Year: 2014

In each issue of “Signal Chain,” we’ll take a guided tour of pro players’ pedalboards. We’re calling the feature “Star Board,” and we kick it off in this issue with a look at two of Carl Verheyen’s most-used pedal setups.

Carl Verheyen’s “Pedalboard #1”

Verheyen’s primary pedalboard for stage use has traveled the world with him. “I plug the guitar into a Crybaby wah and from there it goes to the red Lehle switcher with the Carl Verheyen mod,” he said. “This means I can hit just one button to switch between rigs, and I never have to look down to find the A or B channel while singing. For the clean-rhythm side, I go out through the Zen Drive pedal to the Clean output of the silver routing box at the top right. My delays and reverbs are rack mounted for both sides of the A/B rig.

“The distortion side (B) hits a Landgraff Perfect Distortion pedal (bottom middle), then my signature Il Distorsore pedal from Analogics. Next is the yellow LDD distortion pedal by Mr. Crazy Mod I got in Thailand, and the Voodoo Labs Proctavia is last. As you can see, I use the Korg Pitch Black tuner and the T-Rex Fuel Tank for power. The entire board is wired in a sealed casing on its underside – bulletproof on the road. I used all these pedals on my latest album, Mustang Run, especially the Il Distorsore on most Stratocaster solos and the LDD drive on ‘Last days of Autumn.’ I used the Landgraff with a Les Paul on ‘Taylors Blues’ and with a ES-335 on ‘Spirit of Julia.’”

Carl Verheyen’s “Pedalboard #2”

Carl Verheyen’s “Pedalboard #2” is a studio board he uses to run a large effects rack he employs for soundtrack work and other recording projects. “The guitar goes into a Crybaby wah on the far right,” he said. “Next is a Boss volume pedal for swelling-in chords and ethereal sounds used often in the film scores. I follow that with an Analogman King of Tone pedal, which combines very nicely with the T-Rex Mudhoney next to it. I then feed a Dark Echo pedal by Jack DeVille Electronics, and the Providence Chrono Delay, which has amazing control over time and tempo parameters. The Peterson tuner comes off the volume pedal for silent tuning and power is supplied by a Fuel Tank by T-Rex. I used this board for the title track on Mustang Run, especially the ethereal tones in the intro, called ‘Passage to Run.’ The two distortion pedals yield many combinations of dirty tones, and the Chrono delay means I never have to dig around for a click track chart to time out my delays.”

This article is from VG Signal Chain issue #1. All copyrights are by Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

If you play any breed of twang, country, roots-rock or, well, “Americana,” could there possibly be a better amp than this? Okay, according to specs and tonal preferences, sure there could. But for sheer vintage-hip and all-out cool, you really can’t do better than dragging this 1966 Excelsior Americana to the next Gram Parsons tribute show. Rest assured, this thing does sound bodacious, and does very much its own thing, too, so you will certainly stand out visually and sonically from the name brands on the bandstand.

Excelsior wasn’t an amp manufacturer, but a self-declared “House of Music” (even The House of Music, no less) according to the red badge in the lower-right corner of the Americana’s grille. Which is to say, it was a brand that marketed products supplied by several different manufacturers. Chicago jobber Valco built some Excelsior-branded amps, as did some lesser (and less desirable) makers, but this big beauty appears to have been the work of defunct New Jersey amp maker Sano, which still has a reputation in the guitar-cum-accordion world. As such, Sano amps often have certain traits in common with other manufacturers that sought to make the world of polka a louder place – similarly aiming for high headroom, clarity, and fidelity – though this Excelsior is nothing like any Ampeg you’ve ever seen.

