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Marmite the Dog

He offered to show me his collection, but I never got round to it. He even offered to lend me a bit of gear, but I couldn't do that in case something bad happened. Lovely chap though.

Camel Toe

I think time and gravity has been kinder to Jimmy than Peter Green



The Yardbirds coined as Clapton's cradle is, imo, the cradle of British rock, and possibly metal. Imagine EC, Page, Beck in the same band.



The transition to Zep, The New Yardbirds

chinthee

Actually, I have my strat totally screwed up to Stevie's specs. But, I leave my Les Paul alone.

Yes, it's hard to play.

Loy Toy

He certainly is marmite!

Was with him in Wales recently and he helped put together a charity event for cancer research (with his brother) and arranged for a number of great musicians to come and play at the outdoor event.

One of his best mates is Ned Edwards (Van Morrison's musical director and lead guitarist) and he was absolutely brilliant amongst others. What a great day!

He is busting to come back to LOS but cannot sell his house!

Tao

Stevie Ray Vaughan has always been familiarly known as a Fender Stratocaster player, playing the likes of Number 1 or First Wife, Charley, Red, Scotch, Yellow or Butter and Lenny Stratocaster. However, Stevie Ray did also play other types of guitars (Dobro etc..).

First Wife Or Number 1 Stratocaster

This is perhaps the most familiar Stratocaster that Stevie Ray played and it was also his favorite. This guitar was a battered 1963 Stratocaster with a 1962 neck. Stevie believed that the body was made in 1959, but a recent examination of the guitar by several Fender employees confirms that it was a 1963 model. (In Stevie Ray Vaughan. Part 1, I made a mistake, it was a 1963 model, not a 1959 model).
Stevie first purchased Number One in 1973 from Ray’s music Exchange store in Austin Texas, following his departure from the Nightcrawlers. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Cobras with Paul Ray. In an interview, Stevie Ray said that he knew straight away that there was something special about First Wife. He liked the sunburst finish and the thick, oddly shaped D-neck. Stevie Ray has been known to have large hands and so the unusually thick neck felt comfortable.
"I didn't even have to play it - I just knew by the way it looked that it would sound great. I was carrying my '63 Strat and asked if [Ray] would like to trade. Thank God he did, and it's been my main axe even since."
Number One originally had a white pickguard and a right-handed tremelo bar. Stevie replaced the white pickguard with a black one that now adds the "SRV" lettering. Rene Martinez (Stevie’s guitar technician 1985) recalls how Stevie would sometimes resort to searching the ground around truck stops to find replacement letters when the old ones scratched off. In 1977, Stevie added a gold left handed tremelo allowing him to recreate his own upside down guitar (Jimi Hendrix and Otis Rush). The case concerning Stevie Ray’s pickups have classed some debate. Many SRV fans believe that Stevie sent the pickups to Fender to be rewound, and that they were over wound by accident. The amazing sound of Number One seems to support this idea, but the Fender employees who examined the guitar reported that the pickups were stock except for the shielding that had been added.
Eventually, Stevie, with the help of Rene replaced the Stratocasters stock pickups and upgraded them with Dunlop 6100 bass style frets. These huge frets gave Stevie Ray the sustain he needed and helped during string bending. They were also especially important to Stevie as he always use the thickest string sizes, ranging from .013 to .018! It was common that Stevie Ray’s hands would wear out and tear through his skin, so sometimes, Rene would convince him to switch to smaller strings.
Number One had been severely abused during it’s lifetime with Stevie. On stage, Stevie Ray would kick it, pound it, rattle it, ride it like a surfboard and even holding it by the tremelo bar. Number One could only take a certain amount of abuse before Stevie Ray was considering retiring it in 1989. All the abuse scratched and stripped the finish on the body. Stevie’s strumming also wore out the surface of the guitar, particularly above the strings. A huge gouge is visible on the top of the guitar.
As if you thought that wasn’t enough, sometimes, Stevie Ray would bounce his guitar off a wall, catch it, and keep playing. This was a trick that his brother, Jimmie Vaughan introduced him to. This damage caused the head stock to nearly split in two. This was repaired by Rene. The taped-up headstock can be seen in a picture on the inside of the CD leaf from “In The Beginning.”
The neck had been repaired so many times that it eventually would not take new frets. It was beginning to get difficult to play it. Rene resorted exchanging the neck from Scotch to Number One. In 1990, that neck was broken at a show in Holmdell, New Jersey, when a piece of stage equipment fell on several of Stevie's guitars. Rene eventually ordered a replacement neck from Fender and received a copy of the 1962 neck.
Number One is currently in possession of Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie Ray’s brother (After Stevie's death, Rene Martinez put the original neck back on Number One and presented it to the Vaughan family), although there are rumors that Number One was buried with Stevie in Dallas.

