For more than 40 years Peavey’s ongoing evolution while building guitars, amps, and pro audio equipment has attracted some big names in the music industry. Adding to their substantial amp roster is their latest offering in the category of modeling amps. Peavey calls the Vypyr VIP 2 “The world’s first Variable Instrument Performance amplifier.” It’s a live-performance rig and USB-compatible recording amp that enables guitarists to plug in an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, or bass. It also offers some of the most widely used guitar effects and amp simulations.
With Peavey’s TransTube analog circuitry, the VIP 2 features 36 onboard amp models (including six bass models and six acoustic). It also has 36 different effects, 10 of which are instrument models, and real-time global reverb and delay controls. (A Looper requires a Sanpera or Sanpera II foot controller.)
The instrument input has a bank of four button-accessed presets: Electric 1, Electric 2, Acoustic, and Bass. Users can save settings by holding the button until the LED stops blinking.
In addition to bypass, the Inst/Stomp encoder knob has Acs 1/2 (acoustic 1 and 2), 12Str/7Str (12-string and seven-string), Res/Sit (resonator and sitar), Vio/Syn (violin and synthesizer), and Bari/Bss (baritone and bass) settings. Stomp functions include Tsc (overdrive), Fuzz, Slap (slapback delay), Slice (fast or slow on and off settings), Uvb (rotary speaker), Rmd (ring modulator), and Wah (auto), as well as a vibrato and analog (clean) boost.
The Amplifiers (amp encoder) knob accesses amp models. Each has three channels: low gain, medium gain, and high gain. The amp models are British (British classic combo), Butcher (British classic stack), Classic (Peavey Classic series), XXX (Peavey XXX), 6534+ (Peavey 6534+), 6505+ (Hi-gain), Budda (Class A low-wattage combo), Twn (Classic California Clean), Trace Acoustic (acoustic guitar amp), Ecous (Peavey acoustic guitar amp), Trace Bass (bass amp), and Peavey Bass.
Farther down the panel, the Effects knob offers Tremolo, Octaver, Phaser, Rot. Spkr. (rotary), Reverse, Pitch Shftr (pitch shift), M.O.G. (Monophonic Octave Generator), Flanger, Comp, Env. Filter (envelope filter), and Chorus. The Pre-Gain knob doubles as an editor for Parameter 1 of the selected Stompbox or Effect. The Low encoder knob controls the low EQ adjustment and doubles as an editor for Parameter 2 of the selected Stompbox or Effect. The Mid encoder adjusts the mid EQ and controls the number of delay repeats. The High encoder fine-tunes the high EQ and the delay level. The Post-Gain controls the individual preset volume as well as the amount of reverb. Last, there’s a Master Volume, Looper indicator, Tap Tempo button for delay, a USB record out, an Aux input, and an out jack (headphones or record).
Armed with a Fender P-Bass, a boutique “superstrat,” and a Breedlove acoustic, it was time to get busy. At 40 watts, this 1×12 combo is light, loud, and sturdy. Punching through the presets elicited Van Halen crunch, Edge-like affected cleans, rugged blues tones, and an assortment of synths, reverse guitar, and chimey 12-string patches.
The quality of the tones was inspiring. The air moves like it does through a raging Peavey 6505, but the amp models and the effects offer an experience similar to hearing those sounds coming through a studio monitor. Gig-wise, all these features are overkill (though it’s still a solid amp for small to medium venues), but just right for recording. Acoustic guitars came alive with nifty EQ settings, and in electric guitar mode, amp tones were consistent regardless of volume level. The bass presets were perfect, and although the 12-string simulations left something to be desired, they can be used in other creative ways.
The resonator is realistic, the baritone patch is gratifying, and the violin and synth will lead to long-term noodling. All sounds were easy to edit, and the computer easily detected the VIP 2 as a recording device. The USB port can also be used to download firmware updates.
The VIP 2 is a sweet recording amp for electric, acoustic, and bass. The amp models are close enough, and the quality of effects and recording functionality make the VIP 2 tremendous fun at an affordable price.
This article originally appeared in VG October 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Robben Ford onstage at Crown of the Continent Festival. Photos: BrendaAhearn.
Want a surreal experience? Try looking up from your oatmeal to see Robben Ford and Pat Metheny strolling past your table, Lee Ritenour and Daryl Stuermer grabbing waffles in the chow line, and Scott Tennant sipping orange juice while discussing repertoire with the L.A. Guitar Quartet. The sky is postcard blue and a lawn slopes gently toward a shimmering mountain-ringed lake. No, you haven’t died and gone to guitar heaven. It’s just another morning at the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop & Music Festival, held each August in Bigfork, Montana.
This nonprofit event celebrates the guitar and Montana’s majesty at Flathead Lake Lodge, a dude ranch that has hosted Bing Crosby, both Presidents Bush, and Bugsy Siegel. Money raised goes to scholarships for promising players, and local music education and environmental groups.
