I have collected several Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups from the early ’70s, and I’m curious about how to check whether they’re set to factory specs, and then how to adjust the pole screws for best sound, particularly those on the bottom.
Is there any science to adjusting the screws, and what is the best height? Also, is there a spec for how far they were supposed to protrude from the bottom? – Thomas Cole
Pickup builder Jason Lollar is an expert on the Wide Range, and created the technical drawings for many of the parts being sold to winders who now make similiar pickups. Here’s what Jason said about adjusting them.
“Setting the poles is more of a mechanical issue than a specification. And, though it looks like there are three offset poles per coil, there are actually six.
All of those I’ve taken apart were set up the same way, and those adjusted from the bottom – the hidden ones – were set flush with the top of the bobbins. Gently screw those in until they hit the pickup cover, then stop (so you don’t bend the cover).
Those you adjust from the top are normally flush with the top of the cover. I’ve seen some where the pole pieces had been removed then put back in randomly, without attention to magnetic polarity. This left the pickup with south-up and north-up in the same bobbin, which gives certain strings very low (or no) output.
Back of the Wide Range; note the adjustable poles.
These pickups have weak magnets, so you can move them closer to the strings, and of course the bridge can go closer than the neck if the guitar has two. At the neck position, you could get as close as 1/8“, though I prefer about 3/16“. If you get poles too close, you can pull higher overtones out of tune, which gives a sour tonality. Worse, you could get an odd, wavering sound. Remember, the poles are magnets, and the reissues Fender made in the last 10 years were designed like a typical Gibson humbucker, with a single bar magnet and polepieces that are plain steel screws and slugs. They’re very different-sounding. The original Wide Range have a Fender-like splashy, spanky sound. The reissues use a lead wire with a plastic jacket and wire held to the bottom of the pickup using bent metal tabs attached to the base plate. Originals look more like the braided wire used on most Gibsons, and there are no tabs on the plate for strain relief. Finally, the embossed Fender logo is very light on the originals, but far deeper and more visible on the reissues.”
In December’s “In Memoriam” column, the picture of Spencer Davis shows him playing a natural-finish Harmony Stratotone. On the following page, the interview Joey Molland interview shows him with the same guitar. Could it be? It sure looks like it – bound neck, block inlays, foil-top pickups, gold knobs, trapeze tail, black pickguard, white pickup selector. Is Joey Molland now playing Spencer Davis’ Harmony? – Billy Soutar
We asked Joey, and he was kind enough to respond.
“Sorry, but no, it’s not the same guitar,” he said. “Spencer and I were friends over the years and we both loved the Stratotone. I first saw one right around 1960, in England, and got one many years later – I still have it and it’s my favorite guitar to play around the house and on sessions here and there, but I never take it on the road. They are great guitars – as good as anything I’ve ever played.”
I left my Takamine acoustic and ’80s Telecaster at my parents’ house on the Florida Coast while I spent a year in Germany. When I returned, my parents had moved them from an air-conditioned area of the house to the garage. When I opened the cases, the frets on both were covered in green funk, and the Tele sounded terrible. I metered it, and the signal is weak with very little bass. I’m removing the green stuff, but what about the Tele’s pickup? – James Weakley
Unfortunately, the salt air had its way with your guitars. Moisture has gotten into the pickup and formed rust, which caused many shorts in the windings. The pickup will function for a while in a diminished capacity until it finally quits working altogether.
Re-winders typically charge $70 to $100 for a Tele bridge pickup, so take that into account as you decide to re-wind or replace it.
I’d like to know more about my 12-string guitar. What can you tell me by looking at pictures? – Kathy Moore
It’s a 1976 Ibanez Concord 670 12, with an interesting maple neck/fretboard. We showed your photos to VG contributor Michael Wright, who is an expert on import instruments.
“The back and sides are almost certainly laminated, though it’s not plywood. Japanese makers learned early on that their guitars didn’t travel to North America very well, as solid woods often cracked. Like Panormo and other early makers, they would take two pieces of wood, usually reverse the grain, and glue them together. The better models had solid-spruce tops, while lower models were laminated, and all laminated-top guitars were tuned just like the solid-tops, making the sound pretty good.”
Zac Childs is a guitar tech in Nashville. If you have a question about guitars – anything from nuts and bolts to historical or celebrity-related inquiries – drop a line to him at zac@askzac.com or visit facebook.com/askzac.
This article originally appeared in VG March 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender- and Gibson-style instruments.
Thompson’s goal was to make a stringbender that could be installed without drilling holes or doing irreversible modification. He also wanted to utilize an actuator that didn’t get in the way of the guitar’s playability. And because stringbending systems typically are priced in the $300 to $600 range, Thompson thought he could offer a more economical alternative. Wishlist in hand, he was soon in his machine shop, putting to use his divergent skills.
The end result, which he calls the Tremor Bender, is a lightweight machined aluminum plate that bolts to an instrument. A fairly simple device, it ships with a bender plate that is retrofitted with a guitar’s existing bridge saddles and mounting screws. For our test, it was mounted to a stock Fender Telecaster.
