It would be an understatement to say that REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall and his 1965 Fender Jazz Bass, dubbed “Butter,” have been through a lot. Born and raised in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Hall, who has been with the band for more than 30 years, acquired this mainstay when he was 16. In an ironic twist, [...]
Doubleneck instruments have always been a unique niche in the guitar market, for good reason. They’ve also carried an air of superiority or the insinuation that they were intended for pro players; i.e., those who could deftly switch from one instrument to another in the middle of a song without doffing their part. And though [...]
The model 4000 was not only Rickenbacker’s first foray into the electric-bass market, it was decidedly different from Fender’s Precision – the original electric bass. Beyond frets, four strings, and their role in a musical combo, they have little in common. In the 1950s, F.C. Hall forged Rickenbacker into a modern guitar manufacturer. Striving to [...]
The Fender Precision Bass was the first commercially successful solidbody electric bass. Played somewhat like a guitar and sporting a fretted neck, the “P-Bass” won over players in almost every genre who previously had to contend with the cumbersome upright bass. In its original configuration, the instrument, introduced in 1952, had a maple neck with [...]
Ian Hunter is upbeat when he discusses his newest album, Man Overboard, and the upcoming reunion with old friends in England for a series of 40th anniversary reunion concerts planned for this fall by Mott the Hoople, the legendary British hard-rock band Hunter fronted from 1969 to the mid ’70s. The album hints the veteran [...]
For all of his decades of noteworthy guitar work, Robby Krieger isn’t resting on his laurels. In 2002, Krieger and Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek formed Doors of the 21st Century (and they still perform as Manzarek-Krieger), but the guitarist’s newest album, Singularity, is an ambitious instrumental effort that expands on his desire to create music [...]
Fender has tried more than once to market basses with a low-budget vibe. And while the idea is laudable, most of the offerings never really caught on. In the early ’80s, Fender – then owned by CBS – was on a downward slide thanks in part to quality-control issues and uninspired products. And [...]
When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more than one Fender Precision – and usually installed Telecaster Bass necks on them. Bogert preferred the chunkier feel of the Tele Bass neck, which reminded him of ’50s P-Basses. And for him, one instrument, in [...]
Click Here to view Donald “Duck” Dunn Obit. In the history of popular music, the story of Memphis-based Stax Records stands as a unique, enduring legacy. Memphis was the focal point of the gritty, greasy southern soul music in the 1960s, and Stax was the label. And two bands – the Mar-Keys, and Booker T. [...]
Steve Wariner is among the handful of guitarists designated as a certified guitar player (C.G.P.) by Chet Atkins. The last guitarist to receive the personal honor, Wariner served a pallbearer at Atkins’ funeral in 2001. He also performed at the service. In the dozen years since the release of No More Mr. Nice Guy, Wariner [...]
