The scratchplate of this guitar was modified, probably in the s, to make space for a Roland GK-2 synth pickup. Guitar controller for Roland guitar synthesis system. Crises Discovery. Sold through Chandler to an English fan. Discovery According to the Guitarist magazine interview, this was used for "quite a lot of the lead breaks". Mike had fitted the synth pickup to it by this stage, and he used it to bring a layered synth and distorted guitar sound to his solos. Mike once said in an interview The Raft that this was his favourite guitar and that he'd never sell it.
An electric guitar with a special bridge to produce a buzzy sitar-like sound. Amarok Guitars. A particularly high grade, limited edition, version of the Custom In Vintage Yellow. This is actually a mini 12 string electric guitar. Borrowed from Tom Newman, it used to belong to Cat Stevens. Mike bought this in LA. He later replaced it with a PRS Hollowbody, which he said he preferred.
It later appeared in a tweet by Caroline Monk and may now be owned by her. Sold by Chandler Guitars to an English fan in February Tubular Bells Played through Twin Reverb for distorted guitars. Squier Standard Telecaster, black mirror plate.
Fender Mark Knopfler signature Stratocaster. Used by Mike in the Bahamas era. Tubular Beats [? Metallic Red Telecaster with maple fretboard. It has Duncan Designed pickups - a humbucker in the neck position and a stacked humbucker in the bridge position.
It also features a reversed control plate. Man on the Rocks [? Return To Ommadawn Shown in one of Mike's collage photos. This has been on the instruments list for a long time, but it's not clear what it is - if anyone has more information, please get in touch!
Fender American Elite Telecaster, aged cherry burst. Sunburst finish. Seen in the background in the Essential Mike Oldfield video. This can be seen in some of the pictures in the Boxed booklet. Nobody's quite sure which recordings it was used on. It's disputed whether Mike ever actually owned this guitar or just borrowed it for a photo shoot.
Mike plays this in the video for Wonderful Land. It can also be seen in the background in the interviews from The Essential Mike Oldfield. Gordon Smith Guitars is a British guitar company, which produces mainly Gibson-influenced electric guitars.
This is, unfortunately, another item which has found its way onto our list without any further information - if you can help, do get in touch! Used during the Olympics. Neck date 2 JUL 63 B. The preowner bought it some years ago from Mike Oldfield in a studio in Munich. Mike has oversprayed the original lake placid blue finish with a white lacquer. Mike replaced the original tuners , the tremolo block, a 5-way switch and the pots by new parts.
This was sold on eBay in for euros. Mike played this guitar in many of his Night of the Proms appearances in Sold through Chandler to a French Fan and later resold to a German fan. Mini classical guitar, called a 'couch guitar' by Mike in the Raft interview. Classical guitar. Music of the Spheres [? Nylon string electro-acoustic, used for stage work.
Electro-classical, sold to an English fan through Chandler Guitars in February Hired from Maurice Placquet for recording Tubular Bells. Mike later complained that the guitar had an almost impossibly high action, saying that him struggling to play it was the reason you can hear him breathing heavily during some of the acoustic guitar sections!
Tubular Bells. Bought by Mike from a shop on Denmark Street in the late s. Maple back and sides, spruce top. Mike strung it with silk and steel strings for a super-light action. Whether it was used on Tubular Bells at all is unknown. Sold by Terry in Tubular Bells [? Considering he'd found the hired Martin difficult to play, and the Knight was reportedly extremely comfortable to play, it would seem strange that he carried on with the unplayable Martin.
There's no actual evidence that he used it on the album, though. Custom-built for Mike. The exact year the guitar was built is unknown, but in the All You Need is Love documentary, it appears to be quite new. It's possible Mike bought it in after Terry sold his Dick Knight acoustic for him. Serial number Sold to a German fan through Chandler Guitars in December From c. Five Miles Out Crises. Electroacoustic guitar with carbon fibre top. Crises Discovery In , Mike told Guitarist magazine that this guitar was used for many of the acoustic rhythm parts, often recorded in a small room or corridor.
He also used it for the solo on To France. Tubular Bells Sold via Chandler Guitars to a Scottish fan in December Amarok [? Voyager [? Koa-bodied acoustic guitar, sold via Chandler Guitars to a fan in February Played on the Night of the Proms tour. Acoustic guitar. A reproduction of the Gibson J Hand built semi-solid electro acoustic guitar.
Serial number , presumably from Used on the Discovery tour. Mike bought this shortly after recording Tubular Bells. The frets were later removed from it. Sold via Chandler Guitars in February Hergest Ridge Ommadawn Incantations QE2 Mike used this bass on the tour for the album, and it seems to have been a favourite of his, so is likely the source of all the Precision Bass parts on the album.
Sen Japanese Ash body. Bass guitar designed for controlling the GRB bass synthesiser. It can also be used as a conventional bass, which Mike seems to have done. Crises Mike appears with it in the Shadow on the Wall video, so it's quite likely he used it on the album.
Discovery Islands. Sold to a German fan via Chandler Guitars in February Used in the Bahamas era. Man on the Rocks Return To Ommadawn.
A type of custom effects unit, which Mike probably got from David Bedford. Exactly what it did is slightly shrouded in mystery, though it's known that Mike used it to make the 'bagpipe' sound on Tubular Bells.
Tom Newman, writing on Facebook, said "It was made of plywood and had about five or six mm faders and about four knobs, about ten inches by eight inches with a sloping top like a mixer, and a hole with a 9volt battery that fell out if you picked it up". Blue rack unit that can often be spotted in Mike's early 80s guitar racks - e.