Installation is not overly complicated, but does require a bit of setup skill; strings and bridge must be removed, and the saddles and bridge pickup are mounted to the plate, which is then mounted to the body using the guitar’s stock mounting screws. After mounting the plate to the body, the guitar is strung and adjustments are made to the action and intonation.
The Tremor Bender can be used on the B or G string (we chose the B) and its only adjustment is a stop screw that is set to allow different degrees of pitch bending, from a semi-tone to two whole steps! Tension of the bender’s actuation is accomplished with different string gauges – if you want a stiffer feel, use a .013 B string. Lighter? Use an .011, or even a .010 if you want the arm to be super “pinky friendly.”
Because no wood is removed, the Tremor Bender does not negatively affect the tone of the guitar. On the contrary, its large plate gave our test instrument a more open and acoustic-sounding midrange, similar to the effect of installing a Bigsby on a Gibson ES-335.
The sideways motion of the Tremor Bender is similar to that of the vibrato used on an early Gibson Les Paul/SG. It requires a bit of acclimation; if you are familiar with the functionality of a strap-actuated bender such as those made by Parsons/White or Glaser, you’ll have to adjust more than those who have never played one – experienced benders tend to push down on the guitar’s neck, thinking the B-string will rise in pitch. To facilitate its usage, we tried playing with a thumbpick, which helps keep the pinky in a better position to activate the bender arm.
The Tele was initially strung with a standard set of .010 to .46 strings, but a quick swap of the .013 B for an .011 produced a huge reduction in the amount of pressure needed to activate the TB. That means you don’t have to modify your pick-hand technique quite as much, so manipulation of the bender becomes more natural. Pedal-steel licks start to come easily with just a little practice, and it’s fun and interesting to use the bender to modify chord shapes.
After getting a bit more comfortable with the unit, we tried setting the bender to intervals other than the standard whole-step bend. Set up for a semi-tone bend, it brought out sitar-like tones. Setting it for two steps tends to cause all manner of harmonic havoc!
The TB is available in several versions; the Tele version for American Vintage and Mexican Standard guitars. The Strat model is usable only on models with vibrato bridges with six mounting screws – and yes you can use the TB with the stock vibrato. The unit for Gibson-style guitars mounts on the studs of a stop tailpiece and can also be used sans bender arm to facilitate a Bigsby.
Given the usability, quality of materials and workmanship, and retail price, on all counts, Don Thompson can boast “mission accomplished.” – Zac Childs
This article originally appeared in VG’s June 2008 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
EarthQuaker Devices has a knack for launching pedals that range from ideal tools for those seeking otherworldly sonic textures to vintage-inspired stompboxes for old-school players. Falling more in the latter group, the Westwood Translucent Drive Manipulator is a versatile dirt/boost box with powerful EQ and a wide range of drive levels.
Superficially, the Westwood’s Drive, Level, Treble, and Bass knobs might seem pedestrian, but the Treble and Bass controls offer a twist in the form of a center detent and 20dB cut/boost. In basic terms, that means its EQ section can fatten single-coil sounds or put the raunchiest humbuckers on a diet. The switch controls are smartly designed relay-based true-bypass circuit that is far superior, with greater reliability and a lack of noise.
We tested the Translucent Drive Manipulator using a Les Paul loaded with Duncan Antiquities and a Deluxe Reverb. With the pedal’s knobs at 12 o’clock, we were off to a rocking start with crisp, cranked British tones displaying a pleasing fizz on the top-end. Backing off the gain to 9 o’clock and both tone knobs slightly, the pedal produced a tone that allowed clean R&B double-stops with a lighter touch as well as stinging single-note lines with a heavier pick attack.
The Westwood is extremely responsive to changes in touch. A twist to the right on the Drive knob resulted in some fuzz characteristics, yet things never got indistinct – it remained consistent, controlled, and usable at any setting.
The Westwood is a well laid-out, versatile box. Its powerful EQ and range of levels enable the player to craft an array of pleasing tones.
This article originally appeared in VG May 2018 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Signature guitars tend to be either fan-boy models, the owners of which hang them alongside a collection of signed 8×10 glossies of the artists, or they’re useful instruments that just happen to carry the name of a famous chap.
The Reverend Reeves Gabrels Dirtbike is ensconced in the second camp. Gabrels is a noted solo artist, former David Bowie collaborator, and current guitarist with The Cure. Under its vibrant exterior (finished in Reeves Blue, Violin Brown, Cream, Metallic Emerald, or Metallic Violet) his personalized version of the Dirtbike boasts many nods to beloved guitars of yore – its set neck, angled headstock, bound fretboard, contoured Korina body with pointed cutaways, and 24.75″ scale are all nods to Kalamazoo. Meanwhile, the offset cutaways, in-line tuners, colorful finish options, and vibrato clearly reference Fullerton. Other features include locking tuners and a Wilkinson two-point bridge, both of which boost tuning stability whether dive-bombing or simply giving a chord a gentle wobble.