Students this year chose workshops taught by Andrew Leonard (classical), Doug Smith (acoustic), Jody Fisher and Mark Dziuba (jazz), Tobias Hurwitz (rock), Jeff McErlain (rock and blues), Matt Smith (performance), James Hogan and Dennis McCumber (jamming), Bret Boyer (singer/songwriter) and Susan Mazer (beginner).
Faculty and Artists-In-Residence (AIR) mingled with 68 students, aged 14 to 60-plus, who supercharged their playing at the workshops, afternoon clinics and late-night jams at local watering holes. Artists In Residence also popped into classes to answer questions and demonstrate licks – there’s nothing quite like having Ford show you his favorite blues turnaround!
(LEFT) Lee Ritenour. (RIGHT) Robben Ford with bassist AbeLaboriel.
Luthiers Linda Manzer and Aaron Green were on hand, too. Manzer and Metheny playfully discussed their 17-year collaboration around the lodge fireplace and showed off their zanier co-creations along with Manzer’s new Signature 6 acoustic. Classical maker Green and his rocker partner, Neal Ward, debuted their stunning Westland Music Group electrics, crafted from sustainable woods.
As the ranch herd galloped to pasture each evening, the concert tent filled to its 1,000-person capacity. Tennant brought his Grammy-winning L.A. Guitar Quartet for opening night, delighting the crowd. Metheny wowed with Trio 99-00 (drummer Bill Stewart, bassist Larry Grenadier).
Session legend Lee Ritenour, who has supported the Crown Guitar Fest since it was a twinkle in founder David Feffer’s eye, co-headlined with Genesis/Phil Collins rock wizard Daryl Stuermer, each burning with backing by an incredibly energetic rhythm section of bassist Abraham Laboriel, Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Sonny Emory, and keyboardist John Beasley.
Ford played for over three hours the following night with the same rhythm section, raising the roof with one soaring, spiraling guitar solo after another. Ritenour joined him for two songs, and they delighted in edging each other higher and higher.
“It’s great being here,” Ford said. “The vibe is so chill and all the people are so nice. You can talk to anybody and anybody can talk to you. I’m kind of a private person so I appreciate when opportunities are genuinely easy to step into like this. You want to be approachable, [and] it’s pretty easy – people like you and they’re glad you’re here. And these other great guitarists are here!”
This article originally appeared in VG December 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Since he arrived in Los Angeles in 2010, it’s been “all systems go” for former Monster Magnet guitarist Ed Mundell.
After 19 years with the band, Mundell moved west from New Jersey to launch a new phase of his career. His latest project, the Ultra Electric Mega Galactic, is a hard-chargin’ instrumental space rock trio with bassist Collyn McCoy and drummer Rick Ferrante. Much like his previous non-Magnet project, The Atomic Bitchwax, it puts a welcome bead-like focus on Mundell’s Hendrixian fuzzed Strat “magick.” Its self-titled debut was released on the guitarist’s own Orbit Unlimited label.
How’d you hook up with Collyn and Rick for the UEMG?
Rick and I met a few years ago at a Nashville Pussy show. I had just gotten married and moved to L.A. when Rick and I decided to jam. He introduced me to Collyn, an absolutely amazing bass player. We didn’t intend to make a record, but songs formed from our 20-minute jams.
Did you originally intend to keep things all-instrumental, or did the right singer just never materialize?
I got sick of working with singers and the approach to recording with a singer and the egos that go along with it. I’ve worked with some great vocalists such as (Monster Magnet’s) Dave Wyndorf, but I’ve worked with some really limited vocalists. I had to take a break. That said, Collyn plans to sing on the next album. He has an amazing voice – picture Lemmy mixed with Phil Lynott and Ozzy Osbourne!
Did you do anything differently in the studio compared to your work with Monster Magnet?
I approached it totally differently. With Magnet, we would spend 12 hours a day analyzing two or three notes, and I recorded scratch tracks that were never kept. This time, we recorded live and layered parts on the live tracks, so any extra guitars you hear are added after the fact. It felt more organic and retained the spontaneous nature of a band playing together. It’s the first time I ever kept scratch guitar tracks.
What were your main guitars, amps, and pedals on the new album?
For guitar, mainly my Angry Angus Strat copy. It’s been my main guitar since I found it. For leads, I used the sunburst Strat Plus I’ve had since 1992. For doubling rhythm tracks, I used a ’62 reissue SG and an SG-X with a P-94 pickup.
For amps, the 1976 Orange 120-watt Overdrive I’ve been using since ’92 through a Marshall Jubilee 1987 cabinet. For pedals, I used a KR Musical Products Mega-Vibe and my signature Creepy Fingers Infinity Fuzz pedal, plus a Geoffrey Teese Real McCoy wah, a Fuzz Face, an Analog Man ARDX20 Dual Analog Delay, and an Electro-Harmonix Stereo Memory Man Digital Delay/Looper for backwards effects.
