Sitars – why did The Beach Boys never use them? Or did they?

[The_Beach]

They used it on live concerts occasionally.

 Listen to this Live Version of California Saga: California from 1974 Live in Milwakee Wisconsin. Very large presents of a Sitar. It is pretty good live version! Give it a listen!

https://youtu.be/vSKIQvubgDQ

[JK]

I had always assumed that it was an electric sitar playing the brief solo on "Our Sweet Love" (with the sitar twang turned down low).

[c-man]

I had always assumed that it was an electric sitar playing the brief solo on "Our Sweet Love" (with the sitar twang turned down low).

That's always sounded more like a standard 12-string electric to me.

[Aum Bop Diddit]

I had always assumed that it was an electric sitar playing the brief solo on "Our Sweet Love" (with the sitar twang turned down low).

Just guessing that's the "Electric Sitar" guitar, popularly used on B.J. Thomas's "Hooked on a Feeling," the Boxtops' "Cry Like a Baby," Joe South's "Games People Play among others.

[JK]

I had always assumed that it was an electric sitar playing the brief solo on "Our Sweet Love" (with the sitar twang turned down low).

That's always sounded more like a standard 12-string electric to me.

SWD in his thread describes it only as a electric guitar (at least that's all I could find). Thanks for clarifying, c-man.

[The_Beach]

They used it on live concerts occasionally.

 Listen to this Live Version of California Saga: California from 1974 Live in Milwakee Wisconsin. Very large presents of a Sitar. It is pretty good live version! Give it a listen!

https://youtu.be/vSKIQvubgDQ

Is this just an electric guitar too then at this concert???

[c-man]

They used it on live concerts occasionally.

 Listen to this Live Version of California Saga: California from 1974 Live in Milwakee Wisconsin. Very large presents of a Sitar. It is pretty good live version! Give it a listen!

https://youtu.be/vSKIQvubgDQ

Is this just an electric guitar too then at this concert???

Now, THAT really DOES sound like an electric sitar! I haven't listened to the whole song yet to see if there's also a pedal steel part, like there normally was on that song at that time (played by Ricky). If so, I would say Al is maybe playing the electric sitar for his normal banjo part - or perhaps a banjo through a chorus/phase effect that gives it the illusion of an electric sitar. Otherwise, my guess would be that Ricky is for some reason playing an electric sitar here, rather than his normal pedal steel. I recall that on the tape of the Nassau, Coliseum show from that same year, the opening song ("Wouldn't It Be Nice") benefited from some unidentifiable "twangy" stringed-instrument sound. Could that also be an electric sitar? If so, that would an a quite fascinating dimension to this era of the live band!