What kind of guitar does Oliver Anthony play? Unique instrument stirs interest following viral success 

On August 9, a red-bearded man holding a guitar named Oliver Anthony became an overnight sensation when his solo folk song titled Rich Men North of Richmond was released on YouTube by RadioWV. The music video became so successful that it earned over 10 million views within a week and currently has over 34 million views and over 1.4 million likes. The song has also been charting at the top of music apps such as Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, and Billboard Hot 100.

Oliver Anthony’s Rich Men North of Richmond also created a social media stir when conservatives began sharing it in their circles. The song represents the struggles of working-class Americans and has earned Anthony immense fame in less than a month.

In fact, on August 17, Oliver took to Facebook to share his experiences of newly-acquired recognition. At one point in the lengthy post, he even called himself “Just some idiot and his guitar” and pointed out that he maybe did not deserve all the attention he was getting.

Since then, his guitar has become a point of interest among people on the internet. As per guitarchalk.com, a website specializing in guitar and music-based content, Oliver Anthony’s guitar is acoustic.

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Oliver Anthony plays a Gretsch G9220 Bobtail Resonator guitar.

As per Bobby Kittleberger, a guitar expert and the founder and editor of guitarchalk.com, the guitar that Oliver Anthony is seen playing in his viral hit music video of Rich Men North of Richmond is a kind of acoustic guitar called Gretsch G9220 Bobtail Resonator. Also called “dobro” in short, the guitar has inbuilt metal cones and discs. Not only that but the tune of this guitar is recorded using an onboard acoustic preamp system called “Fishman.”

Bobby Kittleberger noted on his website that Oliver Anthony’s guitar is unique and smaller than most acoustic guitars, such as the Dreadnought. Dobro has a large metal piece in place of the soundhole, and its cones and discs are inside the body.

Moreover, the guitar is not expensive and costs approximately $649 to $699 retail and is available across websites such as Sweetwater, Guitar Center, and Musician’s Friend. As per Kittleberger, what helped him identify Anthony’s guitar as a Gretsch G9220 Bobtail Resonator was its tiny and lighter-colored plate on the headstock region that differed from other Gretsch Resonators such as G9230 and G9241.

As per the guitar website sweetwater.com, a dobro was first developed in the 1920s in the USA to accompany louder horn instruments. It usually has an all-mahogany round-neck body (like its ancestors) and a Gretsch Ampli-Sonic diaphragm resonator spider cone handmade from aluminum in Eastern Europe. It gives a sharp volume with midrange resonance. Anthony’s guitar is mainly used in American country music, blues, and folk.

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Who is Oliver Anthony?

Born as Christopher Anthony Lunsford, this currently trending singer-songwriter said in his Facebook post that Oliver Anthony was his grandfather, and he took his name in 2021 when he started his music career, not only as a tribute but also to show respect for “1930s Appalachia where he was born and raised.”

As per her new wiki-bio, Oliver Anthony grew up in North Carolina and is currently based in the western part of the state where he has formerly worked in sales at multiple construction plants. His last job was at McDowell County paper mill. He was a high school dropout but later got his Graduate Equivalency Depree or diploma from Spruce Pine.

Before starting his music career, he was a cover artist and released nearly a dozen songs, including I’ve Got to Get Sober and Ain’t Gotta Dollar. However, his ultimate fame came with his latest release Rich Men North of Richmond.

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