Editing B. B. King (section)

== Equipment ==
{{for|more information about King's guitar|Lucille (guitar)}}
{{Quote box | quoted = true| bgcolor = #ADD8E6| width = 32em| align = right
| quote = When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing [[Lucille (guitar)|Lucille]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://wiux.org/blog/2014/11/19/a-little-bit-of-lefty-love/| publisher=WIUX| title=A Little Bit of Lefty Love| last=McMahon|first= Brian| date=November 19, 2014| access-date=May 14, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518080115/http://wiux.org/blog/2014/11/19/a-little-bit-of-lefty-love/| archive-date=2015-05-18| url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

King used equipment characteristic of the different periods he played in. He played guitars made by various manufacturers early in his career. He played a [[Fender Esquire]] on most of his recordings with [[RPM Records (United States)|RPM Records]].<ref>Burrows, Terry, ''The Complete Book of the Guitar'', p. 111. Carlton Books Limited, 1998, {{ISBN|1-85868-529-X}}.</ref> Later, he was best known for playing variants of the [[Gibson ES-355]].

In the September edition 1995 of ''[[Vintage Guitar (magazine)|Vintage Guitar]]'' magazine, early photos show him playing a [[Gibson ES-5]] through a [[Fender tweed]] amp. In reference to the photo, King stated,
"Yes; the old Fender amplifiers were the best that were ever made, in my opinion. They had a good sound and they were durable; guys would throw them in the truck and they'd hold up. They had tubes, and they'd get real hot, but they just had a sound that is hard to put into words. The Fender Twin was great, but I have an old Lab Series amp that isn't being made anymore. I fell in love with it because its sound is right between the old Fender amps that we used to have and the Fender Twin. It's what I'm using tonight."<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.vintageguitar.com/20969/bbking/ |first=Willie G.|last=Moseley|title=Remembering B.B. King|work=Vintage Guitar|date=September 1995}}</ref>

[[File:B.B. King in 2009.jpg|upright|thumb|King at the 2009 [[North Sea Jazz Festival]] ]]

He moved on from the larger Gibson hollow bodied instruments which were prone to feedback when played at high volumes to various semi-hollow models beginning first with the ES-335 and then on to a deluxe version called the ES-355 which used a stereo option.<ref name="auto"/> In 1980, [[Gibson Guitar Corporation]] launched the B.B. King Lucille model, an ES-355 with stereo options, a varitone selector, and fine tuners (neither of which he actually used ) and, at King's direct request, no f-holes to further reduce feedback. In 2005, Gibson made a special run of 80 Gibson Lucilles, referred to as the "80th Birthday Lucille", the first prototype of which they gave him as a birthday gift and which he used thereafter.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.guitarcenterblog.com/?p=746 |title=One Customer's Pawnshop Treasure |publisher=Guitarcenterblog.com |date=December 3, 2009 |access-date=May 16, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618045219/http://www.guitarcenterblog.com/?p=746 |archive-date=June 18, 2010 }}</ref>

He used a Lab Series L5 2×12" combo amplifier and used this amplifier for a long time. Norlin Industries made them for Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s. Other popular L5 users are [[Allan Holdsworth]] and [[Ty Tabor]] of [[King's X]]. The L5 has an onboard compressor, parametric equalization, and four inputs. King also used a Fender Twin Reverb.<ref name=guitargear>{{cite web | author=Category: Who Plays What |url=http://www.uberproaudio.com/who-plays-what/232-bb-kings-guitar-gear-rig-and-equipment |title=B.B. King's Guitar Gear Rig and Equipment |publisher=Uberproaudio.com |access-date=November 10, 2012}}</ref>

He used his signature model strings "Gibson SEG-BBS B.B. King Signature Electric Guitar Strings" with gauges: 10–13–17p–32w–45w–54w and D'Andrea 351 MD SHL CX (medium 0.71mm, tortoiseshell, celluloid) picks.<ref name=guitargear />