Can be used for anything from subtle chorus-like detuning to extreme pitch shifts. QE2 Presumably, as it was shown in his studio in the Essential Mike Oldfield interview, he was using it on the album. Five Miles Out On top of the mixing desk in the gatefold studio picture, so presumably used on the album.
Guitar effects processor used for Mike's trademark 90s distorted guitar sound. Sold via ebay in December Guitar modelling processor, able to model the sounds of different guitars and other instruments. It uses a GK-series synth pickup to provide the unit with an uncoloured signal, but the VG-8 is not technically a synthesiser as it purely remodels the signal from the pickup. One was sold via ebay in December , but he lists one as having been used on Tubular Bells , so presumably he had a spare!
Guitar amp simulator. Shown in multiple pictures of Mike's studio around This, according to Richard Barrie, was the EQ used in front of Mike's Mesa Boogie amplifiers in the 80s, boosting the mids to get his characteristic distorted lead sound. Sold via eBay in December Expression pedal. Foot controller, sold via eBay in December For sharing and switching the output of a GK-2AH pickup between two devices.
This was hired from Maurice Placquet for Tubular Bells. Mike attempted to create many of the sound using guitars as the source. Many of the drum sounds, for example, were created from samples of Mike slapping a bass that is, hitting the strings with the side of the thumb - not the same type of slap as when you might slap a person A good example of the types of sounds possible are the tablas in 'Four Winds' Mike then triggered the samples from a guitar fitted with a Roland midi pickup in fact it's not a midi pickup as such - it first has to be plugged into a guitar synthesiser or guitar - midi convertor.
The guitar used for this was probably the PRS Custom 24, which actually has had one of these pickups built in. They don't make them like that though - the pickup was, as far as I know, fitted by Chandler Guitars in Kew, just outside London, where Mike has been known to visit before.
The pickup itself is visible just by the bridge of the guitar - a small thin black bar. The controls for the pickup are fitted to the bottom edge of the guitar. Every single movement of this song is beautiful and it feels like a whole journey through the sweetest emotions that oscillates among joy, excitement, and a total sensation of peace which makes it ironic that somebody picked this song to be played in the most terrifying movie ever filmed.
This song sounds as if there was some sort of angelical ritual going on in the studio and if you were right there, just beside the musicians and connecting with something really magical. The second part is a few minutes shorter than the first one and ends the album with a sensation of wanting more music like that. I don't mind him abandoning structures already explored on two preceding albums, not in the slightest, but it's not like Oldfield cut ties with the past and went in the opposite direction.
Quite contrary! The first single, "Man in the Rain", is astonishingly similar to "Moonlight Shadow", even featuring the same vocal style this time it's Cara Dillon's voice, but you'd never guess without looking at the back cover. Same groove, same feel, same lightly strummed acoustic guitars - I mean, it's again, with marginally revamped sound maybe. Now, while we're at self-referencing, I just realized that "Outcast" - although genuinely satisfying and interesting, no sarcasm here - has very much in common with that heavy guitar section from Tubular Bells, later known as "Thrash" on Edition.
Split personality? Yes, this might be a better description of TB-3 contents. Some songs really sound as if they were composed, played and recorded on second gear. I have no recollection of "Moonwatch", even though I listened to it earlier today - twice!
Essentially, there is nothing more to this track: very vague synths in the background and four minutes worth of moaning, seriously. Despite all this, I think Tubular Bells III is enjoyable at times, if you can look past distinctly 90s sound and accept simpler songwriting than before.
The recurring theme, first played in "The Source of Secrets" and "The Watchful Eye", has a soothing, "aquatic" charm to it. I definitely listen carefully to "Secret" and "Far Above the Clouds", as both put me in a very pleasing mood - there is a great balance of relaxing and epic elements, you should check it out. And the bells, well, they are featured during coda in a slightly dramatic manner, but without jumping the shark, thankfully.
I have no doubt it's the least thrilling part of Tubular trilogy. Original was a force to be reckoned with, a freak of nature really. Sequel - quite deep, inspiring, a pleasant surprise to many. This one? But flawed! I can't get over the "Moonlight Shadow" ripoff and frustrating "Arabian widow" bit.
I'd say there is enough evidence that Mike could come up with a worthy sequel to "Tubular Bells II" if he really put his mind to it Would love to give it 3 stars, if there was more passion. The kid has talent, but parties a lot. Too much money and too close to Ibiza night clubs, I guess! The second part of Exposed is a complete performance of Tubular Bells.
The first part of TB is slightly longer than the studio version and has Mike Oldfield replacing a lot of the acoustic guitar sections with electric guitar. It moves a little faster than the studio version and has a rockier feel to it and a changed ending. It will never equal the studio version of it, which is a masterpiece, but sits comfortably as a complimentary ride to the familiar riffs of the studio version. The second part of TB is almost half the length of the original, but I think it's superior.
It has a real waltzing, rocky feel to it finishing with the familiar Sailor's Hornpipe. As an encore Mike performs his singles hit, Guilty. He uses one of the themes from Incantations and turns it into an up- tempo disco beat. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to end the album. Live albums don't always work, but Exposed is as good as any and Mike Oldfield performs brilliantly as usual. Pity we can't enjoy more live albums from him. Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. Please consider supporting us by giving monthly PayPal donations and help keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.
During the next few years he also served as a studio musician at Abbey Road, where he experimented with a wide range of instruments. He gradually built up a home studio and began working on a large-scale project, playing all of the parts himself.
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