The Dirtbike’s single pickup is a Railhammer Reeves Gabrels humbucker, and it keeps things edgy; it’s aggressive, yet has a full sound with plenty of fat-but-clear highs, warm mids, and tight lows. The balance is aided by Reverend’s choice of wood and hardware, but due mostly to the unique Railhammer design, which utilizes blades on the low strings and oversized poles under the unwound strings. The blades’ tighter magnetic field keeps low-end from getting tubby, while the wider magnetic field of the oversized poles adds to output and overall character.
Names like Railhammer and Dirtbike might create expectations in the mind of a guitarist, and here they’re apt, as the guitar is certainly capable of hitting the front end of an amp with authority; with the Volume knob turned up all the way, it works very well with a pedal or the preamp section of an amp. But it also cleans up nicely with a slight backing-off the Volume knob. Like all Reverend guitars, it has a treble-bleed circuit to preserve high-end response when rolling off the Volume control. The Bass Contour is another wonderful feature; as the knob is turned down, the character of the pickup changes from robust, hot-rod humbucker to a slightly politer (but never wimpy) single-coil tone. A perfect application of this control is as a channel-switching effect; dial in a dirty solo tone with the contour full up, then back it off to clean things up and achieve a slightly less-robust tone perfect for comping chords until the next solo.
The Dirtbike’s design and features encourage a player to take chances and have fun on a tuneful, easy-to-play instrument. It’s a beauty to behold, a pleasure to play, and its combination of simple, gig-friendly features and vintage-inspired appointments make it perfect for jumping off ramps and popping musical wheelies while simultaneously skirting that audition for the local Lawrence Welk tribute band.
This article originally appeared in VG May 2018 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Railhammer’s Nuevo 90 Humcutter Set Price: $99 each Info: www.Railhammer.com
Joe Naylor has a long history of designing and marketing everything in the music business from high-end amps, guitars, basses, speakers, and effects pedals to his latest Railhammer pickups. His pickups all utilize a unique mix of blades and round polepieces to produce a more balanced tone than what is available by using one format or the other. Naylor’s latest is the Nuevo 90, part of the Humcutter series – P-90-styled hum-canceling pickups.
The Humcutter Nuevo 90 is a humbucker-sized pickup that, like all Railhammer designs, features their patented mix of blades and round polepieces. The blades are used under the wound strings to create a tighter low-end by sensing a smaller area of the strings’ vibrations; the large round poles sense a wider area of the string, and are used under the plain strings to give them as much fatness as possible. The neck measures out at 7.8k, and the bridge at 9k, and both utilize ceramic magnets. They are available with either chrome or black covers.
Mounted in a slab-bodied, bolt-on neck guitar and played through a reissue Deluxe Reverb, the pair of Nuevo 90s delivered stout, wiry tones that definitely mirror those of P-90s. The neck pickup was full-bodied and punchy with every note putting out a very commanding girth. The bridge Nuevo had the all the added midrange grind that one could would want, while both pickups together produced that slightly hollow tone that P-90 fans know and love.
The Nuevo 90 has the tonal vibe of a hot P-90 with the bonus of being in a much more standardized shape for the pickup swapper. To boot, it is dead quiet and its patented half-rail/half-polepiece design gives it the upper hand with better string-to-string tonal balance.
This article originally appeared in VG April 2018 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Rivet Pickups founder David Petschulat made the first locking vibrato with fine tuners for the EVH company, and worked stints at Kahler and Gibson.
With Rivet, Petschulat has developed a unique pickup design with two mini-coils that, once connected to their base, allow a variety of tonal options via various wiring cards.
Rivet pickups are the same size as standard humbuckers but have a very unique appearance thanks to their arrangement and number of polepieces. The ’63 is designed as a neck pickup and has a row of six pole pieces alongside a mini-coil of three poles; the bridge-position ’64 has a row of six poles with a four-pole mini-coil. The pickups connect to a card base with slip-on connectors; the base, in turn, has a slot for an interchangeable card. The unit tested with the Crunch 108 card allowed for a hotter output when the push/pull pot is in the down position. Other available cards include a Glass model, designed to give a more Tele-like tone from the set.
But where Rivet pickups really outshine other passive pickup designs is in their unique use of mini-coils to produce a clearer-sounding neck tone and a fatter-sounding bridge tone thanks to the arrangements of the mini-coils. For example, when the neck position is chosen, various amounts of the bridge’s mini-coils, positioned under the high strings, are added in to create a clearer and wider overall “neck” tone. Conversely, in the bridge position, the neck mini-coils positioned under the bass strings are mixed in to fatten things up.
The Rivet system is a highly idealized and extremely versatile set of pickups. Thanks to the ingenuity of founder David Petschulat, the ’63/’64 set offers a wider variety of tones and output levels than traditional humbuckers via it’s card system and imaginative use of mini-coils.
