recorded Color Him Funky and H.R. Is a Dirty Guitar Player, his first two albums after signing with Capitol. Produced by Marshall, they both feature the same quartet with Roberts (guitar), Chuck Berghofer (bass), Earl Palmer (drums) and Paul Bryant alternating with Burkley Kendrix on organ. According to Jim Carlton writing for Vintage Guitar magazine these first two albums created a fan base that was not equaled by any other jazz guitarist at that time. After that, Roberts was referred to as simply H.R. and his albums were among the most anticipated jazz releases of the day. The albums Roberts made for Capitol were done for scale, he never received any additional remuneration on their sales. He recorded 11 albums with Capitol before signing with ABC Records/Impulse! Records. Roberts played rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, and mandolin. Being frequently caught on camera with a modified ‘30s Gibson ES-150, known as a Charlie Christian model by collectors - and which he purchased from Herb Ellis in the ‘50s - this guitar was his main guitar in the early ‘60s through to around 1973. He was also known for his heavy use of a modified Gibson L-4 guitar in the studio and for television and movie projects. This guitar had started out as an original design in 1962 by Roberts and C.M.I. product designer and clinician Andy Nelson. The guitar had an oval sound hole and a single pickup along with other design distinctions. C.M.I., in an effort to save some money, had based what they were calling the Howard Roberts model on the slower selling L-4 which was modified after an agreement was reached between Roberts and Ted McCarty, who was then Gibson's president. The need for this agreement was due to the fact that the resulting guitar looked nothing like the design that Nelson and Roberts had submitted. Roberts called it the "best guitar I’ve ever owned" after taking delivery of the instrument. Unfortunately for him both it and his Benson amp were stolen 3 months after he'd taken delivery on the guitar. A redesigned version was later produced by Gibson. Between these 2 guitars, and a few others that Roberts used, his playing can be heard as the lead guitar on the theme from The Twilight Zone as well as acoustic and electric guitar on I Love Lucy, The Munsters, Bonanza, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, Green Acres,