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March, 2002 | Vintage Guitar® magazine

Month: March 2002

  • Mick Ronson – Play Don’t Worry

    Play Don't Worry

    I confess! When I was 15 years old, David Bowie and the Spiders From Mars seemed a little odd to me. When I got a little older, I realized what great rock and roll it was. So it was no surprise Mick Ronson escaped my notice. He was, of course, Bowie’s foil and guitarist during that time.

    Well, thanks to the folks at Original Masters, here are a couple of great solo albums from the late rock guitarist. These followed his stint with Bowie in the mid-’70s, and they are wonderful. From killer covers of Pure Prairie League cuts (that’s right, PPL!), to Elvis covers (“Love Me Tender”), to killer originals, it’s a feast for the ears. Ronson proves himself an awesome rock player, not in the guitar god sense, but in the sense of putting every solo and every note exactly where it belongs. Nasty tones, killer note choice, and big, old, fat backing tracks highlight both CDs. If you like Bowie’s stuff from the early ’70s, or just rockin’ British-style tunes from the era, you’ll love these. A really cool surprise to run across. Highly recommended.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Nov. ’98 issue.

  • Arbiter Fuzz Face Reissue

    Psychedelic tones of the past

    If you’re a fan of vintage ’60s fat-bottomed fuzz, nothing sounds better than a vintage Arbiter/England Fuzz Face… when it’s operating right. The pedal is highly regarded among players and collectors alike, especially when it’s equipped with NKT-275 transistors.

    In an attempt to recapture the pre-Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face sound, Ivor Arbiter recently reissued his original mid-’60s Fuzz Face.

    From the mic-stand casting to the smile that reads “Arbiter/England” to the PNP Germanium transistors – Arbiter’s reissue is the closest-sounding/looking pedal to the real deal. After all, it’s made by the same company that started the Fuzz Face craze of the ’60s.

    Re-creating the pedal meant including Dennis Cornell, one of the original engineers, and locating original components. These components include Germanium PNP transistors from the same vendors’ batch used to supply the originals. The re-creation includes details like the die-cast casing molded from an original Arbiter case, and hammer-finished in silver-grey.

    “Each pedal is hand wired in England,” said Tom Lanik, North Star Audio’s (U.S. distributor of the reissue). The attention to detail in recreating the Arbiter-England Fuzz Face pedal is overwhelming.

    But as with the original, there’s a catch – inconsistent sound. Due to the Germanium transistors, each Fuzz Face sounds slightly different, though for the most part, they all sound amazingly close to the originals.

    At low settings, the Fuzz Face reissue offers sweet, smooth overdrive-flavored sustain and distortion. At high gain and output settings, it pedal roars with fuzzy tones that crackle and feedback, but can be controlled by simply rolling back your guitar’s volume. At mid settings, it offers a Hendrixy thick fuzz and distortion that re-creates the psychadelic guitar sounds of the ’60s.

    Most modern reissue fuzz pedals don’t come this close to the sound of a real mid-’60s Fuzz Face. But the Arbiter-design unit produces very rich, warm harmonic overtones and endless sustain – a real Hendrix vibe.

    The Fuzz Face’s classic appearance includes knobs that look vintage (but are numbered, unlike the originals). The paint is similar, with teardrop markers on the casing and the controls labeled in paint, rather than decals. The construction is solid, with solid rubber feet mounted with screws. The modern updates – the numbered knobs and screwed-on rubber feet – don’t detract from the ’60s look. The circuitboard, wiring, potentiometers, jacks, and footswitch are all high-quality, rugged components, soldered immaculately.

    If you’re serious about getting a fuzz unit to replicate Hendrix sounds and ’60s fuzz tones and you don’t want to spend a lot of money for a vintage NKT-275 Germanium transistor-equipped Arbiter/England Fuzz Face, then this reissue is a first-class ticket. You may want to try a few to get one that sounds the way you want – the Germanium transistors sound nice, but they have a tendency to vary slightly.


    Arbiter Fuzz Faze reissue
    Type of pedal: Fuzz/distortion
    Features: Classic appearance, teardrop markers on casing and controls, numbered knobs, screwed-on rubber feet, high-quality circuitboard, wiring, potentiometers, jacks, and footswitch,
    Price: $185.
    Contact: Northstar Audio, (773) 782-9666.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’97 issue.

