John McLaughlin: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

Feature Photo by Jim Bennet

Over the years, jazz-fusion hero John McLaughlin has played everything from Telecasters to hollow-body guitars to Strats, and beyond.

Lately, he’s forged a relationship with PRS, resulting in his signature curio, the PRS Private Stock John McLaughlin model. McLaughlin loves the guitar, calling it “lovely,” “beautiful,” and “gorgeous-sounding.”

That’s fair, and surely, any guitar aficionado would agree. This relationship is probably why McLaughlin has now become entangled with what’s being called “The Yellow Guitar.”

Have you heard about this? Maybe, err… probably not. The story dates back to 2024, when a video of longtime Fender devotee Eric Johnson playing what appeared to be an unidentified PRS began to circulate online.

Those who saw it, including McLaughlin, were curious. This resulted in PRS sending one of those same yet-to-be-named “Yellow Guitar” to McLaughlin for evaluation and enjoyment.

The jury is still out on what McLaughlin refers to as a “prototype,” but that didn’t stop the jazz legend from dialing in with ClassicRockHistory.com to tell us a bit about it, along with the latest on his newest musical pursuit, the would-be soundtrack, but now standalone, Abandoned Heights.

You’ve got new music in the form of the Abandoned Heights soundtrack. What’s the story there?

So, this stems from a movie, which is really such a shame because I really like this recording. It should have been for a movie coming out at the same time, but I don’t know… it didn’t. But it goes back to 2018, when I got the invitation to write music for this film noir.

What about it appealed to you?

Well, it was kind of supposed to be a New York movie, but kind of a film noir, too. And that’s my favorite kind of cinema, so I was interested in it. And the guy gave me carte blanche… well, actually, I insisted on it. [laughs]

But he was happy to give it to me, really. And at the time, I hadn’t seen one image of this movie, but I got the scenario, or script, which was almost three inches thick. [laughs] It had everything – the dialog, the characters, and the situations, you know?

And what I liked about the story was that it was kind of a story about redemption, which is a very profound emotion to me. I liked that. So, I got really into it with the characters and everything, and I actually wrote everything from that scenario and standpoint. It turned out great.

So, why hasn’t the film come out, which leaves this soundtrack a sort of standalone piece now?

So, it must have been 2019… and the director, who is an independent, so you gotta give the guy some slack, was working on it, and it was late 2019, so just around the time when Covid was hitting. That really messed everything up.

I feel, at least for me, the world has changed post-Covid in a number of ways – but that’s another story. In any event, the record company and me were waiting for some news, and time was going by, and then a year goes by, and then, I spoke with the director, and he was like, “Yeah, yeah, it’s coming…”

And then, another year goes by, and we’re now up to the end of 2024, going into 2025, and because I was in regular communication with the record company, they just couldn’t wait to release it, but were trying to wait for the movie.

So, what led to the record finally coming out?

I was talking with the lady who runs the label, and we were starting to say, “Maybe we should just put the record out…” But we thought, “Oh, wouldn’t that be a shame with the movie and everything?” So, we did put it out, but it is a shame, you know?

I think it could have been a disaster, the movie, but it could have been a good movie, too. And I’m still hoping he’s going to come out with it, but the thing is that he’s kind of incommunicado. I don’t know what his problem is… but even if he does it next year, the music is now ready for it to come out.

At least the music is out now, and people can enjoy it, which is nice, considering all your hard work and patience.

Right! At the end of last year, we just said, “Okay, that’s enough. We want the record to come out. It’s just sitting here, gathering dust.” So, we did. And the reason why is, well, first of all, it’s a really good recording. And I think the sounds we got in the mix are outstanding.

I mean, they’re audiophile, you know? But it’s hard today because the situation today with recordings can be a disaster. And with no movie, we’ve just got a record coming out that’s got titled that refer to nothing but the movie… it’s really dumb. [laughs]

But you know what? We don’t care. We wanted the record to come out, and I wanted it to come out before I die. [laughs] I told them that, so it came out, and now, I just want help it. I’m just hoping that people can get to hear this record, so anything helps, you know?

What’s the latest on your relationship with PRS, which includes a signature guitar?

No updates… it’s outstanding. Oh, God, maybe just a couple of years ago… two or three years ago, PRS brought out my [signature] model, you know? I absolutely love it. I adore it.

You’ve mentioned something called the “Yellow Guitar,” too.

That’s outstanding, too. Sometime last year, around the fall maybe, Paul [Reed Smith] sent me a video—and I don’t know if you’ve seen it—of Eric Johnson playing this Yellow Guitar straight into the amp. Again, I don’t know who has seen it, but it was on the Internet.

Anyway, Paul sent it to me, and I guess it was supposed to be private, but it got out there otherwise, and I called Paul back and said, ‘What have you done to my mind with this guitar?’ [laughs] I said to Paul, ‘It’s amazing… it really is amazing.’

How did you get a copy in your hands?

Well, I’ve kind of retired from international touring since the end of ’23, you know? And as you know, I have my model, which, as I said, I really love, but Paul sent me the yellow model. And as I’m not touring, the only chance I’ve had to play it is at a jazz restaurant by the beach.

Do you mean that you’ve played the guitar live there?

Yes. The jazz restaurant by the beach is open all year round, as we’re in the South of France, and the weather’s not bad. And so, I have a little group, and I present young musicians every now and then, you know, every couple of months. So, I had the Yellow Guitar out there, and it’s killer. It’s beautiful. Do you have one yet?

No. I suspect only you and Eric do. [laughs] What else can you tell us about it?

Well, it’s the upper register, you know? It’s the upper register that got a singing kind of thing to it. I should maybe have Paul send something to you, or maybe have a look at that video of Eric that he showed me. Or maybe someone has a video, or something of me playing at that restaurant? That will show you the sound of it if you haven’t heard it.

What can you tell us about the specs?

Well, it doesn’t have a name on it yet. It’s a prototype… all I’ve seen until now is a prototype, you know? Maybe Paul has done some modifications because he did do that with my model, where he was sending prototypes, and I’d be playing them.

But let’s see… there was something with the coils, and the switches, where you can change tones with the coils. I wasn’t too happy with that, and I said, ‘Maybe, you know… I just like the straight tone, so maybe cancel these switches.’

We did a lot of that with my model, and then he went back to the lab, did some more work, and then he’d send me another one. But with the Yellow Guitar, he did something with the pickups that’s really like a big step forward.

How so?

Well, with the Yellow Guitar, the pickups are a big step forward in a certain direction, because the upper register is just beautiful. It’s just really lovely. I mean, I haven’t played this guitar on an album; I’m playing my signature PRS, which is a beauty, too. But from what I can tell, the Yellow Guitar just sounds lovely.

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