Were you specifically looking for an Angry Angus, or did you stumble upon it?
My wife, Karen, was working in Montreal, and I visited for a couple weeks. I didn’t have a guitar with me, but I would visit this one shop every day to try guitars and pedals. I kept coming back to this black Angry Angus with a maple neck. They also had a sunburst version with a rosewood neck, but I liked the maple better. The guitar spoke to me.
What’s the story on your signature Infinity Fuzz pedal?
The Infinity Fuzz is basically my version of a Fuzz Face produced with Brad Davis, from Creepy Fingers, who came up with the circuit design. I wanted a Fuzz Face without the headroom headaches that come with a Fuzz Face. I use it all the time.
How did you find Matt Lynch and Mysterious Mammals Studio?
We discovered them through Eddie Glass and Nebula. Then I recorded some guest guitar tracks there with the band Abrahma, and Matt and I worked really well together. I love the fact that he works really fast. He’s like me – get in and get out! I like capturing the initial vibe, not over-working a song.
The sitar on “The Man With A Thousand Names” is a cool psychedelic touch.
I did the “backward” sitar and Collyn doubled his bass lines with sitar. I used DADADD tuning, which makes everything sound great!
Sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison opens the CD with a spoken-word piece. How’d you connect with him?
I am a huge sci-fi fan and an avid reader of ’40s, ’50s and ’60s sci fi. Collyn just happened to know Harlan Ellison, and Harlan agreed to do the spoken word only if I would do backwards guitar on it. He is a big supporter of the band.
Your website lists a solo album release in 2013. Is that still on track?
Yes. I’ve been working on it for years and have tons of material. I want to have friends and guests play on it. I’ll also be releasing it on my own label.
This article originally appeared in VG September 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Brad Paisley’s 2011 book, Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, is essentially an autobiography. But really, it’s not so much about him.
Anyone who has ever spoken with Paisley will tell you the “aw shucks” humbleness he exhibits on awards shows, in concert, and in the book, is not a front. So it’s no surprise that when Paisley sat to write a biography, he took the opportunity to focus on the other people who have been most important in his life… and a few guitars!
In the prologue, Paisley describes Christmas day, 1980, when, as an eight-year-old fan of the Star Wars films, he really wanted a toy – maybe a Millennium Falcon model or a light saber. Without at least one of them, he recalls thinking in the hyperbole of a child, “I would have no reason to go on.” But, he writes…“Sitting beneath a pile of presents under my grandparents’ tree was the answer to almost every question that life would throw at me, the map I needed to guide me through every twist and turn, a shield that would defend me from heartache, and a battle-axe that would lead me to victory. And one of the best friends I would ever have.”
That answer was a Silvertone model 1448 amp-in-case rig, a gift from Paisley’s grandfather, Warren Jarvis (in the book, he’s called “Pawpaw”).
“I was drawn to the guitar because it was inescapable,” he chuckled. “My grandfather so loved music and guitars, in particular, and that rubbed off on me because he made sure it did! I showed some interest in it, but like my kids… I play all the time in the house, and they show interest because I can play ‘Batman’ or the theme from the ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ when they ask me to. But I only wanted to play guitar because he wanted me to.”
Paisley describes his Pawpaw as a fairly typical guitar guy who had a few playable instruments, but nothing extravagant.
“He wasn’t wealthy, so he bought what he could to get by; he had several Yamaha acoustics, including an OM copy. He would play every day; he worked for the railroad, so he’d leave the house around four in the afternoon and get home around midnight. He also kept a guitar at work – a Yamaha copy of a Gibson Dove that he used to sit and play. It has a huge arm-wear blemish. He also had a Sekova 335 copy, which is a good guitar. I still have it. In fact, I have every guitar I’ve ever had except for a Hondo Strat copy I sold to a kid a long time ago.”
Beyond the importance of his grandfather’s passing along a passion for music – especially instrumental stuff by the likes of Buck Owens, Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash, the man made sure the young Paisley had the proper gear as he progressed.
“One day when I was 10 or 11, I had a gig at a church picnic with Hank Goddard, and we put together a little band. As I was getting ready, Pawpaw marched up the alley behind our house carrying a Deluxe Reverb in one hand and the Sekova in the other. He told my mom and dad, ‘He’s playing with Hank today, so he needs a real guitar and a real amp.’ He gave me the guitar and amp, and never did ask for them back. He knew I was headed for actual gigs. I remember him being really worried about my hearing with the Deluxe Reverb. ‘Now, this thing is loud,’ he’d say (laughs)!
“I was lucky in that a few things he gave me were amazing; my first amp wasn’t a Gorilla – it was that 1970 Deluxe Reverb!”
Brad Paisley’s new biography is called Diary of a Player: How My Musical Heroes Made a Guitar Man Out of Me, and was co-written with David Wild.