This article originally appeared in VG February 2018 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
EarthQuaker Devices is one of the most admired pedal builders today, thanks to their original designs that feature tweakable controls which allow players to easily dial in their own unique sounds. With more than forty pedal offerings, the EarthQuaker line covers everything from guitar synth to psychedelic reverb. Their latest – the Erupter – is a fuzz unit featuring an amazing amount of sophistication under its deceptive single Bias knob.
Removing the back from most fuzz units, especially vintage ones, reveals a handful of components. Not so with the Erupter. A look inside this small box provides all the proof needed that the chaps at EarthQuaker put a ton of thought into the circuit design crammed within.
First, there’s the small transformer on the board that mimics the output of a pickup, thus allowing the Erupter to be placed anywhere in your chain while remaining responsive to guitar volume changes. Also, unlike most fuzzes, the Erupter has a buffer to prevent loss on the high end. Other upgrades include a relay and soft-touch footswitch to engage true-bypass rather than the typical mechanical switch that is both prone to popping when engaged and not very reliable.
As mentioned, the Erupter has a single knob controlling the bias to the transistors, with a center detent for the optimum bias setting. Turn it to the right, and it becomes louder and perhaps stronger sounding. Go to the left, and the fuzz begins to spit as it becomes more gated. The tone of the fuzz is strong and forceful, and features a significant volume boost to help keep the effect from getting lost in the mix.
The EarthQuaker Erupter is a powerful fuzz device, with ingenious circuitry allowing, incredible signal-boosting capability, and variety of fuzz tones, all of which conspire to make it a great fuzz contender.
This article originally appeared in VG October 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
After six decades as a session musician, guitarist Reggie Young has released his first solo album, Forever Young. A showcase of the soulful Memphis-style guitar playing, from its opening track, it offers the chord melodies, sliding sixths, bends, and amazing tone that made him one of the most revered and imitated guitarists in Memphis, Nashville, and Muscle Shoals.
Though he began working on the album in his mid ’70s, it’s a showcase of his untarnished playing and taste that further cements his status as one of the most important guitarists of all time.
What took this so long?
People have been asking me for years to make an album, but I was too busy. I would be in the studio, and I started making up pieces of songs to use as warm-ups. Other players would ask me, “What is that?” and I’d respond that it was something I was messing around with. That really was where this all started. Then, I finally got all of the ideas together and decided to put them on tape.
You spent the last four decades recording in Nashville. So why did you do the album at Muscle Shoals?
I recorded down there quite a bit at Fame in the ’60s, and on other projects through the years. I also liked the LaLaLand studio down there because they have a Neve console. I also like the laid-back feel. Nobody is busy at their phone, wondering where they have to be next.
Tell us about the players.
Chad Cromwell played drums, David Hood played bass, and Clayton Ivey was on keyboards. They’re all guys I’ve played with for years, and we know each other real well. When we recorded the tracks, I was so busy producing the session that I was not happy with my guitar parts, so I ended up replacing them here at home with a recording engineer and my Deluxe Reverb in the next room. Then, I sent the tracks off to Jim Horn to add saxophone and flute.
“Memphis Grease” features your bluesy playing in the A section and the Memphis-style double stops and then, in the B section, sliding sixths that you helped popularize. Did you intentionally quote part of your intro to “Son of a Preacher Man” at the end of the B-section?
It wasn’t intentional; I guess it’s just part of my playing.
Speaking of those flowery R&B double stops, where did that style originate?
I’m not sure. Not many people do that anymore. Even Steve Cropper doesn’t really do it anymore, and that’s why I wanted to do it. Years ago, I felt like I was copying Bobby Womack, but Don Was said I was doing that style before Womack was. Bobby was certainly a big influence on me, though.
Talk a bit about the gear you used on the album.
My main guitars are a ’69 bound Tele and a ’57 Strat. The Tele has benders that Joe Glaser installed, a Bill Lawrence Strat pickup in the neck, Duncan Stack in the middle, and a Ron Ellis Tele in the rear. The Strat has Bill Lawrence noiseless pickups. My amp on the album was a ’65 Deluxe Reverb with a Celestion V30, or a Little Walter with an Ernie Ball volume pedal, a GE-7 to smooth things and add a bit of bass, and a Boss DD-6 for delay. I also used a TC Chorus and a Voodoo Lab tremolo and Sparkle Drive.
“Jennifer” features your work on volume pedal. When did you start using the volume pedal?
In the ’60s, I used to play instrumentals with steel guitarist John Hughey, in Memphis, and I liked the way he could drag notes out. None of the guitarist I knew of in Memphis or Nashville were using one at that time, so I decided to. “Jennifer” is dedicated to my wife, Jenny, who also played cello on the album.
Are there personal favorites among the tracks you’ve played on?
There are a handful, yes. Little Milton’s “Whenever You Come Around,” the Highwaymen’s “The Highwaymen,” Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away,” Merle Haggard’s “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” and I especially liked my solo on “It Always Will Be” from Merle’s album, Chicago Wind. It was overdubbed with Merle, Lee Sklar, Mike Post, and Jimmy Bowen watching me. I told them, “I don’t have a clue what I am going to play,” and then I played the solo heard on the album.
