According to Craig Reed Steve played I Know a Little on a strat that he built, there's a few pics floating around of Steve holding the strat. But it does sound like a Les Paul

The I Know A Little lick is just TOTAL badasseryness. As cool a guitar part I'll ever hear. RIP Steve Gaines man you sure could play.

You're getting better and better and better you done passed me up

I'm pretty sure I've seen an interview with Artimus , where he said Steve had a switch ( or maybe pull pot?) Where he could make his Les paul sound like a strat. Coil tap perhaps?

Tom have you ever listened to Steve Gaines solo Album One in Sun?, The album cover shows him holding the Les.

Les Paul Custom, ebony fretboard vs rosewood on Standard. Agree with you on it not being a Strat. Gary also has stated in interviews that he used the black beauty on That Smell, but I think Ed is right.

Thank you for making these videos. Watching your videos finally got me to pick up my guitar after over a year and a half of almost not playing at all. I've recently been trying to learn this song, and for me, the tone is almost exactly produced by my rhythm (neck) pickup only - a Seymore Duncan Pearly Gates neck pickup on my Les Paul Standard.

If you think the final Skynyrd version is good, you should hear the recordings out there of Steve playing it with bands he was in BEFORE his time in Skynyrd. There’s a recording (albeit a slightly sped-up recording) of his band Crawdad playing it live, and the riffing is a bit different. I tend to try and play that version of the song on guitar because of how distinct and different it is compared to the released version.

I’ve owned several Les Pauls over the years and blasted the amplifier playing parties ect, and they all had very hot pickups and couldn’t get good tone so I got a Tele nope couldn’t do it, so got a strat and it has a very single purpose sound, finally I found a beautiful playing and sounding Les Paul and it’s my go to, I start jonesing if I don’t get to play it at least every other day.

"Watch out, I'm gonna sic an Okie on ya" Merry Christmas to you, your family, everyone there at TRG and to all the subscribers.

Go look at the live version in black and white film of the song Steve performed (Got that right). Where Steve played that black Custom LP. It sounds just like a strat in that song too. Steve was awesome!

Steve Gaines was a killer player and singer. Tragic what happend.

Great take. I appreciate your point of view and tend to agree. Steve Gaines and Johnny Winter are in my top 3.

From what I’m hearing Tom it sounds as though the spirit of Steve has came back and possessed your fingers! You’re sounding pretty mean, dude 🤪

this song falls in the middle of our set, and i dont change to the strat until the last 2 songs right? so i BEEN playing it on a les paul, and i thought i was crazy thinking it sounded MORE right in the middle position. thanks for validating my craziness

Yeah..you're playing well Steve. This is my measure of how good I am. I'm getting close but not quite there...YET! Not even close to giving up. But I've seen skynyrd a BUNCH of times and Steve played a strat every time I ever saw him playing I know a Little. I don't remember one time he played a LP. Not saying it's gospel but it's what I've seen. I don't know what difference it makes. For my dime....the strat has a faster neck. I have 26 guitars (all black except for one) and I USED to prefer the LP...but my band playing has taken me more towards the Fenders. I do have one Charvel that I really love....but I mostly play my player strat or tele. Both black...hehe The player plus series are GREAT guitars with good tuners, roller nut and an EMP AB in the body. I LOVE the AB big time

There a clip an article of I think Gary saying he could make a Les Paul sound like a strat. It’s because he has coil splits. With that being said the lower notes on the intro sound very thin more like a strat

Yeah . There are pics of Steve holding the Craig Reed partscaster he built for Allen in the studio. Craig claims that he used it for I Know A Little . Not particularly reliable . I had someone ask Artimus earlier this year if he remembered and he didn't recall. I read a page on Steve's gear recently that claimed his black beauty had a push/pull coil tap volume knob. Hard to confirm any of this 45 years later but since Steve used the Lester to play it live and not his strat that kinda supports the idea. It definitely has more bite than the typlical Lester so maybe the coil-tap is missing factor.

Great tone and playing! Did you use the Katana settings for you Gary Rossington video? Liked those too. Rock on! Thanks.

I have wondered this for years. So much conflicting information out there. There’s even someone (not Craig Reed) claiming to have something like a 16 switch strat they built for Steve for that he used on that intro and that’s how he achieved the tone. I own a Les Paul custom. It sounds snappier than a regular Les Paul probably due to the ebony fretboard. After seeing your video I’m convinced he used his black beauty.

I'd like to hear this on a Firebird.

Steve did have that black LP Black Beauty or whatever. I actually know a guy who knew Teresa and got to play Steve's actual Les Paul 🤯 I was super jealous hahaha

Clearly, based on the sound of the guitar on the recording,..it is definitely a Les Paul. It doesnt sound like a Strat at all, to me. I think you are correct about the middle position too.

maybe he had a modded up Les Paul? look at Jimi page's Les Paul his pickups did all kinds of splits and out of phase. I have one of the Guitar Center Gibson LP-Traditional Pro V's that does a bunch of different tones. It has a really good neck strat tone. Split the neck pickup closest to the neck. Look up this vid. Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro V | First Impressions with Devon Allman & Duane Betts

I'm partial to Fenders, I still like the Strat better!

Great Sounds and Playing Tom! :) Can you tell me what model of Humbucker pickups are in your Les Paul Standard ? They sound Sweet! & are you playing through the Boss Katana? Again, Great Sound and Playing! Thanks :)

Depends on the version. Skynyrd version might be LP but I'm pretty sure the OG version is strat. I like that version better anyways, more hits on the breakdown, faster, cooler

Hi. Do you have an email i can contact you directly? I hung up on a part of Steve Gaines’ first solo in “That Smell.” I’d love to see if you can give me any pointers to break through. Thanks much

But the strat is an improvement .That song sounds great with a strat in posistion 4 when you have a single coil sized humbucker in the neck ,I built one for an expearment ,Turns out its here to stay ,I noticed others like andy timmons do this too.

Cool - & impressive - editing the opening of this YT. The rest of course too. RIP SG & EK - confess Ima GimmeBackMyBullets Skynyrd line-up guy GR & AC only but King & Gaines so good there's no wonder Ronnie went w/ the third guitar. We DO love Lynyrd Skynyrd yes we do. Yer YTs TRG are cooler air-conditioning on them hot summer days.

How do you set up a Gibson Lespaul?

Gary said Steve had a good les paul that had a strat sound

Somebody needs to ask Artimus.

His Paul had p90s

You don’t sound like Gaines with either Axe dude. Steve probably would have done this song on the strat but that strat like all Lynyrd Skynyrds equipment became an object of theft. That’s why the song Working for the MCA came out because it was written about their gear being stolen, and that was when Steve started using the Black Les Paul for everything.. you can find songs that pre date 1977 even I know a Little recordings in which Steve would using his Stratocaster. It’s neither guitar but more about the man wielding the Axe…

Why play the strat in the crappy 2d position, all clucky. That is definitely a Strat lead pickup.