Through the years, a few other guitars have played essential roles in his life – most notably the ’68 Fender Telecaster in Paisley Red finish that accompanied him on his ascent to stardom. But more recently, a guitar entered his realm that speaks to the fact that his, at times, is indeed a charmed life.
When floods struck Nashville in May of 2010, dozens of notable performers lost millions of dollars worth of guitars, amps, and other gear stored at one of the city’s primary cartage/rehearsal facilities. Paisley was no exception; after the water receded, nearly every guitar and amplifier he was planning to use on a tour slated to begin in mere days was covered in river mud, as were the band’s drums, risers, keyboards, mandolins, P.A. speakers, and his custom-made effects rack.
After the flood, Paisley fulfilled a lifelong dream when he bought a pre-war Martin dreadnought – something he had previously deemed an unjustifiable extravagance.
Though he was familiar with the famed second-floor acoustic room at Gruhn Guitars, “I didn’t go up there much, because I could never even begin to afford anything on that floor until I had hits,” he said. “But the flood changed me profoundly as a gearhead, because until then, I was pretty cheap about stuff. Plus, by the time I could afford the type of instruments I’d always wanted, I was mostly being given them through endorsement,” he noted. “So I didn’t have to go digging for vintage guitars much. And when I did go to stores I frequent, like TrueTone in Santa Monica, my main obsession was amps, especially old Voxes, Marshalls, or Fenders. And it was always about sound. It had nothing to do with collectibility, really.”
But, acoustic guitars have played a major role in Paisley’s music, and he has known some good pieces.
“Early in my career, I had a cool old Gibson or two – some J-45s – and friends would allow me to use theirs. I used a J-185 on my first record, which is an amazing guitar. I had access. So I just wasn’t looking for something that would cost five figures! Instead, I’d think about how I could buy 10 Gibsons for the price of one pre-war Martin.
“And then the flood happened. And it’s a funny thing… I had a lot of gear that I loved get destroyed. But I also had some gear that was in storage for a reason (laughs), like, I had a bad ’70s Les Paul and some other things that were worth thousands of dollars. And I’m very fortunate that I was fully insured. So when that insurance check showed up for some of these instruments that I didn’t really love… and I’m looking at the amount on that check, thinking about how I could buy something I’ve always wanted… and I’m gonna get taxed if I don’t spend it, which is a great way to justify (laughs) spending that kind of money! It’s like, ‘Hey, if I don’t spend this, then I’m gonna give Uncle Sam this much.’ I have justified a lot of stuff that way!
“You can imagine what the flood was like – it was so heartbreaking to see a Dr. Z prototype Z Wreck that Mike Zaite made me, dripping with water – nasty water. So, I thought, ‘Well I’m going to make the best of this,’ and over the course of months I started to think about what I needed – some things I needed right away and we started to buy. Then I thought, ‘Well, what’s on my wish list?’ And I’ve always thought how I’d love a pre-war herringbone, but some of them can sound like a 1970 D-28 while others are worth $150,000.
(LEFT) The ’37 Martin herringbone D-28 Paisley acquired after the 2010 flood in Nashville. (RIGHT) Paisley’s Silvertone 1448 “amp-in-case.”
“So I walk up to the second floor of Gruhn’s; I’m lucky in that where I live is one of the few places in the world where you can play 10 pre-war D-28s at any given time. And I just start picking ’em up and strumming them, going down the line. Some are like, ‘That’s good, I get it.’ But they weren’t enough for me to part with that kind of money. I get down to the end and I pick up this one, and the heavens part, the angels sing! I mean it’s just that good. You hear it on the first chord of my new album (the intro to the title track of This Is Country Music), and what you hear there is what it sounds like. Every time we’ve recorded with it, when they set the mics, my engineer would run into the control room, expecting to run back out and move them a little to get rid of this or get rid of that. But he never did that with this guitar. It’s got an amazing edge to the way it feels, sounds, and plays. It’s the most ridiculous thing.
“Anyway, George [Gruhn] walked up to the room while I was strumming it and I said, ‘You got any that sound like this that aren’t on this floor?’ (laughs) And you know George, he’s got his arms folded, and he’s looking at me, saying (impersonates Gruhn), ‘That may be one of the best guitars we’ve ever had in the store. I don’t think you’re going to find something else like it.’
“So I left. And I called my wife and said, ‘I just played something…’ She said, ‘Well, you should get it.’ And I said, ‘Are you kidding? It costs as much as a new car! Honey, I can’t spend that, that’s just dumb.’ She said, ‘Why’s that dumb? That’s what you do for a living.’ So I quit thinking so much and called (Nashville guitar builder/tech) Joe Glaser, and I said, ‘You gotta go up there with me.’ So he goes to Gruhn’s with me, and I pick it up and strum it and he says, ‘You need to buy that!’ He said, ‘Guitars like this belong with you and Vince [Gill] and Keith [Urban] and Brent [Mason] and guys in our town. It shouldn’t be in a vault.’”