  • Various Artists – The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute

    The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute

    The likes of Dylan, Mellencamp, Van Morrison, Dwight Yoakam, and many more cover the songs of one of country music’s pioneers. The covers mostly work. There are a few clinkers, but cuts like Steve Earle and the V-Roys “In the Jailhouse Now” salvage the effort easily.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’98 issue.

  • Janis Ian – Hunger

    Hunger

    An album just short of brilliant from a name I had’t heard in awhile. Killer songs, great delivery, and amazing use of an acoustic guitar. Highly recommended.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’98 issue.

  • Mississippi John Hurt – Memorial Anthology

    Memorial Anthology

    John Hurt played a different breed of blues from Delta stalwarts like Son House and Robert Johnson. Hurt was an all-around songster, and his simple guitar and downhome voice were infectious. This two-CD set is a fine collection of Hurt’s best work, recorded at his peak following his “rediscovery,” in 1964.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’97 issue.

  • Vox AC-30 Amp

    Trademark sound of the British Invasion

    Electric guitarists often speak of the “Fender sound” or the “Marshall sound” when referring to amplifiers. And these amps certainly provide distinct coloration to the amplified signal, with different, but equally musical tones.

    But bands leading the early British “invasion,” beginning with the Beatles, used other amps, the best known of which was the Vox. At various times Vox amps were used by The Animals, Rolling Stones, The Hollies, Manfred Mann, and the Dave Clark Five, among others. Many guitarists trying to emulate the Beatle’s heavy guitar tone on the Revolver album could never get that over-the-top sound on songs like “Taxman,” or “She Said,” or the dreamy “Tomorrow Never Knows” even when they used effects pedals. The secret to the sound is a cranked Vox AC-30 amp.

    Vox amps were a collaboration beginning in the late ’50s between music store owner Tom Jennings and electronics guru Dick Denney. One of the secrets of the Vox AC-30 sound was its Class A design Denney incorporated (which basically means the amp runs full-up all the time, even when the volume is turned down). This yields a thick, crunching tone, but also makes the amp somewhat unstable and prone to failure. Another key to the AC-30’s distinct tone was the use of four EL-84 output tubes. The final part of the recipe was the use of two 12″ speakers. The early amps used Celestion G12s made exclusively for Vox and featured a blue-painted metal frame, which became the foundation for the legendary Vox Bulldog speaker used later.

    An added feature came in the form of a “Top Boost” circuit, first incorporated in the early ’60s as a way to add brightness to the sound, and partially in response to Fender’s bright switch on its higher-output tolex-covered amps. This certainly gave the Vox AC-30 Top Boost, as it was known, an over-the-top sound. But while Vox was popular in England and Europe, the company never achieved its hope of deep penetration into the large U.S. market until it arranged with the Thomas Organ Company to distribute the line in America. What looked like a promising step was actually the beginning of the decline as amplifier circuit designs were changed, and the tone that originally defined the amp was lost. The AC-30 was as much a victim as the rest of the line.

    Those seeking an original AC-30 must shop carefully, and with more than a little knowledge. The collectible AC-30s are somewhat rare and often difficult to distinguish from later versions. But there are some excellent resources available, including The Vox Story by David Peterson and Dick Denney (Bold Strummer, 1993). Fortunately, as part of the retro and reissue craze of the ’90s, the AC-30 has been reissued in its original design, with a sound very close to the highly soughtafter originals: the sound that makes the Vox AC-30 part of the VG Hall of Fame.


    A 1960 Vox AC-30. Vox photo: VG Archives.

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s April ’01 issue.

  • Roy Roberts – Deeper Shade of Blue

    Deeper Shade of Blue

    North Carolina bluesman Roy Roberts is an original, and there’s no other blues singer or guitarist who can equal his blend of minor-key, soul-laced shuffles.

    Like the great Otis Rush, much of Roberts’ best blues and ballads are driven by his minor-key songsmithing, which adds a smooth underlying darkness to his themes. He sings in a style that owes a debt more to the Memphis soulmen than to B.B. King and his like. The result is a blues album unlike any other.

    Roberts is first and foremost a guitarist, having honed his chops backing soul singer Solomon Burke, Dee Clark, Eddie Floyd, and others. When he struck out on his own, he went solo all the way, releasing a variety of albums on his own label as well as booking and promoting his own shows.

    This new album on Memphis’ King Snake doesn’t dilute Roberts’ signature sound. Backing him is a full blues band and a three-man horn section. The result is Roberts’ strongest CD, truly a deeper shade of blue than most.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Nov. ’99 issue.

