothers on the cover.

Dickey Betts was there, with his PRS. Warren Haynes was there, too, with a Gibson SG. But wait, an SG? Where did his Les Paul go? Here he explains the story behind the SG, why he had it, why it got retired.

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I left it stock. At that time, I was playing through my modified Soldano SLO-100 through a PRS 4×12 cabinet that’s the size of a 4×10 enclosure with custom Celestion [speakers] made for PRS.

I actually didn’t play it as much in the Allman Brothers Band as I did in Gov’t Mule. The SG sound is a very unique one, and, as with any sound, it forces you to play to what you’re hearing.

(Image credit: Future)

Did you use this guitar on any notable recordings or tours?

I used it a lot during the first couple of years of Gov’t Mule and some on our first recordings, which came out years later as The Tel-Star Sessions [2016].

At some point, we had made the decision to tune down a half-step for certain songs, which for me seemed better with [Gibson] Firebirds, so I retired the SG as they don’t do as well tuned down.

Why did you choose this guitar for this particular GW cover shoot?

It was a new guitar for me at that time, plus it looks cool. Also, the photographer – Danny Clinch – might have brought up doing some shots with that guitar from a visual standpoint. There were other shots with my Les Paul as well.