The Lenny Stratocaster

Lenny was an brownish-orange 1963 maple-neck Stratocaster. Lenny was named after Lenora Bailey, Stevie Ray’s wife from 1979 to 1988. Apparently, Stevie found the guitar in a pawnshop. He could no afford to pay and so one of Stevie’s roadies, Byron Barr bough it for him. He gave the guitar to Lenora and they both presented it to Stevie Ray for his 23rd birthday in 1976. Apparently, Lenora was supposed to pay Byron for the guitar (she and a few friends helped to raise money), however, it was Stevie who settled the debt, with cash and a leather jacket.
Lenny was originally a think rosewood neck, however, Stevie Ray replaced it with a thicker, non-fender maple neck. This neck was presented to him by ZZ Tops’ Billy Gibbons. Stevie kept the tremelo arm, pickups and frets in their original condition. Sometimes in 1986, Stevie would add a filigree-style decal to the bridge and put his “SRV” initials on the pickguard. Rene Martinez also modified the tremelo unit to be "floating", which enabled Stevie to either pull up or push down on the bar to bend the strings with immense force. Lenny was used with the lightest strings than all Stevie Ray’s other guitars. This would enable Stevie Ray to create a mellow sound that he used for a lot of his slow songs, including, Lenny (Duh?) and Riviera Paradise. Little is known where Lenny is kept nowadays, but rumors persist that Jimmie Vaughan has it. Check the Photo.

The Charley Stratocaster

People often make the mistake of thinking that Charley was a Fender Stratocaster. However, it was not. It was a Stratocaster-style guitar that was assembled from the spare parts by Charley Wirz of the Charley’s Guitar Shop in Dallas. Wirz often worked on Stevie's guitars and remained a close friend until he died in 1984.
Charley is all-white with a rosewood neck. On the back is a girlie-style pinup caricature and carved into the neck's heel plate are the words "To Stevie Ray Vaughan, more in ‘84”. The headstock has been imprinted with a "Charley's Guitar Shop" logo. Wirz installed three Danelectro "lipstick tube" pickups and rewired them to his own configuration. This provided Stevie Ray the tone for such tracks as "Couldn't Stand The Weather", "Tin Pan Alley", and "Life Without You" (which is actually a tribute to Charley Wirz). Check the Photo.

The Red Stratocaster

Red was one of the lesser known Stratocasters that Stevie Ray possessed. Red was a 1964 Stratocaster with a rosewood neck. This red color was later offered by Fender as a custom color option. Later, Rene Martinez installed a left-handed 1964 rosewood neck on Red sometime during the mid 80's. Not much change was undergone on the Red Stratocaster, however, Stevie did add heavier gauge strings and "SRV" initials to the guitar. Stevie liked to use Red for "Love Struck Baby" and "Pride And Joy". He also used sometimes used Red instead of Number One for "Rude Mood". Stevie liked to play it rather clean, sometimes with an Echoplex and the Vibratone unit. Check the Photo.

The Butter, Or Yellow Stratocaster

There has been some debating going on about whether Stevie called this guitar Yellow Or Butter, or whether it even had a name. Some fans have called it Yellow to distinguish the Stratocaster, since it’s yellow.
Yellow is a certified 1959 Stratocaster that was given to Stevie Ray by the lead guitarist of Vanilla Fudge. Yellow was restored by Charley Wirz since it was presented in poor condition. The previous owner had hollowed out the body to accept four humbucker pickups. Wirz removed these and made a new pickguard in which he placed a single Fender pickup just below the neck. Stevie Ray bears his initials where the two pickups would normally be placed.
This hollow body gave Yellow’s tone for songs such as “Honey Bee” and “Tell Me”. Unfortunately Yellow was stolen in 1985, however it is now recovered and on display now at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Café. Check the Photo.

The Scotch Stratocaster

Scotch was a semi-mongrel 1963 Stratocaster that was coloured in a dark cream colour, i.e. Scotch. It includes a rosewood neck and a tiger-striped pickguard, custom made by Rene. This Stratocaster was favoured by Stevie Ray once Number One was considered incapable of playing due to serious neck problems. The main modification of this guitar is seen by the brass nut, later included.
In late 1989, Stevie swapped the neck from Scotch onto Number One, and installed a left-handed neck onto Scotch. Stevie regularly played this guitar on "Leave My Girl Alone" on stage. Check the Photo.

The Main Stratocaster

This is another one of Stevie Ray’s lesser known guitars. Main was the custom Hamiltone Lurktamer Strat-style guitar, built by James Hamilton of Buffalo, NY. The guitar was given to Stevie as a gift from Billy Gibbons in 1984. Main featured a neck-through-body design, unlike any other guitar Stevie owned. The neck shape is similar to that of a Gibson Super 400 and very much like the neck on Number One. It’s fretboard is ebony with an SRV pearlroid inlay.
The pickups were active EMG’s with an onboard preamp. Stevie regularly used Main on stage for "Couldn't Stand The Weather" and "Cold Shot." Check the Photo.

The Dobro Resonator

Dobro is a specific brand of resonator guitar. This is the type of acoustic guitar that has a large steel resonator. The sound is thinner, louder and somewhat distorted sounding. A Dobro is a acoustic guitar that has a metal resonator in place of a soundhole, and is used mostly for playing slide. They are most popular among blues players. Johnny Winter has used them a lot. The guitar from the front cover of SRV’s In Step featured a Dobro acoustic resonator. Dobro is a brand name associated with Fender.