In Diary, Paisley writes, “So as I was wrapping my head around actually owning this gem, the Gruhn’s staff brought out a framed account of the guitar’s history written by the daughter of the man who had owned it for most of its long life.” He then tells the story of how Gruhn’s acquired the guitar from a family in San Diego whose father had left it to them upon his passing in 1994. Turns out, the man was originally from Paisley’s home state of West Virginia, and even better, he, like Paisley’s grandfather, worked as a telegrapher – just one station down the B&O Railroad line – in the years after World War II. Paisley deduces that the two men likely knew each other, communicated regularly via telegraph, and both probably spent many hours strumming guitars at their posts.
“When [Gruhn’s staff] showed me this framed thing that tells how the guitar comes from where I come from, and it belonged to a man who may have interacted with my grandfather… I was astonished. It’s a West Virginia herringbone! And there’s not a lot of West Virginia herringbones left (laughs)!
“So I drove away again, called my wife again, and said, ‘I don’t know how I can’t do it.’”
So it was, folklore may tell the tale, about how fate and a terrible flood teamed up to put one very special 1937 Martin D-28 with herringbone trim in the hands of a certain country-music superstar.
Special thanks to Kendal Marcy.
This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
If you’ve ever played guitar through a Leslie rotating-speaker cabinet, you’re aware of its lush 3D sound. Many guitarists would love to be able to use that sound – and would, were it not for the fact a Leslie cab can test not only one’s lumbar region, but their wallet!
Through the years, a host of effects companies have offered simulations of rotary-speaker. But, capturing the complex characteristics of a rotary speaker is not an easy task – especially when players want it to fit on a pedalboard!
The same can be said of tube-driven tremolo; while tremolo pedals are common and relatively inexpensive, capturing the warm, musical sound from a vintage amp is not all that easy to replicate in a pedal.
Enter DLS’ RotoSim and TR1. Both housed in heavy steel enclosures with powder-coated finishes, they’re built using chassis-mounted pots, switches, and jacks, true-bypass footswitches, stereo In and Out jacks, expression-pedal jacks, and 9-volt DC power supplies (they’ll also run off most pedalboard power supplies).
DLS recently asked whether we were interested in giving both boxes a run. Because we’re almost always agreeable to such queries, we grabbed a Fender American Vintage ’65 Strat and a Fender Blues Deluxe 1×12 to help us along.
The TR1 Tremolo has an extensive control setup – Tap-Tempo, Normal/Tap mode, and a Rate knob that controls the speed of the tremolo. There’s also a Multiply/Ratio control, Depth, individual Volume controls for A and B outputs, Shape (selects wave shape and cycle), and Warmth, which adjusts the bias of the pedal’s two analog optical circuits (in conjunction with Shape), allowing the player to dial in specific tremolo sounds from thick and warm to choppy and aggressive. The Warmth control does a great job softening the wave and adding a subtle low-fi analog/tube flavor. The individual Volume controls allow the user to balance the effect between the two outputs, and make up for any volume lost with the effect engaged. Tap Tempo doubles to engage a “pan” mode, creating a spacious pulse effect, in stereo. The TR1’s Expression input allows for control of the speed via standard TRS expression pedal. It can create an intense tremolo effect and syncopation to the beat.
The RotoSim utilizes a hybrid analog/digital circuit to simulate the swampy, organ-like characteristic of a Leslie rotary-speaker cabinet, an effect popular in the late ’60s/’70s and “revived” by blues guitarists, most notably Stevie Ray Vaughan. Using this circuit, the RotoSim further creates the sound of a separate high-frequency horn tweeter and low-frequency driver while maintaining a warm analog sound. Like the TR1, the RotoSim offers a boat-load of control over its sounds, and its smaller footprint (53/4″ x 5″) is more pedalboard friendly and takes up less real estate than most rotary-speaker simulators.
Set for slower speeds, it produces a thick, chorus-like effect; at faster speeds, that familiar Leslie swirl. But the real magic occurs during the speed shifts from slow to fast or fast to slow, where it can render a super-lush sound with tons of musical pitch-shifting and frequency separation. With a real Leslie, the player can independently control the speed of the bass rotor and the high-frequency tweeter. The RotoSim offers much the same, visually represented with the individual high- and low-speed LEDs. In a stereo setup, the RotoSim produced an accurate rotary-speaker simulation with a wide, spacious sound.
The pedal’s overdrive circuit is subtle, but adds a touch of analog dirt, allowing it to cut through the mix and thicken overall sound. DLS designed the two outputs to sound slightly different. Output A is more true/transparent, while Output B is “fattened” ever so slightly, allowing for a bigger, more-realistic sound when in stereo. It also better matches the output of a particular amp. In our test, Output B sounded better with a Fender amp, while Output A sounded better with a Vox. A Roland expression pedal plugged into the RotoSim bypasses the Fast/Slow footswitch, allowing blending between slow and fast speeds on the fly, similar to an old-school Uni-Vibe.