This article originally appeared in VG August 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
In 1985, Heritage Guitars took over a certain factory space at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan, after the former owners decided to move production to Nashville. Since then, Heritage Guitars have continued to craft instruments in the mold of those classic six-strings that first made Kalamazoo famous to guitarists worldwide. Their H-157W is a limited edition of their classic single-cutaway “Custom” model, and it features premium woods, upgraded electronics, high-end pickups, and deluxe hardware. In fact, the H-157W is limited to just 50 instruments: 25 with a quilted maple top, and 25 with tiger-stripe maple.
The Heritage H-157W’s deluxe appointments include an ultra-premium western maple top, TonePros locking bridge and tailpiece, a set of ThroBak KZ-115 PAF-style pickups, and top-of-the-line ThroBak pots and Luxe capacitors. The guitar is available in Honey Lemon with nickel hardware and Fireburst with gold hardware, and it features mutli-layer binding on the front and back of the body.
The fingerboard is a beautiful select piece of ebony that leads to an actual bone nut before reaching the single-bound headstock with its matching maple cap overlay and shadowed Heritage logo. As not to skimp on anything, the H-157W is strung with ThroBak Pure Nickel Hex Core strings for a vintage touch and tone. The instrument ships with a hardshell case and an individualized certificate of authenticity.
With a guitar like this, it comes down to the builder’s execution of a well-proven design, and Heritage has done a stellar job. Many who buy similar guitars will subsequently spend a small fortune upgrading pickups, hardware, and electronics to get the instrument “just right” – all because a manufacturer skimped in certain areas. Here there is no need for upgrades; Heritage took the time, expense, and research to optimize the H-157W right out of its case.
Plugged into a reissue Deluxe Reverb, the snap and clarity of the pickups is truly startling – like a great example of actual PAFs. This is no surprise – the ThroBak pickups are painstakingly wound with the same type of wire and bobbins and on the same machine that resided in the Parsons Street factory in the 1950s. Clean, these pickups have that almost P-90 quality that every winder strives for. Depending on touch and pickup selected, one can easily cover any style asked. Turning the Deluxe’s Volume knob to 8 produces the perfect level of hair on the notes, which never fall apart in any way. From clean and clear to very driven tones, this guitar holds its own.
The fretwork and setup are silky smooth, with well-dressed frets, a nicely cut nut, and a bend-friendly 12″ fingerboard radius. The gorgeous book-matched quilted maple top and beautifully straight-grained mahogany back and neck are expertly finished and very much the veritable cherry on top on an incredibly well-built top-shelf instrument.
With its exemplary fit and finish, premium woods, and the addition of the ThroBak pickups, the Heritage H-157W is a real stunner both visually and tonally. A finely made single-cutaway instrument crafted in the factory that made them famous – and it doesn’t need to have the hardware, pickups, or electronics upgraded. Heritage has taken the time to make it right the first time.
This article originally appeared in VG July 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
When Shawn Colvin’s Steady On won a Grammy in 1989, John Leventhal was instantly transformed from NYC sideman to in-demand producer, songwriter, and player.
The first to call were Rodney Crowell and Rosanne Cash, followed closely by Marc Cohn, who was working on his self-titled debut album. Leventhal’s work with Cash resulted in the introspective, pop-flavored The Wheel, and the two married in 1995. In ’96, Colvin and Leventhal reunited for A Few Small Repairs, which won Grammys for album of the year and song of the year (“Sunny Came Home”).
Collaborations continued with Joan Osborne, Michelle Branch, two more albums with Colvin, and three with Cash including 2009’s The List, based on a list of 100 essential country songs given to her by her late father, Johnny Cash. It garnered Album of the Year honors at the 2010 Americana Awards
2015 was a banner year for the team of Leventhal and Cash, as she won three Grammys for her Southern-tinged The River & The Thread, produced and co-written by Leventhal, who was subsequently awarded Instrumentalist of the Year honors at the Americana Association Awards. In mid ’16, Leventhal completed his latest project, William Bell’s This is Where I Live, for the revived Stax label. It won the Grammy for Best Americana Album and was nominated for Best R&B Performance for “The Three Of Me,” written with Cohn.
All told, Leventhal has produced work nominated for 16 Grammys to go with a catalog of hit songs as a writer, and guest spots with artists ranging from Donald Fagen to Dolly Parton.
1) This modded ’68 Tele is one of Leventhal’s main guitars. 2) This 1970 model was Leventhal’s first Telecaster and now serves as his primary road guitar. By way of necessity, it has been heavily modded through the years, including the middle pickup and a replacement neck from the Fender Custom Shop. 3) This parts guitar has a Tele body, Strat neck, and humbucker in the neck position. It was used through a Fender Vibratone on Bell’s “I Will Take Care of You.”
Why did you first pick up a guitar?
The initial impulse was definitely The Beatles. They hit me pretty hard; Beatles 65, in particular.
