Ronnie Ben-Hur's guitar?

[voyage]

I really like Ronnie Ben-Hur's playing and tone. In every picture I can find he is playing the same guitar, which is unusual. It looks like an L5 but I think the headstock inlay and the fretboard inlays don't match an L5, I could be wrong. If anybody knows what that guitar is I'd love to know, thank you much.

[setemupjoe]

Looks like a Gibson Johnny Smith.

[David B]

It's a Gibson Johnny Smith that he's been playing for years. Has a Kent Armstrong style floating humbucker and ebony pickguard.

Roni's one of my favourite players and a great teacher!

[voyage]

Thanks very much!

[Rob MacKillop]

Great photo, David, to be treasured. He’s a favourite of mine too. Not mentioned enough on this forum, I think.

[skykomishone]

Rob,
Yes. When I listen to him, I get a little of that Peter Bernstein flavor. Johnny Smith is what I thought also.
He's a great player. It's interesting to see this thread, because an old friend asked me to take some CD's from his collection recently, and I grabbed one he had of Ronni Ben-Hur. Glad I did.

[Rob MacKillop]

I’ve had his Signature album since it came out in 2005 (iirc). He just quietly gets on with creating great music. Nothing flash or ugly. Just good playing.

[David B]

Lyrical lines, great tone and a deep sense of swing. What's not to love?

[Joseph2]

Yes, great solid player & tone; I've seen his trio on that live Mezzrow You Tube channel. I'm curious if he uses a small Fender tube amp (like a deluxe), or if he's solid state?

[Cunamara]

He probably uses whatever the house amp is at most venues rather than the hassle to schlep one around NYC. He's got what appears to be a silverface Fender Twin Reverb behind him on the NEBM video. At Mezzrow and Small's the house amp is a small Fender, according to the videos I've seen.

RBH is a great guitarist. He has a very good video on drop chords on the guitar which I've had for a number of years and I've only gotten partway through, because doing the math for drop chords just makes my head hurt after a while. Nice tone, great sense of swing, fluidity of phrasing.

Roni also seems like a good guy. He has been musically supportive of one of my very favorite guitarists, Gene Bertoncini, in his later years. There's a recent one of him playing with Gene to celebrate his 90th birthday that's pretty charming. Gene's chops and dexterity aren't what they once were, but he's worked out other ways to play lyrically- perhaps a lesson about age and guile overcoming youth and speed.

[David B]

He probably uses whatever the house amp is at most venues rather than the hassle to schlep one around NYC. He's got what appears to be a silverface Fender Twin Reverb behind him on the NEBM video. At Mezzrow and Small's the house amp is a small Fender, according to the videos I've seen.

Mezzrow/Small's has a Deluxe Reverb for backline and I believe a Henriksen too (not sure which model).

Roni often uses an Acoustic Image head and their Upshot cab on gigs where there's no backline.

I was looking forward to catching up with the stream of Roni's trio sets at Mezzrow from last night, but it's unbelievably been hit with a copyright claim by Warners and so is unavailable to me here in the UK.

The link is:

[David B]

Roni also seems like a good guy. He has been musically supportive of one of my very favorite guitarists, Gene Bertoncini, in his later years. There's a recent one of him playing with Gene to celebrate his 90th birthday that's pretty charming. Gene's chops and dexterity aren't what they once were, but he's worked out other ways to play lyrically- perhaps a lesson about age and guile overcoming youth and speed.

I'm sure you're already aware, but for others, they did a great duo album together in 2008, 'Smile'.