In extensive tests in various environments, the TR1 and RotoSim offered easy-to-dial-in sounds. Both produced fat, warm analog sounds that were musical and lush.
This article originally appeared in VG January 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Precision Bass has been offered in a myriad of models in its 50 years of existense, including a number of “reissues.”
One of the more intriguing variants was the Elite II, which was introduced in mid-1983, and disappeared when Fender was purchased from CBS in early ’85. While subsequent variants of Precision models would have two pickups, the Elite II was the first to offer twice the sonic output of a normal P-Bass. But the Elite II was a bit more complicated…
The early ’80s saw Fender in a tailspin. Its marketplace viability and quality control were suspect. And though the Elite line’s innovative features were oriented toward serious/professional players, bassists were more interested in the no-frills, reliable setup of classic Fender instruments – as the success of the company’s first reissues (also introduced in the early ’80s) averred.
The Elite lineup included a Stratocaster, a Telecaster, and a Precision Bass Elite I (one pickup) and Elite II (two pickups). All models had active circuitry, as well as white pickup covers without exposed polepieces. The Precision Bass Elite had the classic silhouette of the post-’57 P-Bass, as well as a traditional Precision pickguard profile.
In fact, the single pickup on the Elite I as well as the surrounded-by-the-pickguard pickup on the Elite II are found exactly where the pickup would be located on a standard, passive Precision, but that’s where the similarity ends. What’s more, Elites were not the first Fender basses to feature active circuity – that distinction belonged to the Precision Bass Special, made from 1980 to ’83, and which was supplanted by the Elites.
The Elite II’s second pickup (also a split model) is located by the bridge. The controls include two volume knobs, a tone knob, and two three-way mini-toggle switches; one a pickup selector, the other (as described in Klaus Blasquiz’s The Fender Bass) a “tone assign” switch.
One historical fact that might cause some “who-copied-whom” conjecture concerns the frontline two-pickup bass manufactured at the time by Fender’s nearby competitor, G&L, whose L-2000 was introduced in early ’81, and like the P-Bass Elite II, featured a second pickup near the bridge (compared to the single-pickup L-1000). Standard production L-2000s had knobs and mini-toggles laid out in a configuration similar to the P-Bass Elite II,though their operation was different from Elites.
Construction and hardware on the Precision Bass Elites were also state-of-the-art and included Bi-Flex truss rod neck reinforcement, die-cast tuners (which were “plump”), and a fine-tuning mechanism on each bridge saddle.
The Precision Bass Elite II was an intriguing step for the floundering Fender company in those times, and makes a good utilitarian bass for players who prefer traditional look and feel.
In spite of its innovations and sonic options, the Elite II tends to be unfairly stereotyped with other Fenders from the company’s notorious ’70s and early ’80s period.
This article originally appeared in VG May 2003 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Goodwin onstage with Joe Cocker and his early-’70s Gibson ES-335. Cocker and Goodwin image courtesy of Julian Bean.
Cliff Goodwin was catapulted into the big time on a decade-long stint with Joe Cocker that began in the late ’70s and during which he relied heavily on an early-’70s Gibson ES-335.
After growing up playing a Kapa Continental, a Silvertone Twin Twelve, and a Vox Super Beatle, Goodwin acquired a ’67 Gibson ES-335 – but it was stolen in 1973. “The day after, I bought a new one,” he said, and he used the Cherry Red instrument for a decade with Jon Butcher Axis, Cocker, to record parts of Robert Palmer’s Secrets album, and on gigs with his own American Standard Band.
The Cocker gig came about via the two artists’ managers, initiated by Cocker’s search for a backing unit that was ready to play – and had “no bad habits!” The singer supplemented the American Standard Band with saxophonist Bobby Keys and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and, after a few weeks of rehearsal, they were on tour in New Zealand and Australia.
A favorite memory from his time with Cocker derives from recording the hit “Fun Time,” from Luxury You Can Afford.
“The band flew to Miami to cut tracks, and we were given no demos to work from. Allan Toussaint, the producer, sang a verse and chorus for us, then left the building! The version you hear is the one we came up with after an hour of jamming, working only from what he sang. I’m very proud of the guitar interplay between myself and Mitch Chakour.”
Other guitars used by Goodwin during the Cocker era included a custom 335-shaped solidbody with a Strat neck, which is, “a beast to play… heavy and awkward, but it screamed!,” and a Yamaha SG2000 that was part of an endorsement deal.
“I’ve played SG2000s from 1981 to now, alternating with a kit guitar,” he said. “I sold the 335 in ’83, thinking I had no need for it. Big mistake! The Strat had a more pointed sound, and the Yamaha is very much a Les Paul, so perhaps I thought the 335 was too middle-of-the-road.”