  • Jimi Hendrix Experience – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience

    This four-CD box set illustrates again how the seed planted by Hendrix’s created a whole tree of rock guitar that still fourishes, although not at the level of creativity it did with Jimi. The music here is all alternate takes and previously unreleased stuff. And, it all re-establishes Jimi as the rock guitarist.

    There’s too much here to break this down song-by-song, but here are some highlights. A live version of “Hey Joe” from Paris in ’66 is nothing short of awesome. An alternatate take of “Third Stone From the Sun” highlights Jimi’s great sense of humor in the spoken intro, and then his great playing in the jazzy instrumental. It’s hard to believe the tongue-in-cheek blues of “Taking Care of No Business” has never been released. Throughout are alternate takes of clasics like “Purple Haze,” “If 6 was 9,” “Fire,” and more that show all of these as works in-progress. There’s some really cool unreleased stuff like “It’s Too Bad” with great playing and uncharacteristically political Jimi commentary.

    All in all, there’s over four hours of great music here. Put it with a beautiful purple velvet box and a comprehensive booklet, and you’ve got a winner. If you’re remotely interested in rock guitar or Hendrix, this is a must-have. Run – do not walk – to your nearest CD shop.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’01 issue.

  • Hipshot B-Bender

    B-Bender, Stealth, and Mania

    This month’s guest reviewer is so good I asked him to stick around for two sessions so we could savor his down home humor and nasty guitar playing for twice as long.

    Will Ray is a Hellecaster, a record producer, and hellacious guitarist. Plus, he invented a new style of electric guitar playing using his slide-rings, and teamed up with Hipshot to not only manufacture the Will Ray slide-ring and B-Bender device, but two educational videos; one demonstrating his extraordinary vocabulary of slides and glisses on the guitar using the slide (any mini-slide can be used, but Will’s ring works best), and one expounding on the use and joy of B-Benders, all kinds included.

    Besides producing cool devices like the extender, Hipshot, is also is the source for the Will Ray Stealth Slide Ring, B-Bender Device, and the two videos that demonstrate them. Using the ever-popular slogan “Get Bent with Will!”, this niche-market company is selling Stealth Slide Technique, a video that demonstrates Will’s Earth-rattling technique using his own, patented, mini-slide ring (one is included with the video).

    “This video can really help your slide technique in general,” Will relates. “[It shows] some basics, as well as advanced slide techniques, and it shows how to incorporate a mini-slide into your regular playing,” (the master demonstrates with a nasty faux-pedal steel intro off the five chord, interpolating with great delicacy a few slide glissandos using his own ring, which never goes far from the left hand).

    Hipshot is also using Will’s improved version of their own B-Bender, which attaches to any guitar with a minimum of modification and no routing (unlike my beloved Parsons-White, which requires a whole wood shop just to get onto your axe). The Will Ray model additionally features B or E bending, no drop D on the bass E string, and the option of a special detent with a setting at the half-step (one half note, that is, if the entire bend is a whole note), enabling the player to not only achieve a smooth pedal steel effect over chords, but a more dynamic voicing by exaggerating the half and whole-steps. Pretty nifty, and Will showed me how the precision machining makes this baby work, with real fine adjustments that can be done right on stage. “This just makes the whole concept of bending a lot easier,” smiles Mr. Ray. “And Hipshot has been great about helping get the project out into the real world.” The video B-Bender Mania features Will in a variety of situations using the bender (any bender will indeed be useful in this instance) to create swells, lush bends up to a country third and neat intro and outro licks, perfect for country or blues. Very impressive, and available through dealers, or Hipshot, at (607) 532-9404 or (800)262-5630; you can also write to Hipshot Products, 8248 State Route 96, Interlaken, NY 14847.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’97 issue.

  • Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers – We Got to Stop This Killin’

    We Got to Stop This Killin'

    Big Jack “Oilman” Johnson lays down modern-day Mississippi Delta blues at their best. Hailing from Clarksdale, some of his songs come straight from his front porch, such as “Lonesome Road;” others are hot from a juke joint stage. Throughout, Johnson’s fiery riffs and jagged, intense slide and fretted solos give you no mercy. These are rollicking, sweating blues in the tradition of Elmore James and Robert Johnson.


    This review originally appeared in VG‘s Dec. ’96 issue.