Even beyond the undeniable cachet of carrying around such a stylish and unusual amp, the Excelsior Americana has a lot to recommend. For the guitarist unaccustomed to the vagaries of accordion amplification, however, it can also be a confusing amp to plug into. Duke Kelso, owner of this museum-quality example, ran us through the ins and outs: since full-sized professional accordions have Treble and Bass sections with separate outputs (left-hand keys, right-hand buttons), the red Accordion Treble input has a TRS jack (tip-ring-sleeve “stereo” jack) to accept both sides, and splits them to their own relatively high-fidelity preamp sections. Alternatively, Excelsior provided a lead with a TRS jack on one end and two color-coded mono 1/4″ jacks on the other to plug into the individual Treble and Bass inputs (with a high-pass filter on the latter to voice it accordingly, and a full tone stack on the former). The guitar section offers typical Normal and Bright inputs, which take the signal to a more standard midrange-emphasizing preamp section. Each preamp section – Accordion Treble, Accordion Bass, and Guitar – uses half of a 12AX7 as a first gain stage, with another 12AX7 for tone stack and gain makeup in the Accordion Treble, and 12AU7 for gain makeup in the bass sections. Confused yet? To further complicate things, the tremolo effect is tapped via the accordion TRS input only, while the reverb is accessed via all inputs. To achieve the Americana’s throbbing, evocative tremolo with guitar, simply plug into the Bright input and patch from the Normal input across to the Accordion Treble, an arrangement that also induces some tasty crunch at higher volumes since you’re juicing it through two preamps. It’s worth noting, too, that all of this is achieved across two complete chassis sections, a top-mounted preamp chassis, and a bottom-mounted power-amp chassis, all connected via a pigtail of seven bundled leads bridged across a pair of eight-pin sockets.

What you might notice when dialing in your preferred tone on this thing is that the “dry” tone retains surprising virility even when the reverb is piled on heavy. Tracing the circuit, we discover that this lack of “tone suck” in the effects comes thanks to the fact that the Americana is really two amps in one; the dry signal runs through two cathode-biased EL34s and onward via a stout output transformer to two 12″ speakers, while the “wet” signal (reverb) is routed to its own output stage, consisting of a single EL84, a whopping 17″ Gibbs spring tank mounted vertically at the side of the cabinet, a small output transformer, and a dedicated 5″ speaker. Essentially, it’s a self-contained example of the “wet/dry rig” that has become popular with many players these days, but which usually requires two independent amps to achieve. And while you might think a single-ended amp putting out wattage in the single digits would have trouble competing with a 2×12 rig pumping upward of 40 or more watts (Excelsior rates it optimistically at 50), it’s a surprisingly effective means of slathering lush reverb up and over and behind the core tone of the Americana, and the format ultimately lends this thing a depth and multidimensionality you don’t hear from many amps.

The chassis declares it an amp with “Stereophonic Hi Fidelity” capabilities; it’s really more “dual mono,” though just about anything carrying a TRS jack in the ’60s seemed able to get away with the “stereo” label. Other renditions of the Americana experimented with even wackier speaker configurations; a version that carried one 15″, two 8″, and two further side-firing elliptical speakers might have implied stereo more fully, though we can’t find anything to indicate the side speakers were fed by a true stereo amp, and the chassis we’ve seen looked much like those of our example here.

As revealed in painstaking research by singer/songwriter/guitarist Larry John McNally (also a fan of Sano-made amps) the Sano company was founded in 1951 by Joe Zonfrilli, Sr., after he was called upon by accordionist Nicholas Sano to design a functional accordion pickup – an endeavor that virtually signaled the birth of accordion amplification. Zonfrilli patented his design, and put both the pickups and Sano amplifiers into production in the early ’50s, eventually adapting the latter to suit the needs of guitarists too, as the rock-and-roll boom opened up the market. Sano constructed amps in three factories around New Jersey from its birth in ’51 until the company ceased production around 1980. The “faux stereo” setup was a popular feature on many of the larger Sano (and therefore Excelsior) amps, lending an impressive dimension to the naturally broad sound of a piano accordion, but the amps’ hi-fi capabilities and stout performance have made them popular with pedal-steel guitarists, and they have a cult following among ordinary six-stringers, too. For twang, jangle, jazz, or even atmospheric indie, you could do far worse than plugging into the evocative Excelsior Americana.

This article originally appeared in VG November 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

When the Gretsch Company introduced its Chet Atkins Hollowbody model 6120 guitar for the 1955 model year, it was not making a subtle statement. In addition to the impossible to ignore G-brand affixed to the body, the steers-head motif on the headstock, and the cowboy-styled engravings in the fretboard markers, the Western panache of this guitar was only amplified further through its ostentatious Amber Red (a.k.a. Western Orange) translucent stain finish.

Although a flagship model for the company, these guitars experienced a multitude of feature evolutions from its 1955 debut in full-blown Western flavor, until the last batch of the more streamlined single-cutaway format in ’61. About the only feature that escaped modification over these years was the signature finish. Even when the 6120 was subjected to a complete redesign for the ’62 model year, and the double-cut sealed-top Electrotone body design was incorporated, the Western Orange finish was retained and provided one of the primary indicators to the buying public that these were still Chet Atkins 6120 guitars.

