A 1963 Gibson SG Custom that was famously played by Keith Richards is the subject of a recent Vintage Guitar profile. Currently housed at the Hard Rock Café’s home-base “Vault” in Orlando, Florida, the visually striking instrument was a go-to guitar for Richards during one of the Stones’ most fertile and creative periods.

“It’s cool because he used it for a brief time in ’73, including on the ‘Exile on Main Street’ tour,” notes Andy Babiuk, author of the book, “Rolling Stones Gear.” “He also used it at the L.A. Forum benefit show to aid survivors of an earthquake in Nicaragua, and during the subsequent Pacific tour, particularly on ‘Midnight Rambler,’ which he played in standard tuning with a capo on the seventh fret.”

Vintage Guitar points out that the Hard Rock organization acquired the guitar from Marshall Chess, who was hired by the Stones in 1970 to oversee the band’s new label imprint, Rolling Stones Records. Chess first met the Stones in 1964, when the group visited Chicago-based Chess Records to record a few songs in the midst of a U.S. tour.

To learn more about Richards’ SG, and to view photos, check out the full article at the Vintage Guitar website.