Last September, however, good fortune smiled upon him…
“I was attending a guitar show in Worcester, when a man from the local scene told me, ‘I think I have a guitar that might have been yours.’ When he brought out this case with stickers all over it, I removed some and my name was stenciled on it – ‘Cliff Goodwin, Worcester, MA, American Standard Band – Joe Cocker Band.’ There it was, exactly as I had sold it, buckle wear and all. He was so gracious enough to sell it to me for what he had in it!”
Today, Goodwin stays busy working with Christine Ohlman, Rebel Montez, the Mohegan All-Stars, the Silverbacks, and other artists, and he’s a consultant for Bose. His greatest “guitar journey,” though, appears to have reached a conclusion.
“That 335 was with me through so many of my best musical life experiences. I must say it is not for sale anymore!”
This article originally appeared in VG September 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Fargen’s John Lennon Signature JL-15 and Micro Plex
Price: $2,700 (JL-15), $999 (Micro Plex)
Info: www.fargenamps.com.
From 50-watt monsters to 5-watt heads, Fargen Amplification is known for building amplifiers intended for working players. Two of Fargen’s more recent releases – the John Lennon Signature JL-15 combo and the Micro Plex head – may seem miles apart in concept and application, but as it turns out, both uphold their maker’s reputation for quality, functionality, and innovation.
The John Lennon JL-15 is a combo powered by two EL84s and featuring an 8-ohm 12″ Fargen-designed ceramic speaker. The amp’s immediate visual calling card, of course, is its grille cloth featuring a large print of Lennon’s iconic self-portrait. Top-mounted Tone, Volume, and Master Volume knobs are on a plate featuring Lennon’s signature and, most notably, Fargen’s two-way Liverpool/Plastic Ono “Decade” control. The amp is made in the United States and is constructed using a tag board with vintage carbon-comp resistors and ’60s-style mustard tone caps. It also features a proprietary bracket to isolate and reduce tube rattle. The cabinet is made from Baltic birch and is covered in black tolex with decorative white piping. The JL-15’s 15-watt output is channeled through either an 8- or 16-ohm speaker output on the underside of the chassis.
The Micro Plex is a 5-watt Class A single-ended design utilizing a lone 6L6 for power, along with a 12AX7 to cover the preamp duties. For those who like to tinker, the amp can utilize any octal power tube, from the demure 6V6 to the mighty 6550. The head-only amplifier has Volume, Tone, and Master controls, along with push/pull controls for Gain Boost, and Tone Shift. The single speaker out can handle from 4 to 8 ohms. The Micro Plex features construction similar to the JL, also utilizing carbon comp resistors and SoZo mustard caps, along with a U.S.-built transformer.
Both Fargen amps were tested with a ’67 Telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul ’59 reissue. The J-15 delivered instant gratification. For those who are understandably skeptical of a Lennon amp, wondering if it might be standing on name recognition alone rather than its own merits, rest assured that this is not the case with the JL-15. The two-position Decade switch truly gives the amp a twin personality. In Liverpool mode, the amp is firmly planted in AC15 territory – plenty of chime and grind depending on knob positioning and the guitar used. In Plastic Ono mode, it shifts deftly into blackface Fender territory – more lows, a bit more headroom, and smoother highs. The tonal variation provided by the Decade switch is a knockout. Additionally, the Volume, Master, and single Tone knobs offered smooth tapers and plenty of tonal variation to complement both the Tele and the Paul. Volume-wise, the JL-15 is certainly club-friendly but humble, nonetheless. Its toneful 15 watts might require reinforcement when playing with a higher-decibel group.
Plugging into the Micro Plex, the Tele was switched to the neck pickup position to test the clean headroom. With Volume halfway up, Master on full, and Tone at 9 o’clock, a nice semi-clean platform was achieved that could be dirtied up simply by digging in a bit more with the pick. The Tone had to be kept on the low side with the Tele or it could quite easily get into Bakersfield-treble territory. Playing the Gibson, the clean headroom quickly dissipated, but it was replaced by a fat, grinding tone. Turning up the Gain produced even more smooth distortion that never got even a hint ratty, even with the pull Gain or with the Tone turned up. With the Les Paul on the neck pickup, the volume on full, gain boost on, and the master pegged, the amp produced the long sustain and singing tone that one usually only finds over a 100 dB.
In the JL-15 and the Micro Plex, Fargen offers two incredible player-friendly amplifiers. The Lennon has an eye-catching look and versatile tone that make it much more than a tribute amp. Its AC15-to-blackface quick-change makes it the perfect amp for the many who swear by these tones. The Micro Plex has the tweed-Champ-meets-plexi tone that will crunch hard at bedroom levels and sing when paired with a humbucker-equipped guitar.
This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
AXL USA Hand-Aged Bulldog
Price: $699.99 (street)
Contact: www.axlguitars.com
Unabashedly inspired by the classic Les Paul Junior, AXL Guitars’ limited-edition USA Hand-Aged Bulldog is a single-pickup guitar with a slab mahogany body and set neck. Crucial assembly tasks are performed in AXL’s California workshop, where the Bulldog is fretted, set up, tricked out, and whipped into relic’d submission.