As a result, for most Gretsch enthusiasts, the Western Orange finish on the 6120 has become iconic, and synonymous with the model, and shared only with the companion 6121 Solidbody. Typically, most Gretsch models were produced from the Brooklyn factory in batches of 50 or 100. But in the case of the 6120, many batches included a quantity of 6121 Solidbody models. This was a curious practice, duplicated to a lesser extent with batches of White Falcon (model 6136) and White Penguin (model 6134).

Gretsch has been recognized for pioneering, and subsequently popularizing, the use of colored finishes on its electric archtop line of the ’50s. Many of these hues, and their use in combination, were inspired by the automotive stylings of the period. As a result, most of the company’s models were available in multiple finish options, while the 6120 remained steadfast in its commitment to the Western Orange aesthetic.

This didn’t necessarily mean it was impossible to acquire a 6120 in something other than orange. It simply meant that for most it was unthinkable. However, there are always those who prefer the road less traveled. Perhaps some musicians were attracted to the sonic qualities the 6120 package, but just weren’t interested in presenting the kind of visual impact the standard finish delivered. For these few, the Brooklyn factory would create – on a one-off/custom-order basis – a Chet Atkins 6120 in something other than Amber Red.

In the seven years the Chet Atkins 6120 was manufactured in the single-cutaway format, there were approximately 50 batches of the model produced, translating to no more than 4,000 guitars. Today, these are among the most popular Gretsches, and appear regularly on the secondary market. Only on rare occasion however, does a custom-color single-cut 6120 surface. Ironically, when they do, they tend (with a few exceptions) to not be finished in one of the company’s automotive-inspired options, but instead in the more pedestrian brown-sunburst the company applied to most of its base model electric archtops. On the face of it, and considering the model in question, this might seem counterintuitive. But if the objective was to not stand out in the crowd, what better way to understate the visual of the 6120 than to mute its flamboyance through a more-traditional archtop finish.

The small fraternity of original Gretsch owners who opted out of the flashy Western Orange 6120 have, 50 years later, created a challenge for current owners of these rarely encountered anomalies. First, it’s not unreasonable to assume that if a collector or musician were seeking to acquire a vintage Gretsch 6120, he/she would probably desire it to be finished in the celebrated Amber Red stain. Second, there seems to be a natural skepticism about these brown-sunburst specimens, and questions regarding their legitimacy often result. Recent serial number and batch analysis has been helpful in these cases, as well as for determining the authenticity of any guitar being represented as a Chet Atkins 6120. The fact that periodic attempts have been made to pass off “6120 conversions” (from lower-end Gretsch donor guitars) as legitimate Chet Atkins 6120s have made prospective buyers wary of even certain Western Orange examples. So, when an uncommon specimen, not to mention one with a brown-sunburst finish, surfaces, it tends to raise even more eyebrows. The following specimens are authenticated examples of the ultra-rare Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120, in the custom factory brown-sunburst finish.

As the ’60s progressed, custom-color/double-cutaway 6120s became more numerous, most sporting interesting hues (not the brown sunburst!). By then, however, the Western aura of the original had all but faded, and the signature finish was losing its impact. In the spring of ’72, the sun set on the Western Orange finish as the Baldwin Piano Company, which had taken over the brand in ’67, discontinued the finish as it revamped the model, giving it a red finish and reassigning it as the 7660 Nashville.

Ed Ball is the author of Gretsch 6120, History of a Legendary Guitar (Schiffer Publishing).

This article originally appeared in VG July 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

The banjo and American music cross paths in a remarkably entangled web of complexity. The banjo was brought to the New World – conceptually, at least – by African slaves who used it to create music subsequently appropriated by 19th-century white entertainers, who created blackface minstrelsy, which became the basis of Vaudeville and a great source of opportunity for waves of new, more-willing immigrants. Among these were many Europeans, including an Italian family by the name of Iosco, which figures both in the rise of ragtime and in the existence of the Yosco No. 2 Tenor Banjo.