Why do you feel it’s important that you write songs?
The realization that the Beatles wrote their own tunes might have impacted me, but I think in some fundamental way I’m just wired with a need to write music. I’m compelled… I don’t really have a choice. I suspect it even comes a step before playing the guitar. I love the guitar, but from an early point in my musical life I was also looking beyond it in a lot of ways. I could generally muster more feeling coming up with a compelling chord sequence than playing guitar licks. Plus, from a relatively early point, I started to play bass and piano, probably attempting to work out writing and record making ideas without necessarily being conscious of it.
Leventhal playing onstage with his ’98 Fender Nocaster Relic.
When the opportunity arose to co-produce Steady On for Shawn Colvin, were you prepared?
Not really. I had written the tunes with her and had made the demos, which got her a deal. Naturally, I had ideas about how they should be recorded, but at that point I didn’t have enough knowledge of the studio, engineering, or mixing. I was bursting with ideas and had opinions about what everyone should play, but I hadn’t learned the art of conveying them in a way that keeps everyone and everything creative and positive. I remember putting a fair amount of effort into making the rhythm tracks fresh and different, and battling the drummer quite a bit.
By Fat City and Cover Girl, your role with Colvin had diminished. Were you too busy?
Steady On ended up getting noticed, so I did start to get busy, but Shawn and I had been a couple in the ’80s and our relationship basically came to end as we were making Steady On. We wrote a few tunes and spent a week in the studio starting what became Fat City, but it clearly wasn’t working. We needed time apart.
’98 Fender Nocaster Relic has a six-saddle bridge and mini-humbucker. It was his main road guitar from 1999 through 2013.
How did A Few Small Repairs come about?
As these things go, the air eventually cleared and she asked if I would work with her on what became A Few Small Repairs. It ended up being a great experience. I felt we were both in the zone for it. I was also starting to engineer. Probably our best work. I’m proud of it.
Were you surprised by its success and Grammy wins?
Sure. I felt good about the work, but you can’t predict that stuff. That album struck a chord, and while I was definitely attempting to craft a pop single with “Sunny Came Home.” I never dreamed it would take off the way it did. It was the second single, but I started hearing it every time I turned on the radio – a decidedly cool experience. If people think of me at all, I think it tends to be as a “roots guy,” but I’ve always respected and loved classic pop tradition, as well.
How did you meet Rosanne Cash, and end up producing The Wheel?
I met Rosanne the first time I came to Nashville, in 1990. I had written an album’s worth of songs with Jim Lauderdale and recorded demos. Long story short, Jim got signed to Warner’s and Rodney Crowell was interested in producing the record. He asked Jim, who did the demos, and the next thing you know I’m on a plane to Nashville with my Tele and Strat, then co-producing the record with Rodney. I think that record, Planet Of Love, was a bit ahead of its time. The label really didn’t get it, country radio definitely didn’t play it, and the whole Americana thing was still a few years away. Luckily, some of the songs ended up being covered by other artists – George Strait recorded two – and Jim went on to find a home in the Americana community. But more importantly, I met my future wife and she eventually asked me to produce what became The Wheel.
4) Leventhal used this mid-’60s Fender Bass VI on many recordings, including the solo on Shawn Colvin’s “Wichita Skyline.” 5) This Teisco ET-220 was used on William Bell’s “Born Under a Bad Sign.”
The List has you reimagining iconic country tunes in very intriguing ways. What was the process? Also, was Joan Osborne’s “How Sweet It Is” the first time you did that?
I’ve always messed around with older tunes, but Joan’s project was the first effort to do it as an entire album. It was Joan’s idea, and I think I got better at the rearranging thing with The List. That record was fun; Meshell Ndegeocello played bass on a track – a very good bass player. With Marc Cohn, I did a record of songs from 1970. Of course, with these projects, you start with songs that have stood the test of time. In general, I pretend I’ve never heard the song or that I’m writing new music to a given melody and lyric. The chords, groove, and arrangement are up for grabs. I enjoy the process. It’s good to have an open mind and heart in order to find something new in classic older tunes. In my opinion, there’s really never any point in re-doing something close to the original arrangement.
“Miss The Mississippi,” from The List, has some beautiful country/jazz guitar. What was your inspiration, and which instrument and amp did you use?
I’ve always liked that nexus of country and jazz. Hank Garland is a big template there. He had an authentic jazz voice but could also play the tastiest country, pop, blues, or rockin’ guitar, if necessary. My kind of guy. Chet’s a big influence, as well. I believe I used my ’68 Tele straight into a ’60s Vibrolux Reverb with a bit of compression before going to tape. Nothing fancy. Neck pickup, in this case a mini-humbucker.
Leventhal with William Bell in the studio.
The River & The Thread waxes from swamp to folk influences, with electric guitar and acoustic instruments taking turns at the forefront. Which were your main acoustic and electric guitars on that record?