Hardware components on the Hand-Aged Bulldog are first-class throughout. A Lindy Fralin dog-ear P-90 is wired through CTS pots with an orange drop capacitor on the push-pull Tone knob, which also functions as a “bite” switch to bypass the tone control. A 111/16″ Graph Tech nut, a TonePros featherweight wraparound bridge, and vintage-style three-to-a-strip TonePros/Kluson Deluxe tuners (also made by Graph Tech) fill out the specs.
The Bulldog’s relic’ing is a noteworthy work of luthiery. Artful and individualized, the test Bulldog had some serious “belt-buckle wear” trespassing through the poly Transparent Red finish and into the one-piece body, its subtly rounded bass-side cutaway splitting the difference between the original single-cut 1954 Les Paul Junior and the ’58 double-cut. The tuners and bridge looked ancient, but with brand-new functionality. While the test guitar’s neck was worn all along the playing length, showing off its straight-grain flamed timber, the 243/4″-scale-length rosewood fingerboard was flawless and outfitted with well-dressed new frets. Topped with a black headstock wih AXL’s retro shield logo in pearl, the Bulldog’s neck is outfitted with a truss rod that is adjusted in classic LP fashion beneath a black-over-white cover.
Aged as it was, the C-shaped neck felt substantial and smooth, thanks to a light coat of oil applied after relic’ing. The setup was easy playing, with no buzzes or concerns. Some players might wish the wraparound bridge was more adjustable, but its location allows for good intonation across the strings.
Plugged full out into a late-’50s Ampeg Jet, the Fralin P-90 had plenty of gain and enough cut to bring down a forest of blues and rockabilly licks, with some punk attitude thrown in. The single-pickup Bulldog was not a one-trick puppy, though. Manipulating the Tone control coaxes out a kinder, gentler rhythm sound. With the Tone knob rolled off completely, a fat ’50s jazz timbre is possible. The handy push-pull Tone pot allows the Bulldog to quickly roar back into a classic lead sound.
With the appeal – and prices – of vintage Les Paul Juniors not dropping anytime soon, the AXL USA Hand-Aged Bulldog is an affordable and tuneful alternative, offering plenty of its inspiration’s sonic and visual vibe.
This article originally appeared in VG September 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
Mike Piera has been building his line of stomp boxes bearing the Analog Man name since the mid ’90s. Famous for a wide assortment of pedals with a vintage vibe, Piera boasts a customer list that includes guitar aficionados like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Doyle Bramhall II, Carl Verheyen, Scott Henderson, and Gary Clark, Jr. His sonic thumbprint is famous throughout the guitar community, and it’s made Analog Man one of the most successful guitar effects dealers in the world.
One of Piera’s offerings, the Analog Man Sun Face, is a hand-built fuzz pedal offered with an a la carte selection of transistors, from white-dot high-gain NKT-275s to red-dot NKT-275s, BC108s, BC109s, and other germanium and silicon options. The BC183 tested here is a silicon transistor that’s brighter, fuzzier, and more stable than its germanium counterpart, and which offers a tad more gain. It’s also warm for silicon and less brittle than the BC108 or BC109. Other optional Sun Face features include a 9-volt adapter input, LED, a “Sundial” (exterior trimmer knob), and an on/off Fuzz knob that disconnects the battery, eliminating the need to unplug the input jack.
With a Volume knob, a Fuzz knob to increase gain, and an On/Off switch, the Sun Face couldn’t be any simpler to use. And in addition to featuring true bypass, solid construction, and artsy graphics, it takes up very little space. With the help of a Divided By 13 BTR 23 combo, a Budda Verbmaster combo, and a Peavey JSX 120-watt head, the Sun Face got quite a workout, with an assist from a variety of single-coil and humbucker guitars.
More Eric Johnson than Jimi Hendrix, the BC183 Sun Face elicits a smooth rumbling grittiness, turning a clean amp into a warm, woolly mammoth, reminiscent of Clapton’s “Beano” and early Cream years. A medium /high-gain fuzz, it’s sensitive to amp settings and the guitar’s volume control. When gradually turning the Sun Face’s Fuzz knob clockwise in tandem with a Les Paul, low-level amp breakup blossomed into doubled and tripled ’90s-era grungy thickness. Think Soundgarden with more hair and overtones. Even with the Fuzz knob maxed out, the guitar’s Volume knob tamed the excess for some punchy blues lines.
In Stratocaster mode, Live at Winterland-approved “Purple Haze” gnarliness escalated into experiments involving Volume and Fuzz knob fine-tuning which produced a variety of colors from dirty boosts to classic rock chord work.
Analog Man’s BC183 Sun Face is a top-of-the-line pedal for the discriminating fuzz user, offering a plethora of gorgeous big rock tones in a small package.
This article originally appeared in VG September 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