The Iosco family – Americanized to Yosco upon their arrival – hailed from Castemezzano, Potenza, Basilicatena, in south-central Italy, an area historically associated with harpists and harp making, thus explaining, in part, the musical routes to success taken by some members. Family records indicate that the parents, Domenico and Maria Antonia, emigrated to the U.S. in 1877. Their youngest known son, Rocco Giuseppe (1874-1942), changed his name to Robert Joseph Yosco. Robert, who played mandolin, teamed with harpist George Lyons (probably originally Giorgio Leoni) and joined the national Vaudeville circuit as Yosco & Lyons, singing and doing comedy routines. Like minstrelsy before it, early Vaudeville depended heavily on self-deprecating ethnic humor. Yosco & Lyons are considered early ragtime performers whose songs frequently reference their Italian heritage. Their biggest hit was the song “Spaghetti Rag,” which they recorded in 1910.

The Iosco’s oldest known son was Rocco Lorenzo (b. 1869), who changed his name to Lawrence and apparently inherited an aptitude for building instruments. Whether trained by his father or with a New York manufacturer (or both) is unknown, but by 1900 (at the latest) he had established the Yosco Manufacturing Company, promoting mandolins and banjos.

Yosco seems to have been a fairly prolific manufacturer, since a fair number of his instruments have survived. Yosco is perhaps best known for his Colossus, a guitar banjo, a large banjo with a six-string guitar neck.

In 1918 Lawrence Yosco was granted a patent for a “double internal resonator” called the “Yosco Double Rim,” as seen on this banjo. Basically this consisted of a regular outside rim doubled by a second internal rim about 6″ smaller in diameter. The banjo’s head rests on both rims, making it an “archtop” instrument; the resonator is formed by a rounded piece of wood attached to the bottom of the two rims, forming a hollow sound chamber. This particular example is made of curly maple and sports 16 brackets and what appears to be an original skin head. The example you see here has a nickel tone ring. Its planetary tuners are typical of the ’20s, the fingerboard is rosewood, and the pearl inlays are also fairly standard. The bridge is a modern replacement. The instrument’s condition is in part due to its having spent a good deal of its life in the attic of a central New Jersey firehouse.

Yosco Double Rim banjos hit the market just in time for prohibition and the “jazz age.” Except for the guitar-necked Colossus, virtually all Yosco banjos are either tenor or plectrum; no five-strings have, to our knowledge, surfaced, though one or more certainly could have been made. There has been a fair amount of conversion on them, with later five-string necks being added.

Like many banjo manufacturers, Yosco graded his banjos based on how fancy they were; No. 1 would presumably be plainer, probably with dot inlays, No. 2 was likely in the middle, and No. 3 was the fanciest, though the few seen look quite similar. Some were made of figured walnut.

A number of sources suggest Yosco did not make its own banjos, but that they were made by Rettberg & Lange or William L. Lange. Others suggest only the necks were made by Rettberg & Lange. However, since Yosco had been building its own mandolins since at least 1900, they could have made their own banjos. The body and neck on the banjo seen here certainly look like they were made by the same maker. Lange had entered the banjo business about the same time as Yosco, doing business as Rettberg & Lange from circa 1897 to 1922. Rettberg & Lange also took over the manufacturing operations of J.H. Buckbee, a major 19th-century maker who supplied instruments to many retailers under many different names. So there certainly was a tradition of building for other companies (19th-century banjos of uncertain origin are often labeled “Buckbee,” kind of like all mystery guitars are called Regals!). In 1922, William L. Lange took sole control of the company and was responsible for the Orpheum and Paramount brands. So if, indeed, there was participation in Yosco banjos, this example would reflect that. Since this banjo references the patent, it’s clearly from later than 1918.

Yosco banjos were distributed by the New York wholesaler Perlberg and Halpin, and were available into the ’30s. Just when Lawrence Yosco passed away is unknown, but by the ’30s he would have been in his 60s, so it’s reasonable to assume the company ended when Yosco died or retired. By the ’30s, guitars were clearly the ascendant in terms of popularity, while banjos were receding. Yosco declined to make the transition.

There’s no evidence concerning how many Yosco banjos were produced. The one shown has serial number #441, which presumably is consecutive. Despite years of neglect, it has survived pretty well. The head shows its age, but it plays well and sounds quite nice.

The Yosco Double Rim is a sturdy, decent-sounding banjo, even if it’s not perceptibly superior to banjos equipped with a full-sized resonator covering the entire back – especially if you consider the better models. But one sure to sound great on it would be Robert Yosco’s “Spaghetti Rag!”

This article originally appeared in VG August 2011 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.