Every track has different things on it because thought went into giving each its own character. I used a Tele with an original Wide Range Humbucker in the neck position. The main electric on “Modern Blue” is a ’74 Les Paul Custom. I came late to the Les Paul thing, but I love that guitar. I used a Jerry Jones Baby Sitar on one tune and a ’60s Fender Bass VI on another. It was all pretty varied. I have a bunch of great vintage acoustics, and they all get used. I have a particularly great ’30s Gibson J-35 and a ’56 J-50, and both record effortlessly, so they get used a lot. I also have a ’64 Guild F-30 and as well as an M-20 that were both used on that album. I do love old acoustic guitars. I’ve got the bug.
How does your approach differ between playing in the studio versus live?
They’re two different mind sets. I have very little guitar ego in the studio. I don’t come at it only from the perspective of a guitar player – I’m working to support the singer and the song, and everything is referenced against that. I never listen to the guitar – or any instrument – as an individual thing or statement. The only questions are, “Is this song working?” and “Does the vocal sound great.” To that end, different guitars, amps, and approaches are used all the time. I don’t really have a particular sound or approach, and I try not to repeat myself too much. Live, on the other hand, I tend to have a more-consistent sound and try to make more of a guitar statement with a little more of me thrown in. Hopefully, I’ve developed some kind of distinctive touch.
I should say, though, that listening is crucial in both situations. I tend to say if you’re not following the lyric, you’re probably playing too much.
Leventhal with a ’61 Epiphone Sorrento.
You’re one of the early purveyors of “ambient guitar.”
I’ve basically stopped doing the ambient guitar thing because I started hearing it on too many records. I didn’t originate the concept, but I was in early, using it subtly on singer/songwriter records. I got the idea in the ’80s, from hearing Alan Holdsworth use volume swells and delays to create these lovely orchestral voicings with a haunting quality. I do it with a volume pedal or the guitar’s Volume knob and a cocktail of delay or delays, occasionally with a touch of tremolo or a bit of modulation in the delay. The idea is to create a sense of mystery and/or depth in a track. You can sometimes achieve the same effect by rolling the treble off your guitar and subtly picking or doubling a part with your fingers.
In the beginning, I used it to create ambient drones and washes that would bring harmonic tension to chord changes and create feeling in the track. Eventually, I started using it in more-subtle ways to create little mysterious ambiences in a song or a section of a song. Singers like it because it implies a depth without getting in their way, and it sounds more organic than a synth pad.
I started to lose interest after it started to feel gimmicky. It’s generally more satisfying to create feeling and mystery with musicality and creative parts.
You played a Strat in the late ’80s and early ’90s, then by ’96 moved to a Tele. What made you switch?
I eventually just missed the Tele; it’s what I started with. I was never entirely comfortable with the Strat, even though I used it a lot for a while. It’s the main guitar on Steady On, Planet Of Love, and Marc Cohn’s first album, including “Walking In Memphis.” Apart from another Tele, it was the only other guitar I owned during that period. I couldn’t quite afford a bunch of guitars yet. That particular Strat had EMG pickups.
6) This ’70s Gretsch Country Club can be heard on “Walking On A Tightrope” by William Bell. 7) This ’61 Epiphone Sorrento is one of Leventhal’s favorites, used on Roseanne Cash’s The List and Marc Cohn’s Listening Booth 1970.
Who are some of your favorite Tele players?
James Burton and Clarence White made me want to own a Tele. I loved James’ playing, particularly through Emmylou’s first couple of albums. But I have to say, when I first heard his solo on Merle Haggard’s version of “Frankie and Johnnie,” it changed the way I thought about the guitar. His soul-guitar fills on the Gram Parson ballad “She” also made a big impact on me. It’s pure poetry. The intent of Clarence’s playing was always riveting to me. Hard to pick a favorite, but his solo on the Byrds’ “Truck Stop Girl” just killed me. It was so funky, in an original way.
On the blues and R&B side – neck pickup rather than bridge pickup – there’s Jesse Ed Davis and Cornell Dupree. I loved them both. Jesse Ed’s touch, tone, and time floored me. His playing on Taj Mahal’s “Moving Up To Country” basically taught me how to play blues guitar. Cornell was the master of the slinky two- or three-note rhythm thing that could uplift a track or groove. I used to go see him in New York City clubs all the time, and his whole stance left an impression on me.
Leventhal with his ’70 Tele onstage with Rosanne Cash.
What is your touring gear with Rosanne – guitars, amps, and pedals?
We travel lightly, so I bring a Tele and one acoustic. Currently, I’m using the 1970 Tele I’ve had for 40 years. At this point, nothing is original on it except the body and hardware. In the ’80s, when a Strat sound was sort of required, I put a middle pickup in it. A few years ago, I put a different neck on it, and it really became a better guitar. My pedal board consists of a FX Mirage compressor, a modded Boss Tremolo TR2, a Mad Professor Little Green Wonder for grind, Boss Analog Delay DM-2 for slapback, and a Line 6 Echo Park for longer delays. We rent a Fender 410 Deville – it’s an imperfect choice, but they’re available and relatively consistent.