The Unknown Black Stratocaster

This guitar raises somewhat of a mystery, however, thanks to Rene, in a recent interview with Guitar Buyer, we are able to know the origins of it. It's a black Japanese Stratocaster with the inlay "SRV" around the 12th fret extending towards the upper fretboard. The Japanese Stratocaster was a gift from his guitar tech, Rene Martinez (1985) - he purchased it himself and when SRV asked to play it, he got stuck to it, trashing it, throwing it on the floor, walking on it and even holding the guitar by the tremelo bar. Appalled at himself, he said sorry to Rene but Rene told him he could keep the Stratocaster.
The Stratocaster is completely stock besides the SRV inlays.
Other guitars that I couldn’t find much information on were, the 28th National Steel guitar and the Double Neck guitar. Check the Photo.

chinthee

What a legend. Stevie could play a blender or microwave and make it sound like magic. True genius.

*thanks Tao.

Milkman

Zed noted that an ounce feeling was worth a lot. Yes, I believe that it's worth more than technique.

Malmsteen had the technical talent: lightening fast.

But I could never "feel" anything when I heard him play.


Brilliance, is saying a lot with a few notes......

chinthee

MM, well, look at someone like Joe Satriani. He's acclaimed as the best guitar player of all time, but to me, he can't hold a candle to Stevie Ray, Duane Allman, Jimmy Hendrix, or even Eric Clapton in his prime.

Milkman

Wow....CT.

You're bringing back some memories.

I am a HUGE Satriani fan. Huge.

He has the technical skills and also can play that "feeling." That Enigmatic feeling type of play.

Everyone has their opinion. And I respect all of the the players above that you mention.

Every player has a different style and different skill strengths.

__________________
Military men are dumb, stupid animals, to be used as pawns for foreign policy

chinthee

^Sorry, Satriani will go down in history as the best ever technical player with no heart.

Milkman

That's your opinion.

I do think he's lost that "heart" since the album "Flying in a Blue Dream" that came out in about 1989.

After that album, 20 years ago, I've had trouble getting into him.

I did like *some* songs on "Crystal Planet" that came out in 1997 or so, and I saw Satriani live on that tour in Washington, DC, with a crowd of 3,000.

Great show.

I do agree, in the last 15 or so years, the heard has been lacking.

His second album to me, is a classic. Classic.

chinthee

^Nobody can deny that Satriani is the best ever technical player.

These days, I prefer the Grateful Dead or even Wide Spread Panic.

Milkman

I don't focus on the "technical" or speed, or tricks.

I do focus on the "feel."

I am a big fan and listener of music of music from the 1960s and onward.

Loy Toy

I don't know exactly why but I always loved the sound and style that some black guitarists created. George Benson, Robert Cray were great 'feel easy' guitar technicians although I did not really like the commercian stuff the put out.

Bo Diddley was another genius that had great influence over many guitarists that followed him.

Loved a lot of the "funk" gutarists and there are too many to mention.

Milkman

^ All noted by you above are brilliant masters.

Camel Toe

Jeff Beck for me. I guess being a Blues player I'm supposed to love SRV but I don't. You can hear his roots too easily, Freddi King, Albert King, Drix, etc. I have a habit of judging guitarist on that. I liked Beck a lot more till I heard an old Danny Gatton tape, JB ripped him off big time. Gatton died young, never trained in music, played the most sophisticated licks I've ever heard, even though cowboy jazz is not for me.

Another who was more original than the rest was Albert Collins. One reason was that he played tuned to F, and no pick. Hard as shit to copy licks when a guitar is in F, if you're tuned to E.

I dislike all the fast lick finger trickin players like some already mentioned, and Eric Johnson is almost too clean to be human. Scott Henderson is a great one too.

Accidental Ajarn

Charlie Hunter, Steve Kimock of today are probably much better technically than any any of the rock "legends" but with Page and others, it was about the whole "show" Jimmy Page had the good looks, a rock star stage persona and had the luck of being in a band that became a symbol of a generation. Kind of the first post 60s heavy sound thing.

Good, sure, but so are thousands of others. But he was in the right place at the right time with the right talents.

Lucky Bastard

Camel Toe

All the Brits that landed in America during the invasion were better showmen than we'd ever seen, but for Freddy and the Dreamers, Gerry and the Pacemakers and a few more. It's odd isn't it, Black American Bluesmen who didn't even have their likeness on the album cover (nobody wanted to a Black face in those days) were starving out gigs from South Chicago to the Delta Swamplands, with very few White people ever taking notice. Then some British White boys bought their records, copied some songs, added some flash and schoolboy dance steps, and sold what America couldn't be arsed with, if it came in black, back to the Americans.

Then all at once the Robert Johnsons, John Lee Hookers, and Little Walters found themselves with so many gigs, so much money and fame, they could finally afford the drugs it took to kill themselves off. Crazy world ain't it?

pluto

^ Robert Johnson was poisoned by a jealous husband....John Lee Hooker made it to a ripe old age...82 I think.

flash

Congrats on your first post out of issues and you didn't even mention America once.