“I sold 120 of them because I don’t have room for them anymore”: Mike Campbell says he's quit buying guitars, despite his continuing “obsession”

Back in 2021, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitar-slinger Mike Campbell thinned his formidable collection of electric guitars and amps with a huge Reverb.com sale. Notice that we say ‘thinned.’

Campbell’s post-sale collection remained significant enough that it featured on Gibson TV’s The Collection YouTube series the following year.

Displayed as a literal “carousel,” Campbell’s stable of guitars includes an ’80s-’90s-era white Firebird V signed by Johnny Winter, and a ’62 Les Paul SG Junior (acquired, at a video store, of all places, for just $120) that he used on one of his greatest solos, for Petty’s Runnin’ Down a Dream. The cherry on top of Campbell’s collection, meanwhile, is that vintage guitar holy grail, a 1959 ‘Burst Les Paul Standard.

Guitar-wise, what else do you need? Well, as Campbell tells Guitar World, the answer is ‘nothing.’

“I have a guitar obsession,” he admitted to GW in a recent interview. “I sold about 120 of them a couple of years ago because I don’t have room for them anymore. I’ve quit buying them because I kind of have one of every guitar that I ever dreamed of. At this point, buying them is kind of pathetic.”

The Collection: Mike Campbell – YouTube

Watch On

Asked by GW whether the smaller scale of his live shows with his solo band, the Dirty Knobs – as opposed to his arena-sized engagements with the late Tom Petty – motivated him to travel with a smaller selection of those prized vintage guitars, Campbell replied in the affirmative.

“I play them all in the studio, but I just take a few essentials on the road because you’re right – it is a smaller production.”

Though the ‘Burst remains undoubtedly the most valuable piece in Campbell’s gear stable, it’s not the one with which he has the deepest personal relationship, a distinction that goes to his vintage Fender Broadcaster.

“Lately, I’ve brought out my original Fender Broadcaster from the first Heartbreakers album, which I used on American Girl and Breakdown,” he told Total Guitar last month. “It’s been exciting to hear that again because it sounds great.”

To read our full interview with Mike Campbell – which also covers the making of his new album, his creative partnership with Tom Petty, and what he learned from Stevie Nicks during his time with Fleetwood Mac – pick up a new issue of the mag at Magazines Direct.