I’ve been using my Collings OM1 for a long time. I play it direct with an under-saddle pickup by Shertler and through the pedals and amp with a Fishman soundhole pickup. The amp fills out the sound a bit and moves it away from the under-saddle pickup thing that I hate. These things tend to require compromise but I’ve learned how to get a decent sound out it.
Where you aware ofWilliam Bell before being asked to do production for others?
I was very much aware of William. Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, it was hard not to be influenced by all the incredible R&B and soul music on the radio. In many ways, it was the first music I learned to play as a professional. William wrote two of the greatest soul ballads of all time, “You Don’t Miss Your Water” and “Everybody Loves A Winner.” He co-wrote one of the best blues songs of all time and his recording of “I Forgot To Be Your Lover” is a longtime favorite of mine.
This Kay was modded with a Teisco pickup in the neck position and a DeArmond near the bridge. “A friend tweaked the neck, and it’s a great guitar,” said Leventhal. “Sort of a non-Coodercaster.”
How did writing with Bell differ from writing with Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, or Rosanne?
It wasn’t all that dissimilar. I’ve done a fair amount of collaborating over the past 30 years, so at this point I’ve approached songwriting from every conceivable angle. I still love writing tunes and challenging myself to do interesting work. Marc and I had started about three tunes before I met William. I played them for William; luckily, he dug them, so I finished them with him. For other tunes, I had some music and/or a bit of lyric and if William liked it, we’d finish lyrics together. William brought in a couple of titles, so on those we proceeded to write music and lyrics together. Rosanne and I wrote a tune for William, as well. Apart from that, he and I spent a fair amount of time getting to know each other, during which I was secretly looking for things to write about.
How hard was it to avoid nostalgia when producing an idiom with well-defined horn lines, guitar licks, and drum-and-bass patterns?
For me, it wasn’t hard at all. I’m not interested in rehashing clichés in any genre, great as they might have been. I also consider it a losing proposition in that you’ll never create music as deep and meaningful as the originals. I trusted that our DNA had enough of the language of soul music that we could honor the tradition but still create vibrant music without resorting to mimicry or some kind of post-modern deconstructionism.
Writing meaningful lyrics was also key to keeping it fresh and real. From the beginning, I knew our lyrics had to have substance.
8) This ’68 ES-335 can be heard on William Bell’s “Poison in the Well.” 9) Leventhal used this ’77 Gibson L-5 on William Bell’s This Is Where I Live.
Describe the challenges of recording a fresh take on “Born Under a Bad Sign.”
From the start, I thought it was a good idea for William to cut it because I’ve discovered that most people had no idea he and Booker actually wrote it. The question was how to do it. Albert King’s original 1967 Stax version was so definitive, and in its own way, so was Cream’s ’68 cover, that it was hard to get out from under their shadows. Plus, you have two great guitarists really burning at their peaks.
Leventhal’s amp collection includes a blackface Fender Super Reverb, Vibrolux, Deluxe, a recent Blues Deluxe, Gibson GA-20T and GA-18, a tweed Champ, an ’80s Super Champ, a Fender Vibratone (missing its front panel), a Carr combo, and a Silvertone.
We first cut a version indebted to the original – a bit swampier, but with the original guitar/bass line. It was a perfectly respectable version, William sang it beautifully, and I even got to play some blues guitar. But at the eleventh hour, I felt it wasn’t bold enough and didn’t achieve the goal of bringing something new. Then, I had a small insight: I didn’t necessarily need to play the original line. That changed everything. Luckily, I came up with an alternate that seemed like it could soulfully carry the original melody and bring a new perspective… sort of a trans-Delta thing. I cut it with Victor Jones on drums and me playing everything else. William really dug the first version, so I had to talk him into trying it the new way. But he was gracious enough to give it a shot – and ultimately grew to dig it.
What gear did you use for this album?
A good portion of the electric guitar was my ’77 Gibson L-5, which is a great soul guitar – clean, fat, and articulate. I wanted my sound to be reminiscent of classic soul, but not imitative. On “The Three Of Me,” I played one part with the neck pickup, the other with the bridge. It worked in a Reggie Young/Bobby Womack guitar-duo kind of way.
There are also tracks on which I used a Tele or two, “Poison In The Well” was primarily my ’68 335, and there’s a two-pickup Teisco through a Gibson GA-20 for the main line on “Bad Sign.” Mostly, I used a ’60s Deluxe Reverb or Princeton Reverb, but snuck in some Fender Vibratone on the ballad “I Will Take Care Of You.”
What’s on your docket?
Rosanne and I still do a fair amount of performing with our band and as a duo. I’ve also been compiling music for a possible solo project and talking to a few artists about producing. I want to get back to record making later this year.
Leventhal (right) with Ry Cooder and Rosanne Cash at the 2014 Americana Music Awards. Leventhal is holding his modified Kay while Cooder has his modified mid-’60s Strat.
This article originally appeared in VG June 2017 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
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