What Guitar Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

Kevin Roosevelt Moore better known as Keb’ Mo’ is a five times grammy award winning American blues musician. He is a singer/songwriter and guitarist originally from Compton, California who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. His first drummer, Quentin Dennard first called him Keb’ Mo’ and the record company liked it and considered it to be a “street talk” way of saying his name.

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What Kind Of Guitar Does Keb’ Mo’ Play?

His favourite guitar was an Epiphone Blues master that got stolen sometime ago. When Gibson asked Keb’ about making a signature guitar, he based it on his Epiphone Bluesmaster. He says he now has an Epiphone Bluesmaster but an upgraded version. This Gibson signature guitar is his guitar of choice. He also plays or has played the following;

Electric Guitars

Hamer Monaco III
Epiphone Riviera
Fender Stratocaster
Suhr S-type
Paul Reed Smith Custom
Gretsch G5620T-CB Electromatic

Acoustic Guitars

Will Hirsch Acoustic
Gibson Keb’ Mo’ Bluesmaster Acoustic
Republic Highway 61 Resonator
Bedell Nylon String
Beard Acoustic guitar
Yamaha Orange Label Acoustic
Yamaha Red Label FS3 Acoustic
National Reso Rocket

He says he only owns one vintage guitar which is an old 30s Dobro, he plays guitars that “feel right” he doesn’t want a guitar to look at, but to play.

Who Has Keb’ Mo’ Worked With During His Long Career?

Keb’ has worked with many great artists during his career including;

Les Falconer III
Warren Haynes
Joe Walsh
Reggie McBride
Gregg Allman
Bonnie Raitt
Robbie Brooks Moore (his wife)
Booker T. Jones
Susan Tedeschi
Papa John Creach
Robert Randolph
Rosanne Cash
Sonny Landreth
Earl Klugh
Buddy Guy
Keith Richards
Stefan Grosman
James Burton
Albert Collins
Taj Mahal
Big Joe Turner
Matt “Guitar” Murphy
Sheryl Crow
Gary Clark Jr.
Jackson Browne
Albert Lee
Jaci Velasquez
Grace Potter
Blake Mills
Lizz Wright
Vince Gill
Sheila E.
Steve Cropper
And Many More

What Strings Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

Keb’ uses D’Addario .010 strings on his electric guitars, D’Addario .012 strings on his electric slide guitars, D’Addario Phosphor Bronze .012 strings on his acoustic guitars and D’Addario Phosphor Bronze .013 strings on his resonator guitars.

What Amps Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

Keb’ says he’s not a gear head, he uses equipment that sounds good to him. He uses or has used the following amps;

Fender Deluxe Blackface Reissue
Mesa Boogie Mark IV Combo
Egnater Rebel 30

What Effects Pedals Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

He isn’t all that enamoured with effects either, he uses or has used;

MXR M109S Six Band EQ
L.R. Baggs Venue DI Acoustic Preamp
Big Joe Stompbox Co. Empire Drive
Empress ParaEq

What Pickups Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

On his Epiphone Riviera he changed the P-90 pick-ups for P-100s because he said the P-90s were too noisy. He also says his Gretsch Electromatic has a single-coil in the neck position and a humbucker in the bridge position. The Keb’ Mo’ signature Gibson Bluesmaster has a L. R. Baggs Element pick-up with a soundhole mounted volume switch. His red Hamer also has P-100 pick-ups. He also owns a Gibson ES-335 shaped resonator that has a P-90 pick-up.

What Chords Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

Keb’ uses open chords for much of his fingerstyle playing including D7 and A7 and some jazz type chords like E11, F7b5 and G13.

What Pick Does Keb’ Mo’ Use?

Keb’ uses his fingers most of the time for picking but he also uses fingerpicks (National 0.25 weight) on steel guitars because he says he likes the “clankiness” he says he prefers the brass ones but does use steel as well. He’s also experimenting on using just a thumb pick (Golden Gate) on acoustic guitars. When he’s flatpicking he uses a Jim Dunlop heavy tortoiseshell pick.

What Kind Of Music Does Keb’ Mo’ Play?

Keb’ plays Americana, country blues and delta blues.

How To Play Guitar Like Keb’ Mo’

Keb’ uses many open chords that he slides up and down the fretboard to get that authentic blues sound. He also learned how to strum later in his career with much of his music played using fingerpicking. To play like him you’ll need to perfect your fingerpicking techniques and your slide skills too.

Keb’ uses a ceramic slide because he prefers the sound and feel of the ceramic slide compared to glass or steel. He prefers the Mudslide by Moonshine Slides.

What Age Did Keb’ Mo’ Learn Guitar?

When he was 10 he started playing the trumpet in the school band before moving onto the steel drums and other percussion instruments then his uncle invited him to try the guitar. He says that as soon as he played guitar he knew he’d found his instrument. He said “When I put my hand on the guitar the first time, that was it, two weeks later I was playing the guitar, finger-picking and the whole thing. I knew four chords, five chords-I was ready to rock”.